Reflux Baby

[Kerry35]

Hi Everyone,

Im new to this forum and have so far read everyone'e informative posts. I have a 3 yr old boy and a 9 week old baby girl that suffers from silent reflux (heartburn), she is currently on Zantac Syrup ( 1ml - 4 times a day). I've administer the syrup to her 10/15 mins before breastfeeding her. However, my problem is that it is a battle of wills to get her to breastfeed properly. I've tried holding her down the body and keeping her head well above the rest of her body. She arches and constantly pulls off the boob. I've borrowed a friend's pump, so will express milk starting today and give it to her from an Avent bottle to see if that helps. The CHN says she is putting on weight so no need to worry - but its very stressful and frustrating, and not enjoyable to breastfeed at the moment. Also my other problem is that Im constantly resettling her during the day - she crashes at night from anywhere up to 7 hours sleep straight. The CHN has referred me to the Trisicillian Centre in Penrith next week, but I've heard that all they'll do is let her cry herself to sleep. Yesterday & today, I let her cry for up to 45 minutes (with intermitten comforting from me)..it did work a couple of times and other times it didnt.
Im to see my paed next week for a follow up, but Im at my wits end, does anyone have any suggestions.

Kerry35

[Norman]

My son is now coming up six months but he started on Zantac when he was eight weeks old. He takes 3 mls before his first feed of the day. The Zantac took about a week to work effectively, and now he seems pretty good on it. But it is still a fight every morning to get him to take it.

He too was very unsettled during the day. I bought a book called "Sllep right, sleep tight" and used the settling techniques in there. The silly thing was that the book didn't have a "big secret" in it. It really was commonsense and things I'd read about or heard about before. But I did find that it gave me some sanity having it all in front of me - and seeing some results after only a few days.

I "googled" reflux and read alll sorts of things such as lying babies on their side to sleep, but this is in contravention of SIDS advice. I found that having him in a rocker chair was better than lying him flat on a mat as gravity stopped the reflux a little.

Probably the bad news is that there isn't a miracle cure for your baby. But there is lots of support for you if you want it from people who will understand what you are going through.

Good luck ...

[lucyp]

I know its hard when a bub suffers from reflux! My Daniel still has it (5monthsold) but was prescribed Zantac at 6-7 weeks. It didnot work for him and we had to go to Losec which was like a magic bullet - a much happier, no arching baby. Having said that - it does take a little while for both the medications to "kick in" so to speak.
In regards to breastfeeding and reflux - it is apparently also best for babies with reflux because breastmilk leaves the stomach much faster (so there’s less time for it to back up into the esophagus) and is probably less irritating when it does come back up. But ultimately whatver works for you is going to also be best for bub.
I really understand where you are coming from in the battle of the wills. When it came to breastfeeding for me - unfortunatley my bub developed an association of pain with the breast and had to be completely bottle fed by about 10weeks. We received really good advice and had I probably underrtaken some of it earlier - I am sure he would still be breastfeeding today! I saw a lactation consultant with a nursing background with infants with reflux - she suggested the below advice


* Aim for frequent breastfeeding, whenever baby cues to feed. These smaller,
more frequent feedings can be easier to digest.
* For fussy, reluctant feeders, try lots of skin to skin contact, breastfeeding in
motion (rocking, walking), in the bath or when baby is sleepy.
* Try to remain calm yourself - so you are not sending signals to your bub that
what is happening is stressful and therefore - he doesnot want to do it.
* Allow baby to completely finish one breast (by waiting until baby pulls off or
goes to sleep) before you offer the other. Don't interrupt active suckling just
to switch sides. Switching sides too soon or too often can cause excessive
spitting up. For babies who want to breastfeed very frequently, try switching
sides every few hours instead of at every feed.
* Encourage non-nutritive/comfort sucking at the breast, since non-nutritive
sucking reduces irritation and speeds gastric emptying.
* It is often helpful to burp often.

We also put phone books under the legs of the cot to tilt it up - and this also made a huge difference - because he was and still is semi- elevated. Place a pillow on the change table so that the head and shoulders are elevated. Other things that helped were to avoid lifting baby's legs to change a nappy. Try rolling the baby to the side instead. Using a dummy; the swallowing action may help.

We also attended Tresillian ( Willoughby) - and I have to say it was one of the better things we did - they are very helpful - if only to have some rest time for you and also some support. They donnot encourage letting bubbies cry for long periods of time- but put into place some routines and techniques to help bub learn to sleep and resettle on his own, with the minimum amount of distress to mum and bub!

