Mom's of Babies with Reflux - Check In

IlliniQT

I am sure there are a bunch of us here dealing with babies with reflux -- so how are the reflux babies, and their momma's doing?

What's helping and what isn't?  Thought we could share our reflux relief tips!

Carson was on Zantac for a few days and progressively got worse -- now he's been on prevacid 3 weeks and we've seen a huge improvement.  We also used 2 x 4's to raise one side of his crib and he seems to be sleeping MUCH better.  He still prefers sleeping on his tummy, but raising one side of the crib has made back sleeping a lot easier on him.

Julie&Micah

I didn't think Rhys' reflux was too bad (he has zero problem gaining weight, though he does often seem uncomfortable and spits/throws up a ton!) .....but apparently it was bad enough to make him quite breathing....stupid reflux. (See recent post requesting prayers) We will have an appt this week to talk meds with his dr. Do you guys breastfeed? Tips for keeping him as upright as possible when nursing??

kks4471

DS was on Zantac, and is now taking Prevacid. I'm actually trying to wean him off (with pediatrician's support), because he's doing so much better since changing exclusively to formula. I try to give it to him with an empty stomach, and wait 30 minutes to feed him afterwards. Sometimes that's nearly impossible with a 2 month old though!

IlliniQT

snuff9861 said:

Almost all babies have reflux fyi. Zantac seems to be doing nothing. We definately need a new game plan since he's still gagging/choking anytime he's on his back. I've raised the crib/mattress but he's such a squirmer that he'll roll down. He's sleeping on his stomach and gets about 5-7 hrs that way.

Probably should have said babies with painful reflux -- or babies on meds -- moms struggling with reflux babies, etc.

Have you thought about switching reflux meds?  Zantac didn't work for either of my boys, but prevacid seemed to make a huge difference.  My first LO slept on his tummy really early on, and it seemed to do the trick too -- I say whatever works.

IlliniQT

Julie&Micah said:

I didn't think Rhys' reflux was too bad (he has zero problem gaining weight, though he does often seem uncomfortable and spits/throws up a ton!) .....but apparently it was bad enough to make him quite breathing....stupid reflux. (See recent post requesting prayers) We will have an appt this week to talk meds with his dr. Do you guys breastfeed? Tips for keeping him as upright as possible when nursing??

Sending lots of prayers your way -- HOW SCARY!  I do EBF, and I try and place him on the boob and then have him in an almost vertical position (sort of like he's sitting upright).  It's a little tricky, but seems to help a lot.  I find it's more important to keep him upright when he's done nursing, so we use the bouncy seat or swing after feeds.  At night he goes right back to sleep and doesn't really get any upright time, but it doesn't seem to bother him as much since being on the prevacid.

IlliniQT

kks4471 said:

DS was on Zantac, and is now taking Prevacid. I'm actually trying to wean him off (with pediatrician's support), because he's doing so much better since changing exclusively to formula. I try to give it to him with an empty stomach, and wait 30 minutes to feed him afterwards. Sometimes that's nearly impossible with a 2 month old though!

Our biggest struggle is in the morning trying to get him to wait for his first feeding.  If he gets a long stretch of sleep it's nearly impossible, so I feed him, then wait and hour for meds and then another 30 minutes to feed him again.  It can be really tough!

oscarwao

IlliniQT said:

kks4471 said:

DS was on Zantac, and is now taking Prevacid. I'm actually trying to wean him off (with pediatrician's support), because he's doing so much better since changing exclusively to formula. I try to give it to him with an empty stomach, and wait 30 minutes to feed him afterwards. Sometimes that's nearly impossible with a 2 month old though!

Our biggest struggle is in the morning trying to get him to wait for his first feeding.  If he gets a long stretch of sleep it's nearly impossible, so I feed him, then wait and hour for meds and then another 30 minutes to feed him again.  It can be really tough!



Lurker here, but I thought I'd share what my pedi told me. My LO has horrible reflux (plus dairy and soy intolerance, fun!) And I thought at first I was supposed to give her prevacid on an empty stomach only (difficult with a newborn). Pedí said prevacid should actually be given with food, that it reduces the chance of LO spitting up medicine, but that an adult taking prevacid would take it on an empty stomach, which is what Dr Google will say as well, thus my initial confusion.

