Acid Reflux?

[Ria_Rose]

I think Josh might have Acid reflux.

He throws up a lot. He has projectile vomited quite a few times - but i think this occurs mostly when he has eaten more than he can fit in his stomach.

He has a little bit of sick after almost every feed, but recently it seems to be causing him quite a lot of discomfort when he wants to be sick but hasn't yet. This seems particularly bad at night - and he's inconsolable. All I can do is turn him on his side and rub his back and try to clean up the sick as it comes out. Or put him over my shoulder and try to 'burp' him to bring up the sick. It goes on for hours at night.

Not sure if this is normal, or if I should take him to the doctors. I could wait to mention it to the health visitor (seeing her on 22nd) or my 6 week check up with the GPs on the 5th, but it upsets him quite a bit.

 

[mummyjadey]

awww well i think you should take him to see a docs hun better to be on the safe side i guess, my son was like that when he was born but i had to change his milk may i ask what milk is he on?

 

[1st_baby]

I would suggest not to wait especially thats uncomfortable for him..my son has reflux but it dosent bother him , they gave us zantac to have him on for a month to see how that helps ..so far so good ..we didnt change his milk as they only noticed when he was 6 months so changing his milk would be too traumatic for him ..
best of luck hun

 

[mummyjadey]

hes only 4 weeks so i dont thick it be that traumatic because i dint change my sons milk till he was 6 weeks old and he was a whole lot better he was on sma gold and i will never trust that again as it has happend to quite a lot of babies i change his milk to aptimal and is totaly fine nw

 

[1st_baby]

Ive heard lots of good things about this aptamil maybe give that a try

 

[Ria_Rose]

awww well i think you should take him to see a docs hun better to be on the safe side i guess, my son was like that when he was born but i had to change his milk may i ask what milk is he on?

He's a 100% breast feed. So I hope its not that, lol.

Maybe he just guzzles too much? I just heard several people mention reflux and wondered if the symptoms were similar.

 

[1st_baby]

These are some tips I got from my dr they may come in handy

Specific Instructions for Infants With Acid Reflux

* If the baby is bottle fed, add up to one tablespoon of rice cereal to 2 ounces of infant milk (including expressed breast milk). If the mixture is too thick for your infant to take easily, you can change the nipple size or cross cut the nipple.

* Burp your baby after 1 or 2 ounces of formula are taken. For breastfed infants, burp after feeding on each side.

* Do not overfeed. Talk to your child's doctor or nurse about the amounts of formula or breast milk that your baby is taking.

* When possible, hold your infant upright in your arms for 30 minutes after feeding.



and a list of symptoms

Q: Does your baby have a persistent cough that isn't the result of an illness?
Q: Does your baby gag when feeding?
Q: Does your baby arch his or her back when feeding?
Q: Does your baby refuse a feeding or eats only a small amount?
Q: Is your baby irritable during feedings?
Q: Does your baby seem to have difficulty swallowing?
Q: Does your baby vomit frequently?
Q: Does your baby frequently spit up during or shortly after a feeding?
Q: Does your baby cry suddenly or cries constantly?
Q: Does your baby have "wet burps" (liquid comes up when burping)?
Q: Does your baby have frequent hiccups?
Q: Does your baby have poor sleep habits?

Those are some basic questions and if you ans yes to all of them or more then half then its mostly that he has reflux .. eating food with acids in them can cause some reflux too seeing as your BF maybe check your diet too

 

[Ria_Rose]

Thanks for those.

Q: Does your baby have a persistent cough that isn't the result of an illness?
- not constant but he does cough at least 8 times a day

Q: Does your baby gag when feeding?
- don't think so although he does scrunch his body up like he's struggling half way through

Q: Does your baby arch his or her back when feeding?
- see above

Q: Does your baby refuse a feeding or eats only a small amount?
- never refuses but does stop and need a rest and then back on again

Q: Is your baby irritable during feedings?
- not really

Q: Does your baby seem to have difficulty swallowing?
- no

Q: Does your baby vomit frequently?
- yes

Q: Does your baby frequently spit up during or shortly after a feeding?
- yes

Q: Does your baby cry suddenly or cries constantly?
- he cries before he spits up -like he has a bad taste in his mouth or poorly tummy

Q: Does your baby have "wet burps" (liquid comes up when burping)?
- yes

Q: Does your baby have frequent hiccups?
- always has had evn in the womb, has them 3-4 times a day

Q: Does your baby have poor sleep habits?
- not too bad, but when he feels sick he doesn't sleep


Good tip on keeping him upright, that was the only thing that stops him crying with it.

 

[1st_baby]

Based on your ans I would say he may have silent reflux , he is young so it can be managed quite fast , as I mentioned just try to eat foods that are not to high in acids , drink loads of water and keep him upright after feeds ..my son slept so much better on his side then on his back ..also I raised his cot mattress to an angle so it helped him not beign sick ..

 

[Ria_Rose]

Thanks. I suspect I don't drink enough water as it is so will try to up my liquids.

 

[XKatX]

Take him to the docs hun. We persisted for weeks with poor Oliver, then last Friday, I just couldn't take anymore. Even though it doesn't upset him, it was very stressful for us. He is now on gavsicon and is a lot happier. And so are we!!And I felt a huge weight lifted from my shoulders when the doctor actually recognised that there was something wrong. I wouldv;e been a happy bunny, even if they said there was nothing they could do and we had to ride it out. It's just having somenone listen and acknowledge your concerns.

 

[ladymilly]

i would take him to the docs hun. your LO sounds exactly the same as Jack did before he went on the gaviscon. its a life saver. he has been a totally different baby since he went on it

 

[mummyjadey]

i would take him to the docs hun. your LO sounds exactly the same as Jack did before he went on the gaviscon. its a life saver. he has been a totally different baby since he went on it

hey i just thought id say that i have thsat chair in you picture isnt it great it keeps my daighter calm lol x

 

[Jem]

I agree, take him to the docs. ollie was exactly the same before he was put on Gaviscon x

 

[eclipse]

My son was like this until we put him on Zantac and he turned into a different baby, and we were able to wean him off of it soon after starting solids. Take him and get him checked, and hopefully you both will be feeling better soon!

 

[Doodles]

Rhys has reflux and had similar symptoms to your LO. We are still having difficulties now but Gaviscon and Rantitidine have definately eased things. Is your LO putting on weight? We found this was a major indication of a reflux baby rather than just a 'fussy' baby. Good luck, I hope you can get it sorted soon

 

[jenkizi]

Hello,
I just joined this site and read your posting. At this point, you might have already taken your son to the doctor. If you haven't already, I would definitely recommend that you take him ASAP. My son is now three months old and the pediatric GI told me that he had reflux at eight weeks. He had many of the same symptoms as your son. He would throw up multiple times a day and just seemed unhappy. I would burp him to make him puke (otherwise he could not sleep/relax). I thought that he was just a fussy baby, but that was not the case. I am also nursing exclusively, so the specialist had me meet with a nutritionist, and now I am on a special diet. At first I thought that I couldn't handle it, but the thought of my son having a better quality of life was definitely a motivating factor. I am on a milk free, citrus free, soy free and wheat/gluten free diet. My son is also on Nexium (although I was initially against meds). Now, four weeks later, my son is sooo much happier. He went from vomiting up to ten times a day, to only vomiting once (or sometimes not at all). He also cries a lot less and spends more time smiling. It's a huge difference. My point is that you definitely shouldn't wait to get help for your son. The specialist told me that there is no such thing as just a baby with colic, and the only way an infant can tell you that something is wrong is to cry. Good luck!