Need Help with a 6 Week Old with Reflux

This sounds exactly like what my son had (he is now almost 12 months and grew out of the reflux about 3 months ago). We changed his formula 5 times and decided to stay on Nestle Good Start Soy and he took Baby Zantac twice a day. It helped a lot. We also mixed rice cereal or oatmeal into the bottle to make it thicker. Then, for the first two-three months he slept in a reclined position (either in the car seat, the bouncy seat, or the inclined positioner in the bassinet). All of these sleeping positions helped tremendously and were recommended by the pediatrician. It will get better - trust me.

My daughters had the same problem. They took Axid, a prescription from the Dr., the Dr. Brown's bottles, also helped, but my little one was on a formula called Pregestimil Lipil. I had to order it through the pharmacy at the Acme on Route 33 in Hamilton, but well worth it, she had spent almost a week in the hospital because she was holding her breath every time she 'refluxed'. That was not fun, but after this all settled down, she is the most amazing baby now! Good luck to you, both of my girls had this issue, my older one made out fine with Soy formula, that did not work for my little one. Good luck.

I didn't have this problem with my own daughter, but a few friends of mine tried the drug route. I hear that after making the decision (which is the hardest part) that it really does work and makes a world of difference. And I hear from peds that it's really super safe. Good luck!

L., I know what you're going through. It's the most stressful thing to watch your baby in so much pain and not know what to do. I am going to tell you what we did for my son who had it untill he was 2 1/2. We fed him Enfamil AR. We put a little bit of rice cereal in his bottle and we had to give him small frequent bottles. At first he was anxious to eat because they were small but he got used to it and it stayed down. Burped him often and kept him sitting up for at least an hour before laying him down, whether be up playing or sitting up in my arms sleeping. The doctor gave us a prescription for Zantac. He took this for 2 years. He loved the taste. I don't know why. It was gross. I guess he knew it's what made him feel better. It took about 1-2 weeks for him to be comfortable with this eating habit but when he did, it was so much more enjoyable to be with him at feeding time. I was finally able to bond with him. He eventually grew out of the reflux and he's a happy, healthy 6 year old now. It's not always going to be like this and it wil get better. The only advise I can give you is try your hardest to be patient with this so that your baby doesn't feel like it's her fault or that your angry with her. Believe me, she can sense that you're frustrated. Mom, don't give up hope. Best wishes.
H.

did you ever try different tempartures?It may do nothing but I've seen it help other babies. try making the formula a little warmer than you usually do if the spit looks like cottage cheese (white gobs) or cooler if it's already pretty warm.
It's worth a try and easier than switching formulas--good luck!

Hi L.,

I know what you are going through. It is heart braking to see your baby in pain. My daughter now 11, has been dealing with reflux since the day she was born. My daughter had other problems at the time too, she couldn’t digest proteins and had something called non-operative pyloric stegnoses (I am sure I spelled it wrong). When you put all these together she wasn’t just spitting up she would have projectile vomit, that would literally shoot across a room. Just before it would happen her little body sounded like a volcano was going to erupted. (well, I guess when I think about it ---- it was like a internal volcano and it did erupt.

I know how you feel about changing formulas - we did the same thing. Something tells me if you are trying to find a formula that works it maybe more than acid reflux. For my daughters problems with digesting proteins we did everything, formula to goats milk (yes, they even had me try goats milk, I had to add vitamins to it for her and other things too.) The formula that worked best for her digestion was, Nuetramagen (again, excuse the spelling). It was very expensive and she drank it until she was 18 months old. I was fortunate enough that when the doctor got samples of it, his nurse would call me and give me some to help out with the cost. Every child is different, you just have to be patient and embrace the trail and error phase, until you find what works best for your child.

