you answered so many of my questions. my almost 4 month old is slated to get an ng tube tomorrow. she's been eating on average 11-17oz per day. i had my Parents as Teachers lady come out to evaluate her just the other day. sure enough, she's not pushing up on her arms and lifting her head while laying on her tummy, she's not batting at objects while laying under the play gym. she also is not tracking with her eyes. she does focus on my eyes, but only for a short time. she almost looks like she's looking through me or around me, but definetly not looking at me. is this kind of delay related to the lack of nutrition she's been getting? is it reversable? how worried should i be about brain development since she's been eating so little? any answers you can provide would be greatly appreciated.
one last thought...what are the possibilites of a correlation between relux and some kind of allergy? is it common? is the reflux occuring b/c the sphincter muscle is not fully developed? or is there another reason?
thank you,
susan
i'm so thankful to have found this site. thank you,
susan
Hello Susan,
How are you and your daughter managing with the NG tube? Let me know if you have questions about using it.
I am glad you have the Parents as Teachers program coming to your house. There are so many reasons why a baby has delays in skills. Often an early intervention program such as Parents as Teachers can provide activities to help a baby catch up on skills. Certainly a baby with a health issues such as reflux may not have the energy or interest in learning new skills. As you work with the program, you can ask questions and find out if the delays are due to the reflux or something else.
Let me know more about your concern about food allergies. Certainly Milk Soy Protein Intolerance is a common reason for reflux like symptoms in some infants. A special diet may be needed to help your baby gain some weight. Are you working with the pediatrician or a pediatric gastroenterologist regarding her diet?
Keep in touch and let me know how you both are doing.
Jan Gambino
The Reflux Mom
www.refluxmom.com
hi jan,
thank you so much for your timely reply. i can't begin to tell you how comforting to know that ther are others out there that understand what we're going through. this site has provided me with so much needed information.
my daughter tori has been diagnosed with GERD and is considered failure to thrive. (what a horrible phrase!) fortunately tori had gained enough weight that the doctor felt she could continue trying to eat on her own. they want her to gain 25 grams per day and she's gaining 17 grams. apparently this is right in line with the average 4 month old, but they want her to gain more to catch up. she now weighs 10.7lbs.
i'm not entirely sure what i'm expecting by meeting with an allergist. all i know is that i need to check out every avenue to make sure that nothing is left uncovered or untreated.
i find it interesting that the pediatrician at first didn't believe it was a GI issue and the GI doctors don't think it's an allergy issue. it seems that every discipline thinks the problem lies in their own expertise. i feel that if i would have waited until i was referred on to the next specialist i'd still be waiting for a referral for a GI doc.
the other thing i'm concerned about is tori's lack of tracking with her eyes. by now she should be watching us walk across the room, but she's barely making eye contact. when she looks at me it's as if she's looking through me or around me, and only focusing for a moment on my eyes. we have an appointment with the opthamologist next week as well.
i feel terrible that my sweet baby is in so much pain and there is nothing i can do about it. i feel terrible that she hasn't even had a chance to be happy. i'm hoping that we will be able to get some more concrete answers soon.
thank you again for your kind words. it truly is comforting to spout off to someone who actually gets it.
regards,
susan
Hello Susan,
You sure have a lot on your worry list. It puts so much pressure on you to get your baby to try to gain weight. There is nothing worst than trying to get a baby to eat more than they think they need!Take it slow and steady and don't force Tori to eat more than she can. Babies are very smart about knowing when they have had enough.
We know some babies only want to drink a small amount at a time because it is painful. Hopefully the medication will take care of the discomfort. Other babies feel discomfort from their diet. A doctor may try allergy testing or try a trial of another formula. What type of diet have you tried so far? Has the doctor suggested changing the formula?
I know you are worried about her vision and I am glad you have an appointment for this coming up soon. Let me know what you find out. The early intervention program will give you many ideas and exercises to do to help Tori learn new skills and make progress. You will be busy helping her but it will feel good to know that you are making a difference.
Keep me updated-ok?
Jan Gambino
The Reflux Mom
www.refluxmom.com
Thank you for sharing your wisdom. I often feel sad/concerned that my 7 month old son has not crawled yet or that he can't get himself into a sitting position. He has been rolling and getting into the crawling position for several weeks. Since 5 months he could hold onto my fingers, bear enough wait on his legs to do a wobbly walk. That said his large motor skills are behind others however his fine motor skills are excellent. Since he was very young he could negotiate getting his pacifier in and out of his mouth, holding onto it and chewing it too!
It is a relief to know that other refluxers are having similar experiences and that we are not alone. He will crawl when he is ready. He will crawl when he is comfortable
For now I am going to continue doing as much floor time as possible, consoling him when he needs it and letting the other nosy mothers know that he is simply perfect just the way he is
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I was so worried about one of my twins not reaching all the milestones as quickly as her brother. I feel so much better knowing that it is possible that she is a tad delayed with her gross motor skills due to not getting much time on her front because of the reflux but that it's okay.
It's funny though, her fine motor skills are way ahead of her brother's. She uses the pincher grasp and she's not even 8 months old, while her brother who is about to crawl still uses the raking grasp.