Brittnic531

DD is on Zantac twice a day for her bad reflux but it took almost 3 weeks before it started working. It actually got worse before I noticed a difference. I'm not sure if I need to change her medicine though... I can still hear her gulping trying to swallow the reflux that doesn't come up. She also has episodes where she's gasping for breath, which is scary. It will even wake her up from her sleep and scare her. She's also done it while eating which of course causes her to choke and gag. She also coughs occasionally. I'm changing her pediatrician but I can't get a new one before her two month appt. (I tried). This new mom stuff is hard!

JulieSmiles

We had DD's zantac increased last week. She doesn't seem to be in pain as much, but she still spits up SO much! I know the meds won't fix that, but nothing seems to help and it's definitely impacting her weight gain. I'm frustrated and not sure what else to do.

IlliniQT

kimberlykl2009 said:

IlliniQT said:

kks4471 said:

DS was on Zantac, and is now taking Prevacid. I'm actually trying to wean him off (with pediatrician's support), because he's doing so much better since changing exclusively to formula. I try to give it to him with an empty stomach, and wait 30 minutes to feed him afterwards. Sometimes that's nearly impossible with a 2 month old though!

Our biggest struggle is in the morning trying to get him to wait for his first feeding.  If he gets a long stretch of sleep it's nearly impossible, so I feed him, then wait and hour for meds and then another 30 minutes to feed him again.  It can be really tough!

Lurker here, but I thought I'd share what my pedi told me. My LO has horrible reflux (plus dairy and soy intolerance, fun!) And I thought at first I was supposed to give her prevacid on an empty stomach only (difficult with a newborn). Pedí said prevacid should actually be given with food, that it reduces the chance of LO spitting up medicine, but that an adult taking prevacid would take it on an empty stomach, which is what Dr Google will say as well, thus my initial confusion.

That's really interesting advice but would definitely make life a lot easier! The info online is so mixed and our pediatrician just said to get it in him however we can. I know some people even give it with the bottle.

tbmadeamistake

Keep in mind that most meds won't stop the actual reflux, but reduce the acid so it doesn't irritate as much. They spit up less because it doesn't hurt which doesn't make the fag reflex so sensitive.

tbmadeamistake

Jesus H with the fat fingering these days!! Idgaf, it's generally funny, no edits.

brooklyngirl46

My lil one is on Zantac, 3 times a day. She had been throwing up so much that it was affecting her weight gain (4oz in two weeks). Since starting the Zantac she's back to gaining weight again; and she seems to be vomiting less. When she does vomit, it's mint scented from the Zantac. She's also stopped arching her back, which I understand to be a symptom.

IlliniQT

brooklyngirl46 said:

My lil one is on Zantac, 3 times a day. She had been throwing up so much that it was affecting her weight gain (4oz in two weeks). Since starting the Zantac she's back to gaining weight again; and she seems to be vomiting less. When she does vomit, it's mint scented from the Zantac. She's also stopped arching her back, which I understand to be a symptom.

Glad the Zantac is helping!  And yay for mint scented spit up -- my LO spits up so much he always smells like curdled milk!

chloephoebecali

We are on Prevacid (the only one that has worked for all three of my kids). Zantac did not work for her. She is also milk/soy/protein intolerant and ebf.  She is arching way less and is in a lot less reflux pain. The only problem is that the drug is making her constipated and horribly miserable with that. I know babies can go very long without going, but she becomes more and more miserable each day she doesn't go. I used the thermometer trick last week and it came out like thick toothpaste. Her GI instructed us to do prune juice twice a day and it seems like it finally worked (3 days after starting).

I was instructed to try to do the Prevacid on am empty stomach per her GI.  I usually end up feeding her shortly after, though.  

An FYI, from what I remember:

Zantac/Pepcid/axid neutralize acid

Prevacid stops the creation of acid

IlliniQT

Zantac and prevacid both decrease acid production, they just work differently. 

brooklyngirl46

If you were instructed to hold LO up for a period of time after feeding, how do you handle MOTN? Before LO was diagnosed, she would fall asleep just after the last drop of her bottle, and stay asleep. Now that I'm holding her up, she either is staying up, or wakes up when I put her down because she ended up falling asleep in my arms. It's so frustrating because we can't reinforce putting her down when drowsy.

JulieSmiles

brooklyngirl46 said:

If you were instructed to hold LO up for a period of time after feeding, how do you handle MOTN? Before LO was diagnosed, she would fall asleep just after the last drop of her bottle, and stay asleep. Now that I'm holding her up, she either is staying up, or wakes up when I put her down because she ended up falling asleep in my arms. It's so frustrating because we can't reinforce putting her down when drowsy.

