Reflux / Mother's Diet / Wedge or Incline for Baby

Hi Mary,
Just to note, our now 6 month old has reflux. We tried him out on Zantac which didn't help him at all, so he is now on prevacid solutabs. If you find that your son is still spitting up and fussing, you may want to go and see a GI specialist to get him on the prevacid...that was a miracle worker for us...about a week after starting the prevacid, our son slept through the night however he is formula fed. Our GI doctor also said that it doesn't matter if it's breastmilk or formula, the baby is going to spit up but the goal is to make him a "happy spitter"...hope this helps and please feel free to ask me any other questions, I feel as though we've received and taking in some valuable information. :) Best of luck.

BTDT My youngest (who is now 6yo) was a premiee and had apnea b/c her reflux was soooo bad. We had her on Zantac, Maylox (ask the pedi about the dosage) and Reglan plus she was breastfed. B/c of her apnea we had her on a monitor - not fun at all but necessary. Anyway, we let her sleep in her swing and it worked wonders. Reason I say swing is b/c she was able to be at a better angle than the carseat. Another thing was her bouncy seat (also better angle) if she tired of those then we used the boppy pillow (which she still has lol)

Well, I would first ask you how you know it is reflux (occasionally a baby who isn't nursing correctly presents like reflux or colic)? How old is he? Is he gaining well? How often does he nurse and for how long? DO you have any pain when nursing?

If it is TRUE reflux, then wearing him upright in something like a MOBY wrap would probably help alot. After nursing him, keep him upright - like in the Moby.

Here are some other tips:

Position the baby so that gravity can help keep the milk from coming back up.

* Baby may be most happy in an upright position
* Use a sling or front carrier to position the baby at breast level and nurse while standing or walking
* Feed lying down, side by side, with baby elevated on mother's arm
* Try feeding in a recliner or reclining on pillows on a bed. Put baby tummy to tummy with mother, face in to the breast.

Best of luck!

Dairy...get rid of dairy. It is the only concession I made and it mad all the difference. I started working it back in between 4 and 6 months. It isn't lactose intolerance...breastmilk has plenty of lactose...it is a reaction to casein protein (I believe someone already said that).

You might also try just nursing one side per session. After he stops, burp him and put him right back on the same side. It can help ensure that he is getting plenty of the fatty hindmilk. The watery foremilk can be a major cause of gassiness in breastfed babies. If he still seems hungry, offer him the second breast and be sure that you alternate which side you start the seeson.

There were actually some studies done showing that babies preferred the taste of breastmilk after their mom had eaten garlic. You don't have to banish yourself to a bland diet. You will introduce new flavors to your milk and some believe helps form your child's preferences later.

I used a Tucker sling that I found used on Craig's list (thank you God :) and it was SO much help. He slept through the night once I got it. I have the one that fits onto the crib mattress and not a wedge. Used it until he was doing Cirque Du Soleil in there! Like I said it really helped us alot and worth every penny for us.
And when not in the tucker sling he LOVED the bonce y seat! He was sitting up but not too straight up to "pinch" the tummy.
My son was adopted so I can't help you on the breast feeding but I sure wish you the best and can empathize with anyone going through this.
Best Regards,
C.

It's kind of a wives tale about your diet effecting your baby too much. If you want to eliminate all Milk products, chocolate, and any others that give you gas from your diet for at least 2 weeks and then try adding them back in one at a time every few days, then that's how you can tell if something you're eating effects your son. Milk allergies and intolerances are shown when your son has bloody stools and vomits excessively several times a day and gets dehydrated. Anyway, with that said, my daughter has reflux and she's pretty miserable too. Zantac does help, but something else that helps a lot is I let her nap on her tummy as long as I'm in the same room with her. I check to make sure she's okay frequently, but she's able to sleep for a couple of hours as a time that way. Good luck!

Mary,

I feel your pain.

Try cuttin out all dairy, possibly also whole grains, soy, any gassy foods from your diet. Slowly add things back in 1 at a time every few days. You can also try Hylands Colic Tabs when he is having an episode. This was a life saver for us. My son has extreme reflus, and he couldn't tollerate me eating any of those things. I gradully started back with everything except oatmeal and dairy. I started him on yogurt and cheese at 9 months and milk at 1 year, but he could have oatmeal until 18 months. As an infant even the smallest amount of dairy or oats would set him off.

so, I used prevacid with my son. It is once a day instead of every 8 hours.

Good luck!