As for the reflux part of her problem, we did a few things to help with it. We made sure she never slept in a flat position. When she was a newborn until a few months old, we placed her “nip-nap” ( I don’t know if they still call it that) in her crib and that’s how she slept. After that, until this very day her mattress is elevated by the head. We did this by putting a pillow wedge underneath her mattress to cause a slight elevation . The elevation is about 3 inches. This did a few things, One - it let gravity help with keeping the reflux down - two- she was aspirating fluid into her lungs from the reflux and it prevented that from happening. -
2nd - we place cereal in her bottle . (you have to make the nipple of the bottle bigger). I got flack from Know it all moms, that I put cereal at a young age in her bottle, it was to early for her digestive system. but her doctor recommended it and it was better than her having other problems due to severe reflux and having her choke in her sleep.
3rd- she was put on a prescribed medication. After she was on that med for about a 2 1/2 years, it was taken off the market because it was causing strokes in infants and the pharmaceutical company new about this and never listed it as a side affect - hence because of this stricter laws have been made and enforced - so trust you doctor if he prescribes one.

Your daughter may be like most babies and grow out of the reflux in time as her Body grows. Or she may be like mine and her reflux valve may just not work proper. Right now, my daughter knows, what to eat and not too - if she eats something that she shouldn’t she pays the price of real bad heart burn. She no longer is on prescribed medications. (her most recent was prevacid ) and uses over the counter meds to help with small episodes. She may need corrective surgery when she is older or she may not. Only time will tell.

What kept me focus, was . . . I just thought to myself, if this is the worse she has to deal with in her life, I was thankful. There are too many children out there very sick, with terminal illnesses. This was nothing, once I looked at the big picture.

My daughter is very active in sports, she plays ice hockey and soccer and is a straight “A” student. So you can see, this has not affected her life at all.

I Live in the Buffalo, NY area - and the doctors that really helped my daughter are from Amherst Pediatrics. If you live in the Buffalo, area - it couldn’t hurt for a second opinion. There phone number is - ###-###-#### - You would want to speak to New Born Nurse Karen - she is awesome!!! and the doctors there are awesome! :)

Good luck - Our family will keep you and your daughter in our prayers.

my 2 kids had the same thing. try enfamil nutrigen. also dont bounce or move the baby to quickly she will spit up.wait a least 20 minutes then move her. also try putting her crib mattess(if in a crib )on an angle. the end of her crib where her head is put a folded comforter under the mattess. i used 2 pairs of folded jeans.it helps at night time when they need to eat. it will go away eventually. hang in there. i know every kid is different thats what worked for me.hope it helps.

If you wish to go natural without introducing your baby to meds at such an early age, do this..it was a lifesaver for my oldest.
You can do this before or after a feeding..but mix a little water with baking soda and have her drink it. Only mix a small amount of baking soda..like 1/2 a teaspoon. This will help becuase it neturalizes the acids in her stomach to avoid the reflux. IF she does just happen to spit up, the neturalized acids/plus the baking soda coating the throat, so that it doesn't burn her when the spit comes up.

Plus, most tecniques take days or even weeks...this is an instant relief thing. Just like us taking a tums. (you can also get a tums and crush it up REAL small and have it disolve in the baby's mouth. Works great when you are out of the house and don't have baking soda on hand.

Also, make sure you are not laying her down for at least an hour after a feeding. I know that's hard with a 6 week old eating so frequently, but it's a must. Either invest in a boppy or get her used to falling asleep in a swing. My lifesaver was an extra carseat we kept in the house. Strapped in and all. The doctor said it was fine to do as long as I gave him plenty of "non-sitting time" throught out the rest of the day so that he wasn't always on his tailbone.

Hiya my son was the same way. We had him on the Enfamil lipil AR he did good on that.

My daughter was the same way but that way almost 13yrs ago. The doctor tried almost every formula there was and then we came across nutramigen made by enfamil. She did great on this but the formula is very expensive and it stinks but it fixed our problems.http://store.enfamil.com/enfamil_nutramigen_lipil.html there is a web site if you want to find out some information about this formula.

Mother of 5, also a nurse
M.

Trying different formula's is a good start. Make sure she is on one for at least a week before you give up and say it doesn't work. Also make sure you are gradually changing from one formula to the next, at least over a couple of days. Adding some rice cereal to the bottle to help thicken it may help with the reflux, but not always. You can try having her sleep in her carseat or baby swing to keep her upright, and that may also help. I had two sons go through fairly mild reflux compared to some babies, and they spent a lot of time in the bouncy chairs during the day. I couldn't put them down to sleep or play on the floor for a while after they ate because they would spit up half the bottle or more! Keep gas drops and infant Tylenol on hand for her pain. Let us know what works for you and your little one. Good luck! Oh, also make sure you aren't giving her more then 2 ozs per feeding no matter how much she thinks she wants. Her aching tummy will make her think she wants more because she doesn't know how to distingish the pain she is feeling.

