Reflux / Mother's Diet / Wedge or Incline for Baby - Marlborough,MA

My DS1 was very sensitive to dairy in my diet...I found he greatly improved when I went dairy free. He was also sensitive to chocolate - much harder to give up!

I dont have personal experience with this issue but I'm a firm believer in optimizing your nutrition for your baby's development if you're bf'ing. Instead of just focuses on cutting out foods that might upset him, make sure you are including foods/vitamins/minerals/trace elements that are going to promote excellent health so he can "grow out" of this problem. He'll need good nutrition to help heal his irritated esophagus and develop his pyloric sphincter. His little body needs to take care of this issue on his own. You can't avoid "problem foods" (if they in fact exist) forever, and he can't sleep on a wedge forever, so try to help him become as healthy as possible so his own body can heal. Continue to take your prenatal vitamins, Optimize your Vitamin D levels and his (pm me if you want more info on this), get plenty of good fats in your diet, consider taking a probiotic so your gut is healthy and include fermented foods for the enzyme content as well, and don't take in too much sugar/fructose. I'm concerned that you're cutting out wonderful veggies/fruits like broccoli, peppers and berries. Your breastmilk needs to be extremely nutrient dense. A friend of mine uses homeopathy in addition to zantac for her little one and she's reported decent results. IMHO the sooner you can get him off zantac the better b/c it alters the pH of the gut, which in turn alters the gut flora, which in turn has an effect on digestion, absorption of nutrients and even immunity. It must be so hard to hear a little tiny baby gurgle and cry from this. Sorry I don't have any tips on sleeping; sounds like you're already doing all the things I would have tried! Here is an excellent book about nutrition though: Nourishing Traditions, by Sally Fallon. So hard to have a sick baby and be sleep-deprived at the same time. I know it will be tough but try to hold him through his crying as much as you can b/c it really does send him the right message. Even if you can't make his pain go away you can hold his hand through the pain so to speak, and his body will be less stressed because of you. good luck to you both!

Every child is so different that iit is hard to respond. My experience was that my son had a milk protein allergy, which we discovered through stool testing that showed blood in the stool. The doctor advised me to go on a milk-free diet when breastfeeding. That meant not just avoiding milk but eliminating everything made with any milk ingredient. We had other lactation and feeding issues, so we ultimately transferred to a prescription formula that was made from pure proteins. (We didn't try soy because our doctor felt that majority of kids with dairy allergy also have soy allergy and may increase risk of other allergies). The diet adjustment eliminated most of the gas and rectal bleeding, but not the reflux. We tried Zantac, but it didn't seem to help. Then we had tests for physical causes that were negative. Finally we put him on Prilosec (with supervision by doctor). After this, he was able to sleep longer and he did not cry when he spit up. The spitting up did not really subside until he was walking. Also, on the inclines, we did not find any that helped. The bouncy chair (more like the papazan) was the best. The car seat usually raises them too high and puts pressure on the stomach/esophagus. Just one more story to consider.

The First goods to eliminate would be wheat and gluten(oats, barley) and dairy of all kinds(I know this is not easy, but important to stick to). Sugar is another big offender, it can cause digestive disturbances and thrush. Then look into soy, veggies that cause gas like cabbage, broccoli, peppers, even garlic. I would also get infant probiotics(sold at whole goods or health food store) to replenish good bacteria in his gut(completely safe and extremely beneficial). Also, explore your latch on and nursing techniques to reduce gassiness(I wish I knew this with my first baby!) this is crucial and could completely eliminate gassiness. Expressing some of the foremilk(the frothy milk that comes out first) and letting him get more of the hind milk(the fatty milk) will help. Contact Eve, our local Le Leche Leauge leader to get more detailed info about this(go on the website llli.org to find her info) and go to the next le leche meeting!! A final note, wearing your baby in a sling or carrier will reduce gassiness as well. Babies need to be held and bounced around, not sitting or laying alone all day. Wearing your baby is extremely beneficial, and will help with gas. Good luck, I wish I could help more! Font know where you live, but definitely meet up with your local Le Leche Leauge group(the Andover area meeting meets up on the last Friday of every month) they are your best source of information! As far as eliminating foods, it takes at leat a week to see improvement, so be patient. The probiotics and nursing differantly will help immensly as well, please send me a private email if I can help you further. I'm a health coach , nursing mom(from a long line of nursing moms). Good luck!

