Reflux Mums Unite!

[hapi2bhealthy]

Soooo just read someones post on how their little bub was giving them grief and it took me back to my days of having an unsettled baby...

How many of you guys have had reflux/GORD babies and lived to tell the tales (and gee are there ever tales!!)!!?? I was not a true believer in reflux, not really thinking MY baby had it, she was just unsettled, blah blah. Well I nearly threw us both out the window, at one point she only slept 2-3 twenty minute naps the whole day. I couldn't lay her down, I had to sleep with her upright on my chest at night.

Anyway, she then went on to be a vomiter, and then we finally changed the formula and got the meds working and now, she's the bestest bestest baby and has evened out her sleeps and it's great Babywearing and co-sleeping saved my life! My DH and I had some terrible arguments but we got through it and are wiser for the next time, and we have the happiest baby around (no kidding, she's seriously a happy kid all.the.time!!)!

How about you!?

 

[patooti]

I have a 5 month old chucker. I think he has a milk allergy. Docs have us ranitidine which helped a bit. But still spitting up constantly and back arching. Switched to goat formula which has helped heaps but still not perfect. Would love to try something neocate but none of the docs believe us since he is gaining okay. He only naps for 20 to 39 min too poor baby!!! At least with the ranitidine it seems the spits ups hurt him less.

 

[kettle28]

Damned hard when docs don't believe you I took pics of dirty nappies, videos of strained feeds, pained sleep and finally a and e visit 2am one morning!

Now, like pp I get told so often what a happy chilled little man we have!

But you can't help saying, NOW! You should have seen him at 2mths old!!

 

[aliss]

I'm alive!!! I still get nightmares 3 years later! (well, 2 years, he had it for 14 months).

When I was in labour with #2, all I could think of is "please god don't let this be another reflux baby ". During his first nursing, I sat there terrified waiting for him to puke. He never did!

I pulled out all the old clothes for him and they were all puke stained

He still has never puked! Not once in 8 months! Not even spit up!!! Thank goodness. I deserve it

 

[aliss]

And the reflux one STILL pukes!!!! I don't get it. He can vomit 4 feet still. Ugh.

He threw on his baby brother @ Canada day because the texture of cotton candy

 

[Scout]

Good to hear the success stories. We just started zantac and so far she's spit it out every time. I just read about putting it in some juice and giving it in a nipple so I'll try that this evening and hopefully it'll stay in! Changed formula too to the gerber good start soothe adn putting a bit of rice cereal in it. Just hoping it works and she gets some relief soon (so mommy can get some relief!) Currently, like OP, she naps maybe 20 minutes b/4 needing to be picked up again and I've been sleeping with her on my chest for weeks now. It's so exhausting and poor baby is just so uncomfortable it breaks my heart and frazzles my nerves at the same time....that screeching, high pitched scream.It funny how many things I've learned to do while holding a baby, like brush my teeth adn go to the bathroom and of course, to type on the computer while rocking. LOL

 

[Smanderson]

My DS is 11 weeks and is finally settling on his meds omeprezole and domperidone he is still sick sometimes but less often and no more pain thank goodness!!! He used to scream so bad he would turn purple but now thanks to omeprezole he is like a different child! He sleeps and eats and snuggles, he stays in his cot between feeds at night and naps in the day! I feel so lucky but really this is just what normal babies do.

However, EVERY time he is fussy I think ....ohh nooo the meds have stopped working!!! I panic that we will be going back to purple screams and both of us crying our eyes out I hope this doesn't happen and that I will stop fearing it one day

 

[kit10grl]

My LO was an impressive puker. My mum has 13 grandchildren, 4 kids of her own and practically raised her three younger sisters as her mum was poorly. She is completely unshakeable when it comes to babies.

Except when robyn would puke. At first she was trying to clean up the tiny bit of vomit that was on her chin and I wa like oh don't bother yet she isn't done whilst I rolled her onto her side and held her there. (she was on a plastic mat to save the floor lol) She puked for about 5 solid minutes I thought my mum was about to panic and phone an ambulance lol.

Most of the times Robyn has been in hospital the nurses warn the new nurse coming on that shes a puker, then I usually say it too, but they never believe me till it happens. One time she managed to puke from the far side of the cot over the toys in the cot and onto the floor, the nurse couldn't believe the toys were clean as she puked up and over the top of them. And these are nurses who have been in paediatrics for a lot of years lol

Thank fully it is settling down now although we are still using ranitidine and domperidone regularly

 

[torrie118]

My son is ten weeks and it's been such a battle. He is my fifth and I have never experienced this. I'm lucky that my doctor believed me because I have four others. I kept telling her this is not normal!!! He is now on nutramigen, with a little rice cereal, prilosec, and I put a homemade Gripe water in his bottle with cinnamon for vomiting.... Phewww. It had felt like longer than ten weeks but cross my fingers I think it is under control. I am currently watching him nap and it's been over thirty minutes!!! Reflux is so hard to deal with and people don't realize how hard it is. He still has not slept in his crib but that's okay! I have my sanity!

