GERD In Infants

Both of my kids had the acid reflux. My first was put on Zantac and then we also tried Prevacid which she ended up having an allergic reaction to (that was scary) So, we went back to the Zantac and started thickening her formula too once her GI doctor told us to do so. (watch their weight because my daughter needed a new dosage of her meds because she had gained weight especially once we started thickening her formula)

She also slept in a car seat after feeding's and ended up getting a flat spot on one side of her head from that and had to wear a helmet for 3 months to correct her flat spot (so watch for things like that too).

My son also had reflux and his GI doctor started him on Zantac and we had to also thicken his formula we noticed a difference, but he was still crabby so the doctor suggested switching his formula to Soy and that did wonders for him (he was like a new baby) at 1 year we were able to try whole milk and he did just fine with it.

With my daughter I think we tried EVERY formula out there and nothing seemed to make much of a difference we did end up on some expensive Formula's though.

Hang in there....they say most kids will outgrow this by age 1 (both my kids did) I know it seems like a long time, but it will get better.

Hang in there!

My son had the same issues. My Peditrician put him on the prilosec and then recommended the Alimentum formula by similac. It was like day and night when he started both together after a couple of days. He was back to the happy go luck baby. Good luck.

Hi M.! Oh how you took me back 2 yrs.!! My daughter was exactly the same way. She too was put on prilosec and I breast fed as well. I first started by placing her in a bouncy seat after feeding. The slight angle seemed to help her. At bed time, I put a thin pillow under the sheet to prop her up. (They say to put the pillow under the mattress in order to give the angle the baby needs, but I didn't listen. :() I just did whatever I could to help her. You can even place him in his car seat after feeding as well. All these things helped with my daughter. After 3 months of breastfeeding I did start putting cereal in her bottle. I hope this helps and just know it gets better!!

I'm sorry you and your little one are suffering so - having a new baby is intense enough even when everything is going smoothly, and then to be trying to comfort and soothe a baby who is in chronic physical pain (vomiting, sleep issues, likely intestinal and skin issues as well!) is incredibly emotionally and physically draining for parents. BTDT myself and really feel a lot of empathy for you and your baby and your family!

First, please please continue breastfeeding your baby if at all possible -- however, you will very very likely need to alter your own diet to eliminate the foods that are probably transferring to your son via breastmilk & aggratvating him. From my experience, THIS IS WORTH IT and typically pays off TREMENDOUSLY in terms of a healthier, happier baby (and mom and family)!

My 2nd, also a son, had very similar issues, was also exclusively breastfed, and when you see just how vastly they can improve with relatively small/simple changes to mom's diet, it can be VERY motivating! And this coming from a mom who *really* loved her milk, cheese, yogurt, ice cream, etc. :) It helps to remember that babies don't nurse forever, so these dietary changes are temporary - in the grand scheme of things, 12 months without any cow's milk in your diet is small compared to the huge number of non-nursing months in your life! Plus, you have such a valuable window into your son's health, what you might be in for when starting solids, what to look for, etc. in terms of possible future food sensitivies or allergies.

So, a few resources that helped me immensely -- please read over these and see if there's anything that could be helpful/applicable to you & your son (in no particular order, each helpful in different ways):

1) Food Sensitivities in Breastfed Babies
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/food-sensitivity.html

2) GERD & The Breastfed Baby
http://tinyurl.com/7wmhek

3) Pediatrician Dr. Jay Gordon discusses breastfeeding, cow's milk proteins, and symptoms of babies who are sensitive to cow's milk protein (CMP)
http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/pediatricks/dairy.asp

