New to Forum ... need advice

[Stacey]

Hello,

This is my first post .... and hope to get some great advice as opposed to asking doctors and health care workers. To fill you in, I have a 14 year old daughter and a 4 month old baby girl. 14 years between diapers .....

My little girl has been suffering from reflux and have tried different formulas ... and thickeners to no avail ..... and just about to try Infasoy and was wondering if anyone else has tried this formula with any success. I am a little concerned that this is the right way to go ???

Not sure how this forum works so if anyone would like to chat with me please feel free to show me the ropes !!

Thanks
stressed out old/new mum

[Lucybelle]

I hear you....there 12 yrs between mine. I thought I'd be a lot more confident this next time round, but Mitchell suffered terrible colic/silent reflux or whatever you call it.
I never got anymore answers than you. He just seemed to get over it by about 4 mths.
I think switching to infasoy was for when there were lactose intolerance issues? Are you lactose intolerant.? This may be it, I don't know.
A friend had some success with Zantac syrup, prescribed by a doc. It did nothing for my bub. I only tried it once or twice though and as he was a 1/5 - 2hr feeder for a long time it was hard to give it to him 15 mins before a feed. (He was fully breastfed until 7 mnths) and it tastes like crap.
Aside from the usual stuff like raising the head of the cot and all that, I can't tell you much more either.
When it finally was over, it was like waking up properly. We just stumbled from one day to the next for ages.
Hopefully it won't be long until it stops.

Hang in there :D

[Stacey]

Is this the correct way to talk by posting ... thanks for your post .... reflux is very frustrating not to mention the washing !@!@!@@

Yeah, I don't think she is lactose intolerant but something is going on, hours after a feed she is still puking ... at first it was alarming with stomach pains and lack of weight gain ... it settle down but she is still puking and I am concerned ... thought I would try this last attempt with a soy based formula .... she is just over 4 months and eating a little solids and its just not going away ...

thanks again
Stacey

[Lucybelle]

You're doing fine.!! This is the first forum I posted in too.

Constant puking can't be good, how is her weight? I don't see what you have to lose by trying the soy formula.

These days will really become a distant memory...... I wouldn't let people in the house at one stage as I had no time for housework (and I hate it!), trackpants became by best friend YUK!

Lucybelle

[innesclan]

Hi,

I have had 2 babies with reflux the first is now 2 and a half, so you do get through it and I have a 5 week old with Reflux.

I wouldnt bother so much with the formula's, but they way in which you feed your angel. With Jessica once she got to 4 months and could take solids I would give her 1/4-1/2 of her bottle then would give her a bananna custard or one of them and then the rest of the bottle and finish it off with her solids again, this seem to help the reflux, maybe the solids give a little bit of linning on the tummy. I have used a formula called SMA and it is great. Also what bottles are you using, I changed to Avent with Jessica and it also helped the reflux, they are not cheap but when you have a refux baby you try anything dont you. This time around with Cooper I have found the pigeon bottles with the perilastic teat are a god sent, another one is have you tried the Karicare Goat Formula. My last trick up the sleve is this Herbal remedie, a friend of mine used it and it cured her daughters reflux, and the second night on it she slept for 8 hours. Here is the link to the website, I hope some of this helps

https://secure.iig.com.au/morzone/product.asp?id=22

Karina

[Stacey]

Hi Karina, Lucybelle,

Thanks girls,

And yes Karina I have anti-colic teats and have heeded all the positioning advice..
Wow you have had 2 children with reflux you deserve a medal ... my 14 year old was completely the opposite ... she never even dribbled ... so hence my heartache ... but its mainly when Anna suffers that my heart goes out to her .. and I want to try and help her.

Spent tonight searching the web for other remedies .... Do you know about mylanta ... not sure how much to give a 4 month old baby ???

Though I have been reading other stories and my pales in comparison .... she is upchucking but does sleep through the night thank god ..... she was NOT a happy baby with the reflux and wind, constipation hence I had to change formulas and the one she is on now is softer for her tummy but she is still pukey ... oh well .... next to try is mylanta perhaps ....

[Stacey]

Love your name btw ....

