Newborn Question

Both of my children had REFLUX when they were younger. My daughter was never "treated" for it and she suffered with it for a good 6 years! To this day she won't truly laugh because of it. My son was diagnosed with it and treated for it with Reglan and Tagament (was not happy with medding him so young but it WORKED!) He was on meds for 6 months and as long as he was on them he was perfect, after 6 mo. he was perfect without the meds. If it continues to be a problem with his feeding/spitting up, FIND A SECOND OPINION!!! I'm sorry I didn't with my daughter.

Hi H., I'm a grandmother now, so this is old school. When my youngest was an infant (he's 32 now) he woke every night like that screaming till the cows came home. The only thing that worked for him was when I sat on the toilet in the bathroom with the shower on hot--full blast until you couldn't see and I would rock him and rub his back. It always helped him. As I said OLD SCHOOL so hope this helps. M.

Hi H. -

My daughter had something similiar. We actually had her sleep in her swing. The upright position helped her and so did the movement.

Are you breastfeeding or using formula. If you are using formula it sounds like he has an allergy and I could give you a recipe for natural formula. If he is breastfeeding I will try and help you figure out what is going on.

I hate to say this, but if it were me, I'd find a new pediatrician - or at least get a second opinion. The gasping is not normal.

Yup, my son had that. He's now 12 weeks and is starting to outgrow it - it only happens if he doesn't have a good burp after a feeding. We elevated the head of his bassinet mattress with a folded towel, and kept him upright after a feeding whenever possible. I was never able to aspirate anything from his nose - though it sounds like a nasal sinus congestion, I think it's more reflux in the back of his throat.

My daughter had a similar problem. We made sure her head was slightly elevated in her crib. We used a sleep positioner for this. And saline nose drops help clear the passages. She is now 5 months and has grown out of this now for the most part. Our pediatrician kept assuring us that newborns make noises like that, some worse than others, and that they will grow out of it. However, trust your instincts and get a second opinion if you think it might be more than normal reflux or congestion.

we kept our second child (now 2 years old) in her car seat for sleeping for the first nine months or so. i'm sure experts would say this wasn't a good idea, but it worked out great for all of us and she doesn't seem to have suffered from it in any way. with our first child, we tried a wedge pillow to elevate her in the crib but she would just roll off it. a humidifier also helps a lot with gongestion.

We have had the same thing with our new born,tried elevateing the crib one end with some hard cover books,ran a cool mist vaporizer also,suctioned mucus all worked.

My doctor called it "milk nose" and said it was normal too. It of course sounds horrible to someone listening to it in their own kid who has never heard it before in anyone. I would keep a watch on it. If it is only right after he ate and goes away then try to help him through it best you can. If it last more than 15 minutes and is at non feeding times I would definitly bring it up again.

Our son was diagnosed with acid reflux at about 3 1/2 months old. He was also diagnosed with something larynomalacia (sp). This sounds a lot worse than it is and has to do with his larnyx being underdeveloped which would create a snorting sound. It would get worse after crying and eating, but went away by teh time he was 8 months. He is now 14 months and healthy as can be! We recognized the acid reflux early b/c he would pull away when he was drinking is bottle and shreek in pain and had a tough time sleeping on his back and wanted to eat every 1.5 hours! Hope some of this helps.

You can buy a wedge to place under one end of the crib mattress to elevate his head. This helped with our son, and that way he can stay in his bed to sleep instead of the car seat.

Are you talking about nasal congestion that he has at night? My 2nd son had a lot of nasal congestion, particularly after feeding, and especially at night when he was a newborn. He did not have reflux. We never treated him for that. What we did do, is the bulb that you are talking about... although, don't use the one with the long, pointy end. Use an acorn bulb shape. It's better for them, as the other one will only aggravate the nasal passages and cause the problem to be worse. The other thing we did is we used the OCEAN saline spray in his nasal passages. It's over the counter. All it is is a saline/water spray. It's completely o.k. to use! Do not use a medication one! Those are not o.k. The OCEAN spray really helped to clean his nasal passages out, so that he could breathe better, and so that he wasn't gagging on his congestion. It turns out, as he's gotten older, that we have found he has asthma and allergies, which may have been what was causing his issues as an infant! Hope this helps! Good Luck!

