Q: 5-month old boy yho has been diagnosed with acid reflux; when does sleep improve?
Hello Terri,
The goal of reflux treatment is to reduce discomfort and symptoms. Sometimes the symptoms are reduced and even go away. Getting a baby with reflux to sleep or stay asleep seems to be one of the challenges of reflux treatment. The medication is a good place to start. Be sure to check in with the doctor on a regular basis to make sure there are no changes to the plan. If you are noticing an increase in symptoms toward the end of the month supply of suspension, mention it to the pharmacist. It sometimes helps to make a 2 week supply rather than a 4 week supply.
Other treatments include: elevating the sleep surface for sleeping and thickening the feeds. It might be a bit early to add baby food to the diet but sometimes solids helps keep the liquid from backwashing.
Is the doctor worried about weight gain? The feeding schedule sounds fine. Actually, night feeding is discouraged for a baby with reflux because there is a greater risk of reflux events at night on a full stomach. You might want to check in with the doctor and see if there are other treatments that would help with the night waking.
Hang in there.
Jan Gambino
The Reflux Mom
www.refluxmom.com
If the medicine helps than it will get better, but your child may have problems all its life
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Hi there,
Thanks for getting back to me. You seem knowledgeable about reflux. I wanted to ask a number of more questions (let me know if there is a website I could go to for answers if I am overstepping my quota of questions!!):
1) Is his excessive drooling and jamming his fingers in his throat part of the reflux? He sometimes has his fingers in his mouth most of the all day (even after a feed and I am hesitant to feed him more but perhaps he is hungry as he does finish the bottle of 6.5 oz??) and sometimes gags himself. Some websites on reflux say excessive drooling and fingers in the mouth say that is part of the reflux symptoms and some do not even mention it.
Is it okay to put him in a slightly elevated baby swing after a feed (not a car seat)? Sometimes he even feeds better in the swing than sitting with me.
2) For a baby of 15 lbs, what is the correct amount of food? If we don't feed at night, what should we do when he wakes and is hungry? Water?
3) The Dr. thinks the weight gain is fine, I think it is slow. We are going today to get him weighed.
4) How much should the sleep surface be elevated? We have a few towels under the mattress. Is it worth it to buiy a sleep wedge?
5) With sleeping, I have been putting him on his left side? Now, I hear the right side is better? Or is on his back better? He seems reliant on a soother and when it falls out, he wakes and we have to put it back in. It is becoming a sleep crutch and he has never learnt to put himself back to sleep. Is is worth getting a sleep consultatant at this point or waiting a bit?
6) When do most symptoms dissappear with reflux?
7) With the addition of solids, is there anything to be cautious of or just follow the regular introduction pattern? i.e. rice cereal, oat, then wheat, then vegs, then fruits?
Thanks!
Terri