Acid Reflux

My three month old was born with acid reflux that the pediatrician has prescribed Zantac to "prevent" spells of the choking and vomit, but it has only limited their number. I just wanted to ask other mom's for any other option; I've been told to try giving him Gripe Water as much as possible. He seems to enjoy the flaavor and it does wonders for his hiccups, but they won't give him anything at the daycare and I can't be there to administer the remedy every couple hours. I'm looking for a cure! If not, a longer-term relief for my little guy

My first advice is to find another daycare that will give him what he needs!! I am a mom to a child who has really bad reflux, and sadly, there is no real cure..just time. I would suggest trying to switch his Formula (if hes on it) that may help some. Give him shorter and more frequent feedings...meaning, give him less in his tummy at one feeding, but then feed him again sooner than you normally would...a little less in the tummy can help this out. I know its so hard, but it will improve with time! And watch his weight...You can go in anytime to your ped and weigh him..i have yet to see a dr who will say no...I was there every month with mine, just to be sure...(he lost a lot of weight in the beginning)

Also, keep his head elevated at all times...put blankets or pillows under his mattress so he sleeps upright... and have him in his bouncer/swing when you need a free hand and have to put him down. Just be sure that he is upright in most situations...This helps with the reflux due to gravity...:) hugz hang in there....

In my child care we are told to buy the wedge for the crib to elevate them you can get them at onestepahead.com I think - we are also allowed only in that situation to use a swing because it helps. Just something they go thru. :)

Hope that helps
Patty
www.members.cox.net/myhomedaycare

I would make sure that your child does not have a weak valve in the stomache that is causing regurgitation. There is a valve that is supposed to close after we swallow which prevents food and drink from coming back up. If there is a weakness, it will stay open thus causing vomiting.

I'm so sorry to hear about your little guy! Mine little one was born premature and had GERD so badly he was hospitalized twice. The things that worked for him were; propping up the head-side of his crib, sometimes having him sleep in his swing/carseat, changing his formula to soy, feeding smaller amounts more often... and Zantac didn't work for us. We had to use another prescription that was a compound medication as well as Reglan (helps them to digest the food quicker but I didn't like giving it to him due to the risks)... any way, nothing really cured it; he just had to outgrow it.

Hi there and welcome. I don't have any real advise for you but someone might have some on the message forum I talk on. It's all about parenting. I love it and have found useful answers there. If you are interested here is the website http://forums.parenthood.com/ . If you look you will find expecting forums, baby forum, playgroups and all other forums.

Wow I could have written this. We are on Zantac every 8 hours and I do gripe water. I think it help the hiccups but it takes a while to help the griping =)
I don't know anything about daycare. I am a SAHM but your child is #1 you need to find somewhere that can fully take care of your child and meet his needs.!!

This refulx stuff sucks. It brings me to tears.

Hi Harmony,

Congrats on you new baby, you have received great advise so far I just want to reinforce that all the info is good especially the first responce and to also add a small suggestion..My baby didn't have reflux but this might help with the another issue that could be related.I breastfed my daughter and used a sling when I would take her out or sometimes at home (the kind that goes across your shoulder)cuz she loved being close to me and she would fall asleep in there. Her head would be elevated and I would have two free hands to do what ever...this helped me a bunch especially when I'd go to the grocery store because no one would bother my sleeping baby in the sling like they would in a carseat...YES, people would actually open the little cover on the carseat and talk all loud just to tell me how cute she was and wake her up - not what I needed of course..so that's my input - hope it helps. I can help get one made for you if you'd like for under $10., it depends on the material you pick.

My son was diagnosed with acid reflux when he was just one week old. It was awful, he had projectile vomiting and we had to take him to the ER because we didn't know what it was, PLUS it was a Saturday. They put him through sooo many [heartbreaking] tests and after a being admitted in the Children's Hospital for a week, they said it was a milk allergy and he had GERD. So they put him on Zantac and switched his formula to SOY. We also had to thicken his formula with cereal, although I can't remember the measurement ratio. Also, something you probably know to do, is never lay the baby down on his back, esp. right after he eats. we bought the Inclined to Sleep mat for him to lay on. He was like this for about 2 months, and then got better so we took him off the Zantac and I stopped mixing his formula with cereal. He is 6 1/2 months old now and is still drinking soy formula and was a late bloomer as far as eating solids. He is very picky about what I give him. Anyway, I hope some of these tips help. Good luck. Hopefully, his tummy will settle with time :)

Harmony, it looks like you have most of the advice you can use, but I will give you a tad bit more. Both of my children had acid reflux. It is very uncomfortable for the babies and is very common. That's why I don't understand how any daycare would not help a child with acid reflux. I don't know your situation but I would be looking for a new provider. Also the truth (as horrible as it is) is that they just have to grow out of it. There is nothing that will make it just suddenly go away even though it would be great that way. So the best thing you can do is just focus on the comfortability factor: propping up (my children loved there vibrating seats)and all of the other tips everyone before me has given. I hope all goes well and just remember, it won't last forever.