I dealt with this with my older daughter. She was born by c-section,(x-tra fluid) so she always sounded congested, especially after eating. She was also on medicine for a while for reflux. So, yeah, its fairly normal. My 2nd daughter was c-section too. They slept alot in their car seats. I swear their little heads were flat & bald from being in it so much. It'll pass, just gotta wait it out. Sometimes the sound can really freak you out. Even if it only makes you feel better, pick him up, especially during the night. I used to hold them upright on my shoulder for a while after they ate, sometimes it wasnt as bad after doing that. Good luck!

I would keep an eye on it. If the reflux is severe enough, the doctor can prescribe medications to reduce the stomach acid and speed gastric emptying.

Reflux can cause congestion. My daughter with Down Syndrome still takes reflux medication as it caused her to have repeated sinus infections when she was in elementary school. Refluxing can cause havoc with the throat and nose.

It is really good to have the baby sit up in the carseat for a while after eating. Does the baby spit up a tremendous amount? They used to tell me if it was with a burb it's not a big deal, but my daughter would lose a big portion of what she drank. Yuck. You could also elevate the head of the crib as well.

As I said, they treated her with medication and also thickened her formula with rice cereal.

Keep an eye on it and report to your doctor your findings.

Hi H.,

Congratulations on the new baby! I do remember my kids being all congested for a while after they were born. They just grew out of it eventually. At least as newborns they stay nice and still while you suction them out. Wait until they're 2 years old and have a cold and try to use the bulb - it's a nighmare! The only other thing I would wonder about is if you're using formula and it's dairy based or if you're breastfeeding and you consume a lot of dairy. Dairy doesn't always agree with babies. Just a thought.

Jen

I had the same thing with my daughter when she was the same age. it is fairly normal among newborns because they haven't learned how to breathe through their mouths. elevating their head does help. my pediatrician suggested putting a pillow under the mattress so her head was elevated. Also, the bulb can actually make it worse, use it only if you see boogers or mucus, try using a saline solution (like Little Noses) to help relieve her congestion.

Hi H.,
My son had the same thing. We even tried sleeping him in our highchair!!! The two things that worked for us is we switched him to soy formula and put a humidifier in the room at night! Hope this is helpful. Good luck!!
S.

it does sound normal - he has reflux.. keep him upright for 1/2 hr after each feeding (I know, it's hard at 2am, but it does help).. elevate his bed on one side - roll a towel and put it under his butt to keep him from sliding. Talk to your ped about Mylicon or something similar to help him a little.. good luck and they do grow out of it mostly..

It is also possible that he has a milk allergy. You could try cutting milk out of your diet so it doesn't get into the breast milk. However, if you are formula feeding, you may need to try something else. It sounds like a sensitivity issue, especially since you prop him up and that helps.

Good luck!

Hello H., I had the same experience with my daughter, now 14 months. When she was about two months, she started to have the same symptoms, gasping for air, gurgling noises. It was pretty scary. We brought her to the doctor and they said she had reflux, and to keep her elevated while sleeping. This is when she had the most trouble, due to laying flat and it not having any place to go. She slept in her car seat for two and a half months every day. As she got older and became mobile, it became less of an issue. Oh, one thing my daughter was breastfeed so the doctor also made me change my diet, less milk products and spicy food. This also seemed to help her as well. By six months she was able to sleep laying flat again and now we have no problems with the reflux. Well Good Luck!! Amy

Yes NORMAL!! My son now 16 months old had the same issue as a newborn. I tried to explain it to people and his pediatrician & they all said it was normal but to keep an eye on him.
I am glad you checked with the doctor first though before posting on here. Your pedi is right but I would just keep an eye on him as you have been. I am sure he is and will be fine. Good luck!

H. L,
My daughter did the same exact thing when she was that age. When you mentioned that it worsens when he gets worked up, my daughter would choke and gasp when she was worked up and then pass out. I didn't have a clue what was going on. Neither did the doctors. We spent the night in the ER and made multiple visits to the doctors office, when he finally decided that it was acid reflux and prescribed zantac in a liquid form. It took about a week to start working but then it was wonderful. What was happening was the acid was irritating her esophagous and causing her to produce unusually high amounts of mucus, once it was controled her body didn't need to produce that much mucus and she was much better. After she started eating solids, she no longer needed the Zantac because she had outgrown the acid reflux which is how it commonly goes with babies ( I now know). When he first prescribed the Zantac I was worried about giving her medications. But he said it absolutely had no side effects and would not harm her, good to know. I hope this is helpful.