At first Anna was not gaining but she is now and is a little more settled .... I just hate the way the doctors seem to think this is normal ...... I am perplexed by it ..... but will continue to try new ideas ... I feed her the infasoy ... she didnt like it and puked anyway ... so im not going down that path ... will try to give her something to settle her stomach like mylanta or gripe water or infasol not sure which though ...

This afternoon I went to the chemist in my trackies and suddenly realised that I hadn't even brushed my hair .... ugh .... I remember to bring a change of clothes for Anna cuz of the puking but always forget about myself and end up looking worse than her .... no wonder my husband is sleeping in the other room LOL

[vickster]

Hi Stacey,

My name is Vicki & I have a 5mo girl. When she was only a few weeks old, we had the same vomiting episodes as you describe, except that Charlote was never in pain. After a number of visits to the doctor ( I'm sure he thought I was being neurotic!) the CHN & the hospital, I got told to give her mylanta. Apparently you can get it in powder form from the chemist. I don't know if it works or not. I never gave it to my little one, as no one could tell me it was reflux for sure and I really didn't believe that's what it was either.

Good Luck!! :)

[Stacey]

Hi Vicki,

I tried mylanta this morning only 1ml and it seemed to help.... early days yet though. :) :)

Not sure how much to give her but I will ask at the chemist about the powder form maybe especially for bubs ..... how is your little girl now ????

And yes after 14 years of child rearing I still feel stupid when I go to a doctor with my worries ....... a girlfriend of mine has a little boy with suspected cerebal palsy and is fitting .... she is having a hard time with the doctors too ..... and believes that the CP was due to a difficult canal birth ....

I believe that us mums should stick together and believe in our gut feelings/reactions to our little ones ....

Stacey

[innesclan]

Hi Stacey,

From your description it also sounds like she has a bit of colic. I actually got that herbal medicine yesterday, and for the first time a feed and no vomit. I think its a combination of the teats Im using and the herbal remedie, the pigeon perilastic teats are super soft, so they dont let any air in. Jessica had Colic and reflux, she would be in so much pain from the wind that when she bought the wind up her feed would come with it. Was Anna born at term or was she early. I agree to go with your gut, a mother knows her baby the best. or you could try Zantac syrup you get it on a script from your JP, it helps with some babies, and others it doesnt help at all, but it does need to be given 15 mins before a feed

Hang in there

Karina

[Stacey]

Hi Karina,

Yeah I do believe she suffered from colic badly first 2months .... she was in a lot of pain, had constipation from being on S26 and vomited up more than she drank ... didn't put on alot of weight ... once I got her onto Karicare thickened formula she settled down alot.

I had to have an elective "C" due to my blood pressure .... she was born close to term perhaps 2 weeks earlier ... I will never really know ..... but she and I did well had a epi and was awake for her birth ..... but my milk didnt come in .... so after 1 weeks had to put her straight onto formula .. She took to it fine however as I said problems came in pretty soon being on S26 I think it was too strong for her ... had very dark green stools ... from too much iron ..... anyway no medical persons diagnosed her with reflux or gave us any advice ... it was by trial and my gut instincts that I purchased anti-reflux teats, look at her positioning and changed formula .... once I mentioned it to the Health Care Centre ... they only then acknowledge that S26 was known for creating problems .. by that stage bub had already been suffering way too long as far as I was concerned ..... and I threw up my hands in disbelief that no-one had acknowledge this fact earlier.

I would prefer not to have to use any prescribed drugs (heard can cause constipation and don't want to go down that path again) ..... and in any case no-one will diagnose her ..... what herbal remedy worked best for you ????

Thanks again, and would love to hear any further advice about mylanta ... how much to use ... I gave her 1ml this morning and had little to no puking ..... its getting to the stage that I hate to pick her up anymore cuz we will both end up soaked in puke !! ugh ...

[Lucybelle]

I just threw up my hands and gave up after I read the alot of countries don't bother burping their kids and they don't beleive in colic. What about the Sri Lankan babies - their mothers heat curries and chilli all day and they don't have a problem with colic.
Colic is just a description of what the doctors think might be happening to the child. To be honest nothing really worked but time.
Most colicky babies seem to grow out of it by 3 months, but some make it to four months. I have never heard of a six month old suffering from colic (that would be too cruel).

