thickening formula/reflux

allison_hope

My DD, who has MSPI and reflux, seems to be doing worse this week for some reason.  After talking to our GI doctor today, she suggested we thicken her formula with rice cereal to help with the pain & spitting up.  She's already on Zegerid and they said the dosage is correct for her age/weight.  We've tried thickening her formula before and she just can't get anything out of the nipple.  Last time she was much younger/weaker so I thought tonight it would be easier for her.  She still can't seem to get much out.  After 15-20 minutes she got an ounce.  We use Dr Browns bottles & had a Y cut nipple.  I had less than 1/2 tsp of cereal to nearly 4 oz of Neocate.  Any suggestions? I'll call my doc again tomorrow, but thought I'd check to see if anyone had similar experiences and if you found a good solution that worked for your baby.

Oh and we also have her crib "tilted" to help ... any other reflux tips you can pass on? And is it normal to have a bad week? Or for reflux to worsen after so many months?

*KatieH*

Rice didn't work for Brendan so we, with the Drs ok, used baby oatmeal. We also have him on Enfamil Gentlease formula. ?He was on Enfamil Enfacare, but was still refluxing a lot on that so we chose to witch him to this and we were lucky that it worked. ?He did seem to go through a really tough time and then it got better all of the sudden. ?

ccctwins

We recently purchased Nap Nanny(s) for our one month old 33 weekers and it has helped tremendously.  Expensive, but worth it in my opinion.

vouvoune

I thicken my daughter's milk to  a honey consistency because of aspiration   and we use a fast flow evenflow nipple or a level 4 doctor Brown and it works very well...but she has a very strong suck. At the nicu they told us that giving her the paci will help with oral stimulation.

The speech therapist said that to help them with their oral skill,  you can use a little textured rings toy and put it in their mouth, or an "ark's probe"  pral stimulator  or a little gum brush (it is cheaper to get it at the pet store as they are the same than in specialty store for babies but much cheaper)

 

Hope that helps! BTW, my daugther has reflux too and the medecine helps neutralize the acid so it doesn't hurt as much but it doesn't stop the reflux.

 

shanrob

We are currently on Enfamil AR, which is pre-thickened. ?DD has been on it so long that I don't even know if she'd be worse off without it. ?She still does spit up (but not a crazy amount) and occasionally does the whole back arch, red face thing. ?We also broke down and bought the Amby bed, which I definitely think helps. ?Even lifting the head up in her bassinet didn't help, but the Amby bed positions her properly with no pressure on her bottom so her tummy doesn't get "squished" up. ?But like you described, so days are worse with no real reason behind it that I can see. ?Who knows? ?Reflux is the bane of our existence.?

Mrs.Mezzy

I find that the Dr. Brown's Y cut flows without her having to suck very hard, so maybe try rolling the nipple between your fingers to soften it a little?  It works really well for us and we thicken it more than you, a full tablespoon per 3 oz.  We use a tucker sling/wedge and it helps immensely!  She is at a 45* angle and never spits up when we use it.  The nap nanny looks really nice and comfy and I've heard people it worked for but it has less of an angle so I was afraid it wouldn't give us the same results.