4) A long article from Pediatric Nursing, excerpt below is from p. 3 (http://tinyurl.com/8rs467 ). CMPI is cow's milk protien intolerance, CMA is cow's milk allergy, and this is often either the cause of or at minimum an aggravating factor of GERD:
"The research reveals that CMPI is found in up to 50% of infants diagnosed with gastroesophageal reflux (GER) (Salvatore & Vandenplas, 2002). GER is defined as the involuntary passage of gastric contents into the esophagus and is classified as either primary physiologic, primary pathologic, or secondary GER (Salvatore & Vandenplas, 2002). Usually, there are clinical manifestations in only one system of the body (GI) with primary GER. If more than one system is involved (GI, cutaneous, or respiratory), it is more suspicious of primary CMPI. Secondary GER is known in the literature as GER disease (GERD), and CMPI is often its causative agent (Salvatore & Vandenplas, 2002). Vomiting and irritability seen in CMPI is sometimes mistaken for the vomiting and irritability often seen with GERD. However, the infant will have relief of symptoms when CMP is removed from the diet. CMPI often precedes gastrointestinal problems and should be ruled out as the underlying pathology of GERD (Staiano et al., 1995). Table 3 lists the symptoms of GERD, CMPI, and their overlap. "

5) Final resource that was a HUGE support for me was an email list of mothers who were mostly (98% of them) breastfeeding, trying to help their babies who had food intolerance, food allergy, reflux, GERD, etc., and were supporting one another through the dietary changes. These ladies kept me sane, and there's a WIDE range of experience on the list. Take what works, leave anything that doesn't resonate with you -- the list is an awesome place for support, encouragement, help modifying recipes, and tips for navigating family and social situations in which others aren't aware of or savvy about dealing w/ food/digestive issues. The name of the list is The Foodlab, and here's the link -->
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/foodlab

I recommend choosing "digest" format for email delivery from foodlab, or at minimum filtering all emails from this list into a specific folder. And certainly, please introduce yourself and share as much about the GERD issue as you'd like, asking any questions you're currently having about nursing a sensitive baby.

Last but not least, I really, really want to acknowledge the VERY big effort you've been putting forth in trying to help your baby, breastfeeding through it up to this point, and recognizing that you're at a point where something needs to change for the sake of your own sanity and your entire family.

I personally was blown away by the HUGE role that moms can have in *healing* their GERD/reflux-y/colicky babies w/ some strategic dietary changes (for mom) and the wonderful properties of breastmilk (for both mom and babies w/ gastro or immunity/allergy issues). While formula might seem easier right now, I have met too many moms in this situation (as I was once there myself!) who went to formula only to find that the cow's milk formula made it worse, followed by a switch to soy formula that again was contributing to the problem (50% of babies who are sensitive to cow's milk formula are ALSO soy sensitive), only to move to a SUPER expensive "hypoallergenic" formula such as Elecare or Neocate -- at this point, their breastmilk production had decreased greatly and a LOT of work went into pumping to get back their supply that they regretted having lost in the first place when trying "the formula shuffle" out of sheer desperation (which again, I empathize with that too!). Instead of searching for formula, if you can hang in there for another 10-14 days of breastfeeding, pour your efforts into tweaking your own diet -- and by all means, seek out support from a group like Foodlab for help w/ the dietary stuff. If you are really beyond exhausted and cannot stand breastfeeding for one more minute, I highly encourage you to insist on switching to a hypoallergenic formula first (like Neocate or Elecare) for a few weeks, watching for your baby's symptoms to hopefully improve, and *then* maybe stepping back down to a soy or cow's milk formula (again, watching for reactions/symptoms to crop back up).

Will end here, but just hoping so much for you that your baby starts to feel better ASAP! :)

Another thought that I didn't see mentioned... is it possible that you have oversupply or overactive letdown? Many of the symptoms of GERD are also present in babies whose moms have oversupply, so it can help to control your milk as well if that's the case.

My 2nd daughter was never diagnosed with reflux, but she projectile vomited at least once a day for several months and was never a good sleeper. She didn't seem to be in too much pain, though, and was generally a "happy spitter," although a messy one. She was certainly not a great sleeper once I reduced my oversupply, but she vomited less and was definitely more comfortable.

Anyway, I block fed her. Basically, that just means that you switch sides less often to ensure that baby gets more fatty hindmilk and less quantities of the lighter foremilk. No matter how many times baby asks to nurse in a 2- or 3- or 4-hour period of time, you put baby back on the same breast. Then, use the other breast for the next 2-4 hours. You should start with the 2-hour blocks and work your way up if that doesn't seem to be helping. Obviously, this only makes sense if you think you have an oversupply issue, but it might be worth considering.

