• 1. When my baby started sitting on her own/crawling/standing, she no longer needed reflux medication.
• 2. He used to spit up a lot, now he doesn't so we stopped the medicines and he is fine.
• 3. My baby could not burp properly until now but now that he does it his reflux seems to have gone.
• 4. My baby suddenly put on more weight and has stopped fussing after and during feedings. This happens even if we forget to give her evening dose. We know it's time to wean her off her medicines.
• 5. After starting with solids my child got better progressively and one day we just stopped the medicines.
• 6. With the help of a Chiro we were able to reduces her doses of Prilosec and then stop them completely.
• 7. When my child started sleep-feeding with absolutely no resistance, I knew that he was getting better. The fussing stopped, then he ate more and more and I decided it was time to reduce his Prevacid. From 30 mg we reduced to 15 mg given as 7.5 mg twice a day and then just once a day. Finally after two weeks we stopped the medicine completely.

  In our case we attempted weaning several times until it finally worked. Finally we reduced his dose of Prilosec  slowly (over a month) and Avin was fine. However, as soon as we stopped his Prilosec completely, he caught his first cold virus (at 9.5 months) and we did not know whether his fussing was due to reflux coming back or something else. Fortunately, our pediatrician assured us that it's a bug and he should be fine within a week.  She was right. So there was something new that we learned: every time my child arches his back now, it may not be reflux.

  Many parents are very jittery about this "weaning" phase, but if the reflux is gone medicines offer no help. Your doctor or GI will help you find out when. Some parents have reported that their child ate better after stopping all the medicines.

  So, let's assume that you have treated your babies reflux and reduced or stopped all the medicines, what next?

  Ideally, I would suggest working with a good therapist. However, try to get some reviews before you commit to expensive treatments and therapies. I have learned that many insurance companies give a hard time covering therapy costs. Therapy charges vary from $ 100 per 1 hour session to $ 2000 a day (for intensive therapy). Many therapists might accept to come to your home if the child is more comfortable in her own environment; others insist that it has to be their office. Some popular therapists are booked for months and are not available so you are stuck with trying out the second best options.

 There are some tricks that you could try on your own too but you will have to follow your own instincts and find out what works best for your child. Here is a list of things that worked for some reflux babies. These tricks are not a replacement for therapy but an interim help until you find the right therapist.

• Texture is generally an issue with reflux babies. Initially try stage 1 and stage 2 purees only. Rice cereal can first be boiled with water to a porridge type consistency, which makes it softer and more uniform. Babies with mild dysphagia swallow this better but you will have to find out how thick or thin your baby's porridge should be. Formula can be added to this after the porridge cools down. Our pediatrician okayed butter in small quantities when my child was about 7.5 months old. Butter makes swallowing easy. However, many children will just graduate to table food and will not accept any purees. You are the best judge of your child's ability to accept different textures and foods.
• Taste is very important too. Some babies like it mildly salty and some like it on the sweeter side. Try different flavors but avoid extremely sour or spicy foods for obvious reasons. Most fruits are acidic. Gerber's Organic prunes are not very sour and usually kids like them, they are ok for reflux. Better tasting stage three purees can also be blended and strained to make them softer and uniform.
• Posture while eating should be as little slouched or slumped as possible. For this start solids when your child can sit upright without much assistance. For babies 6 mo and above a simple walker with lock on wheels can be very useful. If the torso remains straight the food gets swallowed easily. If the baby begins to gag help him by raising his arms above his head or just pull him out of his walker/chair and pat him gently on his back or help him burp.
• Distraction is very useful for babies who associate food with pain. Music is the best distraction. Try songs that have a steady rhythm such as ‘wheels on the bus go round and round', 'if you are happy and you know it', 'Yankee Doodle' etc; not too fast and not too slow. For some children television works best. Nursery rhymes with little kids singing, dancing, eating and playing can be lot fun and distraction. Several such DVD's are available on Amazon, Ebay. Holding a toy or book while the child is feeding can help too. Avoid unnecessary distractions though, these are negative distrations. Another person moving around in the feeding area while you are feeding your child, speaking on the phone while feeding, other kids playing in the vicinity can interfere with smooth feeding; try avoiding such scenarios.
• Swallowing assistance can be given by giving a pacifier every once in a while during feeding or by giving a liquid wash such as formula, water or juice (home made juices such as water melon juice) in a sippy cup. If your baby has bottle aversion try the NUBY sippy cups with silicone spouts. Excellent for training a reflux baby to suck. They are very easy to sip from and do not have a valve mechanism. You will also find them in the BPA-free variety. Textured spoons, chewy tubes, and vibrating tooth brushes or jigglers have been recommended by some moms to help a child overcome oral hypersensitivities and gag reflexes.
• Instructions and compliments are very useful for proper feeding. Infants are smarter than you think and if trained properly they will follow your instructions. Bring the spoon to your baby' s lips, then cajole the baby to open her mouth by saying "aah" or "open" and once she accepts the food give compliments such as "good girl" or "very good". Maintain a straight face but positive environment during feeding. In any case do not show extreme emotions-no laughing, anger or frustration while feeding; just compliments when the child accepts and eats and no response when the child does not. When the child is done show her the empty bowl and say something to the effect of ‘well done' or ‘excellent'. At this point a kiss, hug and/or cheerful compliments are fine. Some mothers have suggested training child to accept food by depriving them of a pleasure temporarily. Letting your child know that her favorite television program can be viewed only after she finishes everything in the bowl can help too. However, the latter technique is useful for older kids.
• Timing is crucial for keeping feeding experience more positive. Make sure your baby is hungry before offering food. Keep a limit of ½ hour or 45 minutes and stop feeding after that. If the baby starts crying and is inconsolable during feedings it's possible that something like stuffy nose, sore throat, or tummy bug might be bothering her. Respect her cues and don't cajole her into accepting food. Offer liquids, even if it is via sleep feeding.
• Apart from associating with your child during feeding spend quality time with her. Take her out in the stroller or short drives, play with her, read and sing to her, and cuddle her. Make funny faces and make her laugh but during feeding be straight faced.

  I hope this article provides a useful summary for many moms who don't know where to begin. If there are mothers who have successfully used other tricks to feed their child, please share your experience with us. Many of us might benefit from it.