Reflux Babies

When does it get better??

My baby is 3.5 months & I think he's had it all along. He's on Zantac but I'm not sure that it's helping him (or maybe it is & it would be even worse without).
He has these horrible crying episodes throughout the day, arches his back, I can hear the gurgling in his chest, and sometimes he spits up hot clear fluid & partially digested breastmilk comes out from his nose.
I hate seeing him so miserable

If you baby had reflux, when did it go away???
Also, was there anything in particular that helped?? I try to keep him upright as much as possible. He's fed breastmilk... do I need to switch to a special formula?? I asked my doctor about putting cereal in the milk to thicken it, but she said not to. Sometimes when he's really freaking out, I give him a bottle of milk & it seems to soothe his chest & he's happy for a while, but a little while later he's in pain again... it's like a vicious cycle.

Reflux Babies

My friends baby has it. She nursed and the dr thought it might be diet related. She cut out everything. Finally tried formula...special formula even by prescription. Didn't make a difference and it wasn't diet related. They upped her dds meds. Once you introduce solids it may get better or just with time.

Her dd would also gulp down bottles bc it soother the reflux but then she would end up spitting it up and wouldn't end up helping.

Message edited 11/25/2013 7:33:09 PM.

Reflux Babies

The milk cuts the acid thats why he likes the milk

Is it possible theres a dairy intolerance? They can go hand in hand and the milk intolerance excerabates reflux and can mimic all the signs of reflux.

My dd had both and she was on every reflux med under the sun untik i changed to alimentum and zantac i had a brand new baby.
I did a ton A TON of research on this. She would ha e episodes of fussiness and crying in pain and was inconsolable. She would have horrible stinky gas and started to develop explosive diarrhea. Other days she was fine. But then after a few days back to pain and crying jags.

Re: Reflux Babies

I understand your struggle ALL TOO WELL. This is what helped me: Alimentum formula, zantac 3x a day (smaller doses but more spread out), sleeping in swing/bouncy chair, being held upright for 20 mins after each feed, cereal in every other bottle starting at 3 months, food at 4 months, diaper changes before a feed to avoid being flat. But most of all what helped is time. My daughter just got off of zantac and is 6 months old. HTH

Reflux Babies

Wanted to add my dd slept in the rock n play. I had to hold her upright for 20 min after her bottle.

Re: Reflux Babies

The peak age for spitting up is around 4 months, so figure the same is true for reflux - they are both due to immature digestive tracts. It tends to get better after that. Sometimes it's suddenly better, sometimes it's gradual. DS was on Zantac until around 7 months old.

Re: Reflux Babies

Thanks!!!
I'll ask about the possibility of him having a dairy intolerance. I wonder if that could be why he has eczema too. I'm surprised the doctor never mentioned it.
Hopefully time will solve the problem! I hate to see him in so much pain.

Re: Reflux Babies

between 4 and 5 months

i think the meds were the main helper but also very frequent breaks and burps,after every ounce

sleep on a incline

baby yoga

gas drops before and after bottle

and of course different formula

hang in there! i know its so rough

Re: Reflux Babies

Both twins had it. 6 or7 months, but they were preemies

Re: Reflux Babies

imo don't thicken it up wont help too much at that age. alimentum and instead of zantac we switched to axid which is another antacid and gas drops a few times a day. swaddling and being kept upright...totally sucks Im so sorry

Re: Reflux Babies

Is your child exclusively breastfed? Have you tried eliminating anything from your diet? Dairy and gluten are major causes of reflux/gas in babies. I eliminated both dairy and gluten, and within two weeks my dd's gas was gone. Everyone/baby is different, but something worth looking into.

Reflux Babies

Also, when was the last time the dose was adjusted? The dose is VERY weight sensitive!!!!!! As they gain weight the dose needs to be upped

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I would try doing both for a few weeks to see if it helps. It does take a few weeks to get it out of your system and see a difference. Hope it gets better for you both!

Reflux Babies

My DD had silent reflux. She was on Zantac and Similac for Spitup (lime green cap). Both helped a lot!
At 4 months we started to wean her off both the Zantac and special formula and within about 2 weeks, she was find. Good luck!

Re: Reflux Babies

Eliminate dairy from your diet.

Re: Reflux Babies

Id say you can almost def up the dosage... With dr approval of course.
3-4months is the height of spit up time so this IS the hardest. I laughed at that stat but it rang true to me. Both times lo got bad we were able to up dosage and poof it almost went away. Or Atleast minimal issues. Things thats helped us was zantax burping frequently during and after feedings and having the bassinet on an incline. They also say smaller more frequent feedings helps too.
Good luck. This is no fun

Reflux Babies

He may need a higher dose of Zantac, or he may need something stronger, like Prilosec/prevacid. You may want to see a pediatric GI, they often are more comfortable prescribing stronger medications than pediatricians are.

Reflux Babies

I'm going to chime in here since my son had horrible reflux from the day he was born until he was about 9 months old. He was on prevacid and similar for spit up slept in rock and play etc. The only cure was time. Do the best that you can, try the elimination diet, etc, but don't panic if he still has reflux for quite some time. Its not easy to watch your baby so uncomfortable and not know what to do, but I promise it will get better then eventually pass.

Re: Reflux Babies

If you are feeding with bottles get some that don't allow air in like ventair or Dr. Browns.

We also put gas drops in every bottle. You don't need a bottle for them you can put the dropper into the mouth. It may not solve everything but it may help with the gas in the belly.

Hope LO feels better soon.