Q: Can I let my 7 month old "cry it out" when going to sleep even though he has GERD? He doesn't sleep at all, unless I help him. PLease help!
I tried this with my daughter when she was a baby. Unfortunately for her it only made her worse as she would reflux more when she was crying. Then adding crying and lying in her crib was a recipe for disaster. We did eventually work on her putting herself to sleep but only after she was well controlled with meds.
Best of Luck - Stephanie
We did some preventive things like not feeding her baby/table foods after about 6 PM. We tried to stick to a similar routine/time each night. We elevated the head of her crib. And, then I hate to tell you - I nursed her to sleep and when she woke up at night my husband would go in and help her get back to sleep.
Our second child was our "best" refluxer but he had a sensitive gag. When we tried letting him cry it out he would eventually get to sleep but then we'd go in to check on him and find him in a crib full of vomit. Not reflux - vomit. We just couldn't leave him like that so we'd get him up and change his crib and then we'd stay with him until he fell asleep. After a couple of nights of this we just opted for staying with him - until he was old enough for us to say "lay down and go to sleep, we love you, you are okay."
With our third - well we didn't even try. He too would nurse to sleep. Then if he woke up at night my husband would go and sleep on the air mattress on his floor. Sometimes my husband would come back in a little while. Sometimes, when his alarm went off I'd sneak in and wake him up. With my third sleep was an even more precious commodity than with the other two. We just needed to make it work. Funny thing was that we put a foam pad on the air matress. We called it the poor man's sleep number bed and it was oddly the most comfortable bed in the house. Eventually though we could tell him "you are a big boy, you can do it without us" and he too learned to put himself to sleep.
So, I guess my reason in saying all this is that for us - it came down to getting sleep anyway we could. We wanted them to do it on their own but it wasn't worth it in the long run when we could make it work another way. In retrospect, I've never regretted not fighting with them about it more.
Stephanie
Dear, dear Stephanie,
Thank you, so much, for that last paragraph you wrote. I just sighed the biggest sigh of relief. I'm not a bad parent for helping a reflux baby sleep. I won't stunt his ability to let himself fall asleep in the long run. And, most importantly, we all need sleep to survive and thrive. It is not worth fighting this cyclical battle all night. You have helped me tell myself it's ok to take care of my child in the way HE needs to be taken care of. I am so sick of hearing people criticise the way I deal with a reflux baby - especially since it's obvious they've never dealt with one!
I guess I was looking for others mom's out there to tell me what I already know. I was just sick of feeling alone. It has taken a huge toll on our brand, new family and I needed to know we were doing all we can.
Thank you for takin the time to write back. It has made all the difference.
Sincerely,
Sara
Hello Sara,
I totally agree with Stephanie. Thanks to Stephanie for sharing her amazing sleep stories and solutions to infant reflux and sleep.
My reflux babies also had terrible problems going to sleep and staying asleep. I tried the crying it out for a few times and only ended up with spit up on the sheets, floor and all over her hair. I felt terrible. In addition to finding a new GI doctor and getting the medication adjusted, I found that it was helpful to teacher her small ways to self soothe. I was clearly "the medicine" for a long time. I was willing to comfort her but I also helped her to have a blanket, stuffed animal or other transition object to associate with sleep. I did give her opportunities to lessen her dependence on nursing at night. By watching the clock, I would decrease the length of the feeding session and eventually got down to nursing half the time. Eventually, I weaned her from night nursing. Then it was just gerd waking her up-not food and gerd. Or the aftermath of eating at night when reclined.
I know there are plenty of other moms on the night shift. You are certainly not alone!
Jan
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Thank you so much for answering me!!!
That's what I thought. May I ask how you worked on letting her sleep on her own once she was mecically controlled??
My son is on Omeprazole (generic for Prilosec) and every month we have to adjust his meds according to his weight, so the cycle is 3 weeks doing well, followed by 2 weeks of hell.
What did you do to help her sleep?