Check this out for more info...
http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/reflux.html
http://breastfeeding.hypermart.net/toomuchmilk.html
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html

While I am not familiar with GERD, I can sympathize with the sleepless nights! After weeks of being "mean mommy" I finally put our daughter in our bed and we all slept better. We had her swaddled and she slept on a changing table mat in between my husband and I, which kept her safe from rolling over or us rolling on her. I was initially reluctant to co-sleep, but I was desperate for sleep. Lately I've been reading "The Baby Sleep Book" and "Our Babies, Ourselves" which both advocate co-sleeping. It's not for everyone, all the time, but it's an option, regardless of societal norms.

Best of luck!

My daughter had acid reflux (SERVERE) and after we thickened her formula with cereal it helped alot. You might want to check with your ped first they may want to try a stronger medicine first. Good Luck.

I'm so sorry--I have been there, and it is awful. My daughter had severe reflux for the first 18 months of her life (they usually do grow out of it around one year give or take six months either way). She was completely miserable (as were we--we had a two year old also) for the first year of her life. That being said, I try to help other mothers going through this--I wish I had listened more to my gut instincts and pressed the pediatrician harder for more help when she was not getting better.

I'm glad you're on Prilosec--that helped us a great deal (Zantac was not much help at all). I'm sure you know to keep him upright for at least 1/2 hour after feeding. He's getting a little old for this, but we found that the Miracle Blanket (www.miracleblanket.com) was the only way we could get our daughter to sleep more than an hour or two at night. We also propped her mattress slightly with rolled towels. They do sell a special wedge for reflux babies, but we didn't use this. Is there any way he is comfortable sleeping in the day (carseat, swing, etc.?) You may try an alternative to his crib at night to see if he can get any relief and rest that way.

I would not put cereal in his milk. I know many people do this, but I just think it is too young for their little bellies to digest. It wouldn't have helped us anyway because the older she got and the more solid foods she ate, the more she spit up (the thickness of the foods meant nothing in our case). In fact, it wasn't until she completely stopped growing between six and nine months that the doctors got aggressive with her treatment. We exclusively breastfed as well, and I would encourage that for you also if breastfeeding is important to you.

My best advice is to give the Prilosec some time, but if you feel it is not improving, press your pediatrician to do more and get a GI consult and upper GI study done. Listen to those motherly instincts and don't be afraid to speak up if your child is not getting better. It can take some time to find the right combination of meds, feeding patterns, and sleeping routines. Good luck--I hope this will be a short-lived phase for you! Feel free to message me any time.

Forgot to mention that my daughter also had a milk protein allergy, so I completely cut out all dairy and milk derivatives from my diet. Sometimes just cutting out the dairy can help babies with sensitive tummies whether they are allergic or not.

My almost 5 month daughter is currently dealing with this. For the first few months she was totally miserable and in a lot of distress. It didn't matter whether she was kept upright after feedings becuase she would still reflux. She would do it all day longer. I have currently been giving her a bottle but she still does it. We are being seen by a GI dr at CMC in Dayton. She is on Previcid (7.5mg twice a day) and what I believe really helped with her discomfort was Carafate. It's a liquid that coats her esophagus so it doesn't hurt when she brings stuff up. That has made a big difference. She gets that 3 times a day before feedings. This has definitely helped with her sleeping. When she brings up anything now she is obviously not in any pain/discomfort, thankfully! And be warned, it will get worse before it gets better (the amount he brings up) becuase once they become mobile it shakes it all up. She is rolling now and it comes out constantly. The GI doctor also suggested using Nestle formula because babies with sensitive stomachs seem to tolerate it better. I'm using that to supplement BF. I also went to a complete dairy free diet in hopes that that might help. I don't think it has but am waiting for the dr.to tell me it's okay to resume a normal diet. We don't want to change too many things at once so we can determine what is helping vs. not helping.

Best of luck!

Hi M.,
If you are looking for a "cure" rather than a treatment, consider this: "The baby's digestive system is 'under developed'. We recommend 1 optiflora pearl crushed- pick out the shards of the covering. Mix 1/8 tsp of the Optiflora powder with the powder from the pearl. Put it on mom's finger and let baby suck it off the finger, then nurse. Once a day is usually sufficient. Works well for colicky babies, acid reflux, building immunity et al. There are large scale studies that have been done in Wales with infants from birth to 9 months- giving each a dose of friendly probiotics each day. The increase in immunity has been impressive."

