Hi, my 14 week old boy was diagnosed with reflux when he was just a few weeks old. My dillema is night feeds. He currently goes to bed at around 7pm (give or take 10min) and sleeps until around 2am every morning. I have read if they wake up like clockwork it's out of habit NOT hunger. The thing is, I can't stretch him anymore than 1 1/2hours longer before I need to feed him again. Should he be sleeping through longer without a feed by now?? I was thinking maybe his reflux has something to do with not being able to sleep longer?? Any ideas ppl

Belinda - posted on 12/26/2008

no i didn add water to the farmula at night as the formula i got was designed for babies with reflux as it is thicker than normal formula as the thicker it is the easier it is for them to keep down as it lines the stomach anything to watery the will just throw back up. but i found the karicare forula designed fo babies with reflux worked wonders.

Rachel - posted on 12/09/2008

are you kidding? that is great. He is sleeping for 7 hours!! that is incredible. since he's only 14 weeks old. most babies only go for 3 or so at that age. You're doing a fine job. Don't try to stretch the feedings if he's up at 2 and to bed at 7. He really is hungry. :)

Terry - posted on 12/08/2008

with him being on formula at night is it a reflux one and are you adding extra water as that helps to thin the millk because formula is much thicker than breast milk and will be harder for him to keep down

Belinda - posted on 12/07/2008

My eldest son was diagnosed with reflux at 2 months i had the biggest problem with him dueing the night feed but while i was breast feeding i was giving him a thickner which can be found at a chemist u just give them a small amount in a syringe just before feeding and it helped him keep the milk down. and once he went onto formula i found one that was designed for babies with reflux as it already has thickener in it. i found this worked as it the milk was thicked helping him to keep it down. After using the thickener while breast feeding for a few weeks i found he slept better through the night as he wasn't bringing his milk up as much so he wasn't as hungry and it wasn't burning, once he went onto the formula his sleeping improved more as it was designed to help him. But good luck it does take alot of perseverance but you will find something that works for him.

Cate - posted on 12/07/2008

Hey Kristy,

My name is Cate and My Son Also suffered from Reflux. roll up a blanket and put it under his crib mattress to elevate his head. Also try putting a little Rice in his last bottle. If you are nursing pump and bottle feed it to him. It worked wonders with my son AJ. The 2 working together was a god send, as my daughter who was 18months was getting up the next morning weather i wanted to or not.

Kristy - posted on 12/07/2008

Hey Ashley! Thanks for your reply and your support with the expressing :) It's a lot of work. I'm with you on the tummy sleeping too...I know it's not recommended but it's the only way he can sleep! We bought an Angel Care monitor that has a built in alarm that detects if baby stops breathing within 20 seconds...some peace of mind when you have no other option than to sleep them on their belly,

Ashley - posted on 12/07/2008

Hi Kristy! First, I want to say I think your son is on a pretty normal schedule, so don't fret about that! My son usually goes to sleep about 7:30 and *most* nights he will sleep til 4:30, but not always. He takes Zantac and seems to do a little better when he takes it at night. Have you tried letting him sleep on his side with a sleep positioner? I know I might get flamed for this one, but we let our son sleep on his belly and that really helps him. But of course, that is something you'd need to feel comfortable with.

Also, I want to say major kudos to you for expressing milk and dealing with that. I could only take that for two weeks with DS before I just did FF. It is a tough schedule and I know it is hard on you, so great job with that!

Kristy - posted on 12/07/2008

Wow, thanks for all your awesome replies! I feel loved :)

He is on Losec for his reflux which definately has helped tremendously!! He is a completly different baby to what he was. And to Amie...thanks, I think I needed to hear "count your blessings"...how quick you forget what it was like in the beginning...having to get up every two hours and feed, burp, change...it would take about an hour each time...now he is fed, burped and changed within about 15-20minutes in the middle of the night!

Iam expressing milk for him and have been for about 3 months now due to badly cracked/bleeding nipples etc...double the work I know but I think it's important he gets as much of my milk as possible. He gets formula at night though, as my supply has started to dwindle. I've tried expressing more often but it doesn't seem to be increasing my supply at all??

Thanks for everyone who took the time to reply...I really appreciate it! :)

Stephanie - posted on 12/07/2008

I think it depends on the baby. my daughter had reflue but was sleeping through by a month and a half.. try giving him a bottle with a little rice cereal in it (a table spoon or so)... that's what my daughters doctor said to do.. it made her sleep through better... and something a little solid in her stomach helped with the reflux.

Melanie - posted on 12/07/2008

My son had reflux too. We elivated his crib or basinet so he was on an incline. It helps keep the acid down. He is 8 months old and he doesnt have a problem with reflux anymore :)

Katisha - posted on 12/07/2008

My daughter fought reflux for a long time! Is he on any meds? i dont think him not sleeping during the night has anything to do the reflux though! But u do have to remember that each child is different! Most babies dont sleep during the night till about 4-5 months old!! He will sleep longer when hes ready! Does he vomit frequently?

Rebekah - posted on 12/07/2008

My oldest had reflux as a baby,. too, and also woke up what felt like a million times a night for a long time. I never thought about whether it could have been the reflux but that's a good point. Certainly makes sense to me! Are you breastfeeding? If so, it sounds normal, actually, though that varies so much. My first (refluxy) babe fed up to 5 times a night at that age (co-sleeping) but my 2nd, haha, no. She slept straight through the night at 6wks or so and that was that.

Jessica - posted on 12/07/2008

My little man is 11 weeks old and he sleeps from 6.30pm til around 5am, he has been for about a month now, i dont think the reflux has anything to do with him waking at 2am. He would be waking because he is hungry. By the time my son wakes at 5 if i dont feed him within 5 minutes of him waking hes screaming cuz hes hungry. We are lucky that our bubs sleep as long as they do i have friends whose babies wake 3 or 4 times a night. He will probably start sleeping longer once he starts solids because he will be even more full, until then hes waking because he is hungry. 7 hours is a long time for a young baby

Amie - posted on 12/07/2008

14 weeks sleeping for 7 hours straight? Count your blessings and feed baby when he wants it. =) Mine were all good sleepers but at that age if I put them to bed that early I was getting up to feed them in the middle of the night too. None of them had reflux either. It's something that all babies do. Some mom's aren't this lucky and have to get up a few times a night for quite awhile, reflux or not. My youngest (18 months) didn't start sleeping a solid 12 hours a night until about 5-6 months but again my babies were all good sleepers. Keep it up, baby needs the nourishment from you for a whole host of reasons, it's normal, don't worry. =)

Marie - posted on 12/07/2008

hi. My 19 month old son was diagosed with reflux at 4 months. To this day he still doesn't sleep through the night. Is he on any meds? they really helped him, but not sleeping through the night. His doc said keep feeding him though out the night, because he needs to gain the weight (because of the feflux he was severily underweight). So basically...just grin and bear it! but by the time he's up right and walking it gets better!