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Babies: 6 - 9 Months
Reflux baby and sleep- need help! :(
Our LO is 8 1/2 months old and has pretty severe reflux- it's been controlled with meds since he was 5 months old- he takes prevacid twice a day. But, he is still a poor eater- usually takes bottles of only 2-4 ounces several times a day (most days we get 20 oz of formula) +2-3 solids/day. He has never ever STTN and my husband and I are at a breaking point. Most nights he will go to sleep around 8pm and stays asleep for 3-4 hours then is up every 1-2 hours after that until 6am! It's exhausting. he will usually eat 2-4oz throughout the night. he is a small baby and feeding/weight gain has always been an issue so I am very hesistant to sleep train because if he is hungry, I want to make sure he eats. So, I'm not sure what to do. Also, because of his reflux and poor eating, we have to hold him upright after a bottle for at least 15-20 minutes so putting him down drowsy but awake never happens. I just wanted to know if any other moms of refluxers/poor eaters have been successful with sleep training and if so, what worked? We are desperate 
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Re: Reflux baby and sleep- need help! :(
you're not alone. my DS JUST started doing 6-8 hr stretches. His reflux is very severe as well. he is on a hypo allergenic formula (neocate) for a milk soy protein intolerance, plus prevacid compounded twice a day and Bethanechol 4 times a day.
The bethanechol makes the muscle in the esophogs stronger. This seems to be the med that has made all the difference. It has taken over 3 weeks on the medicine to start working to its full potentional. I would definetly ask about something else.
we went through HELL with ds, up all night screaming, arching,you name it. We got in the car severeal times to head to the ER. I cried many hours of tears with my ds. It was horrible but I am FINALLY seeing a light at the end of the tunnel.
Get into a good GI and force them to do some testing or try other things!!
I want to give you a big hug, you are not alone!!
and I thought about sleep training too but once you find the right med combo you will not need it. You can't let your baby CIO when they are in pain or hungry.
My ds wont take more than 4-5 oz and still throws up (projectile) about 1-2 oz of each bottle.
please find the "surviving reflux,colic & MSPI" on the babycenter.com group forums. Those ladies know SOOO much and you will get some help! I promise!!
Oh I just found the link...go here!!!
https://community.babycenter.com/groups/a3937145/surviving_reflux_dealing_with_the_other_colic---reflux_mspi_and_other_gi_issues
I agree with a lot of this. Both of my girls have had reflux, but DD#1 had it BAD!!! I finally begged my pedi for a referral to a pediatric GI specialist and it was honestly the best thing we ever did! She was on prevacid and bethanychol 4 times a day. He also gave us carafate for 10 days to help heal any damage to the esophagus that had already been done...basically he said it was like a bandaid. I truly cannot tell you how much better all of that made her. I will add that we did not successfully come off of all medications until almost 18 months old though.
You definitely should go see a GI specialist.
DD had severe reflux and even as a toddler (she has outgrown it) we have many feeding issues because she has a negative association with food and won't eat. Eating hurt and unless she knows it is "safe" within her comfort zone she won't try anything new. Also because of her reflux she has oral-motor problems and a very sensitive gag reflex so any new texture in her mouth will make her throw up (very common in severe reflux babies) She has gone days unwilling to eat hardly anything and even at 18 months I heavily relied on 3 bottles a day with toddler formula. When she gave up the bottles on her own (when her brother started taking bottles she refused a bottle) she went on a milk strike and wouldn't drink any milk for 6 months!! We have done almost 6 months of occupational therapy to get her to start eating and drinking milk from a sippy. Occupational therapy has helped tremendously!
When she was a baby she was controlled with prevacid and Zantac. Each medication works differently so her GI specialist (children's hospital) had me doing both. We were actually going to move her to an antibiotic and nexium combo because severe reflux babies tend to have an over-production of bacteria in the stomach causing refluxing worse. She had breathing problems until we could control it and she never spaced out her feedings. Even at 9 months old she would bfed every 2.5 hours and feeding solids was a very slow process.
I kept track of every food she ate so I could note if it upset her stomach. I waited weeks before introducing new foods and waited almost a year before introducing cheeses and meats. Her GI specialist had me sitting down with nutritionists and lactation consultants and even I was on a strict diet!
As far as night... do you have a crib wedge? I was interacted to place DD on her stomach at night and never let her sleep on her back. She actually refluxed one night so bad she choked and started to turn blue when she was laying on her back and we rushed her to the ER.
In addition to sleeping on her stomach I gave her rice cereal as often as I could to "weigh down" the food. At night I would feed her solids (something non-acidic like sweet potato) mixed with rice cereal, and before bed give her a bottle with pumped milk and rice cereal mixed in.
I think a lot of her cat napping during the day and waking up at night was because she was in pain and sucking (boob or bottle) helped relieve that pain. Once we got the pain to subside she started STTN.
Good luck
You are certainly not alone. My LO had a milk protein allergy which caused reflux symptoms. After many dr appts we ended up with a pediatric GI and a naturapathic doctor. I've never used formula or bottles so I can't help with amounts or such. As far as weight gain goes, maybe try giving him some power foods like avocado or bananas. I believe in the more natural the better. Meds just lead to more problems. I exclusively breastfed for 6+ mos, ate dairy free, had LO see a naturapathic doctor, we used homeopathic tablets, and LO wore a hazelwood necklace. The necklace helps with acid and digestion. For more info go to inspiredbyfinn.com or their fb page. I swear by their amber and hazelwood. Boy, what a great discovery for us! I found a discount code, IBF20, for 20% off.
As far as sleeping goes, mine is 21 mos. and still does not sleep throught the night. I don't expect him too and even though sometimes it is exhausting, I am ok with that. I absolutely do not believe in letting them cry it out. It can cause so much damage on so many levels. If you truly feel it is necessary try the No-cry sleep solution. I think it is by Elizabeth Pantley. We co-sleep and my little one nurses when he needs to. We both can do it in our sleep so it's not so disruptive and it is a great bonding experience. I was never going to be one of those moms but I am so glad I am. I wouldn't trade it for anything!
Hope this helps and your little one feels better soon!