Agonizing over possible "silent reflux" in 2 week old baby girl...need advice

vlcoley

Hi -

My daughter is two weeks old.  We were at the doctor on Monday for a weight check and she is gaining weight (was 8 lbs when born, 7.8 lbs when discharge from hospital and is now 8.4 lbs two weeks old) and by all accounts, very healthy.  However, we are having some issues with fussiness/discomfort between feedings.  I thought it was related to gas - I have a "forceful let down" so poor baby swallows a lot of air while trying to keep up with aggressive flow.  But now I am wondering if it is not "silent reflux"?  She has never spit up but does arch her back, gets lots of hiccups, sound congested,  blows little spit bubbles and fusses between some (not all) feedings.  I do my best to burp her while she eats but she very rarely lets out a peep (hasn't been much of a burper since birth), I also try to keep her upright for 15-30 minutes after eating, and she sleeps in her bouncey chair so she stays elevated (the only time she really lays flat on her back is when she is being changed).  None of these things seem to be making much of a difference.  I am DESPERATE to find a solution so she doesn't have to go on meds:(.  Does anyone have any other tips for me to help her with her discomfort?  About what age to babies ususally grow out of reflux?  If we continue to try to remedy this situation without meds, are we going to do any serious/permenant damage to our baby girl?  We have been trying Gripe Water for the last few days...we give it to her while she feeds....sometimes it seems to help. other times it seems to make no different at all.  Please help!

snicksnack

I am posting from third tri but I have a 2-year old.  I had issues with my DD and come to find out it was a milk intolerance.  This was after I tried treating for forceful letdown etc? once I eliminated milk from my diet all was well.  

vlcoley

Just milk or all dairy?  I actually haven't had any milk in a couple days BUT I still eat cheese, butter, other dairy.  Should I avoid ALL dairy or just milk?

snicksnack

vlcoley:

Just milk or all dairy?  I actually haven't had any milk in a couple days BUT I still eat cheese, butter, other dairy.  Should I avoid ALL dairy or just milk?

Sorry I meant all dairy, including hidden.  What confirmed to us that it was dairy is that I had a chicken dish out that had dairy in it and I did not know and the next day she started having green diapers again, which is one of the signs.  Once I got everything out of my system I was able to slowly introduce and we realized she was okay when I had cheese but milk was not good. She was tested for allergies at 9 months, 15 months and two -years and it never came up as an allergy so it was just an intolerance, which is common.

ETA: It takes about two weeks to get out of your system

robinbirdaz

My DD was diagnosed with silent reflux at 8 weeks old--she would start to nurse for about 1-2 minutes then unlatch and just scream and cry. She would keep latching over and over, and cry and cry. It was awful. Pedi prescribed Zantac and it worked wonders for her, and she weaned off of it by about 6 months. I had a forceful letdown too, and what my LC told me to do was let her start to nurse until the forceful letdown started. Then unlatch her (I know it seems mean!), and let yourself leak/letdown into a burp cloth until it's not as fast. Then latch her back on. She won't swallow as much air this way and she can eat a little slower. If it helps, have a paci ready for when she has to wait. This helped reduce some of DD's issues, but she did ultimately need the Zantac. Good luck!

6sour6grapes6

we just started Axid 3 days ago. I am wondering what to do in the meantime while it starts to work. I really think meds are harmless and I'm willing to give ANYTHING a try. I eliminated milk from my diet (I don't eat much other dairy, and I was only drinking milk in my coffee once a day) and that has not helped. I hope our babies find some relief soon!

fallenangelmom

I am dealing with the same issue with my 17 day old son. I had to take him to the doctor for his 2 week check up and was BF him in the doctor's office... when the doctor walked in and heard my son gasping for air, and struggling to take a breath, he prescribed zantac. The zantac seems to take his breath away almost as bad as the reflux, but at least he is not spitting up as much now... Good luck to you...