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Vicki M
Friday, January 04, 2008 at 02:17 PM -
Help for your baby
Jan Gambino
Saturday, January 05, 2008 at 03:26 PMDear Helplessmom,
I know you feel pretty defeated right now. I did too when I was just getting started. It takes a bit of trial and error to get a good treatment program in place. After that, things will settle down and you will feel in control of the reflux. First, what is the doctor recommending for the vomiting now that a diagnosis of reflux has been confirmed with testing? Certainly trying to space the feeding can be helpful. Some doctors recommend medication, thickening the formula, frequent burping, swaddling to decrease movement and distress and holding upright after a feeding. For a baby with severe vomiting, a doctor may recommend a wedge to elevate the bed for sleeping. Be sure to talk with the doctor about your concerns and get some advice on a treatment plan. In the meantime, keep track of how often you are feeding your baby, how much and the number of vomiting episodes. This important information is the data your doctor needs to get an idea of what is going on at home.
Most of all, make sure you get some support from friends and family. You need to concentrate on taking care of your baby and it really helps if you have extra hands to make a meal, do the laundry or just talk with you and keep you company. Some parents have a family member (grandparent) come and stay for a few weeks. I check this site daily so we can talk again. Let me know how you are doing.
Jan
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Let her stomach guide you
Jan Gambino
Saturday, January 05, 2008 at 03:31 PMOne more thing...let her stomach guide you. She might want to eat very small amounts at a feeding because it hurts to eat more. My little refluxer went through times when she ate a little bit every hour or two. That was all she could tolerate. Try a smaller amount and see if the vomiting decreases. Jan
replyre: Let her stomach guide you
helplessmom
Thursday, January 10, 2008 at 06:02 PMJan-
I can't seem to establish a pattern with her vomiting. All I know is that she vomits once a day usually on the first feeding. Sometimes she vomits with just 1.75 ounces in her, sometimes with 5. Her feeding schedule is 4.5 to 5.75 ounces every four hours. I can't seem to get her to 6 ounces - may be because I am paranoid as well. She doesn't cry when she sees the bottle anymore so I know the meds are working. My only dilemma now is how to keep the food down without her throwing it all out. I've done frequent burping, waiting five minutes before I offer the bottle again, etc. A simple cough can trigger her vomiting. Or sometimes...just as I've pulled out the bottle, she'll throw up everything. I am now at a loss on how to get the calories in my baby's body. I know she is not gaining weight because I feel and see it. The GI has already instructed us to put half a scoop more for every 5 ounce bottle that I prepare. Even with this, she is still not gaining weight. Right now she averages 20-23 ounces a day. I've been able to up her intake a bit. The doctor has suggested to that I change her feedings to 4 ounces every 3 hours. It takes me close to an hour to get her to eat 5 ounces so I don't know how changing the feeding frequency will help. Plus, my baby sleeps through the night...so if I do feedings every 3 hours that would mean she would only feed 5 times a day which is equivalent to 20 ounces.
Any suggestions?
replyre: re: Let her stomach guide you
Jan Gambino
Saturday, January 12, 2008 at 03:43 PMHello!
I am glad you are working with the doctor on the feeding and treatment plan. Often smaller, more frequent feedings will decrease the vomiting and discomfort. It may be harder to fit in enough ounces per day. That is why the added calories from another half scoop of formula may help.
Some doctors recommend thickening the feedings too. This may reduce the vomiting. Has the doctor suggested adding a thickener? If you feed her more but she vomits more, your little one will still lose weight. It might take a little while to see the progress. The medication combined with more frequent, calorie packed feeds may help the weight over time.
I am glad she is not crying when she sees the bottle. That is certainly a sign that a baby is in pain!
I know you are concerned about vomiting and the slow weight gain. Try to take one day at a time. Some babies continue to vomit even when treated with medication, etc. It is distressing to watch and certainly a lot of work to clean up. If the treatment decreases the pain, it is likely her digestive system will calm down and she will begin to grow. I know you are spending a lot more time caring for her due to the reflux. Between the frequent, slow feedings and the vomiting, it can take all day. I wonder if there is someone who can help you until things calm down. Can grandma or a friend help?
