Wednesday, March 11, 2009

Baby Reflux Help


I've got another question for all of you mommies out there! Baby J was diagnosed with reflux at his 1 month appointment and given a prescription for ranitidine (zantac.) The past few days he has become EXTREMELY fussy and is spitting up a lot after he eats. He just seems so uncomfortable unless he is asleep or eating. He makes little wheezing noises and almost sounds like he is choking at times. He will only sleep in his swing, bouncy seat or car seat (all of them are elevated.) The doctor said it was fine that he only wants to sleep in his car seat, but there has got to be a better solution! The minute we put him flat on his back, he wakes up with the symptoms I mentioned above. Has anyone had success with a certain sleep positioner? We have an appointment with the pediatrician tomorrow to discuss, but I wanted to know if anyone had experienced this with their little one. Any tips are greatly appreciated! Baby J can smile now (as you can see above), but I want to see more smiles!!!

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32 comments:

PaperCourt said...

My 2nd had major reflux issues and choking (due to a swallow delay). I'll email you. Hang in there!

all i need is love... said...

Awww....poor baby! I've never dealt with that before, but I'm sure there's got to be another way. I'm glad you are looking at other options and opinions. I wouldn't want my baby sleeping in its carseat either. It doesn't seem healthy for the spine...

Well, I hope everything goes well, and best wishes with your appointment tomorrow. Baby J will be just fine!! He's sooo darn cute!!

Kali said...

Parker has reflux. We put 1 tsp of rice cereal per 1 oz of formula. That seems to help. Also, We put bath towels under the mattress of his bassinet to raise it up. When he moved to his crib we put this crib wedge (we got it from babies r us) and that helped. Hope things get better!! let me know if you need anything!

Kelly said...

Harper was on reflux meds but I don't know that she really had reflux. BUT she will not sleep flat in her crib or pack and play. I think hers has to do with the fact that the NICU beds were elevated so she has never slept flat. She sleeps in her bouncy seat - which works fine but she is already close to outgrowing it so I have to start moving her to the pack and play. I'm curious to see what others say or what your dr says?

The George Family said...

My son had awful reflux. He too went on the zantac and I feel like it actually made it WORSE. We ended up taking him off the meds after a while, but I would stick with them until you talk with your dr. We used this elevator: http://www.buy.com/retail/product.asp?sku=203993510&listingid=30050600&dcaid=17902 and we really liked it. Good luck, it will pass!

Emory said...

My sister in law has been using her bobby pillow in the bassinet to elevate her little girl. She says it works wonders. I bet it would work in a pack n play also

The Regal Pup said...

They sell those sleep positioners (sp?) that are at an incline at Babies R Us. That might help?!? Sorry, not a mommy yet, but that's what I registered for on my registry, per my SIL who is a pediatric nurse.

linda said...

Oh, poor baby!

Elizabeth H. said...

I have heard that these are a God send......www.tuckersling.com/default.htm.

Lulu said...

Your baby boy is such a doll. I am sorry to hear he is having those issues =(

Heather said...

My second baby had reflux really bad and she was put on a similar medicine. All I can say is that time truly does help with that. She was fussy and wanted to be held alot. I would call your doctor back if you are still concerned. hang in there, it gets easier. Just found your blog and love it!

Anonymous said...

My son went through that and we tried so many things. The baby swing worked well for him (was almost the only way he would sleep) and we let him sleep in it - the reflux only lasted about two months. We also started giving him a different formula and alternated between that and breastmilk and that seemed to help the most. It's a lot of trial and error (fun). I noticed that they now make safe blocks to put under one side of the crib to elevate the crib. We put a mattress wedge in my son's crib but he always managed to roll to the bottom. Good luck... just keep saying "this too shall pass".

CRICKET said...

Mine wasn't diagnosed with reflux but she spit up for 6 months. For the longest time she slept on my chest...We tried the bouncy but she was so small she slide down and got crunched. I so feel you angst,wish I had some advice that could help. Good luck!

amanda said...

Wow, he's grown so much since the last pics...his little face is filling out. So cute.

I've heard of people elevating the head of the bed in the crib, i think some of the cribs can be adjusted, otherwise they put something between the springs and the mattress.

Good luck

Imjustagirl said...

Baby J is BEAUTIFUL! Sorry I am no help eith the reflux.

Grove Gal K said...

Mini K still holds the record for one of the worst cases of reflux Children's National Medical Center has seen. She slept in her carseat untl she was 7 weeks old. We then got the memory foam incline sleep positioner and she slept on that until she learned to roll over and became a stomach sleeper. You might also check w your dr about Pepcid..Mini K was allergic to Zantac and made similar sounds...Pepcid worked much better.

Paper Girl said...

My Baby T was the same as Grove Gals....it was horrible, but it did eventually go away. (he was a good 4 months be fore it started to taper off) We tried all the above...ricecereal,Previcid, Axid ...he only like to be upright on your shoulder to sleep. He would sleep in the carseat and seriously we put the carseat in the crib!!! We also got the memory foam positioner and he slept on it until he could sleep on his stomach. The best thing we did was the formula...he has been on Nutramigen since the beginning and it definately helped!!! You can email me anytime!!!!! Just know it will pass...nap here and there when baby does so you can get throught the long days!!!!

Preppy Mama said...