Hi L. I can sympathize with you. My daughter who is now 2 1/2 yrs had reflux as an infant I took her to a pediatric gastroenterologist and they put her on medication for a while. However this did help w/the reflux somewhat but it turned out she was colic so the crying lasted for 4 months. Shes was my third and my first two really never cried so I was totally baffled. It's a rough road make sure you get a couple hours of quiet to yourself each week to keep your own sanity. Good Luck!

My son had the same problem. I too had to switch formulas several times and it still didn't help. I did change his bottles to the Dr. Brown and that did seem to help with the pain and some of the spitting up. Unfortenatly for me he did not stop the spitting up until I put him on milk. I love the Dr. Brown bottles and recommend them to everyone. You can find them at Babies R us. I also gave him gas drops. The formula that I had to use was Enfimel Lipil AR. I hope this help and remember that it will get better!!!
J.

My neice was the same way. They finally put her on Similac Advance, mixed only with nursery water and warmed. We would burp her every ounce. Even if she cried and screamed during the burpings...it was better than the aftermath she had been going through. Then after she ate they wouldnt lay her down for at least an hour. Even that didnt rid her of it all but it seemed to dim it. My sister had been breastfeeding whenever she was with her and she finally switched to pumping with the recomendation form her pedi for when the baby was with me. I know she had to breastfeed a certain way. And I had to burp her every ounce. But in all the only thing that completely rid her off all the signs was breastmilk. I dont know if that is an option. For some breastfeeding isnt but maybe pumping and feeding her only your milk? I know switching them from formula to formula till you find which works is harder on her. I woudl definatly ahve a talk with your pedi about other options. He might not want to mention breast milk becuase for some it's a sore subject.
Good Luck.

Hi L. I know how hard it can be. My daughter had severe acid reflux. She was put on Pepcid three times a day and I also had to put her on Similac Lactosfree infant formula. She wasn't lactose intolerant but the milk based formulas were to heavy for her stomach. Also I used the ready to feed formulas. Not the powder or the condensed. My daughter could not handle the water that was mixed with them. If you have acid reflux giving water iritates the stomach. You might want to try the ready to feed and see if that helps and also to talk to the doctor. After a few doses of the pepcid my daughter had already started to feel better and wasn't crying as much. We also used small feeding just more often and that helped a little also. Hope your daughter feels better and keep us posted.
Jenn

Hello L., have you tried to talk to your ped? If so then maybe you need to see a gastroentrologist specialist and maybe they can prescribe some liquid zantac for her. The zantac helps alot with their reflux.

My daughter also had reflux. She was prescribed Axid 3x/day and her formula was enfamil AR. Its a thick formula which is suppost 2 help keep it down.Good luck I hope your daughter gets better, my daughter had it 4 a long time. shes almost 2 and occasionally still throws up.Your dr should really be able 2 help.

Hi L. It's to bad that you are having such a hard time with your newborn 6 week old daughter. It's so hard on her and on you. Have you talked to your Dr about this? Switching
her formula so many times in such a short time doesn't sound good. There is a medication called Zantac that comes in a syrup form that is prescribed by a Dr. There are also many
different types of formulas sold by prescription and covered under insurance. Some have different ingredients in them and are easier on their sensitive stomachs. Contact your Dr and talk to him/her about both of these suggestions and see how you make out. They aren't a total remedy but they are a lot
better then what she and you are dealing with. Good luck you you and I hope that your little sweetheart gets some relief.
D.

My daughter was that age when she started to have reflux too. Two things helped her
1. Zantac syrup prescribed by doctor
2. Enfamil AR (added rice starch..not cereal)
If you call enfamil they will send you 4 free cans of it and then send you coupons. Do not add cereal to any old formula, its not the same. You will need to buy new nipples for the bottles as the thicker formula just can't make it through, it costs about 2.75 at baby's r us for a package of 3, no other store sells em as far as I know, I have looked.
also slow down the feedings as much as possible, burp after 2 ounces, keep her upright in something like a swing for about a half hour.
I understand your distress my daughter was in so much pain!! The medicine takes care of the pain, not the spit up though, thats up to you to do part two of the suggestion.
I hope this helps
let me know if I can be of anyother help
Good luck
T.

