What can I do

[HuntersMum]

I'm pretty sure my 6 week old has reflux. He vomits after each feed and makes uncomfortable noises. Once he goes to sleep he wakes up crying after about 20 min and then I have to hold him upright until he goes back to sleep. If I put him down again he wakes up in another 20min crying and uncomfortable. Sometimes I just hold him upright for a long time so he gets a decent sleep. What can I do I'm not getting much of a break?

[RISA]

Hi Huntersmum,
It certainly sounds like reflux is a possibility for your son, but please, it is very important that you talk to a doctor about your suspicions. There are other conditions that also present similarly to reflux, and it is really important that you make sure they have been excluded (even conditions such as a urinary tract infection can present similarly).

If you have already spoken with your doctor and they are happy to diagnose reflux, then there are quite a few management strategies that might be helpful. How are his feeds going? Is he feeding well? Often feeding smaller amounts more frequently (not less than 3 hrly) can be beneficial, but if that doesn’t work, then perhaps slightly larger amounts less often might work better. The really confusing aspect of reflux is that the same treatment won’t necessarily work for every refluxer, and it is generally a matter of trial and error. If you are bottle feeding, it might help to talk to the doctor about whether trialling thickened formula would be beneficial. If you are breastfeeding, then perhaps a spoonful of thickened milk before or after a feed might help.

Try burping your son frequently during a feed, and if that upsets him, perhaps trying to burp him less frequently? The main aspect to caring for a refluxer is to do what works, and if you try something and it doesn’t work, then it may help to try the opposite.

Try to avoid overfeeding, so if he vomits after a feed, don’t feed him again until the next feed (unless weight is an issue: speak with your child health nurse). Elevate the head of his bed, though once again, this doesn’t work for every refluxer.

Hopefully some of those suggestions will be helpful, but if you are already doing those and would like some more tips, just let us know. I hope too that you are able to take out time to look after yourself as that is really important as well.

Glenda

[HuntersMum]

Thanks for your help. I ended up going to the Doctor and he was prescribed losec. Have had a good imporvement since taking the medication. Its all smiles here now :)