Harmony,
Unfortunately, there is no cure. Acid reflux is something your son will grow out of....hopefully by the time he's six months old. It's a maturity issue. Our daughter had it, and the Zantac only prevents them from feeling the burn of the acid when it comes up. Some things you can try are adding a couple teaspoons of cereal to his bottle, keeping him still for at least 15 minutes after he's eaten, and placing him in your infant car seat after eating (the incline in the seat helps keep the food down).
I hope this helps you. Keep lots of bibs and burp cloths on hand, and know that at least with the Zantac, it's not really bothering him anymore.
Good luck!
April

My sister in law's youngest was born with a problem in the digestive system. It caused similar problems. The baby actually had to have surgery as the connection between the stomach and the intestine was blocked. Also, as several others have mentioned here, you might want to try a soy formula or another one made specifically for infants with allergies.

Harmony

My son was also born with acid reflux - we too changed to soy formula but NOT the powder. We had to buy the premixed kind. His body wouldn't tolerate any powder/water combination. It helped alot because you didn't have to shake it so much to get the mixture to combine. Also....Dr Brown's bottles - made specifically for gas, colic, etc. They're AWESOME!!!

http://www.drbrownsbabybottle.com/index.html

Ask the daycare if they would give him the water if you get a letter from the Peditrician. I know with my son, if there is any type of medication or anything out of the "normal" things, even over the counter products, it must be accompanied by a letter from the Ped. (Or I have to go there myself and give it to him)

I hope this helps
Linda

I don't know if your son is too young to take it but papaya extract helps really well with acid reflux. I used it while pregnant and it worked great.

My son also had reflux, but you might like to know that around 6 months it goes away, he's now 2 and has been reflux free for well over a year. The only thing to help a little now, is to make sure to burp him after the feeding and to elevate the side of the crib where he puts his head.

Also, make sure he doesn't eat while lying down, he must be seating in about a 45º angle. Playtex Vent Air bottles also help.

In regards to the Gripe Water, I don't remember the reasons, but my pediatritian back then told me it was not good to give to my baby.

Good luck,

Dione

My daughter had a horrible case of acid reflux when she was first born. The doctor suggested putting cereal in the formula and switched to Similac Alimentum. That did wonders for me talk to your doctor.

Try probiotics these are good bacteria that help the digestive system...You can get them in a powder from most health food stores or a pearl from Shakee (call me I sell Shaklee). Everyone should be taking these we kill most all our good bacteria with pesticides, and anti-germicides and our digestive health suffers because of this...

GRIPE water is fine IMO and if it helps this is better than full on prescrpition or over the counter drugs.

Try switching and fortifying the baby's formula

http://www.mercola.com/2000/oct/22/infant_formula.htm

this site has some great advice on how to do this, I bet you will find the benefits of this fortification helping mature his digestive system.

Finally, ask your peditrician to check for a tongue tie, I am assuming there was a reason you are not breastfeeding. A tongue tie could hamper a breastfeeding relationship and could also cause gassy episodes and even present as reflux.

HTH, Sarah www.fcdoulas.org

Hi Harmnony,

I do have something that your baby could try. It's an aloe juice that helps sooth the inside of your body which includes heart burn and stomach problem. It is safe for babies and pregnant women as I have checked! It's not a drug!
Email me or call me if you have more questions [email protected] and my phone is 407-299-7664. Vivian

I am responding without reading everyone's response just using my experience as a mom and as a nurse practitioner. The Zantac will only decrease the acidity of the spit up by decreasing the acid production in your son's stomach. So in essence, the spit up will not decrease, but he will not be as fussy. Tell the daycare to keep your son upright for at least 30 minutes after feeding, to elevate the head of his crib by placing a blanket under the mattress, and to burp him well. I never used gripe water with my daughter, but I have had parents swear by it. If you could get your pediatrician to write a note to the daycare telling them when to administer, it may help.

I also read somewhere that kids with reflux get hiccups more often. My daughter got them a lot too.
The good news is that as your son grows, he will outgrow the reflux and the fussiness the goes with it. When he is 4 mo old, you can start rice cereal which will help. At your son's age, some MDs allow rice cereal in the bottles to make the formula thicker so it stays down. I believe Enfamil makes "AR" which is "Added Rice" for spitting up.

Good luck, I have been there and know it is hard. At 9 mo old, my daughter is much better!
Marisa

My 4 month old also has refux, We Tried ZAntac for 1 month with no success. Then we were prescribed Prevacid and he is a completly different baby! He has been on it since 8 weeks old with no reflux in sight