It looks like all the other ladies gave you some great advice. My little guy had reflux too. I bought one of those wedge like pillows from the baby store, but my doctor had me put a large towel or a pillow under his mattress to incline him. He was a little older than baby J. Good Luck and hang in there.

Anonymous said...

Poor thing - he is so precious! Bennett spit up all the time. I was constantly doing laundry. Both of my children slept in their swings for several months and turned out just fine! Good luck
- Marie

Jason & April said...

My little guy has reflux as well and is also on Zantac. It works great, but we do notice his symptoms return after a growth spurt and so we return to the doctor to have him weighed and the dosage adjusted. Has your little one been weiged since the first time they prescribed Zantac? Your entry didn't mention it, so I thought I'd share what helped us out! Good luck!

Erica said...

Your son is beautiful!!!! We have been on the most expensive formula since he was 2ms old so be glad he only has reflux!!!!

Midwest Prep said...

Going through the same thing, although we have not done the meds- our doctor said that it isn't a problem unless he isn't gaining weight- which he is. He threw up so much yesterday that it pooled up inside my tank bra- I swear it was a cup full- so gross- and makes me feel so bad for him. He makes the noises- weezing and coughing, but doesn't get upset by them. The only thing I found that helps a little is elevating his mattress at the head, and now I feed him smaller ammounts at a time and stop him often to burp him. This seems to help but definitely hasn't solved the problem- any tips anyone has would be helpful as well.

Anonymous said...

My 2nd had very similar condition. We started on the med but then read they are not FDA approved to be used on babies & started looking into other causes. A friend asked if it could be a milk allergy. Because I was breastfeeding I had not thought of that. I cut all dairy out of my diet & within two weeks (it takes that long for all the milk proteins to get out of your & their systems) he was like a brand new baby. I am a doula & I am always surprised how quickly doctors put these little babies on meds instead of considering allergies first. I would say 9 out of 10 moms that I have worked with that have decided to not do the meds & cut out dairy or switch to a non-milk formula have noticed a great relief in babies symptoms. Just thought I would share in case you were interested in a different road to take.

Erika said...

My baby Jack, also baby J, had problems sleeping flat actually and when he was younger we didn't want to turn him on his stomach yet, so we too used his boppy pillow to elavate him and to keep him in one place. He loved it. Now I think he's spoiled as he's 9 months and loves a pillow! The peditrician says if he likes it then no worries. You can also try a website that i'm a member of www.mamasource.com where you can ask questions to other mothers in your area! Best of Luck!

Anonymous said...

My nephew had terrible reflux so my sister elevated the crib mattress and it worked wonders. The only issue was when he was in bed with mom and dad (which was often!)...so she elevated her bed (put bricks between the mattress and boxspring at the head of the bed) too...mom and dad got used to sleeping on a bit of a slant and Oliver slept great!

Elaine's Semi-Homemade Life said...

Both my kiddos had/have reflux and it's the worst, so big hugs! What worked for us:
Sleeping them upright is a must! Big Sister slept in the papasan chair until she outgrew it.
Try different meds! Both my kids had best results with prevacid, after trying other things. Baby G would spit up constantly, projectile and be in lots of pain w/o prevacid.
If it's still bad, thicken! We had to thicken Big Sister's bottles. Rice doesn't thicken breastmilk, because the enzymes in bm break it down... If you're bf'ing, you'll have to use Simply Thick - expensive but worth it.
I saw someone else mention milk allergies. Both my kiddos had those, too... Baby G's is really bad. Giving up all dairy has made him a million times better.
Wow, that was long... I have lots of experience, so email me if you want! Hope he feels better soon - he's too cute to be hurtin'! ;)

Melissa @ I Pick Pretty said...

I have no advice, not being a mom myself, but wanted to say how much I love that photo of your handsome boy! Best of luck finding a solution to this.

morethanthestarsinthesky said...

Hi- I'm new to your blog and saw that you have a baby with reflux. I was looking through a magazine the other day and saw an advertisement for babies with reflux it's called the napnanny. www.napnanny.com Hope this helps. It's a little pricey, but looks like it's definitely worth it.

Anonymous said...

C had reflux. I will pray for you and for baby J. C slept in a Moses basket that we elevated and had a positioner that kept him mostly on his side. We tried the meds but ended up taking him off and letting him grow out of it. The meds seemed to add new side effects that seemed just as bad as the reflux. was nursing and would stop often and burp him. Hope he gets better.

The Mrs. said...

Landon was a new man after previcid! I have to tell you before then it was a projectile pukey screamfest! Sleep positioner worked well too.

Annie and Walker said...

I just saw this post..but, we just ordered the nap nanny (from napnanny.com)...our daughter has the worst "grade" reflux possible and it's been wonderful. it's specifically made for babies who love the carseat.

Pretty Personal Gifts said...

I'm sure you have this figured out by now, but thought I would add my 2 cents.

All the advise sounds great. It's what we did for our daughter who had terrible reflux, rice ceral added to formula, elevated matress, meds., etc.

I wound up holding her the 1st 6 months of her life so she could sleep. She never slept well and she still doesn't like to. Just know that someday when baby boy can sit up on his own this will probably be a distant memory. It will get better, hang in there. Also, the meds made my baby girl gassy, so we added the gas meds to her diet. I forget what they are called, dimethicone or something? They worked wonders for her belly.
It does get better!

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