breastmilk thickeners?

ESM354

Anyone else have experience with these? I was told they are an option for reflux and wondering if I should call and try to start this.  DS has reflux pretty bad and it is getting worse especially around bedtime.  He just grunts and squeels after eating and eventually spits up a lot. Then he is hungry again- vicious cycle especially at the end of the day when everyone is exhausted.  I feel so bad for him and wonder if thickening the breastmilk would help him keep it down and keep some of the pain away.  He is already on prevacid for it and sleeps with his crib elevated in a danny sling. 

 If you had experience did you do it to every feeding and do you have to use special bottles?

Thanks so much!

mrsmikey

There are several ways to thicken their feeds, rice cereal being the cheapest and usually where people start.  But I would definitely consult with your pedi first.  My pedi had us try thickening before he would prescribe any medication, but we ended up needing to do both. 

I forget how much we thickened, I think it was a tablespoon per ounce or something like that.  I'm not 100% sure, so don't take my word.  But we did do it with every feed, and we continued using our regular bottles and nipples.  Some people use the cereal nipples, but my pedi advised against that unless we just absolutely had too.  Part of the reason it works is because it slows down the eating, and if you use a nipple that's too big, it defeats the purpose.  But if your baby can't get the milk out, then obviously try something else.

Also, breastmilk will break down the rice pretty quickly, so you can't mix up a bunch at use throughout the day, you'll need to thicken each bottle and feed it immediately.  There are other thickeners on the market that don't break down, like Simply Thick, but they are pretty expensive.

lemen99

We used Simply thick. It helped us tremendously.

king_family

I would definitely check in with your doctor first and see what his/her thoughts are. 

 If you do decide to thicken, Simply Thick (a gel based product) is the only thickener that will thicken breast milk.  It is covered by some insurances but otherwise can be pricey.

 Rice cereal and Thick It (a cornstarch based powder) are options for thickening formula and liquids other than breastmilk.

You would not need a special bottle. If your baby is unable to express the thickened liquid from a regular nipple efficiently, often a fast flow nipple will help your baby express the thickened liquid.  Sometimes a small, single slit needs to be cut in the nipple to help the baby express the liquid efficiently.

Hope this helps  

Anne305

gelmix is the only thickener made for children and especially for baby formula and breast milk. It was recommended to us by our ped gi and the results have been great.