Tell me about reflux...

Jerayskin

DS has always been kind of wheezy sounding and always spits up a good bit after he eats. I EBF so he isn't swallowing as much air as he would if he were taking a bottle. Sometimes if I lay him on his back a few minutes after he eats, he will kind of choke and gasp for air. Does this sound like reflux?

benniferbaby

My LO does the same and is EBF except for a bottle of formula each night before bed, which receives the same treatment. He also farts constantly and sometimes seems to have a really hard time pushing out his poop but is never constipated. Pedi told me to limit (but not eliminate) gassy foods in my own diet (dairy, chocolate, caffeine, beans, and gassy veg like broccoli). I've been doing that for the past few days and it doesn't seem to help too much but I think it may take a while? He wasn't ready to diagnose reflux at this point.

Jerayskin

My son has really bad gas as well, but he always passes it and its always loud! he is a grunter as well. I have no idea if that is reflux related though. I'm going to ask about it at his 2 month appt if not sooner. The thing that makes me think reflux is the wheezing and gasping for air, but who knows I'm not a doctor.

katieh1017

L's reflux symptoms were crying during and after feeding, arching her back, spitting out the bottle, gagging while eating and general discomfort after meals. She doesn't spit up a lot so it's considered silent reflux. 

She also had bad gas and pushed/grunted a lot the first couple months.

From my understanding all babies have reflux it's just whether or not they have discomfort from it. Sounds like your baby is refluxing and then swallowing the spit up which is making him gag, gasp for air.

Keep him upright after feeding for 20-30 min. And of course call the pedi just for peace of mind.

The colic massage helped us a lot with gas. Look up how to do on YouTube. We would do it after evey nap, before eating. Good luck!  

ThatWasAHoot

My son did that air gasping thing and he did, indeed have reflux.  Baby prilosec fixed it!  He also would spit up A TON.

benniferbaby

katieh1017:

L's reflux symptoms were crying during and after feeding, arching her back, spitting out the bottle, gagging while eating and general discomfort after meals. She doesn't spit up a lot so it's considered silent reflux. 

She also had bad gas and pushed/grunted a lot the first couple months.

From my understanding all babies have reflux it's just whether or not they have discomfort from it. Sounds like your baby is refluxing and then swallowing the spit up which is making him gag, gasp for air.

Keep him upright after feeding for 20-30 min. And of course call the pedi just for peace of mind.

The colic massage helped us a lot with gas. Look up how to do on YouTube. We would do it after evey nap, before eating. Good luck!  

I just want to say that your LO is absolutely gorgeous!

Also thx for the tip re colic massage. DS is usually too miserable after his bath to appreciate the oil massage, but I'm willing to try anything to calm his little tummy.

katieh1017

benniferbaby:

katieh1017:

L's reflux symptoms were crying during and after feeding, arching her back, spitting out the bottle, gagging while eating and general discomfort after meals. She doesn't spit up a lot so it's considered silent reflux. 

She also had bad gas and pushed/grunted a lot the first couple months.

From my understanding all babies have reflux it's just whether or not they have discomfort from it. Sounds like your baby is refluxing and then swallowing the spit up which is making him gag, gasp for air.

Keep him upright after feeding for 20-30 min. And of course call the pedi just for peace of mind.

The colic massage helped us a lot with gas. Look up how to do on YouTube. We would do it after evey nap, before eating. Good luck!  

I just want to say that your LO is absolutely gorgeous!

Also thx for the tip re colic massage. DS is usually too miserable after his bath to appreciate the oil massage, but I'm willing to try anything to calm his little tummy.

Thanks for the compliment!

Really the colic massage worked wonders and sometimes just rubbing her belly now helps her to fall asleep.

Oliver715

I have just been through A LOT with reflux and milk protein intolerance. Here is what I know:

 All babies have reflux. It's due to an underdeveloped sphincter muscle that basically keeps the liquid in the belly. Babies that need to go on meds are the ones that have too much acid in their tummy and it comes back up with the milk. This is what we know as heartburn and it hurts like hell. Babies with GERD (reflux disease) will scream their little heads off at every feeding all during the feeding and for about an hr after.. Also every time they spit up they scream and wince. You're probably right. It sounds like something is coming back up and the fact that he is choking on it is not good. This is why babies were laid on their tummys for so long! So I would say keep him sitting up after the feeding for 15-20 minutes. I just lay my baby on my shoulder and burp her for extra long. Orif that hurts her belly I turn her around. Gravity helps the contents stay down. Also you may want to think about having him sleep in something with an incline. The Snuggabunny rock and play has been amazing and my big problem now is when I have to move her to the crib! I love the snuggabunny and she sleeps soooo good! Or he can sleep in a swing. The carseat sometimes would squish her belly too much. Remember, spitting up is totally normal for babies. Its if he winces and screams when he spits up (and it's all day long!!!) thats not normal. GL!  

BuckeyeBride200

STM chiming...Ditto what Oliver said. My now 2 year old had GERD for 9 months. The only thing I would add is that spitting up (and even "reflux") isn't a serious problem unless/until your baby is losing weight and/or not having enough wet diapers. My son had a problem from day one, but wasn't referred to a specialist until we almost ended up in the ER (at about 13 weeks) due to a lack of wet diapers in an 8 hour period, plus constant puking, and a steady decline in weight. Until that point, he was on Zantac, which did nothing, and I tried all of the other hints. Also, cutting dairy and soy from my diet did help. However, it was truly something he had to outgrow. Nothing "cured" GERD except time. Treatment just helped him gain weight.

I found a really good blog recently that I wish I'd found sooner: https://www.mspimama.com/p/milk-soy-protein-intolerance.html. If baby #2  has GERD or any reflux issues, I'll be visiting this site often!!

Also, and this isn't meant to scare anyone, but be on the lookout for pyloric stenosis if your DH or his brother had it as an infant. This was something they checked my son for because it runs through the male line and my son was exhibiting some of the symptoms. From what I was told, this type of baby would be projectile vomiting, not just spitting up.

 HTH OP or someone!! GERD is no fun, but there is a light at the end of the tunnel!!