Hi! I dont know if this would be an option for you, but this happened to my sister-in-law and her ped helped her to induce lactation. She planned on formula feeding but after many switches and none fixing the problem, her ped had asked her how she felt about breastfeeding. I guess she was just fed up with all the stomach problems her little one had and decided to give it a try. It took a little work, but with the help of a lactation consultant and an herbal supplement, she was able to produce breastmilk, even after drying up and nurse her 8 week old! IOt took about a week or so, if I remember correctly. The reflux went away and never returned. She is now still breastfeeding her 14 month old and surprised at how much she grew to love it. I know its not for everyone, but breastmilk was made for babies to digest...formula is so harsh on their GI's. Just something to ponder...and if you do consider inducing lactation, send me a private message and I can refer you to a lactation prefessional who can help. Good Luck!

hi L.,
my story is too long too write...but...i suggest you go to a pediatric gastrointerologist immediately...go above the pediatrician! my ped doctor kept saying he was colic and had reflux. needless to say he went into the hospital at 5 weeks old and they performed a scope under anathesia and he had all allergy cells in him..allergic to milk. he was then on a feeding machine and on a special formula (not sold in stores ). he was hospitalized for almost 5 weeks, and came home on the machine. i dont want to scare you but its so important to rule everything out. has your daughter at least gained weight since she has been born. if so thats a good sign...but like i said please go to a specialist. good luck..if i can help u in any way please email me!
some one recommended the "tucker sling" for napping and sleeping...goole it and you should get the website...it keeps the baby on an up right position ... i used it for many months...

Hi L.,
My daughter had a similer problem, and she was on breast milk...the doctor told us that maalox would help with it... a very small dose, i beleive it was 1mL an hour or half an hour before she eats... it worked pretty well. she's a year now and still has occational problems with it, but a littl emaalox and she feels better.
Good luck
-N.

Have you spoken with your pediatrician??? I have 2 children of my own and used to work for peds and have always been told that it is not good to switch the baby's formula. Make sure the baby is in an upright position during and 1 hour after feedings- that usually helps. Unless the Dr. thinks she needs meds the only thing to do for reflux is give it time. Alot of babies are born with reflux and it goes away on it's own with time-but talk to the Dr.!!! Good luck!

Bring her to the doctor and he will probably put her on zantac syrup. My daughter had a slight reflux when she was an infant. She never spit up but it would travel up and just kinda sit in her esophagus and burn her. The stuff works like a charm. She was 100% better after just one month of taking it and as an added plus it also took care of her constipation! Good luck!

Both of my children had reflux. One was very severe. We tried switching formulas and that did nothing. The one that worked the best was Carnation Good Start. Both my kids were put on Zantac by their GI dr. That really seemed to work. Maybe you need to talk to your dr about getting a prescription for something. I hope this helps. It can be so hard to deal with a child in pain. It hurt me everytime my child cried in pain.

Good luck. I hope it clears up soon.

C.

Hey L....

My son had that at the same age. Stop switching the formulas too much! It takes their little bodies and digestive systems atleast 1 week to get acustomed to the new formula! Every time you introduce a new formula give it time for her body to adjus. Changing too many times can make it worse. Call your Ped., he will prescribe AXID and 1 TBSP of rice cereal for you to put in her bottle to hold down the formula so it wont come up causing the reflux! I cried everytime I was feeding my lil guy...I felt like I was poisoning him with the formula because he was in soo much pain. Try to elevate her head, placing a towel under her bassinet so the food wont come back up...mostly, just call your Dr. I still keep my son, 7.5 mos, in a swing to elevate him a bit for 20 minutes after he eats, at every meal, or his car seat. I live in Islip and have a fab Pediatrician if you need one.
Good Luck. BTW... I use Enfamil Gentleease, ask about it

You've probably already tried this, but have you used those infant tummy drops that are supposed to alleviate gas in the belly? I know there are kinds by different makers- Mylicon drops, Little Tummy Infant Drops, etc. My friend's daugther was colicky and she gave her Hylands drops and they were very effective. Good luck!