Fingers crossed for the mylanta :D

[vickster]

Hi Stacey,

Is your little one any better with the mylanta, today? My Charlotte stopped vomiting big once she was about 3m. I forgot to tell you though, we did give her a herbal remedy called 'Brauer Colic Relief', you can get it from the chemist. It seemed to do the trick.

Her stiff little body would relax straight away after we gave it to her. You can give them 1mL every half hour for up to 4 doses, then every 4hrs for infants up to 6m.
They do lots of other remedies too, like for teething.

Also, (now my memory is coming back :p )while this was going on, she had a UTI. Once this was cleared up completely she was a different baby.

Charlotte still possets a little after most feeds, but it's not like before where it would stream out of her mouth and nose and then I would have to feed her again!

I felt better giving her the natural remedy, rather than giving her panadol too much.

Hope your little girl is feeling better.

Vicki

[innesclan]

Hi,

Well hopefully your little one is doing better today. The herbal mixture that we used was MARINA INFANT MIXTURE click on this link and it will take you to the homepage of the people that make it, you can order it online, call them up or see if your chemist stocks it. It worked miricles for me and I highly recomend it.

Hope you are doing better and hang in there there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Also have you got a baby swing I bit my tongue and went out and bought one a couple of days ago and after a feed I put cooper in there and it really helps settle him. I bought a graco one, cost me 149.00 but worth every penny

Karina

[Mealsye]

Hi Stacey

I have a 15 week old who has reflux. The doctor after 5 visits told me to give him mylanta or gavascon. The whole thought process did not sit well with me. I spoke to my sister in law who had a baby with severe reflux about 14 years ago (She would stop breathing). What she told me was to sit the baby up when feeding, sit the baby up when sleeping put a pillow under the mattress. She did not recommend giving a baby mylanta or gavascon. Reflux is caused by too much acid in the stomach both these products are full of aluminiun. The acid burns the aluminiun which stops the refluxing. Well that is what she said. Away I have not used these products. A nurse suggested trying an osteopath. I have tried this and had a small change but I am still going back to see how it goes.

I would suggest to read up on this and these product on the internet. Trying the herbal remedy the other lady suggested just don't beleve everything you heard. It the doctor won't listen hand the doctor the baby. They take lots of notice then because of postnatal depression.

Mealsye

[Stacey]

Hi all,

I so love this site ... I still feel a little awkard (opps spelling) in that I am posting properly and I apologise if I miss anyone out .... but this site is great I have gained some great advice ....

I did try mylanta but I have stopped as it only worked some times ... I tried Infacol and she seemed to hate it and threw that up as well !!!

On the bright side though, I found Dr Browns bottles .... I have never seen my little one so contented after a feed ... it was a miracle ...... she is not over it and is still possetting, however the bottles really seem to make a difference ....

I agree, that other cultures don't even acknowledge reflux or believe in burping and eat tonnes of curries !!!! I personally hate curries however I also believe that our babies are not well and we can only go by what our bubs are trying to tell us .... if only they could talk !!!!! (I guess soon enough !!)

I have a swing but unfortunately as soon as I turn it off she pukes even harder ..... I don't use it any more ... I had one of those hospital cots ... I hired for 3 months which was perfect for elevation however she still was in pain and had reflux .....

Anyway I am very happy right now (early days) but after seeing Anna content and smiling up at me today after her feeds and almost falling asleep in my arms .... I just melted ....

I will keep you all posted and thanks again for your wishes ..

Cheers
Stacey

[Astonsmum]

My Baby who is now 4 1/2 months old had bad reflux from the word go. She is on Zantac syrup which reduces the stomach acid so that when they do check up it does not hurt them (it works really well). There is not much they can do to stop the vommiting. She also started solids at 3 months of age and this helps because it is heavier in the stomach then formula and is therefore harder to chuck up. She was also prescribed mylanta until the zantac kicked in (takes two weeks as their little throats need to heal from all the stomach acid) and I was advised by the paed that 2 ml was perfect. It worked well until the zantac kicked in. MOst babies with reflux have it until they can walk around (up to 18 months) when they are more upright and the little flap matures to the stomach. My daughter goes to a pead every month to check she is gaining weight and everything is going well so I have learnt an awful lot about reflux. He also told me that changing formulas often can aggrevate the problem also. We use Nan HA gold and add karicare food thickner (helps the formula stay down as it is thicker and heavier). We didnt think the thickner worked so after using it for 4 weeks we took her off it and the vomitting increased 10 fold so it turns out it works. every child is different though and responds differently so you need to find out what works best for you - through trial and error. That is how we made it through.