I realize you probably aren't familiar with the products mentioned here but if this sounds like the direction you want to go, please email me off site and I'll walk you through it. I also have an article from Johns Hopkin explaining the many benefits of probiotics that I'll send you. It was too lengthy to share here.

Many studies also show that nearly all health begins in the "gut" so the sooner your baby's issue gets healed, the healthier he'll be for life.

____@____.com

Yes, I dealt with this too. Starting at 7 weeks, Beatrix was on Zantac. It worked pretty well. She took it three times a day, including a bedtime dose. I breastfed exclusively too, which is easiest to digest. However, it may be worth trying to eliminate possible foods from your diet that could aggravate the problem. Beatrix couldn't tolerate me eating a lot of cheese. The pediatrician recommended eliminating dairy, caffeine, and soy, I think. He said we would notice within a few days if it was helping. Besides the cheese, I didn't really think it made much difference what I ate. You could try having him sleep sitting up or raise the head of the crib, but this wasn't an option for us, as we practiced bed sharing. The best I could do was just nurse her and comfort her as well as possible. She did nap well in a baby swing, though. Try the zantac and see if that is more effective. I was severely sleep deprived too, so I feel for you. I am glad to report that she ougrew the GERD around age 3, and it gradually caused less sleep problems. Good luck!

My twins who are now 10 months old have the same problem. Started around 7 weeks. They didn't sleep in their crib for the first few months of their live! We had vibrating seats in which they would sleep to keep them upright rather than laying flat. It helped ALOT!!! They were put on Zantac which helped, and then after an reflux apnea test we added Ragalin also. They do find now and were able to sleep in their crib once on these meds. They still take the meds and we've had few problems (aside from when we've neeeded to up the dosage from their grown). It was so hard dealing with the reflux and watching them in pain. I know what you're going thru. Talk to your Ped to see if maybe you can try another med if that one isn't cutting it. Perhaps you can give it twice a day like we do for our girls.

The BF is wonderful for your little and I wouldn't suggest changing. Also, we were told to try cereal at night like some other moms have suggested there. Alot of times it helps but in our case it didn't. They throw up mpre. The thought is that it weighs the food down in their tummies... well, that can also make it easier to come back up.

I would suggest talking to a Ped GI specialist and even a Ped dietician. That is what we did and we got so many more answers.

Good luck!

hello my daughter has had the gerd which is also known as acid reflux. she had severe acid reflux and still does. my daughter did the same things cried all the time, vomited all the time and didnt eat well. she will be 2 yrs old in a few weeks and still has the gerd. when she was little they put her on a formula called infant neocate which worked well. she is on a compound of prevacid a pharmacy makes it for her and she also takes reglan which helps with vomiting. she has been on both of them since november of last yr and she hasnt thrown up since and she eats alot more now. so it might be something to ask your dr i know they can have the reglan as a infant because my daughter did but not sure if he could have the compound prevacid but it did wonders for my daughter its worth a shot at asking your sons dr.

I feel for you totally! My son had it to. Have you tried to give him his meds a little later in the day? It may make for a rougher morning but maybe everyone will sleep a little better. Also my doctor had me elevate is bed just a tad. Good luck!! C.

We went through this with our infant. It sounds like the medicine just isn't quite working. We had to swith around and finally found that Prevacid worked the best for him. Our pharmacists told us that that is what she has seen work the best too. Good luck!

M.,
Try checking out the website for Colic Calm. Its an all natural product for treating colic, gas and reflux in babies. It could probably be used in conjunction with the medicine, or maybe instead of. There is good info and testimonials on their website. I purchased some for my babe, who also struggled with reflux, and there were several occasions when he still seemed bothered by reflux, despite the meds, and it seemed to help.

Both of my boys battled Gerd. First of all, call the pedi's office and check about how often his medicine needs to be adjusted for weight gain. My 14 month old is on Axid and has to have weigh-in's every four weeks (initially it was every two weeks).