My son was similar, plus he wasn't gaining weight - not an ounce in a week - when he was three months. The doctor started by giving him Zantac. It immediately calmed the fussiness. We were using the Dr. Brown's Bottles on recommendation from a friend. When we were still concerned about the spitting up, he changed the baby's formula to Enfamil Lipil AR. It has rice starch in it and is thicker to stay down. It doesn't stop all of the spitting up, but it has been greatly reduced. We can usually tell when the spit-up is acid reflux because it looks like curdled milk in large quantities of clear liquid. If she's projectile vomiting, make sure your doctor knows immediately as that could be a blockage.

you live in the westwood area right? who is your pediatrician? my son has had reflux since 2 weeks...we tried everything. we finally added rice to enfamil gentleease and that worked...combined with Previcid...so he's all drugged up. now he's 8 months and still has reflux-among other things (asthma, allergies ect) and it's hard to tell if it's asthma, allergies or reflux causing the spit up/gagging.

I am a postpartum doula who is currently working with a reflux baby. I did not read any of the other responses, but here are my words of wisdom. Get the Taylor sling. It keeps the baby sleeping at a 45 degree angle, and keeps the formula down. Feed her at most every two hours (gives the stomach time to empty), small meals-overfeeding can cause reflux. Breastfeed if possible. If not, Nutramigen or Neocate are best. After a feeding keep her upright for 1/2 hour. If she has lots of gas rumbles in her tummy, it might be a lactose intolerance problem as well. Best of luck. Get as much emotional support as possible. It is not an easy situation to live with. Sometimes it takes time but you will find what works.

I am not familiar w/ reflux, however my girlfriend's daughter had a lot of problems when she was a baby and could only drink goats milk. She had problems with every formula she tried. Not sure if it will help but thought I would share the info with you. I wish you good luck.

My daughter is now 2 but she has acid reflux so bad when she was a baby. She was on neutromegen formula and also previcid. Was she checked for a milk allergy? My daughter would scream after she would eat to and she was allerdic to milk. If your daughter is allergic to milk you need to stop the milk based formulas. Good luck and let me know the outcome.

PS after feeding her sit her straight up in a highchair or car seat and it might help the spitting up.

Congratulations on the baby. A few options have helped. One the bottle you are using try Dr. Browns bottles they are made for children with reflux and ingestion issues. 2nd thing to try is sometimes a small amount of cereal in the formula does help neutralize the acid in the babies stomach. Most pediatricians will suggest that. I do not know which formula the baby is on but alimentum is very good for babies with reflux. The best source is your pediatrician. But try those options. I hope it helps. Best of luck to you.

I also went through that nightmare! It was so hard to see my son in pain from his formula! Personally, I did not want any prescription meds cause a friend's child became dependent and I did not want that, nor did my pediatrician. Not that it's wrong, just a personal choice. So what we did...we tried the Similac Alimenta (spelling?). That did not work for him, but I know a lot of people who swear by it. We ended up using Enfamil Nutramigien, and I got organic gripe water. The gripe water contained fennel, cammomile (spelling?) and one other herb but I forget which, and was alcohol free (some come with a trace amount to preserve the herbs.) The gripe water was recommended to me by a friend who is a nurse. It did take about a week but finally he had relief. At about 6 months I transitioned him to Enfamil Gentlease and it went without a hitch. Remember though it does take a few days/week after changing forumulas til you can determine how it's going. Good luck!

Have you talked with the pediatrician about giving her some meds? A friend of mine had the same problem with her daughter when she was born. She was put on soy formula and Zantac for the reflux. It was also determined that she was lactose intolerant.

I would check with the doctor.

Hope this helps.. good luck!

I was in your same boat. It will get better with time, as her asophogis gets bigger. Until then, you should see about seeing a specialist so she can be diagnosed with GERD (if she hasn't already). They will most likely put you on Nutramagin and Prevacid. The Prevacid changed my daughters whole personality after about a week of use. We tried Zantac and one other, but nothing worked like Prevacid. Also, the Nutramgin is expensive, but you can ask the specialist to write you a presciption and see if your insurance will cover some or all.

When my son was about four weeks old he had the same problem. We were using the powder formula. Then, we realized that mixing the formula was causing the formula to have too many bubbles. We switched him to the concentrate and we haven't had any nproblems since. Hope this helps. C.

