How to cope with infant acid Reflux?

Jackie - posted on 06/21/2009

my youngest son had it and he's also allergic to milk. i just prop his mattress up a little bit at the head end and make sure he's always sitting up when he eats and for awhile afterwards. IT helped alot. he finally stopped throwing up when he started eating food. of course now he's on soy.he was also on zantac and that didn't help hiim at all.

Nicole - posted on 06/21/2009

HI!! 2 out of my 3 children had "acid reflux" and were on the same exact thing, Prilosec...in all honesty, TRUST YOUR INSTINCTS!! Prilosec DID NOT work for my 2...my 1st had colic so bad the pediatricians pretty much labled it "acid reflux" I honestly went with my instincts, he couldn't handle milk based formulas, same with my daughter...definitly keep an eye on him but try a formula that can easily be digested, Good Start, Nutramigen, Similac Sensitive...all are great, some expensive and trust me I went in2 debt buying the Nutramigen but it worked so well! i know how you feel about trusting a child care provider, I stayed home when my babies had it, i had sleepless nights every night, caring for my babies who cried for 2hrs straight!! I have to say out of all this...ALWAYS TRUST YOUR OWN INSTINCTS!! i'm always here if you have any more questions! I hope I helped!

Veronica - posted on 06/21/2009

Wanted to quickly add - that the Ultimate Aloe promotes a healthy immune system too!

Kylie - posted on 06/21/2009

Forgot to mention that theses kids can also get allergies etc so try not to start solids until the suggested 6 months. Also, when they take the medication to minimise the acid it can have the side effect that they pick up every virus known to man as there isnt enough acid to kill the germs. It sucks but it also means that most of the common coughs, colds and viruses are done before they start school!

Jessica - posted on 06/21/2009

Prilosec has been the best med for my daughter who has really severe reflux. It does not stop the episodes of spitting up but does help control the pain. She still gags and chokes at times so we have to watch her...elevating the head of her crib has helped some. Depending on how quickly your son is growing he may need a dose adjustment or need to take it more times per day. Another thing to consider is any possible allergies that may contribute to the reflux...my daughter has a milk protein allergy and that allergy is quite common in babies with reflux (of course not all).

Frances - posted on 06/21/2009

My god, I feel for you...

My babies are 22 and 20 and I can still feel your pain. Both of them had Reflux. Bj my eldest, I was living 80 miles from town, and Dr told me to take panadol and write on mirror with lipstick, that I was good mum, but no support or advice.

My daughter I had at Dr at 10 days and got advice and medication. Lift top of bed up 30 degrees. feed laying dawn with baby on top of you so they have to suck it up, slowly.

soulds like some good advice has already been given out and some later finding obvously.

Love and good luck and patience to you both

Fran

Karina - posted on 06/21/2009

My son is 1 now and we had a very looooooong year with very bad GORD/GERD combined with respiratory problems, which the reflux didn't help with! several hospital visits! FINALLY NO MORE medication, he's finally gaining weight and he's soooo much better - so be patient it'll all work itself out!
We tried a lot of different medication - Zantac etc. (do not remember the names anymore) but we ended up with Prevacid in the little disolvable tablets (strawberry flavor), cracked them in a little teaspoons with water and gave it to him 15/30 min before food! They worked miracles, but @ the age of 8 months it all of a sudden got worse, which the doc. said is normal . They increased the amount of the prevacid to 7.5 mg in the Am and 15mg @ night/before bed - he stayed on that until recently when he turned a year ...he no longer has the need for it:-) ONE THING THAT DID HELP - keep him sitting up for as long as you can after he eats!!! It makes the food stay down! And also if you're feeding with a bottle ADD RICE CEREAL (BEACH NUT brand IS THE BEST, no additives or "funky" stuff in it!) I added 2 scopes to 6oz bottles - it made it a little thicker so it would stay down - the full blown vomiting basically went away...
Good LUCK!!!! Stay strong!

Chris - posted on 06/21/2009

Both my children had Gerd, and a form of apnea caused by the gerd. For infants feed them sitting up and burp frequently. Also don't lay them down right away. Wait 15-20 minutes. Oh and if you breast feed, stay away from spicy foods, caffine/chocolate, greasy foods, anything that might cause you heart burn as well.

Get a wedge to elevate your childs head and back. And use a nuk. The sucking helps keep the reflux down.