Hope you can find a solution as I know how hard it is for you when they are crying in pain.

[jomias]

Hi Stacey,
My youngest now 14 mths suffered terribly from reflux to the point where my paediatrician was seriously considering surgery. From approx 8mths after trying endless solutions I found Gaviscon infant mixed in with a few bottles a day helped. The amount she vomited was cut in half and she was a happy vomiter. Once she started walking it stopped, it only reoccurs when she is teething for a few days. Hope this helps, I know it's horrible!
Good luck, jomias.

[Stacey]

Thanks everyone for your input ... its great to hear all the different remedies and to see that we are not alone in this awful thing called reflux.

Over the last week have tried a different formula but decided to go back to previous formula ... atleast she is a happy chucker with it .....

We have purchased Dr Brown's bottles and they help alot ....

But have resigned myself to the life of wipes and at the moment Anna doesnt seem to be suffering the stomach pains just happily chucking ... she is gaining weight so I am content that she is okay ....

I tried mylanta and a few other drops but I not sure they did much so am not going to continue ...

Thanks again for all your advice ... keep up the great postings !!!!

[Mother Duck]

Hi there Stacey ... and others
(Lucybelle - check your messages :) )
Good on you for seeking out others ideas!

Please be warned pre reading my response - I have a bit of an understanding of chemistry and am very dubious about synthetic products and chemist advice.

I think that we 'mums and dads' are a bit of a target.

So now that you know my bias just a few thoughts follow

Mylanta and other similar products are definately not designed for little bubs - I think on the label it says not pre 12mths but it might be 6mths.

I had a very bad case of colic and reflux with my bub (she is now 6mths). It was hideous - screaming - stretched out then cramped in a ball until she would just pass out from exhaustion.

I did use some natural products which worked OK - try health food shop or ask chemist for natural options.

Luckily it just seemed to disappear at 4mths. She is still very chucky - sick cloth goes everywhere with us.

Another thing that I read was to do with pre 3/4 mths they can not switch off - get too stimulated - thus suckle or drink too much for comfort - breakdown and byproduct is excess H (wind/gas) - after this age they learn to switch off or zone out and thus comfort themselves

They suggested putting bub in a very quiet and dark room for several days ie removing excess stimulas - I wish I had of known this as I would have tried it.

Hope this helps,
Warmest regards
Jessie

[Rell]

Hi Jessie
I have a 3year old and a 6mth old both had reflex(6mth old still does). Both my kids used Zantac(a prescription medication) until they were about 6 months. After that they became happy chuckers. Starting solids didn't help with either of them just changed the sick to various colours. The thickend formular helped with my daughter but my son just refused to drink it( too much like hard work). Just some advice to everyone reading this go and see your doctor first, especialy if they are around 3 to 6 weeks. My son started throwing up at 3 weeks and we assumed it was just reflux. The clinic nurse sent as to the doctors where after an ultrasound he was diagnosed with a blockage at the bottom of his stomach. The muscle starts of ok at birth but then contracts until nothing will pass through the stomach. The problem usualy becomes apparent at about 3 to 6 weeks with projectial vomiting. He had an opperation at 3 weeks to fix the problem and has been fine ever since. (except for the reflux)Hope I didn't scare anyone I just thought I should make everyone aware about this problem as it is not that uncommon.
Sorry Jessie looks like you have lots of washing to do for the next 6mths or so

[Mother Duck]

Hello Rell

Thanks for the response, it is always good to know of others that have the same sort of stuff going on!

Fortunately she has settled herself really well now. We still take the 'sicky' cloth everywhere with us. But it lasts alot longer now!

I love to dress her in yellow, apart from suiting her colouring, it is great to disguise the little spots!

T'rah for now