 

[kit10grl]

Oh yeh you don't understand till you have the refluxy baby. My friend had a baby after I had DS but before I had DD and she was always on about her reflux. And I often thought to myself (would never say it lol) how bad can a bit of reflux be. I think I was sent the most refluxy baby ever to teach me a lesson for thinking it lol

 

[aliss]

Agreed and having a 'normal' baby has been quite the experience. Since he was my 1st, I had no idea what normal was A 'normal' baby is soooo easy in comparison.

Funny tales~ once at 10 months, he puked on a stranger at a pita shop

 

[Molatov]

I have so very many milky vom stains in my house! The carpets are ruined - his 'favourite' spots were halfway down the stairs (maximum splattage over several steps!) and there is one where my husband was burping him over his shoulder and h started to vom and I squealed so my husband turned round quickly, resulting in an arc of sick on the floor! I have scrubbed and scrubbed but to no avail!

My main memory was that Dex was just miserable for the first 4 months of his life, before he went on ranitidine and domperidone, which is hard to believe as he smiles pretty much 24/7 now! Even in his sleep, the bonkers little dude.

 

[Molatov]

Also, I totally relate to the desperate hope that the next baby isn't a refluxer - please please please!

 

[Cinderella]

I'm a reflux Aunt - but I live with my sister and help her with the kids as her husband works away. Reflux has scarred us! My nephew had it bad and cried every waking moment until he was almost six months old - he was on Gaviscon, we tried ranitidine to no avail and then finally we saw the light with omeprazole. The change in him was unbelievable! He was a projectile vomiter and couldn't ever drink more than 4oz without bringing it all back up. (He's almost 4 now and is a terrible sleeper, still waking every 2-3 hours like he did throughout infancy for milk)

Now my sister has a 7 day old and she's starting to show signs, we're literally on edge waiting to see if it fully develops. She's started vomiting, refusing feeds, arching her back, making the 'disgusted' chewing face and sleeping in short spurts of 20-30 mins. It's not quite as bad as it was with my nephew, but there's definitely something going on with her.

 

[detterose]

Five months in and LO is still a chucker. I feel like I will never get to wear nice clothes ever again lol.

 

[CoffeePuffin]

Our girl had silent reflux and then she started actually being sick too. Feeds were terrible, she would scream and arch her back, it was so hard to get milk in her. Was told to switch to comfort milk which made no difference. We went to the doctors so many times but they didn't want to do anything. Then she was "failure to thrive" as her weight gain was slow, and they prescribed Gaviscon Infant, which made her severely constipated. We switched to Hipp Organic milk which helped her constipation a bit. After more doctor visits they prescribed Omeprazole. This didn't work. After hospital visits and more doctor visits, and me and my partner telling them we have had enough and they really need to do something, they prescribed Domperidone and Ranitidine which finally got her reflux under some control.

Remarkably, after her cleft palate was repaired at 6 months, her reflux seemed to just disappear and she hasn't been on meds since. Her reflux must have somehow been to do with her palate, though I have no idea how?

 

[nearlythere38]

my little girl has severe reflux and cmpi. im finding it very difficult, as shes just so unhappy modt of the time. and being sick a lot. shes on nutramigen formula and ranitidine but thats not doing much so will be going on omeprazole or domperidone probably on wednesday. she also has a high arched palate so i wonder if there is any relevance to that?

anyway its nice to talk to others going through this. i feel like am going crazy at the moment....i have other worries about her and am awaiting chromosome checks etc. and shes still not smiling so i wish she would hurry up and do lol x

 

[kitabird]

Can I just ask, how do you know if your baby has reflux? Both of mine have been very unsettled, screamed for hours on end everyday, only took 20 min naps, and vomited after feeds (sometimes a lot, sometimes a little). I assumed it was colic, but never went to doc about it. Whatever it was LO seems ok now that he's sitting up and on solids.

 

[JessicaM123]

Mine has silent reflux, and he would not eat, whatsoever. screamed all through feeidng time, would get 1-2oz in him each time. Prescribed infant gaviscon and he is a new baby. takes 7-8oz each time now. beginning to slowly wean him to 2-2-1 sachets and then will lower it to 1 in each then none i reckon xx

 

[lilashwee]

I had a silent reflux baby she screamed near enough every minute of the day at a few days old there were days she wouldn't sleep at all I got gaviscon and was told to put her on comfort milk made her extremely constipated had to get lactulose to resolve it had a fight with a doctor who told me babys cry and got ranitidine I weaned early at 4 months it helped more than the medicine now at 19 months old she is still a (difficult) child I think her early life has effected her greatly and I am terrified it will happen again but I know I can cope xx