Its alot to take in! I hope some of this helps - if you feel that the Zantac is not working - I would definately meantion it to you Paed - sooner rather than later :)

Good luck and hope all settles down soon.

[monique]

We have just come back from our local child health centre after spending the morning there with our 8 week old son. In the last 4-5 days he has started his bottle, then spat it out and started screaming, arching his back, trying to stand up on my lap and clawing at my neck (you should see the scratches!) My mother told me it was a temper tantrum because his bottle wasn't flowing fast enough, but the CHN took one look at him and realised he was in pain and that the cause was reflux. It turns out that he has silent reflux, so we didn't notice it because he wasn't vomiting.

We rang the paed from the health centre and he has recommended Mylanta - 2ml whenever he seems to be in pain. I've just given him his first feed with Mylanta and despite an initial scream before the bottle was even in his mouth he was fine. he had probably learned to associate thebottle with pain and was screaming in anticipation. I now have to see how we go over the weekend and go and see the paed on Monday if there is no improvement. It will probably take a while for any burns on his oesophagus to heal before he feels completely better.

We give him the Mylanta using a syringe. You have to squirt it in his mouth in little doses and allow him to lap it up and swallow it. Hopefully in time he'll get used to it and swallow it a bit better.

Good luck with your baby. Isn't it a relief to finally know what's wrong so that you can do something about it!

[Supermum]

Hi there

My story is not dissimilar to LucyP. Our son had chronic reflux which actually resulted in an ulcerated gut - he was in serious pain. A number of health nurses told me that I simply had a baby with a strong will and cranky temperament. I took him to my GP at 16 weeks (I had seen numerous health nurses and two paediatrician's before this). We tried mylanta, then zantac and as they both failed onto Losec. Our GP's second child suffered from chronic reflux so he knew what to look for. I wish we had gone to him earlier however, this was my first baby and I just thought I was a useless mother who didn't know how to breastfeed. He screamed ... alot ... and the first four months or so were very lonely. Losec was very effective - it simply neutralises the acid. It didn't stop our dude vomiting - it just meant it didn't hurt him.

He use to thrash about on the breast constantly and it truly amazed me that he was able to put on weight when you also consider the constant vomiting.

We also elevated his bed and as soon as he could roll confidently he decided to sleep on his stomach which resulted in much better sleep for both of us.

I let him suckle often which he seemed to prefer and while he was suckling he wasn't screaming so this was an added bonus.

My son is now 2½ and only occasionally vomits - and generally the only reason he does is because he's thrown a tanty of mammoth proportion. The reflux sorted itself out when he started walking.

Good luck with your baby girl and if you are not happy with the answers or solutions they (health care providers/professionals) are giving you, keep asking.

[Squirrel]

Ditto... my story mirrors yours.

I had Poppy in the UK. From 6weeks she would scream with pain, arch the back and refuse to feed. I spent hours with the CHN and GP trying to get an answer. They would just give me Gripe Water and send me home. With my baby girl gaining little weight and still not sleeping at 7months I asked my husband to move us back to Aust to see my family GP at home. He diagnosed Acute Refulx straight away. I tried everything (feeding her on my back, syringe feeding, 'Reflux' formula, etc.) and then finally the GP put her onto Mylanta first - that didn't work at all. Zantac next - marginal results. Finally, Losec! Poppy finally smiled at 8months. As a result of the delay Poppy has an ulcer, she is a very serious little girl, vomits easily and my DH had to give up a great job and being near his family and friends. While I am reluctant to medicate I really think the long term side effects from reflux out weighs the potential side effects. When Alistair showed the same symptoms at 5 weeks our GP put him straight onto Losec (at a very low dose). At 12months he is still on it (he's tested every month by his specialist) and I hope he will finish soon - I'm so tired of mixing it up!!

My heart goes out to you and your bubby! Keep asking questions and definetly be persistant - I wish I had. Your baby doesn't need to be in pain.

[Kerry35]

:) Relief At Last!

Thank you to everyone that has responded.

DD (now 3 months old) has settled now on her increased dosage on Zantac syrup and I am able to breastfeed her no problems. We still have our bad days, but the goods days are starting to outnumber the bad days, and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now.

My paed was wonderful.

To everyone else with similar problems with their bubs, just keep asking questions and you will get your answers. Your precious baby does not need to be in pain.

Mum to DD 3 months :)