Take care, Jan
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I was going through the same
Jayda's Mommy
Tuesday, January 22, 2008 at 01:55 PMMy 4 month old daughter use to fight me all the time during her feeding. I use to hate it when people would tell me that "she'll eat when she hungry". It use to take up to 1 1/2 to feed her if she even ate at all. She used to take only 20oz a day and is now up to 27oz. Our winning combination is the Playtex Avance bottle (or ventair bottle in the usa) with enfamil gentelease formula. She is currently on Ranitidine (Zantac) which she takes twice a day. The Playtex bottles were what made the difference as it has a vent to allow air to pass through the bottle rather than being swallowed. The only downfall to the bottles was that the nipples were very slow and did not allow much liquid to pass. We ended up opening up the hole with a toothpick while sterilizing to help the milk pass. I know that for Gerd babies, the slower the better, but my daughter use to just give up or cry from fustration when she would suck and little to no food would come out. Hopefully some of what what worked for us will work for you. It took us 3 months of trial and error to get to this point and so far she has been ok of 2 weeks now. Good luck.
replyre: I was going through the same
Vicki M
Wednesday, January 23, 2008 at 12:12 AMHi Jayday's Mommy,
Congratulations for finding something that helps with your Daughter's GERD. Tracy Davenport is a mom and resident expert here on Health Central. She has a child that has severe gastroespogheal reflux disease. You can read about Tracy and her shareposts here. (profile shareposts)
Since she's had to go through what you all are going through now, she would be a good source of information for changes in your children's condition, especially since her children are older than yours.
Good luck to you both and please stay in touch and let us know how you are doing!
Vicki M
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a new problem
helplessmom
Monday, February 18, 2008 at 05:23 PMJust when I thought her reflux days are over, my baby (who is now close to 5 mos) does not want to suck at all. Not even an ounce of milk. She bites the nipple when I put it in her mouth and when she doesn't bite, she gags on it. The only way for her to eat now is if she's sleeping. Everyone has told me she might be teething. I checked countless times but she is not. Is there any other way to feed a baby milk if they do not want to take the bottle?
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Untitled Comment
Tanja
Monday, February 18, 2008 at 10:55 PMHi -
I had the same problem with my son. What worked for us was more freqent and smaller meals. We also had him sleep under approximately 30 degrees angle all the time. This lasted for few months. Sorry, I know it is hard, but they do outgrow it eventually.
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How to get my 3.5 month old baby to take in more milk
by helplessmomFriday, January 04, 2008
My 3 1/2 month baby has been diagnosed with acid reflux. We had the upper gi test yesterday and it was confirmed that she does in fact have reflux. It has been a constant struggle to feed her. She gags when I put the bottle in her mouth. Now it has gotten to the point I am too...
Hello Helplessmom,
It is probably the toughest thing a mom can go through when your child is sick or uncomfortable. I know it always hurt me far more than my kids!!
I was doing some reading on the site and came across some information that you might find helpful. There is a great section here specifically about Baby GER. There are lots of helpful tips and information there.
My children never had GER, but I did babysit for a little boy who did. Not only did he have the GER but he got thrush (a yeast infection of the mouth) it was not obvious from the front, you actually had to look into his mouth to see it. That caused him to turn from the bottle. It is possible there is an irritation in your daughters mouth that is also causing her to turn away.
There are also several resident experts here on the site who specialize in baby GER. Tracy Davenport is a mom living with a child who suffers from pediatric GERD. You can read about Tracy and read her share posts here.
Jan Gambino is also a resident expert with Infant GERD. She shares a post called " Help my baby won't eat" You can read that posting here. Jan's profile and links to her other share posts are here. She reads the site often and may share her views with you as well.
Please stay in touch and let us know how you and your little one are doing!!
Vicki M
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