Silent Reflux and Sleep Routines

[Coopkat]

My bub is 12 weeks old and after alot of trials, we were told he had Silent Reflux and milk protein allergy. The problem we have is because he has always been in pain we have rocked him to sleep most of the time, he cannot sleep on his own. He is on Losec 20mg and Elecare and he is going really well (different baby). We are trying to get him to self soothe, but he won't sleep any longer than 20min (once at 40min) during the day. He has always been able to self soothe at night, just not in the day. Because of the lack of sleep his reflux flares up slightly (I think?). Do you have any tips on getting him to self soothe? I have been reading Save Our Sleep by Tizzie Hall, but I am not sure if you can use that method with reflux babies (even if he is all good on meds)...

The last few months have been so unbelievably hard. I think I nearly had a break down!!! But now we have turned a corner I would like to help him learn how to sleep (He really needs it!!!)

I would love your opinion....

[RISA]

Hi Coopkat

You know what, he probably does need to know how to self-settle and even more importantly, you probably need it too. The first few months of life with a refluxer, particularly before you sort out meds & formula etc, can be harrowing and I bet you are exhausted.

You're right in wondering what techniques you can use though. It's important to remember that you probably won't have much success if the reflux isn't under control, but it sounds like you now have it sorted. With that in mind, you can pretty much try whatever technique sits ok with you. Just remember that anything that puts stress on your baby (high temps, teething, starting solids, having immunisations etc) will probably cause a flare up in their reflux. Same goes for while you are trying to teach them to settle. So make sure baby is well and you have some time at home for a few days to keep in a reasonable routine, and then give it a go. If he gets too worked up, he might reflux a little, but that shouldn't cause too much of a problem as the medication should be making him more of a 'happy chucker' anyway. But once you've made the decision to try letting him settle, try and stick to it as each time you give in, you make it harder to start again later. And when you begin solids you may find that his protein allergy might cause you some headaches so best to have this issue sorted first if you can. Likewise, learning to crawl will be tricky as their reflux flares again so try and get the sleep thing fixed now if you can.

Some parents find their child health centre's very helpful in settling & sleep issues. Riverton and Tressillion etc are specialists in helping you to teach your baby to sleep through the night and for longer day sleeps also.

But at the end of the day, reflux babies can be a little trickier than babies without reflux. So if you can't make it happen, and that doesn't cause you stress, don't let other people make you feel guilty for having the 'worst sleeping at mother's group' etc. If it's important for you to have his sleep sorted out, get the support you need and make it happen. If you're happy to rock him, don't let others make you feel guilty.

As you know though, reflux is so tricky to deal with, having bubby down for a decent nap so you get a break, may be just what you need. Having my refluxer down for a nap was the highlight of each day for me!

Good luck. Membership is available to our online support group at RISA when you join up at www.reflux.org.au . There parents share ideas and encourage one another through each hurdle. There are lots of Losec & Elecare babies there also so you'd be right at home.

Regards

Julie
for RISA Inc

[Coopkat]

Thank you for your advise.... Over 2 weeks of trying to get Mr to sleep, I resorted to calling the Brisbane Baby Whisperer Rene Rees. She came out to the house and low and behold he is sleeping for 2-3 hours each nap. I would recommend her to anyone. She also works with a lot of reflux babies with allergies. I found her knowledge and help to be priceless. :yelclap:

Just wanted to thank you again for returning my thread so fast. I needed the push to get him self soothing. I would have had a very overtired bubba on my hands otherwise.:)

[RISA]

Hi right back at you.

That's fantastic! I have spoken to Rene myself when my baby (now almost 6 yrs old) was a baby and you are right, she is wonderful and very caring. Obviously just what you and your little man needed.

Well done to you for knowing what you needed and making it happen. It can be hard in the sleep deprived state to make any decisions at all so what you've accomplished is great. It will make things much easier for the road ahead.

Reflux may continue to be an issue for you for some time yet, so don't lose the contact information for RISA.

Kind regards

Julie
for RISA Inc

[Coopkat]

Hi there, I will not forget about the RISA (just when you think things are all good - you need them again!)

I just had one more question. Now his sleeping is under control I thought his feeding would have got better. He is so fussy on the bottle. He will take the first half and he is still hungry but he fusses around and it can take an hour to get him to take the rest. He is still hungry but just wont take it easily. He sucks then pulls off but wants it again ect. Is this something that I just have to deal with or should I seek advise?

Thank you again for you support.