My daughter has Acid Reflux i need help!

Katherine - posted on 11/13/2009

Quoting Katie:

My daughter has Acid Reflux i need help!

My daughter is 8 weeks old and has horrible acid reflux. I have done everything she has been on Enfamil AR but we had to change her to preemie formula because she wasn't gaining weight. she is on a strong medicine that is suppose to help. i don't know what to do, her belly is always hurting and i'm not getting any sleep. Please help

My daughter is 8mo and just grew out of it.  She was on Zantac, also some stores carry a pack to wrap around the babies stomach, for gas and pain.  She needs to be elevated so wherever she sleeps shove a pillow under the mattress, just enough to elevate so her head is above her heart.  I had to have my daughter on soy formula, sometimes it's the milk proteins that bother them.   After eating she needs to be upright for at least 30 min.  I know it's awful, I still don't sleep because now she's teething *sigh*

Samantha - posted on 11/10/2009

my bub was the same they got her on omeprazole and infacol and gaviscon had to go to hosp have barium swallow and sleep study. Biggest advice i can say is get her into routine early shell thank you for it at 2weeks tori would have last feed at 9pm sleep til 6am. And key to that is make sure she up for an hour after feed then asleep small frequent feeds like 3hourly. And sleep during day makes her sleep better at nite it odd but was recommended to me and works a charm. Sometimes the best thing you can do is put her in cot and let her cry it out coz nothing you do will help. I got to point wea she would scream for an hour all i could do was let her and she would settle down eventually it hard but turn up tv and nap on couch its better for every1!!! i spent many days in tears but having someone to cry on can be a big help if your stressed it a healthy way to release. My doc sed a screaming baby is a healthy baby so it wont harm her to be in her bed alone!!!! good luck iv got plenty off lil tricks if shes a power chucker as well send me a message and il get back to you!!

Jaclynn - posted on 11/15/2009

my daughter had refluxe for 81/2 months I had to give her a teaspoon of mylanta 20 min every bottle.. there's nothing u can do I tried cereal in the bottle different formula.. nothing she vomitted projectile all day long. I had literally 5 loads of laundry for her alone. Just keep her upright and monita weight gain and make she's happy and laughing. to ensure no intestinal damage.. take her to a gastro to make sure. It will get better. my dr. also prescribed lesvin drops for gas..

User - posted on 11/15/2009

what was the homemade formula that you used?

Amanda - posted on 11/14/2009

Our daughter was on losec and infant gavscon for her reflux. Now we are just on infant gaviscon. We were also advised to try a reflux formula and a soy formula. We used Novolac colic formula for a while aswell becuase she had colic too. It does get better. We also raised her cot with some household bricks under the front to legs, works the same as any pillow, just cheaper if you have bricks or pavers lying around. There are all so websites for baby / infant reflux which helped us too www.reflux.org.au. Good luck

Sarah - posted on 11/14/2009

My daughter suffered so badly from it in the beginning. We did all the things that others have mentioned above - raising the cot etc. She is also on Losec (omeprazole).
The one life saving thing that turned our whole life around was when I read in a blog, a number of mothers were discussing reflux and one mother posted something about changing her son to a lactose free formula. A few of the other mums said they would give it a go and all, every single one of them said that noted a extreme improvement. After reading the blog, I went for an appointment with my Paediatrician about it. His first reply to me was - 'oh yeah, reflux is commonly linked with lactose intolerence. I swapped her straight over to Karicare De-lact (don't know if you have it where you are) and from then on I have a completly different and now beautifully perfect little angle. For the first time since she was born, she is actually sleeping in the day and through the night!!!!
Worth a try but always talk to your Paed first.

Jenn - posted on 11/13/2009

My daugther had similar problems as an infant, some things that helped her were smaller feeding just more often, have her burp right after eating and if she wouldn't then i would wait till she did, not laying her flat for 45 min after eating and i even did it while she sleeps I put pillows under her mattress to elevate it. My daughter was actually put on a home made formula because she was not responding to any kind of formula she was in so much pain all day an all night I had to try something and the home made formula really did help. It didn't solve it 100 percent, and I caught allot of flak for it from her pediatrician ( even though she was healthy, gaining healthy weight, getting all her vitamins and nutrients.) and other but she was doing better on that than anything they offered me. I don't regret my decision not once. I know the pain and frustration of hearing your child cry non stop day an night an feeling helpless an defeated, so I did what I thought was best for her. And it helped allot.

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Try keeping her in a more upright position when she sleeps, like in a car seat or one of those foam 'sleeper' pads with a buckle. My baby had awful GERD and was on Prevacid, but it didn't really seem to help. He slept in the bed with us, which seemed to help a bit with at least being able to quickly comfort him before he really woke himself up screaming. He finally was able to get at least 3 or 4 hour periods of sleep once we put him in his carseat. We used it for a full month until he seemed to outgrow the worst of it.. Good luck!

Joanna - posted on 11/13/2009

my pediatrician put my daughter on zantac, which didn't work, so she was then put on Prevacid. I had to try 5-6 different formulas before sticking with Gentlease. Also stir the formula with a spoon, don't shake.