Keep him on the medication. It takes time for it to slow the acid production (we are talking weeks).

I totally understand the child care provider issues. it can be very difficult. If you have to leave your child with some one make sure they a fully aware of your sons reflux condition and the seriousness of it in infants. Find out how individualized your sons care will be and make sure the provider is CPR certified. If your son is gagging then he is actually handling the reflux pretty well.

My two had apnea from the GERD, and so we had a heart and breathing monitor packs that we had to carry with us for months. I am happy to say they have grown out of it. by 8 months we no longer had monitors and by one year we were done with the medications. Hang in there, it gets easier!

Jaime - posted on 06/21/2009

i dont know it ur are breat feeding or formula feeding i few mothers i know that are breastfeeding got told to cut out dairy from their deit you could also try a lactose formula

Tawana - posted on 06/21/2009

Oh, yes. His pediatrician advised me to thicken his formula. It seems that he's not taking to well the cereal. He grunts and squirms a lot, as if he has a bad tummy ache. The rice cereal constipates him and the Oatmeal makes him go too much, so I'll give him some rice bottles and some oatmeal bottles through out the day.

Veronica - posted on 06/21/2009

Ultimate Aloe Juice -- promotes healing and helps to balance the ph levels in the body -- has worked wonders on several customers of mine. As I have learned in my training - the prescribed meds get rid of the acid - but then the body has to make more acid and it will continue to do this - and before long you are facing ulcers, esophogeal erosions - and worse. In short, it only covers up the symptom, it does not help the problem. If you'd like more information, you may either write me, or call - 715-613-4629 My name is Veronica and I am an Independant Distributor of Market America.

Take care, and I wish your baby well!!



All the best, Veronica

Peggy - posted on 06/21/2009

My son has acid reflux since born he is now 2 he was diagnosed with gerd my son takes reglan and that does work good on him My son has got better but he still gags on stuff i can't give no juice or any sauces the lady Kylie Bell told you everything i was going to say that is what i had to do. I even had to add rice cereal to my son formula bottles to make thicker.

Tawana - posted on 06/21/2009

Thank you so much for the reply. My son is two months old. I pray that it gets better and he doesn't have to deal with it past six months, not only for him, but for my sanety too. :-)

Misty - posted on 06/21/2009

Take him off of anything with DHA/ARA. This made a huge difference for my twins and we were able to stop the medication completely at 6 mo.

Tandi - posted on 06/21/2009

my daughter was pitting up just about everything she was eating! for three months she didnt gain an ounce! it was very scary and frustrating! but we learned that we had to keep her more upright when feeding her and try not to lay her down right away. and to lay her on her side - with sleep positioners to hold her in place when she was taking a nap or going to bed for the night. and we just said: absolutley DO NOT PRESS ON HER TUMMY if we were leaving her with my inlaws to get babysat.

it works to feed in small, frequent feedings. even if they are just one ounce every 30 - 45 minutes. i know that is tough, and it was on us and we had to do it like that for 3 months! but she is now eating more solids and getting over her reflux, she still has trouble though, but we are making progress day by day, week by week. I know it doesnt seem like it now, but it wont be long before you are over this part in your sons life and this was just something of the past

Kylie - posted on 06/21/2009

Am on my third child with reflux - it will either get better at 6 months when he starts to sit up - or worse and becomber GORD/GERD l(Gastro oesophegeal reflux disease) like with my second. You dont say how old your little boy is and advice would be dependant on that but I understand the not sleeping thing when you hear them cough and gag - try the following:



Feed sitting up (check with your local Breastfeeding assoc for tips)

Elevate the head of the bed/cot (you can purchase wedges made for this pupropse)

Invest in a really good monitor like the angel care that monitors breathing as well

Side sleep your baby (wedge them in if rolling already)

Use a dummy - I was anti but it decreased the chance of SIDS and helps them to suck back the spit up

Get sleep where you can - it can be a very stressful ride

Check out some of the reflux websites for more tips and stay ahead of the game - this can cause speech and eating issues later if it goes on till then.



Time - it really does get easier with time!

Lori - posted on 06/21/2009

Both of my children had acid reflux. The first one took Zantac and it just took the edge off. However, when my daughter got it a few years later they had Prevacid for babies. It was a life saver! I truely had a new child. She still spit up, but the medication prevented the acid from producing in the first place. Hope this helps.