Kudos for nursing - know that breastmilk is easier for a baby to digest than any formula...rather than thickening a feed, you should see about changing the medicine times. Currently, my little guy gets his dose of axid about 30 minutes before bed.

my son & daughter both have gone through this. their pedi said to put cereal in their bottles & to thicken the liquids to tomato soup consistancy. GERBER sells the + cut nipples at just about any store. walmart was the cheapest i found 1.24 for 4. also their pedi said to keep them in an up right position for 15-30min. after eating so it had time to settle & wouldn't come back up. what i found worked or mine was putting them in an infant carseat carrier for about 45min & for bedtime/naptime i elevated the head of the crib. they are both fine now as far as that goes. good luck & God be with you.

My sister's childen had acid reflux and she found that putting the baby in the infant carrier carseat to sleep helped (because it elevated the baby, so helped reduce the vomiting). Might be worth a try. Good luck.

Hi, M.! I'm so sorry to hear about your little man! I would continue to breast feed, but if you are going to thicken his milk with cereal, I would pump and use your breast milk. You don't really want to switch to formula and upset his little tummy any more than it already is. I switched to formula, but I continued to pump, because I wasn't sure if my daughter would do well with the formula. Thank goodness I pumped, because the formula just plain didn't work out for her. She threw up even more with the formula! I put her back on breast milk, and she got considerably better. I would also make sure you are sitting him up straight with no pressure on his tummy for at least 15-20 minutes after he eats. I used to put my daughter over my shoulder or carried her around on the front of me in a carrier, and that helped a lot. If I put her in the carseat, swing or bouncy chair, she would spit up. It's a long and relentless process, but it will be over before you know it! I wish you the best of luck with him!! Happy new year!

DO NOT give him thickened formula, it don't help most babies and if he pukes it up, it's worse than BM. I went through a lot of this with my first son, he was on Zantac for 9 months, a doze in the morning and at night. Please PM me with any questions. Here are some tricks we found to help:

~Don't comfort nurse, they get full and puke and then you have to start over.
~I'm am SO not an advocate of scheduled nursing, however, it was the only think that kept my son from puking. One side at a time no more often than 2 hours a part and 3 was even better.
~Get "Simply Thick" if you need to thicken BM in a bottle. Cereal is not good for them and Simply Think is the only approved thickening agent for breastmilk that doesn't add calories or taste to the BM.
~By now he won't get nipple confusion, so go through EVERY paci on the wall until you find one he'll take. We let our son suck on our pinkie fingers for 3 months before we found a pacifier he'd take.
~The swing is your friend, use it often and let him sleep in it.
~Have him sleep in the car seat. Our son did for 6 months and the pediatrician said both his kids did - it's perfectly safe.

Good Luck! And please feel free to PM me:)

M.,
My daughter had that when she was is age. I had to pump and give her a bottle, then have her on a special formula over the counter for her other meals. She had to stay at an incline possition after eating for over an hour. I had to give her a small dose of mylanta an hour before each meal. This really seemed to help her.
Her ped, told me she would grow out of this in about four months. It took more like six, but it did happen.
I understand the not sleeping and not eating part. She did that too. Ask your ped if it would help if you kept him reclined while eating and sleeping.
We kept our daughter sleeping in her car seat or stapped in her bouncy seat while sleeping next to our bed.
He may also recommend not to feed him so much at one time. If thier belly gets to full, then it pushes all that food back up.
I know what your going through and I will be thinking about you all.
Good luck.

I would NOT give your baby formula instead of breast milk. The only thing it will do is sit in your babies belly longer than the breast milk. Breast milk is much more quickly absorbed than formula or other foods. Also, can you imagine how much harder it will be on him to throw-up thick formula instead of the watery breast milk??

Have you tried putting his crib mattress on an incline so he is not laid flat when he is trying to sleep?

