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Babies: 0 - 3 Months
Reflux v. spit-up v. gas
I am not sure if DS has reflux or not...we saw the ped on Thursday, and she wants me to change my diet (eliminate caffeine, chocolate, spicy foods, gassy foods, etc) first. She also said if it is reflux, it would require x-rays and drinking barium and then a referral to a GI specialist. I was suprised it was such an involved process.
Anyways, DS will be 6w on Tuesday and we are really struggling. He screams after almost every feeding. (I'm pumping and we are using 1-2 bottles of formula per day). He will spit-up about every other day, after only 3 oz of food. He is also very, very difficult to burp - sometimes it will take as long as 20-30 minutes to get a burp out of him. When he screams, he arches his back and does the full-on wail. Last night at our 3:30am feeding, he screamed until 5am. I am exhausted and frustrated.
He does respond well to really tight swaddling. I'm not sure if this is normal 6w fussiness? He's a fairly good sleeper once he is down, and is gaining weight like a champ. Any thoughts or advice? Thank you.
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Re: Reflux v. spit-up v. gas
What bottles are you using... we switched all of ours to dr browns and saw a HUGE improvement. also if she is eating to fast i pull the bottle from her and we "talk" I talk to her while she is eating too.. also if i see she is getting drowsy I take the bottle from her and burp her then...
It seems to be easier to get a burp from an awake baby in our case then a sleeping one..
We also feed her more of a sitting up position.. its kinda hard on my arm but I started using a pillow to help ...
She vary rarely spits up.. and she hasnt had any of the arching back episodes unless she kinda chokes on it which happens when shes falling a sleep...
We're using the Dr. Brown bottles (4oz size). We're feeding him upright, too, and I'm *trying* to keep him upright for 30 minutes after the feeding, but at night, it especially hard.
Also, it seems like he won't burp, but as soon as I lay him down for the diaper change (we're doing one before and after feeding), he immediately spits-up or pukes on me, either laying down or as soon as I pick him up again.
A trick that we found for burping was ... after we feed him we would hold him upright for about 15-20 minutes and if no burp then we would cradling him in our arms and rock for about 3 - 5 minutes then bring him back up high on the shoulder and usually he would then burp.
Hang in there!
Thats how Ava was too... we also had her sleeping at an incline.. but she started to fuss alot hating sleeping on an incline so I lowered it back and she sleeps better..
Have you tried laying him belly down on your legs and burping that way? it doesnt always work but I found when I did that if i didnt get a burp and i moved her to the way I usually burp.. her sititng up right facing outward then she would burp... I started laying off dairy (cheese) stuff like that I dont know if its that that is helping or the fact that shes just getting older..
She had one day that she turned blue/purple and we went to the childrens hospital here in St Paul to rule out Apnea as they have a childrens apnea program there... ew were happy when they said they just thought it was a little bit of reflux.. and that she would grow out of it.. sorry my remedies youve already done
No, thank you for responding! I really appreciate it. Both of you.
Christin, ours was a Sept. baby born in August, too (edd 9/5, born 8/18). I have been wondering if prematurity (although he was term) might be at play. DS will stop breathing for 3-5 seconds, too, but it has never caused him to turn purple or blue.
God, I just don't know what to do to make this easier. I will cut out dairy, too. Thanks for the suggestions. :-)
That all sounds pretty par for the course to me. I think the suggestion of trying a different bottle was a good one.
If he's not burping, it could just mean he's an efficient feeder. And arching of the back and wailing is something all babies do, I think. I know it's painful to watch.
You can of course watch what you eat, but I'm also with those who believe that what you take in through your digestive system probably doesn't have much of an effect on his (with the exception of true milk/soy sensitivities).
Good luck - I bet he starts to outgrow this behavior around 8 weeks after his due date!
My three little ones
We had the same original due date
Ava was born 8/26
I agree with the prematurity.. I hate going new places and they are like well technically she is full term.. Yes she was TECHNICALLY but she didnt come on her own I was induced so either way she wasnt ready.. I really hated the stopping of breathing thing she sleeps in our room now the apnea people said it helps to regulate their breathing and also LO laying on your chest feeling your chest rise and fall..
she was kicked out of my ute at 38 and 3 days what about yours?
DD was a Sept baby born in August - edd 9/3, born 8/14 and she has a lot of the same symptoms you're describing in your DS. DD arches her back and cries after feeding and it is next to impossible to get her to burp. A lot of times she spits up as soon as I lay her down to change her or when we pick her back up from a changing. I don't know what to do either to make it easier. I'm hoping she just outgrows it. We have been giving her gas drops before each feeding - I can't tell if that is really helping or not. The pedi did give us a zantac prescription in case it is reflux (and we didn't go through all that testing that you described). I wish us both luck!
exactly this but i havent tried pear/prune juices yet- i do give her some water per ped to help her go bc she gets constipated from time to time
ugh can't wait til it gets better- makes me feel worthless
We're not having problems with constipation (mainly b/c I think the bm is going right through him) but I will definitely try the elevated sleeping position. My sister also recommended changing my diet. I think we might use formula for the next two days while I re-adjust my diet, and then go from there.
This is just so hard. Best of luck to everyone who is going through this. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Oh, and yes, DS was born via induction at 37w3, and I think the fact that he came early (and not really on his own - I think I was in labor, but they also think I was having a placenta abruption since I was bleeding heavily) is a factor in all of this.
It could be colic. You might want to try colic remedies (Google it) like these. They help with gas pains:
Mylicon drops
Gripe water
Changing the formula to a gentler one (reduced lactose for example)
Avoid caffeine, broccoli, onions, garlic, spices and other foods that can cause gas
Place her to nap on her belly (while you watch). This helps their tummies
A little spit up is normal but after feeding don't lay her down right away, keep her upright on your chest for 15-20 minutes while you burp her. It can take this long to get burps out of babies, my LO takes forever but when he hasn't burped he gets very uncomfortable until he does.
Put her in a bouncy seat or swing after feeding, instead of the crib
Let her sleep on your chest for a while, then transfer her to crib.
I hope this helps, it's so sad and frustrating when they cry like that and nothing seems to help. GL!