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On our way to 3 under 4!
DD1 1/22/09
DD2 7/16/10
Baby Boy Due This Summer!
Who had to give their infant Zantac? Need advice please!
I started a dairy-free diet last week because DD#2 is very fussy during and after nursing, very gassy, spits up like crazy, and is just generally not happy at night. DD1 spit up a lot, but she never seemed bothered by it, so it wasn't an issue. DD2 is still gaining a lot of weight, so the doctor isn't too concerned, but I hate how uncomfortable she seems, and obviously don't like how fussy and inconsolable she can get.
Besides dairy-free sucking in general, it hasn't helped at all, and DD actually has been worse the last few nights (I've been dairy-free for 5 days now). It could be the fact that she just started on Diflucan last week for thrush that won't go away, but who knows.
Anyway, sorry this got so long. If you did Zantac, how long did you use it? Did it work really well? I HATE giving medication to my infant, and the fact that she's already on Diflucan makes me feel guilty enough (didn't really have a choice on that one since the Nystatin didn't work too well, and the thrush has to be treated).
After spending hours trying to console her for the last few nights before bed, I've reached my limit. She does sleep fairly well after finally falling asleep (thanks to the FP Newborn Rock and Play Sleeper), and only wakes once or twice to eat at night, but she is obviously in pain and I hate seeing her like that. 
Also, when she nurses, she can only nurse for about a minute before she has to burp or spit up, and it can take up to 30 minutes to burp her!!! It's awful. Help!
On our way to 3 under 4!
DD1 1/22/09
DD2 7/16/10
Baby Boy Due This Summer!
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Re: Who had to give their infant Zantac? Need advice please!
DS #1 started on Zantac at one month. He grew out of it by 6 months.
DS #2 has silent reflux. We just got the prescription on Friday for Zantac.
I would say try it for a week. If it works, you'll notice a difference. If not, pull her off it.
I honestly think the two of us are living parallel lives right now. I have no advice for you, but if you find any great solutions, PLEASE let me know! Peyton was fine for the first few weeks, then about a week or two ago, started getting insanely fussy. Wouldn't/won't nurse, and is inconsolable throughout the day at times, but definitely at night and it can last for 1.5-3 hours. Long story short, we took him to the pedi end of the week, and they non nonchalantly said he has colic, and changed his formula. I'm not totally sure that colic is the answer though, and if anyone had a LO with colic, I'd love some insight. The new formula has done nothing good, other than constipate him for 2 days, and I don't know what to do either.
If you find a magic cure let me know!
We did Zantac too. Probably started around 4 weeks. It made a difference for us and I could tell when her dosage needed to go up. Eventually we stopped upping the dosage and just let her outgrow it. I think that was around 6 mos or so.
Like someone else just said, try it for a week or two and see how it goes. Good luck!
It was prescribed for my smaller twin at their 8 week appt. So their adjusted age was 4 weeks. She would just cry through her entire feedings and arch her back like crazy. The docs said the arching the back during a feeding is a classic sign of reflux in newborns. She also spit up a lot, not like a lot of times throughout the day like her twin, which is normal newborn/infant behavior, but she would spit up about 10 min. after eating and it would be like half of what she ate. It was more like throwing up than spitting up. So they put her on Zantac 2x a day. I would give it to her first thing in the morning when she got up and let is get into her stomach while I changed her diaper and dressed her, then I would feed her sister while keeping her content with a paci (that was the hardest part because they wanted at least 30 min. between when I gave it to her and when I fed her). Night was much easier because I would just have to remember to give it to her 30 min. before her last bottle.
Anyway back to your question, at 9 months we tried going off it and found she just couldn't go without it. We were able to drop to 1x per day and that being the morning dose. We were finally able to get her off it at about 11 1/2 months old and that is when they really started eating table foods well and I think that helped a lot with the acid, because they were getting a lot more food in their bellies than formula at that point.
My doc said it is completely normal for infants to need it the entire first year and some even have to go to 18 months with it, it just depends on the child.