Have you tried cutting dairy out of your diet? There is a possibility that the reflux is being caused by a diary allergy and cutting it out of your diet may help.

http://www.kellymom.com/babyconcerns/reflux.html

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/10/t106004.asp

our 4 month old was diagnosed with reflux at week 4 & has been on zantac since then. we were told to give her 3 doses a day, morning, noon & before going "down" at night (but do infants that young ever go down? :o). she had a very hard time sleeping for awhile at night, so we started giving her a dose in the middle of the night; it worked out to be about every 7 hours she was getting a dose. that really helped to keep the reflux down during the night.

we did try to thicken her formula & that was a disaster b/c we had to give her a larger size nipple & that just gave her more air in the belly...which lead to unnecessary fussiness. for us, it didn't work at all. but, i've heard that it is possible!

we also tried putting her in the car seat or a bouncer at night...it didn't work at all. she became so upset, causing her to vomit & spit up even more. the best thing we did that helped her to sleep: we have been putting her to sleep on her belly since about week 5...that has been the trick. she was totally different once she was sleeping on her belly. i know the whole deal about "back to sleep" but from what i've heard from other parents of reflux/gerd babies is that belly sleeping really helps. our pediatrician doesn't say anything negative about it, sort of a 'do what you have to do' sort of thing. (i read that keeping the air moving with a fan significantly reduces any risk of sids, whether they sleep on the belly or back.)

just a thought: i know that breastfeeding is said to be the best for gerd/reflux babies (& babies in general) & i breastfed my 2 year old for the entire first year (she had 2 breastmilk bottles during that year)...however, once we switched our 4 month old to formula (around 5-6 weeks), she was also a bit better. from what the ped said, she may have had an allergy to something i was eating, in addition to reflux. plus, i got to sleep a bit more b/c then my husband could help feed her at night & such. (we use dr. brown bottles & similac advance).

i understand what you guys are going through. i hope it gets better. i know several things of what i've said above go against what all the books & magazines are saying right now, but that's what worked for us w/ our little reflux baby! since about month 2 1/2, she has been gaining weight well & has slept through the night a dozen times or so, which is pretty good for a baby with reflux!

Hello M.!
Oh, how I feel your pain! My daughter had this until she was about 8 months old. We did the Prilosec as well, and it did help. I was not able to exclusivly BF, so we did the thickend formula and it helped A LOT. She wasn't as barf-y after that. it does take awhile, and it does suck, bu it does get better! She has NO residual effects from this at all today, and she is 2 1/2 now. GOODLUCK!

My little guy had the same problem. BM and formula changes didn't help. He hated the swing. Every child has their own key to stopping the crying and barfing. For ours, it was the car seat and the vibrating bouncy chair. He would only sleep in them, but preferred the bouncy chair. His pediatrician OK'ed the upright sleeping. Keep trying, and allow others to help out. Good luck!!

I REALLY feel for you. We went through that as well....i was bfing my son for about 8 weeks, but he was so miserable (arching his back, screaming, losing weight, etc..) that I switched him to formula. We went to the lactose free version and thickened it with about 1/2 tbs of oatmeal or rice. (I think we did rice when he was younger--you will have to slit the nipple for him to get it out). It was like night and day. The dr also put him on Zegerid (after trying 3-4 other meds to no avail). Good luck, and keep us posted!! Hang in there, it does get better. My son is 21 mos now and has been off the meds since about 18 mos. He is happy and healthy!

M., my son was also diagnsoed with GERD at 7 weeks (he was 5 weeks premature), and he was pretty miserable and vomitted regularly until he started taking Zantac. When he was younger (he will have his first birthday in two weeks), he took it 3 times a day, with one dose being in the middle of the night. That helped immensely! We also elevated the head of his crib mattress and kept him upright as much as possible (bouncy seat, swing, our arms). I breastfed exclusively for the first 8 months and then had to supplement with formula. He seemed to tolerate Similac Sensitive the best b/c it contains partially digested milk proteins. Also from the time he was 7 weeks until he turned almost 6 months, I eliminated dairy and caffeine from my diet. It didn't make me the cheeriest person, but he was definitely more comfortable, so it was worth it. When he started daycare at almost 4 months, his pedi upped his dose of Zantac, but he only got it twice a day (so that daycare wasn't responsible for administering it), and we saw no regression. His dose has continued to increase as his weight has increased. He still has issues (spitting up, fussiness after eating) from time to time, but for the most part, he is happy, healthy and gaining weight well. I wish you the best of luck in finding out what works for your little guy.