There's medication for reflux, see your baby's doctor. I thought my son had reflux but he was just super gassy. I switched to Dr Brown's bottles which really helped with gas, however, I'm not too sure about how that would help with reflux. It's a difficult one to deal with. Luckily it doesn't last for too long, keep your head up & good luck. Sorry I wasn't too much help... R.

Hi L.. Yes, this reflux is awful! Be sure to burp her every 2 oz or so. Also, make sure you keep her somewhat upright for at least 1/2 hour after she eates. Don't keep changing formulas as that may not be the cause. Good Start is really good if you haven't tried it yet. My nephew has reflux and so does my son. We used Enfamil and switched to regular Good Start powder (the case is orange). It's great - less hiccups and less discomfort. Keeping them upright is very important. My son is now 4 months and its much better. I also had to raise one side of the crib mattress to help him. the laying flat is a killer - both my husband and I have it so I definately don't want the little ones to suffer its very uncomfortable. Also, talk to you rpediatrician because if your daughter is not gaining weight she will most likely have to go on meds to help combat the reflux (zantac, nexium) My nephew has been on them since a few weeks old and hes now 2. Hope this helps. Best of luck!

I have twin boys who both had reflux. We had to take them to a Dr. in Ithaca, he had us try to put a little cereal in the formula to help keep it down, not alot just a couple spoonfuls. He also put them on Zantac. They didn't like the taste but it seemed to work. I hope this helps you out.

HI L.,
I have 3 daughters 10,8 & 5. My oldest had a terrible time with reflux. She would heave across the room after every feeding. This is what I did. (not all would agree) I went old school. I actually fed her 1tsp of cereal before the bottle. I fed it to her off the spoon in a very liqified consistency. I think it helped to keep the formula down. To this day she is only in th 25% in wt. so I certainly didn't make her fat. And she is very healthy. Another alternative is to use the formulas with rice in them. I did try this as well. They are very thick (and expensive). Lastly, maybe feed her less qty. a little more often. Her little belly just might not be ready for the amt. you are giving her. I am sure you will get tons of advice, but remember you know your baby best. I was critisized by many for giving my daughter cereal, but it worked. Best of luck to you and enjoy that preciuos bundle.

what kind of formula are you giving the baby? maybe she needs a formula for sensitive stomaches....maybe she's lactose intolerant. talk to the baby's doctor and see what he/she advises.

i've had 4 kids myself and i never had a problem with the formulas. my grandson(now 6 mos old) was breast-fed and on formula. he did the same thing with the formula, but my daughter is giving him simulac advanced soy and he's keeping it down.

let me know what happens. you can email me at ____@____.com to hear from you soon.

D.

Hi L.~ My son had terrible reflux and would vomit after every feeding. We switched bottles. We bought Dr. Brown's bottles and they were a life saver. The are available at babies r us and they are a little more expensive and a bit more of a pain to clean, but it reduced his vomitting tremendously. Good luck with your little one, I hope you find an answer. L.

L.,

I had the same problem with my son and the doctor just told us it was part of growing, I was not satisified with his reponse. My mother told me I had the same problem and she said that she gave me rice cereal in my formula. I tried it with my son and he got better. He is now 11 months old and I just stopped the rice cereal and he is starting to reflux again. So guess what seems to help him. The rice cereal. My doctor had told me not give him rice cereal and I read it several articles not give them rice cereal but it worked for him. He is a twin so I was willing to try anything.
Give it a try it might work!!!!

Hi L.! This happened with my oldest (maybe not as bad) and the only formula that worked for her was Enfamil Lactofree. She started on the similac (we went from regular similac to soy, etc and finally went to Enfamil Lactofree). If it is bad you probably want to speak with your pediatrician though. My youngest started on Enfamil Lipil and after the first feeding we knew there was an issue with the formula so we went straight to the Enfamil Lactofree.

Good luck and please keep us posted....
S.

My daughter had this also, and the only thing that helped was a prescription from her doctor. She was on it at 9 days old. I forget the name, but maybe your doc can give you some ideas. She ended up being on it for almost a year and a half! But she kept everything in after they put her on it. Hope this helps.