Anyone have LO w/ sensitive gag reflex?

sescms2004

DS is developing a very sensitive gag reflex.  Over the last couple weeks, he has puked up entire bottles & solids meals.  It usually happens when he is trying to burp.  It's like a little bit of formula/food will come back up when he burps, which causes him to gag, then he projectile vomits everything up.  He was a happy spitter when he was first born, but now I'm wondering if he's developing reflux?  Our pedi always told us that spitting up gets better around 9 mos old.  This is far from just spitting up though.  It's usually his full 8oz bottle when it happens.  Any ideas?

beebe929

We do, just finished a couple appt consultation with and OT about it.  With her (10 months) it was just solids she was having an issue with.  She wasn't mature in her tongue movements, so things would get stuck on her tongue.

We started a daily allergy medicine for her (zyrtec) to help with her congested throat, and that has helped.

Good luck!

 

charmcitygirl

Jacob had a rather sensitive gag reflex.  We knew from 3 weeks on that he did have reflux, so we knew where the gagging was from.  But your LO does sound a lot like Jacob.  One burp or hiccup and he was barfing up the whole bottle or a whole meal.

And we could NEVER give him the stage 3 meals with the chunks.  He would gag every time.

It never really upset him to be gagging and he never choked on what he was gagging, so our feeding specialist (who we were seeing for severe reflux) just told us that some babies are more sensitive with gagging and to go slowly with feeding bottles, burping frequently.  And also to be careful about giving chunky food.

Ironically, he never had any issue with actual pieces of solid food, just the ones that were smooth and chunky (like stage 3 foods).

Now he's totally fine and I would say that it was a phase of adjustment that lasted just for a couple of months.

orange682

DD had really bad reflux, and right around 9  months when we started increasing her real food intake it got worse.  We'd just keep a bowl right next to her when she ate so she could throw up in the bowl rather then all over us and her.  It sounds disgusting, but you do what you have to do. 

How many oz of formula/BM is he drinking?  Could you be giving him too much at one sitting? 

We really never found a solution to it, other then to give DD AR medicine and let it run it's course.  Even at 3 she sometimes throws up her milk when she has a bad cold, and there really isn't much we can do about it.  We just have to work around it. 

Good luck!

sescms2004

orange682:

 

How many oz of formula/BM is he drinking?  Could you be giving him too much at one sitting? 

He is getting 6-8 oz in each bottle.  We always stop to burp him half way through. DH and I always hold our breath to see if the burp is gonna be a full-on puke.  A lot of times it happens with his first bottle of the morning.  He also gags a lot with purees/cereal which we've been doing for 2 mos now, but is getting progressively worse.  He'll gag a little when I give him a spoonful, but won't actually puke until he starts to burp.  

futrkingsley

DS was similar but I never suspected reflux.  Nor did his doctor.  He gagged on thicker food like mashed potatoes and to this day, won't eat anything that is that consistency (and he's almost 3!).  It hit it's climax when he was 18 months and vomiting several times a week.  He also wasn't talking so he had a full evaluation and the OT said he had a very strong gag reflex, but that it was protective (to keep from choking) and that as long as he was actually eating (and he was), that he would outgrow the gagging.  And he did.  As soon as his last molars came in a few weeks later, he was mostly fine.