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oandmplus1
member
breastfeeding and reflux
oandmplus1
member
DD was just put on zantac for her reflux because she is screaming at the breast and refusing to eat a lot more often. She is taking pumped BM thickened with with rice cereal as recommended by the ped when she wont BF. I know zantac takes a little while to work and DD starts daycare on Monday, I am afraid she wont want to nurse anymore. She is screaming and refusing the breast a lot. Any advice, I dont want her to be in pain, but I dont want her to stop nursing yet either.
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Re: breastfeeding and reflux
how long has she been on zantac? and how many times a day does she take it?
i think with ds, it took about 2-3 days before we really started to notice a big difference (aka the meds were fully working)
i'm sorry you're going through this. reflux really sucks. i wish i had more advice to give you.... unfortunately it takes time to get the meds to work. i would just keep offering the breast as often as you can to and hope that the meds work quickly.
i also nursed in more upright positions- DS was 6 months old and his reflux has pretty well passed before i used the side lying position. Also, if you have a very forceful letdown, you might consider pumping or hand expressing a bit before you put her to the breast.
Reflux is so hard to deal with for the parents, so make sure you have some support. Good luck and I hope the meds kick in quickly for you. They made a world of difference for us!
I'm sorry you've had to deal with this!
Two questions for you:
1. Oversupply and reflux are often related. Do you know if your letdown is coming out too fast for her? If so, you might want to express into a cloth diaper until the "worst" is over. Also, if you begin your session on the breast you ended with previously, she can get milk from a breast that maybe isn't as full to begin with. Also nursing as often as you can so that meals are smaller and more full of good fats (and less of the sugary foremilk).
2. Have you tried changing your diet at all? Dairy is a big culprit for a lot of babies with colic and reflux. It could take up to 2 weeks of being completely off it (be careful--it's a hidden ingredient in a lot of processed food) to see results. I know my daughter was really sensitive to my eating caffeine, chocolate, and beans. Have you noticed it being worse at different times?
I'm a little surprised that your pedi recommended rice cereal so early. Is he old school? Both the AAP and LLL don't recommend solids until at least 4 months and then specifically whole foods, not processed white rice cereal. Breast milk is really all a baby needs (it's the perfect food nutritionally) and is designed to be the gentlest, most easily digestible food (aside from the possible #2 issue above). A baby's stomach can't yet handle cereal. Research has also not supported thickened feeds as a good solution to the reflux.
Do you have a good resource for breastfeeding like The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding or The Complete Guide? Do you have access to a La Leche League meeting or leader in your area?
It took about 2-3 days for the Zantac to "kick in" for us. The football hold was all I could use for several reasons, but it really helped with DS's reflux since I was able to keep him more upright.
My very young (30ish) female pedi recommended what she called the "thickened" formula (I have no idea what this is since I BFed) which she said had cereal in it. She said that it was for reflux. When I told her I BFed she said not to mix cereal with BM because it doesn't mix well. I wouldn't have done it anyway, but I thought it was a strange reason not to mix since I was under the impression that mixing cereal into a bottle was a big no-no. Also, I had no idea that they sold formula w/ cereal specifically for reflux.
Oh god that's horrible.
I forgot to say that one of the reasons thickening with cereal is bad is that it can be regurgitated and can be aspirated into the baby's lungs. With an infant this small, the idea of this just makes my heart hurt.
But I'm guessing the baby's refusal to eat may be causing slower weight gain than the pedi likes (or even weight loss, which would not be good!). A switch to formula is also a bad idea because it's not the breastmilk causing the reflux. A stomach that empties quickly is better for the reflux, and formula stays in there up to twice as long as breastmilk, which is digested much more quickly. It is important that the baby eats, and it sounds like it's important to mom that it's breastmilk, so there are lots of things worth trying with nursing first.
But in the meantime let's hope the medication helps. : )
I didn't mean to imply that my pedi wanted me to switch to formula. She thought I already used formula. (Is BFing really that uncommon these days that the pedi would assume I formula fed?) What I thought she was saying was that a thicker formula would stay down better. I wasn't sure what the logic behind that was, but I've heard several other people say that their pedi said the same thing.
Mind you, this is the same pedi that encouraged my bedsharing.
I also think you should look at your diet. DS's reflux basically went away completely after I cut dairy out. He was a much happier baby.
And it is true that bm is the best option for reflux babies because it is digested quickly.
This. It was hard not having dairy for several months before DS outgrew it, but MAN it was nicer than having to administer medication!
None of the things that the pedi suggested was helping DS reflux. What helped us the most was nursing him side lying and not moving him much after eating. Once his reflux had subsided, I did a lot of reading and talked to my MIL (who is a HUGE BFing supporter and the head nurse at a pediactric clinic) and we pretty much agree that DS's reflux was probably there on its own, but that I had a pretty fast letdown which exaccerbated the situation.
O has been allergic to milk protein since 5 weeks old, but then the reflux started at 12 weeks and I'd been completely dairy-free since.
Anyway, he's doing much better with it now, and the Zantac kicked in about 1-2 days after we started it. He's so much happier now that his spitting up doesn't hurt him anymore. He's doing so well!
We hold him or put him in a swing or put him in a baby carrier for 30 minutes after he eats. That helps a lot with the spit up.
Oh, and we've given him brown rice cereal twice [just with a spoon since he's BF] a few days ago to see if it'd help, but it didn't, so we stopped. We're waiting until he can sit up.