[OurLifesJourney]

Ok,
We've been to the GI doctor twice already. Little A is on Zegerid twice a day for the reflux, and we've been told to add cereal to her formula. Aside from doing all the other known remedies for helping the situation, we are tired of seeing our little one in pain.

Any moms or dads of reflux babies out there? What did you find that helped your little one?


Nikki

[zxczxcasdasd]

Little Js reflux was AWFUL.

Two things helped us:

1. A pacifier...for some reason, the sucking motion for him kept all the juices moving downward rather than upward.

2. I had him sleep in his carseat to be more upright. I would line it with a soft swaddling blanket and until the reflux resolved, this is how he slept.

[aclee]

the only thing that helped Tyler was this

Amazon.com: Fisher-Price Soothing Motions Glider - Butter Bunny: Baby

Tyler never slept in his bassinet really...he slept in this and then went to a pack and play after his reflux was better. We rarely laid him flat at all, not even tummy when the reflux was at it's worst.

The switch to Almentum/Nutramidgen also really helped. He's after a while we were able to wean him off the meds, but left him on the formula. Once he started taking milk products like yogurt and cheese, we weaned him onto Good Start. If they haven't put you on a hypoallergetic formula yet, I would at least swtich to Good Start...I've had SO many Mom's tell me it's easier on their tummy's.

Good Luck. PM me if you want any other suggestions. Ty was a happy vomiter, so I can imagine watching a reflux baby that is unhappy is really bad.

[devildogwife]

I have another one. My son's reflux is extremely dangerous because he has a paralyzed vocal cord and can't protect his airway when he throws up. It's scary. He aspirated in May and became so sick his CT surgeon was concerned he was going into heart failure. Anyway, Cameron is always upright when he fed. And he's on some great meds: prevacid 2x a day and reglan every 6 hours. I second what aclee said about a hypoallergenic formula. My son has severe MSPI and has been on Alimentum since he was a month old. He was a whole new baby once we started. Good luck!

[mumofone]

My youngest son had reflux as well. At 3 months, he was put on Zantac and later Prevacid. His milk was switched to Alimentum. He was only on the meds a couple of months. Honestly, I think the thing that made the most significant change was the milk.

[aclee]

Ty was MSPI too! the hypoallergetic stuff ain't cheap, but SO worth it! Ty out grew the MSPI though...did Cameron? I was wondering what a baby would transition to if they were still MSPI at 1 year. It sounds like Cameron is still on the Alimentum? Ty started on Almentum, but the people across the street from us had some nutramidgen (cases) that they didn't need anymore and gave to us. It worked the same for Ty.

[devildogwife]

Yep, he's still on Alimentum because he's completely tube fed. He was so sick and ventilated for so long that he totally forgot how to swallow. His docs think it'll be quite a while before he can eat normally again. Before he got so sick, I know the plan was to try out veggies at one year old to see if he'd outgrown it. He'll need lots of OT help before we're there, but we'll get there.

[mrskt]

Prevacid in the AM, Axid at lunch and at night (Prevacid has to be given at least 3-4 hours after last meal and 30 minutes before next one to work correctly - Axid/Zantac 30 minutes before next meal as well)

Gentlease Formula (some babies do better on Nutramigen/Alimentum, and some even have to go to Neocate - TRUE allergen free formula)

Dr. Brown's bottles are a must! And upright for 30 minutes after meals.

Oatmeal in every bottle (rice is too constipating for some babies).

Burping well after every bottle - mylicon/gripe water help this a lot.

Avoiding constipation also helps (probiotics/juice/karo syrup are all possibilities to try).

And the GLIDER Aclee posted - Anya sleeps like a champ in it!!! It's worth every penny!!! We go through a 4 pack of batteries about once a month or so - not too bad, and worth it!

[OurLifesJourney]

Thanks,
We've been on Nutramigen since she was about 4 weeks old. The docs kept saying she was colicky, but most colicky babies are very hard to soothe.

We've tried gripe water - didn't help.
Colic Calm helped a little but the veggie charcoal bugged me with turning poop black.

Alimentum broke her out - eczema worsened, red patches on skin.

She's a happy vomiter. She seems to have pain that makes her squirmy and whiny (sometimes pulling up her knees and kicking).

