PLEASE HELP refusing feeds...

[kateka]

Hi i am truly hoping you can help us!,
My baby girl is now 8months old, 6months corrected age being born premature @ 8 weeks early.
She was diagnosed as having reflux at approximately 2 months old and we were using thickener for her breast feeds that lasted untill she was 4.5 months old as she was seeming to be a very unhappy refuxer we then tried her on karikare sensikare ha-ar which made an somewhat improvement for the first 2 weeks or less we then put her on zantac as the vomiting became so frequent i could barely manage to get my older daughter to school.
The zantac seemed to freak her out so much that she would reflux for hours and by the next dose we would go through it all again and with her not wanting a bottle and i figured from stress.
We stopped the zantac and hoped she would regain her feeding pattern to now being in a situation where everytime you try to offer the bottle before we have even sat down with it she just starts screaming and stressing out.
So i figured try different feeding methods different cups even spoon feeding i even tried taking her outside for a feed but to no avail.
She i currently taking solids ok but usually one meal in the day she will refuse consistantly.
I offer her sips of water which she loves but soon after vomits and vomits.
I have been trying to contact my pead but he has been on holidays for the xmas and newyear period.
Can reflux truly push my baby to this awful point which seems to be a never ending circle? I feel like giving up yet im so worried because i now cant get her to take one bottle a day she has been like this for a coupple of weeks, She is still hydrated i try offering jelly, icey blocks, wet washers to suck on,and try to syringe her milk to her via the medicine dropper, and she still has her water but this all seems to cause refluxing and vomiting.
I dont know what more to do she has also been to our local doctor 4 times who keeps telling me she will drink when shes hungry... please help (sorry its long).
Kate.:gloomy:

[RISA]

Hi Kate,
Thanks for contacting our organisation. I am sorry to hear how much your little one is struggling and how tough it is for you. Unfortunately, reflux can indeed push your baby to that point. While many people think it just means a baby spits up occasionally, the reality can be far different. To make things worse, because it is so often misunderstood, it also means the family receives very little support or understanding. Have you seen our information on our website? There is a list of some of the signs of reflux they can have, which may make more sense to you.

It does sound like you are doing a great job with keeping her hydrated, and you have been really creative, so that’s great too. How is her weight going? It isn’t unusual for babies who refuse to feed to lose weight, or to have problems gaining, so I hope your local doctor has kept an eye on that.

Zantac is usually well tolerated, but some babies just don’t. It also has a really strong flavour, and is pretty horrid, so perhaps that was enough for her to react like that. Whatever the problem with that, it definitely sounds like Zantac isn’t the medication for her. There are other medications that are commonly used though, and perhaps your paediatrician will consider those when back from holidays. Will it be soon, that they are back, and if not, do they have someone else standing in for them who you can contact? Poor baby sounds so uncomfortable that it seems unfair to not do anything.

Will she take a bottle when she is drowsy or close to asleep? Sometimes if they are refusing feeds (either breast or bottle), they aren’t awake enough to think about refusing and you may be able to get some milk into her that way. What about in a darkened room with no other distractions?

Until you are able to speak with your paed, you may be able to get some of her milk in by making custards or blancmange and that kind of thing with it, or adding heaps of it to rice cereal. Are you able to thicken it like you would if it was in a bottle, and offer it to her off the spoon (or have you already been doing that?).

Would you be able to offer her a dummy if she looks like she is going to vomit after some liquids? It may not help, but it may be enough to keep it down.

Please don’t feel like you are doing anything wrong. Reflux can be a horrendous condition, and there are not necessarily any easy answers. What works for one refluxer may not work for another, so it leaves you to trying different things until you find something that works. Are you getting support, or getting a break at least? It is important that you look after yourself, as well, and you probably need some time out to do that.

I hope this information helps, and if you have any other questions, or just need to offload, we'll do our best to help.

Glenda