Vicious cycle - any ideas??

[k4th]

Ds has reflux - not bad - but it's there. He frequently wakes quite a while after feeds and throws up clear liquid with bits of curdled milk in. The look on his face shows he's not happy & he wakes crying with it in the night. I am seeing the dr on Wednesday so will mention it then.

But he's also addicted to his dummy. We had three days dummy free & that hugely reduced the reflux symptoms (I'm thinking it increased stomach acid maybe??). Now he's going through a phase of screaming and crying in the night again & dd had just started school - so I caved & gave his dummy again last night. He settled immediately - but his reflux had been awful today!!

It seems the more reflux-y he is, the more he wants his dummy & the more he wants his dummy, the more reflux-y he gets!!! Can I reay ditch the dummy cold turkey at 8 weeks? And should I?? When he's really upset he won't settle without it - he cries for quite a while in my arms

I'm sitting in bed listening to him cry for the dummy & then when it falls out he's getting reflux immediately. It's horrible to listen to

 

[Beanonorder]

Sorry I don't have any real advice. I didn't want to read and run.
Personally I'd try get something for the reflux if the dummy is giving him that much comfort but that's coming from someone who hasn't had to deal with reflux.
I hope the doctor can help you out!

 

[AnonymousCAT]

Maybe he is swallowing air when he is sucking on the dummy? Not sure. My DS was very refluxy as well. It's awful.

 

[jstarr]

Oh gosh that's a tricky one has he always been colicky? It's quite common for colic to settle down after the first few months so you could give him the dummy and hope it gradually gets better. Do you use infacol or anything with feeds? Or keep him propped up slightly when he sleeps?

 

[k4th]

Oh gosh that's a tricky one has he always been colicky? It's quite common for colic to settle down after the first few months so you could give him the dummy and hope it gradually gets better. Do you use infacol or anything with feeds? Or keep him propped up slightly when he sleeps?

We've raised his crib by putting books under the legs at the head end. And we put dentinox colic drops in every bottle. He's still super windy & reflux-y though

Today he had all his naps in the buggy (coz he doesn't need his dummy to drift off) and was waking himself with reflux.

The dr reckons this is all well within the realm of "normal" for a new baby.

& now ds has a cold too If he gets any another the dummy issue might be solved for us though - he's struggling to suck & breathe through his nose - poor little guy!

 

[upsy daisy1]

My first also had reflux..silent. She would swallow the milk back down and them scream.this went on for hours every day. We gave her a dummy and felt the sucking helped her as she didn't bring the milk up as much when sucking it. I feel your pain as it was an awful time!! We also tried everything... Raising the cot,colic drops,gaviscon.nothing helped. In the end I put her on cow and gate comfort for colic and constipation which has very low lactose. The reflux reduced dramatically. It may not be your answer but may be worth trying if your formula feeding? I tried to introduce the normal formula back at 4 months by adding one scoop to her milk and she went straight back to screaming in pain with in an hour so I know it was the milk that helped. Good luck amd I hope your lo feels better soon

 

[k4th]

Thanks upsy daisy. It seems to be getting a little better - I'm learning that I need to deal with trapped wind very efficiently & that greatly reduces the reflux. Easy at 10am, harder at 3am! But worth it.

Glad you found something that worked for your lo - it's terrible to see them so uncomfortable

 

[AnonymousCAT]

Not dummy related, but something that helped my DS was nursing with him in a more upright position from cross cradle. I used koala position. His reflux definitely improved after changing this. Not sure if you are BF but it's else to consider. Regardless though, we still went through a very rough patch where he would only sleep in our arms. Just thought of this when you said dealing with wind right away was helpful.