T. F

Hi H. -- my first daughter had this problem too around the same age as your baby. She outgrew it pretty quickly... but I have to say it was scary at times. A few times she woke up suddenly and I thought she was choking! Even though she was coughing, it seemed like she couldn't catch her breath! She was just all congested with mucus. My doctor also said that it was normal and to suction it out with the bulb. But it is scary when it is happening! But it quickly resolved itself. Thank goodness!

My twins had the same congestion. It was reflux for them too and we had to switch formula to alimentum and put them on zantac. Insurance covered the cost of the formula b/c they had a diagnosis of reflux. Good luck

Hi H.,

I have a 5 and 3 year old, both boys.
My first boy – Dominic, had the reflux very badly.
We put a folded blanket under the crib mattress and a folded pillow case under the bassinette mattress. Made it like a slow elevation. I also kept him upright after burping for at least 10 minutes.
I actually at one point had him on baby zantac for reflux.

Good Luck !!

H.,

To answer your question, yes this is very normal. My son was the same way, he would not keep anything down, and basically slept in his car seat for weeks. We also tried the swing, that seems to keep him from spitting up as well.
It will get better, but in time.
For now make sure you and your husband take turns getting sleep, it helps.

Hi H. - depending on what it is (mucus or milk), another thought is to create steam in your shower by running the hot shower with the curtain closed, then sit with your heads stuck in the back end to breathe the steam. Not very comfy for you, but this should help with the congestion.

As far as elevating the bed, no need to purchase anything expensive, we just put blocks under the feet of the crib and up it went!

Our son was diagnosed with reflux at his six week appt. When lying down he made sounds like he was gargling or trying to clear his throat. Besides keeping him on my shoulder as long as I could, we LOVED the foam wedge sleep positioner. It elevated his head & chest a few inches - plus the sides made him feel snugged in like he was still being held. Many, but not all, reflux babies spit up a lot - if your doctor didn't give you printed information, I had luck reading articles online.

Yes indeed I did experience that. I had my newborn sleep in one of those bouncy seets where I could strap her in, and I propped it up with a pillow. They gave me medicine to give to her but it did not work. Like they said though, as soon as she is able to stand up in an exersaucer it will go away and it did!!! I kept her next to my bed on the floor so I could keep an eye on her though when she was sleeping. Good Luck!

Well, it can be normal. Some babies are born with an immature swallowing reflex. Others have an immature sphincter that can cause reflux. These things will usually work themselves out. Try sitting him up for 2o minutes post feeding. The car seat works great. Think of how you feel if you have a big meal and then try to lay flat. You'd have indigestion too. Give it a try.

It is normal to have reflux at this age, but there are medications that can help ease the symptoms. It is not normal however with the breathing or gasping for a breath.
I had an experience with my son right after his birth of turning blue and not breathing properly - gasping - and vomiting - especially after breastfeeding and they determined that it was reflux - very scary. He was put on Zantac and everything was fine. That might be an option for you just for a short period of time to get through. It was safe for kids and there was no side affects. It is worth discussing with your doctor.
Good Luck !

follow up on this. this could be anything. if it is an allergy. do not stop breastfeeding. it is the best form of ntrition. I just had a mom get her baby checked & The allergy was so simple , she just cut it from her diet & BABY IS FINE kathy clc

Hi H.
My son did the same thing.When he was 4weeks we took him to the emergancy room. They treated him for reflux. But it continued. It wasnt untill he was 4 months that we found out he had a milk allergy.He was also very fussy. I eliminated milk from my diet and he got alot better. Hope this helps.
K.

Hi,

My three girls had some spitting up/gagging, but my five-month-old son has bad acid reflux, and it sounds like your baby might also. It's not really "normal" when they are actually having trouble breathing at night. Our son went on a monitor at the hospital for two nights as a newborn, where they diagnosed him with severe reflux. He went on zantac, and we also have a wedge under his mattress to elevate his head. I'm not sure if this is what your baby is experiencing, but if it continues you might request to have him checked out by a GI doctor. Good luck!!

Hi H.,
Your ped is right, reflux is common and you're doing the right thing by elevating the baby when he has trouble. But, my ped told me that using the bulb thing can ake matters worse because it inflames th skin in the nostril, which makes the body produce more mucous to coat the inflammation so it can be a nasty cycle. Hopefully this helps!