MOTN feeding is the hardest for this reason. I just snuggle her up on my chest and let ger sleep on me. I hold her up for a while and then when she is really asleep, I'll put her in her bed. She will sleep through me laying her down but wakes just a little bit later.

IlliniQT

I don't hold LO up in the middle of the night -- he doesn't seem to struggle with feedings overnight I think because he's calm and drowsy.  Since he's never had trouble going back to sleep without being upright, I don't do it.

coco62014

Does anyone have success with a crib wedge?
My ped wants her to transition out of the rock n play already but with the wedge she squirms her way down and sideways, defeating the entire purpose. Not to mention she hates it. I might have to stick with the rnp.

coffee89

We are on Zantac twice a day. It actually took seeing a second doctor and having them watch me feed LO for them to listen that I wasn't just overfeeding, overwhelming with my letdown, or had a BF intolerant baby.

The meds have helped but there are still times where things are bad. I can hear him choking and struggling to breath sometimes so I am refusing to put him in his crib across the house despite DH wanting us to start making the transition. Im about to start attempting eliminating foods but I'm not sure where to start.

IlliniQT

coco62014 said:

Does anyone have success with a crib wedge?
My ped wants her to transition out of the rock n play already but with the wedge she squirms her way down and sideways, defeating the entire purpose. Not to mention she hates it. I might have to stick with the rnp.

Instead of propping up the mattress we propped up the crib with 2 x 4s.  When we did the mattress our LO would just roll down the crib eventually -- he's such a wiggle worm.

seb827

Our little guy screamed from the moment he was born, until we were at the end of our rope several weeks later and sought help from the pediatrician. After several visits and a couple of formulas later, she determined he likely has GERD and possible Milk Protein Intolerance. We started him on Zantac 0.6 mL three times daily, an ounce of prune juice in his formula twice daily to combat constipation, Mylanta 1.5 mL PRN (he doesn't need this anymore, thank GOD), and D/C breast milk . This combination helped for a while, then we D/C'd one dose of the Zantac to see how he'd respond. He was good for a few weeks and then it caught up with him. We had to reintroduce the third dose, but cut it in half and add each half to the other two doses so he's getting 0.9 mL twice daily now. He's doing lots better on this regimen, in addition to being exclusively fed EleCare (amino acid-based, hypoallergenic formula). We also invested in a crib wedge well before our man was born so he's slept with it since day one. I think it helps, however, he's a very fitful sleeper and ends up turning himself around in a complete circle throughout the night lol! So his head is rarely on the thing but it doesn't seem to bother him.

JmeJoLee83

Does anyone have experience with LO gagging/ choking but not spitting up? He usually does this when lying on his back but nothing comes out. He makes a face like it is uncomfortable, But ends up swallowing it. Doc just says all babies reflux but I'm still wondering what is considered the "norm".

Brittnic531

JmeJoLee83 said:

Does anyone have experience with LO gagging/ choking but not spitting up? He usually does this when lying on his back but nothing comes out. He makes a face like it is uncomfortable, But ends up swallowing it. Doc just says all babies reflux but I'm still wondering what is considered the "norm".

This is how my LO first got diagnosed with reflux.  I also agree w/ Snuff.. talk to your doctor again about meds or go to a new doctor for a different opinion! 

JulieSmiles

We are starting med number three to see if this one helps. DD has had incredibly slow weight gain so they are concerned now. Is anyone else giving Prevacid dissolve tabs? How do you give it?

JmeJoLee83

@snuff9861‌ and @Brittnic531‌ how would/ did the doctor diagnose silent reflux. I would love to try medication but have been reading about some hellish ways they test for it ( 24 hour catheter). Planning on discussing next Friday at our check up.

Cwg22

@JmeJoLee83‌ my ped prescribed zantac based on a conversation and my answers to a few questions. Basically, DD would grunt with an arched back in her crib after her MOTN feeding for hours, she would constantly spit up or you would see her fight to swallow it, and she had a little cough due to the irritation of the acid. She is so much better now that she takes zantac twice a day and went from no longer than a 5 hour stretch of sleep to 8 the first night she took her medicine. It now varies of course, but was so happy to see she could finally be comfortable long enough to get the sleep she needed vs waking up out of discomfort.