My niece had this awful and was taken to many Dr.s before she was treated right for it but two visits to a chiropractor helped her so much. Also she was never laid flat but sat in a car seat at a slant but so she was upright 99 % of the time.Giving her rice cereal helped a good bit and it stayed down being mixed with Breast milk.She is 4 years old now and a healthy happy baby.
Also wash your childs mouth out best you can after he has thrown up, my nieces teeth were affected and she had to go to get all of her baby teeth capped and treated as the acid had nearly destroyed her teeth.
Good luck.
Debbie

Dear M.,

Take your baby to Dr. Merkle. Babies shouldn't need any meds like Prilosec. Something else is wrong. Keep looking.

God Bless,

S.

Dr. Van Merkle
###-###-####

p.s. They don't know S. at the office but he has helped a bunch of friends who swear by him.

It sounds like you are going through exactly what I did when my oldest was a baby and I know you are exhausted! If he is sleeping in a crib and laying down that is probably making him feel worse, and since the medicine is wearing off, like you said, he probably is pretty miserable. From the time my oldest was about 6 weeks until 4 months or so, she slept in her car seat, the infant carrier type, in our room. That way she was semi-upright. But you have to be careful with this. the carseat should be reclined back slightly, and you can anchor it with pillows. That way the baby isn't at risk of falling forward. Baby positioners are a bad idea for the crib because they pose a suffocation hazard. But my ped said if she needed to sleep in her carseat then so be it. But I'd keep it in your room so you can keep an eye on her. My oldest slept very soundly this way until she got too big and by then the GERD was nearly gone and she did fine in a crib. Just make sure her head and neck are supported and the carseat isn't going to rock forward, and it might help your baby. Also, it's a little known fact that the iron in formula is not the same as the iron in breastmilk and if you introduce formula (or rice cereal, for that matter) the baby's body cannot process the iron in your milk as well. Babies absord over 50% of the iron in breastmilk, but only 4% of the iron in formula. So, I would delay introducing anything else until you've tried other ways to relieve your baby's discomfort. He might also be becoming dependent on nursing to get him back to sleep. Babies' sleep cycles are faster than adults' so they naturally wake up every 45 minutes. The problem is they don't know how to get back to sleep. Gradually teaching him to fall asleep on his own will help this nighttime waking as well. I recommend reading Elizabeth Pantley's No Cry Sleep Solution. It had my daughter, who woke up every 45 minutes for a year, sleeping all night in less than two weeks. I hope this helps and I hope you find a solution because I know how this can affect you and the rest of the family! Good luck!

Both of my sons (now 1 & 3 and healthy) had reflux as infants. If the pedi allows you flexibility on when to give your son his prilosec, give it to him later in the day so it won't wear off near bed time. Do you think his additional discomfort could be gas? I know that it isn't that common in BF babies. My boys lived on Mylecon (simethicone) drops. They were also on formula and I gave them drops before and after feedings and spent extra time burping them if I could. It made a world of difference. My pedi told me to prop them up and put them to sleep on their side. Of course this alarmed me as how do do it with all the scare over SIDS. What worked for me was putting an old flattened pillow (the kind so flat you're ready to throw it out) with a baby blanket folded under it in the bassinet. What gave me peace of mind was placing it under the fitted sheet. It will flatten the bulk of the pillow and blanket enough to give a gentle incline. That way you won't worry about him getting tangled up in either. I also rolled up another baby blanket and wedged it behind him to keep him on his side. Rotate your little pumkin from side to side so you won't have worries about his head becoming misshaped. As if there wasn't enough for mom's to worry about! My heart goes out to you and your family and I can relate all too well to your stress. I pray that my experiences can help you in some way!

I hate to tell you this - you may have to go to formula and thicken it up with cereal and after each feedings keep the baby sitting up in his car seat for 15 minutes! My oldest had this as well as reflux. Man could that boy throw up like a fountain! He grew out of it but it didn't help with my hopes of breast feeding. If you are breast feeding - pump and then thicken with cereal. Good luck.