Reflux Babies

KLButler86

I saw some old posts on reflux, but since this is a new issue I am dealing with, I thought I would share what I have learned. At just before my daughter's 2 month checkup I started noticing she was spitting up a lot of clear liquid, especially when sleeping flat. She was getting fussy every night between 7 and 8 pm and nothing seemed to soothe her except walking around holding her straight up. She also starting arching her back when she ate or tried to burp and was very slow to finish her bottle (they had breast milk in them). At her 2 month appointment her weight went from the 75% to the 42%. All of these were signs pointing to reflux.

Early Signs of Reflux:

Frequent Hiccups, especially after meals

Spitting up clear liquids or their bottles frequently

Arching back when eating or trying to burp

Eating a small portion of bottle and then screaming

Fussiness resolved only by keeping them upright

Drastic reduction in weight percentile

Greatly dislikes tummy time

What my Pediatrician Did:

Started her on 1 ML of liquid Zantac every 12 hours (she has since been increased to 1.5 ML)

Told me to add 1 teaspoon of rice cereal per ounce of formula or breast milk (I started out doing 2 tsp to a 4 oz bottle. I'm just now trying 3 tsp because I don't want to constipate her)

My daughter also seemed to fuss when the milk was warm, so we are now testing room temperature bottles

Sleeping in an upright position (I bought a daydreamer, but these are pricey. My pediatrician said a bouncy seat is just fine too)

My Pediatrician also said that reflux babies tend to roll over and crawl later because they don't like tummy time, but not to worry, they are not developmentally delayed. You can do tummy time on your own stomach where they can lift their heads, but not be completely flat on the ground.

Hope this helps, as I wish I had known sooner!