She sleeps in her Rainforest Swing quite well, though.

Maybe we'll see if doc will change her to Prevacid. Does it come in a liquid? most are capsules.


Nikki

[Stormster]

For us A/R Formula was magic
Prevacid
Sat him in a very upright bouncy chair for 20 minutes min. after every meal (not bouncing obviously)
Frequent burping

Goodness seems like a lifetime ago! Good luck.

PS Fed him kind of upright too, never ever jostled him during or after meal. He was so sensitive!

[aclee]

Originally Posted by OurLifesJourney

Thanks,
We've been on Nutramigen since she was about 4 weeks old. The docs kept saying she was colicky, but most colicky babies are very hard to soothe.

We've tried gripe water - didn't help.
Colic Calm helped a little but the veggie charcoal bugged me with turning poop black.

Alimentum broke her out - eczema worsened, red patches on skin.

She's a happy vomiter. She seems to have pain that makes her squirmy and whiny (sometimes pulling up her knees and kicking).

She sleeps in her Rainforest Swing quite well, though.

Maybe we'll see if doc will change her to Prevacid. Does it come in a liquid? most are capsules.


Nikki

The prevacid comes in a solutab which you dissolve in water and give to her with a syringe. After a while Ty loved it...after first it was maddening cause he never took it all or would take it all in and somehow store it in his mouth till I was done, and then squirt ever molecule of it back out onto his clothing. Fun times. I have a video of Mike giving him his Zantac. He hated that stuff. We never said, will you give Ty his medicine tonight to each other, we said...Do you want to Battle Royale or do I have to? Often it would drag on for so long we'd have to switch off with each other. I don't recommend Zantac. Then a while back I had a cold, reached into the cabinet for my prescription cough syrup and grabbed it, took a dose and realized it was Ty's Zantac. *I* was gagging. It is really gross.

[mumofone]

We had Prevacid in a liquid.

[sbaglio]

Our DD has MSPI as well, and has been on Alimentum for months. She became a new baby the day she started it.

As for the GERD, we did the following:

- Dr. Brown's bottles

- Placing her prone (on her front/tummy time) while awake and/or in pain. Also massaging her belly helped

- Keeping her upright or at a slight angle for feeds, and burping after every 1-2 ounces

- DD was on Prevacid. I have no experience prescribing Zegerid to infants, but I haven't been in general practice for several years. Omeprazole, yes, but not this immediate release form

- If the baby spits up a lot, thickening the formula may just help

As your baby learns to sit and spends more time upright, usually reflux symptoms decrease. Hang in there!

ETA: We used the Prevacid solutabs for a while - you have to crush them, and mix with water. The residue can make the whole process messy and inefficient; it also stains clothing. Then we tried the suspension. You have to keep it refrigerated, and it begins to degrade and become less efficacious after about 14 days, which isn't a well-known fact. We then went back to the solutabs as DD hated the suspension.

[mumofone]

Fadzi, that's what we used...and we always had to remember to order it from the Pharmacy just prior to the last use because of its short "shelf" life in the fridge.

One of my friends has a daughter who had extreme reflux as a baby, and the only relief she got was when she slept in her swing. Her daughter is 11, and she still suffers with reflux.

Thankfully, it only lasted a short while with our son.

[smcd_fmr_attorney]

My son (now 8 months) has reflux. My dr prescribed Pepcid but I never ended up using it. We tried Colic Calm when he was upset from the reflux but I didn't like the black poops from the charcoal and I didn't think it made that much of a difference. Honestly, he was mostly a happy spitter (and he still is) so I eventually had to make myself stop worrying about it. It would be another story if he was in pain or suffering any adverse effect. I think it has decreased his weight gain, but not in any amount that worries my ped, so I am just trying not to worry.

Things I did try that seemed to help:

Elevated his bed so that it was on an angle (this helped until he decided he wanted to sleep with his head down the slope--not what I had in mind)

Elevated his changing table so that it was on an angle (he used to spit up a ton while being changed)

Kept him off of his back and tummy for about 15-30 mins after big feedings


None of those things work anymore now that he is so mobile, but the spitting up seems to have decreased a little...or maybe I am just so used to it that I don't notice??