at my wits end. Acid reflux/colic moms please help (long)

brads_diva

When I prayed that I would have one of those easy/calm babies this time around I think God just laughed and said "I will show her."  My son will not stop fussing and it's driving me nuts because he takes up all of my time and I'm also at home with a very loud and hyper 2 year old who is desperately seeking my attention.  I took him to the pedi yesterday and he said he "thought" it might be reflux and prescribed me Prevacid.  I've done the whole keeping him upright after eating and he doesn't really seem to fuss all of the time while eating (just started this). And sometimes he sleeps after nursing.  He sleeps fine at night and hardly ever spits up.  So I'm not sure if it's reflux for sure and feel kind of wary of giving him medicine like that so young for a "maybe".

The other possibility would be colic but we are able to find things to calm him down for short periods of time (which I know colic babies do not calm down for anything).  For instance right now he is in the bathroom swaddled with the fan on and doing okay.

I've cut out all of my dairy and caffeine for 3 weeks now and I am now starting to really cut out my wheat and soy.  We've tried gas drops and gripe water and nothing works.  Please please please give me any tips that you might have done for this. I just feel so inadequate as a mother to a newborn since this is the second time I have no idea what to do. Thanks in advance.

Temp13436125005166

If swaddling and white noise help it might be colic. Those are two of the things that are known to help colicky babies.  I believe the logic goes that if the 5 S's don't help at least temporarily calm baby then it's probably NOT colic.  But someone correct me if I'm wrong!

Ryan was colicky for about 6 weeks, it started at 1 month old.  It was mostly in the evening for 3-4 hrs.  Swaddled in the swing with the blowdryer worked miracles!  Seriously the blowdryer was a lifesaver for us!  Good luck and I hope it gets better soon!!!

[Edited to add] My DS didn't have reflux, I think he's spit up less than 5 times in his life and never shown signs of silent reflux... so I just assumed it was colic and not reflux... I did try to elimate dairy and caffine for week but didn't see any change with that either.

brads_diva

MrsRosie:

I completely understand what you are going through.  My DS was colicky and had reflux.  Prevacid worked wonders for us.  Cutting different foods out of my diet did not matter at all for him, so don't kill yourself in that arena unless it seems to work after a week or so (at least that's what the pedi and Cheryl the LC told me). 

How many days has he been on the Prevacid?  What is his dosage?  We gave it twice a day until he was 6 months old.  Do you wear him?  Does he take a paci?  These two things saved me.  As soon as I started wearing him in the Moby or Bjorn it really changed everything for us  (I know, I know, Bjorn is bad, he survived).  Also, do you have his crib elevated? 

we used to have it elevated, then brought it down. last night we elevated super high again. poor guy slid down during the night.   we haven;t started Prevacid yet. about to pick up the prescription today to start it out.  I just hate the "unsureness" of my pedi since he doesn't have obvious signs other than fussiness sometimes lately right after eating and basically all day long. I don't wear him. he hates the sling we have (the infantino one).  I wear him in the bjorn every now and then, but doesn't consistently soothe him.  does not take the paci.  frankly it pisses him off.  nothing cosistently soothes him and I feel like we;ve tried everything,  The bathroom fan is a new discovery yesterday that might be a winner but not for long enough.

jakbtx

i feel your pain as well. I would have to have him in the Moby (or pouch sling worked for him but it got too painful for me, or swaddled, but that got too painful to hold him for 1-2hrs like that) bouncing on an exercise ball literally all day...to either keep him from crying or keep him asleep. the worst was 4-8wks. i eliminated dairy and did start him on zantac at 8wks, so I think it did help. he is not a huge spitter-upper but he was so unhappy after eating. even after nursing in the middle of the night I would have to bounce him for an hour before he'd sleep again. it's gotten so much better, especially the last 2 wks he's a difft baby...he could just be growing out of some of it, but we are still giving him the reflux meds. i suspect my other 2 may have had reflux too as they were screamy messes for 11 wks, 6 wks respectively. I had dreams of easy babies, but not in the cards for me...thank god for health though!! sorry you are in it, it is so stressful. hang in there!!!

?

p.s. not sure eliminating dairy did much for him, i cheat from time to time and don't notice any change. but i know for some, dairy/casein is a huge contributor.?

?

eta: i was unsure about medicating too because he seemed so ?borderline, and there were things that calmed him. BUT, i hit the wall close to 8 wks. i had had the medicine in my possession since he was 5 wks and I just couldn't stay sane and focus on my other 2 too. so we did the medicine, and I do think it helped. ?

texmommy3

Honestly, don't kill yourself trying to cut foods out.  I know a lot of people who tried that and they just ended up hungry.

I would guess colic.  The good news is that there IS an end to that; babies do not stay colicky forever.  I feel for you.  I remember the days where my oldest had it pretty bad and finally just laying her in her crib and closing the door, knowing i had done literally anything and everything I could do.

Kristen0709

A few weeks ago I could have written this post.  I know what you're going through!  DS has reflux and we tried different meds but the only thing that works is the Prevacid.  I'm telling you it did wonders.  Fussing after eating really makes me think it's reflux, DS was that way and even still he'll scream from time to time while eating.  I would definitely give the medicine a shot.  I know how hard it is and how you feel like you're going to pull your hair out!  Good luck and let us know how it goes.

brads_diva

texmommy3:

 I remember the days where my oldest had it pretty bad and finally just laying her in her crib and closing the door, knowing i had done literally anything and everything I could do.

This made me cry cause I had to do this once.  It gets so frustrating sometimes.

Thank you all so very much for your responses. It really helps talking to others who have gone through the same thing.  I'm going to give the meds a try and see if they work and maybe be on my way to look for a Moby wrap. My pedi gave me Zantac and Prevacid.  He said that the Zantac makes the Prevacid work faster by making a better "environment" for it.  Kind of weird but I guess the sooner the better before we all get sent to the looney bin.  I appreciate the advice!

 

brads_diva

MrsRosie:

then roll a small recieving blanket or fold it in thirds and stick it under his heels.  Make sure it's a non-slipper fabric.  This helped a ton and he didn't slide as much or at all most nights.

Ooo, I'll try this. the big elevation seemed to work pretty well. Slept for 4 hours at a time!  But I would have to keep sliding him back up in between grunts. Thanks!

Temp13436125005166

MrsRosie:

brads_diva:

fussiness sometimes lately right after eating and basically all day long.

This is what makes me think it's reflux more than or in addition to colic.

Yeah, DS's colic didn't seem to be after eating and was usually just in the evenings...  so sounds like a pretty different situation.  I hope the medicine helps!!!

Bookworm75

I have had 2 babies w/colic. Here are the things that worked for me...

All of the below done together...

Gripe water/Colic tablets/Colic water
Swaddle
Put in swing w/hair dryer running underneath on high

And then what I wish I knew with my first baby that I did w/my second baby was to take her to (ok, here's where you think I'm crazy, but it worked) this chiropractor. The results were immediate. He just makes tiny thumping adjustments to your baby while you are holding them in your arms. DD slept right through it most of the time.