My daughter was especially sensitive to caffeine, so I eliminated caffeinated drinks and all chocolate until I finished nursing. The caffeine relaxes the sphincter muscle, which is often not strong enough in infants and causes refulx to being with, so there is even more likelihood of the reflux happening (this is the same process that happens in adults who, for instance, have heartburn from drinking coffee).

Hi,
I've seen your last posts and this one to. I should have responded earlier. Both my kids have acid reflux. My oldest was on Zantac. Two things for you to look into. First, babies can outgrow their Zantac dosages quickly - especially if they were initially prescribed a low dose to begin with. So ask your doctor if the dosage is right for your baby's weight and symptoms. Since it takes 7-10 days for the Zantac to get into your system, a new dosage may not show any relief right away. Second, I never needed to do this myself because my kids did not have the problem of choking when sleeping - BUT - and I'm nervous to mention this - but one doctor did mention to me that the "back to sleep" rule has an exception for acid reflux babies. They don't want them choking. So if the elevation method doesn't work - and I was told this 10 years ago so things may be different - they do offer the possibility of putting the baby either on the side or stomach. How you do this and what other precautions you must take to avoid SIDS I have no idea because sleeping was never a problem for us - so we never did it. But you might look into whether that is still a recommendation for acid reflux babies. Also, I know you want to breastfeed - I'll just mention that for my oldest daughter, once I put her on soy formula - she was much happier than with my breastmilk. Not so much acid reflux, but she had colic from it. (Two very different things, although often confused - but I could tell when the colic went away. The acid reflux still remained). My younges - also a reflux baby, was happy for too long with my breastmilk and I had to continue well past the one year mark, when I had originally intended to stop. So different things for different kids - you'll need to experiment I'm afraid. Good luck !!!!

If you don't see a difference whether he is in car seat, etc. then I'm not sure if you'll have success with the products you mentioned. My son had reflux and was on zantac for 18 months. He did sleep much better when he was not horizontal so he slept quite well in his bouncy and the car seat. I would investigate the foods you are eating -- particularly think about milk/dairy. My lactation consultant (one with a lot of experience) told me that the *only* food babies might react to negatively via breast milk is dairy. Good luck!

I am always saddened by babies in pain and the moms who are sleep deprived. I am infuriated by doctors who throw Zantac or other meds at infants when they cause such long term problems! Doctors who know something about nutrition (and few of them have any training in this at all) will not make you go crazy eliminating everything from you diet. I absolutely disagree with the idea, suggested in one post, about eliminating protein!! That's a very bad idea for you! The problem is not that you are eating things you shouldn't, but that you are missing what you need to digest what you eat! Our food has 10-40% FEWER nutrients than it did a generation ago - we are missing vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients, trace elements, and much more, either from products grown in depleted soils or animals fed too much corn (not good for them and also grown in depleted soils). The AMA said 8 years ago that we need to ADD supplements to our diet, not eliminate everything!

The problem is that vitamin pills are poorly absorbed and therefore ineffective and a waste of money. Most of us are not qualified to mix & match vitamins from the health food store based on some article we read - we play "kitchen chemist" and we get ourselves in more trouble! The post about adding vitamin D to your diet, for example, is well intended, but how are you going to know how much to add?? There have been many studies for several years on how much medication and vitamin pills are in the septic systems, the sewage treatment plants, and the filters in the water facilities! That is from partially-undigested pills passing through people's bodies! So if they aren't digested, how can they possibly help you?

Another post talks about all the expensive formulas you can buy and all the expensive meds. It astounds me that people will pay a fortune for these things that don't work so well (and really aren't designed to solve the problem but rather to mask it), but they balk at investing a much more modest amount in a properly balanced liquid nutritional supplement (as recommended by the AMA and with a hard-to-earn US patent) that will solve their problems! The idea is to give yourself and your baby a healthy gut, not eliminate important foods. Babies are not inherently sensitive or "allergic" to certain foods - it's just that they (and their breastfeeding moms) lack the ability to metabolize those foods they way babies could a generation ago.