My advice in regards to the Zantac for the first 6 months is if you see her start to act like she is having problems again while being on the meds it is probably because she is getting to the upper part of the weight limit in regards to dosage and she may need an increase in dosage. So if you see this happen, contact your pedi and ask about this so you can keep her happy and pain free. My girl always need a dosage change between well baby check ups, it never seemed to happen close to an appt., so I was always calling the doc about this when it came up.
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DS was put on Zantac at 4 weeks. We saw almost immediate results and in a week we had a totally different baby. He'll be 7 months in a few days and he's down to just a dose before bed.
My son had the most awful colic. Around 4 months he started getting better and by 5 months it was totally gone.
He was a classic colic case and started his crying around the same time every day- and of course it would start right about the time DH was leaving for work (3pm) and would last 3-4 hours.
He was pretty fussy during the day, but nothing compared to that night crying. The only things that really worked was rocking, bouncing on a yoga ball, his swing, driving in the car and holding him in my arms. We tried Gripe Water but it really never did anything (except it worked on his reflux hiccups).
Zantac didn't work for our DD but a probiotic (bio gaia infant drops) and dairy free did eventually work. It takes almost 2-3 weeks for dairy to be out of your system so it could still be affecting her.
Things that helped with the crying for us:
The Moby wrap was wonderful for the infant stage because it kept her more snug than my Ergo and put a bit more pressure on her tummy. We also ordered the Happiest Baby on the Block CD - it has a variety of womb sounds that we played that really worked when she got started with the inconsolable crying at night. She would gear up around 7 or 8 and SCREAM until 11 some nights. She spit up but it wasn't a ton. I think around 4 months things changed and she stopped crying so much. DD was generally fussy during the day if anyone other than me was holding her. She didn't like the swing and just wanted to be held and to be up right. The Dr. felt like it was a colic/reflux/temperment issue.
I was very careful about my diet - I kept it very bland, as hard as it was...things that cause a lot of gas and reflux are peppers, chocolate, wheat, dairy, garlic...I used to have a list but you could just google to find it.
The thrush could be causing her mouth to itch or feel hot and sore. I can't imagine basically having a yeast infection in my mouth. You will hopefully see a difference when that is resolved.
Some babies just throw up a lot and cry and it is really hard to figure out why. Their little systems are so complex. Was she born early? If so, she may just need some time to allow for her system to develop 100%. GL - It can be really hard but it does get better.
yea my DD was put on Zantac and it's actually making her spit up more. I am also on the horrible non diary diet and pumping while DD is on formula, which seems to be helping. We are going to try to reintroduce the breast after 10 days on the diet. My DD does have reflux but Zantac is not helping, she also has milk allergy, and colic. so I totally understand where you are coming from. GL to you!
I started giving my baby Zantac at 8 weeks, and he's still on it at 8 months old. The Zantac alone didnt help much-it was a combination of small feedings every 1 1/2-2 hours, sensitive formula, and rice cereal that did the trick. I didn't end up getting him off the 2 hour feedings until 6 months old, and we're still on the zantac, but just once a day now.
You have my respect-nursing a reflux infant is extremely challenging. I couldn't do it. Best of luck that the zantac is helpful.
Yikes, I don't think I have it quite that bad, LOL. She doesn't cry all the time, and is actually pretty content in the Ergo, and is currently asleep in the swing. She also sleeps well in the elevated sleeper we bought for her. The night time crying is pretty awful, but doesn't last that long, although after an hour or two, it seems like forever. And it isn't every night. The nurse at our pedi's office is also a lactation consultant, and she suggested pumping a 2-3 bottles a day to make sure she is getting a full feeding that includes the hind milk. Supposedly the hind milk can help break down the foremilk, which causes gas. So, I gave her two pumped bottles yesterday, and pumped two already today (although she has actually been sleeping for the last 3 hours!!!!, so she hasn't eaten in a while). She has had two doses of the Zantac, and I really think it's working so far. She nursed at 2am and 5am, and didn't get fussy or pull off of me every minute like she usually does. She also happily went right back to sleep after she ate. It was nice. I hope it lasts! :-)
Oh, she was born at 38 weeks since we had to do a c-section this time, so she was technically "term." She weighed 7lbs 5 oz. But I do wonder if not staying in there until she was ready caused her to come out before her little systems all matured. DD1 was over a week late, and never had any of these issues.