Kristy - posted on 11/13/2009

Katie, it will get better just hang in there! My son was diagnosed with GERD at 8 weeks and has been taking Zantac ever since. He also sees a gastroenterologist every 3 months for Upper G.I.'s. If you are terribly concerned, I would talk with your pediatrician and see about a referral to a specialist. Another thing that may help is asking about switching your little one to Enfamil Nutramigen. It is a hypoallergenic formula for babies that can not break down regular formula (GERD is the reaction in some cases). Another thing that may help is to put rice cereal in the bottles at feeding time. It will thicken the formula and will help in keeping it down better, while relieving the reflux action. Before trying any of these, consult your doctor first! * With the cereal in the bottle, the measurements are this : 1tsp. of cereal per ounce of formula. *

Carolyn - posted on 11/11/2009

Poor soul! Seems you are doing all you can. Is Enfamil a kind of milk of magnesia.? If there is a brand suitable for babies that might help her. Babies have enough to cope with getting wind and colic without added problems. Be patient and sleep when she sleeps. Best of luck. Carolyn

Shannon - posted on 11/10/2009

My daughter will be 3 in Dec. and has GERD/Reflux along with Sleep/APNEA. They diagnosed her when she was 42 days old. It took awhile for her medicine to help her. I also went to concetrate formula rather than the powder. Also discuss with your doctor a thick diet that is what my daughter's doc did. A thick diet is just adding a small amount of rice cereal to their formula.She was taking 2 meds twice aday and every bottle had to have cereal until she took herself off the bottle at 1 yr old. Don't lay her flat it only irritates it more. They even have a special pillow at Walmart for children with reflux. It is in the infant section and looks like a nursing pillow with straps it was about 30.00. Good Luck!

Jo - posted on 11/10/2009

I had exactly the same thing.It does get better I promise. for now just keep her as upright as possible most of the time. especially 30 minutes after a feed. I found a jolly jumper really great at 12 weeks cause it kept my son upright while he could have fun. Also I found that tilting his cot made a difference as it kept him slightly upright when he was asleep. I hope you get some sleep soon :). Hope this helps. take care x

Amanda - posted on 11/10/2009

DO NOT USE SOY FORMULA!!!!! I repeat! Because children have died from the lack of proper derivatives that come from cows milk, and breast milk. The best is a Powdered formula called Gentalese 1/5 the lactose. Doctors are not always right, I have been through hell and back with my son in Children's hospital Vancouver. He had acid reflux like no other vomiting more than 8 times a day, NG fed for 8 months, I have tried every formula, bottle, etc. He was also on 3 meds just for reflex alone. He was born with Gastrosiscis, and sever mechonium asperation. He is faster, eats better than any 1 1/2 year old I have met today. I told the doctors to beat it, and he started eatting and stopped reflexing RIGHT AWAY over night when I stopped all meds, and gave him the proper formula. Good luck

Amanda - posted on 11/10/2009

Gentlease( powder), my son had sever reflex and vomited 8 times a day due to Gastrosiscis(level 3). You can soon start rice/oatmeal cereal as this does help, I wouldn't follow what the doctors say because they had my son on so many different meds for this and other things. Most likely your daughter has Gerds http://www.medicinenet.com/gastroesophag... As soon as your daughter is holding her head up, sitting up with assistance or by herself, and when done her bottle she is still hungry when seeing food being eaten by you, or others then the cereal is best given, it is not a solid (20years ago this is what they gave children, if it was fine then it is still fine now, pediatricians are whacked ;) I know from LOTS of experience). Persist with this, and look at the Gerds web pages for assistance. If worst come to worst your last resort should be medication. Depending on your doctor's say Omeprazole(I gave 5 mls once a day for a small baby), Ranitidine(Zantac 1.3mls 2X daily), and Domperidone(0.2mls 4X daily). One or a combination can be given. Good luck.

LaTerra - posted on 11/10/2009

Both of my kids got acid refluxes but my little girl got it bad she's 8mths old now the doc.change her formula like 3 times and she would still throw up he gave her some medicine but it didn't work that good so my grandmother told me to give her a little bit of baby ceral and helps alot since she's stil pretty young give her a tsp of baby ceral trust me it work.it helps them hold it down try it

Andrea - posted on 11/10/2009

Both my son 26 months and daughter 7 months both have it.. My son had to be placed on soy milk to help with the acid and was also placed on Ranitidine { zaytac}.. He has since grown out of it some what.. only has to take med when is need that. MY daughter was born with her insides outside her belly so she has always been on some thing to help first was Pepcide then Ranitidine.. I did find that my son would sleep better sitting up in his Swing, Bouncer seat, boppy pillow and my doctor even told me to let him sleep in his car seat if i had to.. I found that putting a pillow UNDER in crib maters helped. That and the equate gas relief drops helped with some of the belly pain, that and i have just found that taking Empachito massage oil and rubbing my daughters tummy has been helping with some of her hurt.. She had surgery when she was 7 days old.. and will be having another one in about 4 to 6 months.. You are her mom and you know what is best for her.. If you have to i would call and talk to your pediatrician and see what he/ she and can offer other then what he/she has already said.. Hope this might help in some way
Take care
Andrea

Arneisha - posted on 11/10/2009

i think you should try out the soy milk formula because my daughter had the same problem and now everything is better..but remember the acid reflux could last up to 6mons to a yr but its nothing to be to worried about...sit her up for 30 mins after each feeding and she'll definitely be okay

Jamie - posted on 11/10/2009

My daughter is almost four months old and also has reflux. Some things that seem to help her is, always making sure that she burps after she eats, eating smaller portions more often, making sure that she is not laid flat after she eats and keeping her head elevated when she sleeps. You can elevate her crib by placing a blanket under the matress. The good news is that it does get better as they get older but it is very hard to see them in pain. Hang in there!

User - posted on 11/10/2009

My pediatrician gave us a prescription for her twice. we just started the stronger dose so i'm hoping that it helps her. I may try the liquid formula though.

Nicole - posted on 11/10/2009

did you call the pediatrician? I know when my son had that problem they suggest we use the liquid formula as opposed to the powder that you mix with water because it tends to be more gassy.. But call your pediatrician they could prob give her some drops to make her more comfortable.. In the mean time try to use nipples that don't have such a big hole in them, that allows for air to pass through. She may be way too young for the over the counter drops for gas, but my friend did that with her son and it worked wonders she said.