Imagine - a baby without a belly ache or reflux, a mom who doesn't have to eliminate everything, and a family that gets some sleep! It's all possible and I will happily help you! I hate to see you writing so many posts about your frustrations and your poor baby's misery!

We had issues with this with both kids, and they slept in the swing. Had the swing anyway, and I would just recline the seat a bit after they dropped off to sleep. Both outgrew it, and Zantac did not seem to make a big difference. My daughter was worse, but finally outgrew it around 9 mos. Hope it is similar for you!

My daughter is 2 1/2 months old with reflux. It has been a tough go, but we finally have a system that works and she is a million times better. She too was on zantac it worked but there was still room for improvement since she was not sleeping at night unless I held her upright in her rocker. The incline, swing, papsan chair and car seat route did not work. The doc changed her meds to prilosec, that has been amazing, so perhaps it's time to see if the doc will change your baby's medication. Also my pedi recommended putting rice cereal in her bottle. She too is breastfed, so for her last feeding before bed I would pump and put 1/2 tsp per ounce of rice cereal. It makes the milk thicker and keeps it down better. Now she is able to sleep with just the wedge incline. I can put her down shortly after eating, before I used to hold her upright for over a half hour because of her discomfort and spitting up. The prilosec and rice cereal have been the magic cure for her! Good luck. I know every baby is different. Hope this helps.Hang in there, i know how desperate you must be for some sleep and to have a content and rested baby.

It is not usually necessary to avoid the foods you have listed (though greasy fried foods are lacking in nutrition obviously). Dairy can be a problem for babies. I know more than a couple people who had this issue. You may consider taking it out of your diet completely to see if that helps. It takes a few weeks for all the dairy to get out of your system though, so you need to give it time and if you eat anything packaged, you need to read every single label. Dairy is in absolutely everything! I also wouldn't substitute soy milk for dairy. Many babies with dairy issues are also sensitive to soy. I know one person who had to be on a total elimination diet, basicly eating brown rice and turkey, but really that is not common at all. The babies usually outgrow the problem.

Here's a link to info on food sensitivities in breastfed babies. http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/food-sensitivity.html Hope that helps. Good luck!

My granddaughter sounds much like your baby. She was a constant crier with reflux and rarely slept for any length of time. My daughter breastfed the baby exclusively. The gastro enterologist suggested my daughter eat no protein, no dairy, etc. or foods containing them, as the baby was diagnosed as having an inability to digest protein. This meant a diet of fruits and veggies for my daughter exclusively. She relecutantly gave up breastfeeding and they tried Neutramigen formula with litte success and ended up with a very expensive formula called Neocate. The pharmacist had to order thisfor them. This along with the Zantac finally worked. By age 18months she had "graduated" to Good Start formula and then finally outgrew the problem. She now eats everything! Good luck with your baby...I do understand how difficult this is.

Poor thing. This reflux is sooo hard on them. I guess it is so painful for them when the acid comes up. You didnt mention how old your son is but i used the Tucker Sling until like 10 months. I wrapped her in like a swaddle so she didnt feel like she was flopping around and that was key for us. In the summer i swaddled her in a material i bought at the fabric store that was really thin and the air could get through (cant remember the type exactly. I think after like 10 months they dont like to be confined like that. But i can tell you it was a godsend. The best thing about the Tucker Sling is that it keeps their body straight whereas the car seat or the baby chair bends them at the angle in their stomach that hurts. My Pedi GI doc recommended this and i am so glad i bought it. I too tried elevating the mattress and a wedge but again the issue was that my dd was bent at that certain spot in her stomach and not straight. I used a baby carrier too and she loved that. I dont think diet has anything to do with (at least in my case). We had to eventually put her on Reglan and Prevcid too and that seemed to work wonders after doing Zantac for a while. We also used Gaviscon too when she was really uncomfortable and that helped alot. We thought we would never get through this but with the help of a specialist and time we got through it. She eventually just grew out of it by around 12 months. She is now 2 and doesnt have any issues with it at all. Again i cant stress enough about the Tucker Sling and see a specialist if you are not already. Although it isnt cheap you will be glad you tried it!