Brittnic531

@JmeJoLee83‌ I took in a list of concerns/symptoms and we talked them out. She would cough and choke, but also you could hear reflux come up but nothing came out and she would get an upset look on her face and sometimes cry.

JmeJoLee83

@Brittnic531‌ thanks

kks4471

@JulieSmiles we give Prevacid once a day.  I take the 15mg dissolve tab, and cut it into quarters with a pill chopper.  Then I put one quarter piece into a syringe, and draw up 1cc of water.  Shake it up, let the pill dissolve.  I squirt the mixture into LO's mouth, then pull the plunger out of the syringe and rub the orange medication on his tongue.  He actually likes it, usually dissolve tabs have a minty taste to them.  Not too difficult to do, especially compared to the Zantac that he hated.

Cwg22

Has anyone had their zantac flavored? My pharmacist friend said it's possible but a little nervous to have a fruity flavor mixes with the mint and have it turn out even less palatable.

kibean

Cwg22 said:

Has anyone had their zantac flavored? My pharmacist friend said it's possible but a little nervous to have a fruity flavor mixes with the mint and have it turn out even less palatable.

Yes! They can do grape which was much better for DS. It was 2.99 extra, but well worth it because he would spit the mint one out.

Not that it really ended up mattering because he is now on the dissolve Prevacid anyway. He does that one pretty well since it tastes good. We just let it dissolve right on his tongue. 

coco62014

I bought this at Amazon to try flavoring the zantac grape myself. I was afraid to ruin an entire bottle of medication if she didn't like it.
https://amzn.com/B00HVDPQNA

tbmadeamistake

I've been putting the zantac into his bottle because it's a fight to get him to take it otherwise and the doc said that was better than nothing. I'm hoping we are on our way off the meds because he's growing out of this dose but his symptoms don't seem to be coming back. I would looove to not be on meds anymore just for the sheer ease of it.

sjn00

Sooo... what do you do about the bed elevation once the little ones start rolling over? LoL

Brittnic531

MegK82 said:

When both of my daughters were tested for reflux, we had to do an upper GI (x-ray) to see how bad/if the stomach was leaking. Based on this, one was diagnosed with it and giving medication, and the other was decided it was not bad enough to need medication.  Of course they are 9 1/2 and 7 now, so I'm sure things change over the years.

@jmejolee83 -  Is the upper GI what you were possibly reading about?  LO is being followed by a GI specialist because her reflux got worse from the silent one, and we are discussing about possibly doing this.  Since LO has seemed to not get any worse since I last saw her, the dr is ok with waiting to do the test.  

chloephoebecali

JulieSmiles said:

We are starting med number three to see if this one helps. DD has had incredibly slow weight gain so they are concerned now. Is anyone else giving Prevacid dissolve tabs? How do you give it?

 First put water in a cup.  Put the tab in the syringe and plunger up against the tab. Stick the syringe in the water and pull the water in with the plunger.  

Sometimes some of the pieces do not make their way out of the syringe so you have to play with it or add more water.  

Prevacid was a miracle drug for my kids.  I hope it is for your dd too.  My insurance will no longer cover it and now we are on Prilosec. I think it is working well enough but maybe not as well as prevacid. GL!

chloephoebecali

Brittnic531 said:

MegK82 said:

When both of my daughters were tested for reflux, we had to do an upper GI (x-ray) to see how bad/if the stomach was leaking. Based on this, one was diagnosed with it and giving medication, and the other was decided it was not bad enough to need medication.  Of course they are 9 1/2 and 7 now, so I'm sure things change over the years.

@jmejolee83 -  Is the upper GI what you were possibly reading about?  LO is being followed by a GI specialist because her reflux got worse from the silent one, and we are discussing about possibly doing this.  Since LO has seemed to not get any worse since I last saw her, the dr is ok with waiting to do the test.  

I don't think they do this as often as they used to. I think most GI docs are okay with trials on meds to see if things get better first. I have a few friends plus my kids that were/all on reflux meds. I've seen two different hospital/docs about my kids' reflux and they've never done it. I only have one friend that has to do the test. 

sjn00

After 2 months of not much improvement on Zantac and already upping the dose, and having failed with rice in her bottle, her GI Specialist wants to do the 24 hour cathetor. She will get it some time this week.

coco62014

chloephoebecali how does prilosec compare price wise to prevacid? Prevacid is $100 a month with our insurance and we haven't filled it yet. Its almost $1000 without insurance!