reflux baby 4mth old waking every hour in the night

[mlindsey]

this is our 4th medicine we've tried & it has worked the best.  he's only been on it for about 6 weeks.  so i would like to stick with this one for a few more months...at least until i change my diet. 

thanks for mentioning the tea.  i will try that.  have you heard of gripe water?? i saw it in our health food store & decided to buy some.  i've only tried it once...cause i haven't heard much about it.  it actually did seem to help alittle.  it has chamomile & fennel in it. 

thanks for the encouragement.  i've written down things that i can eat.  & tried to look at everything i've been eating & figure out what i can't have.  so hopefully this will make a difference.  i plan on eliminating all milk products first & my coffee. 

thanks again!  misty

[simran]

Hi Misty,

I have also tried 'Gripe water' but didn't have much luck with it.  I guess it was helpful in easing wind but not with the reflux.
My DH also loved coffee & tried so hard to give it up & failed until I found a 'Dandellion' tea which tastes a lot like coffee.  My health food store also stocks a coffee substitute which is caffeine free but tastes like coffee.
Let us know how you get on & keep posting if you need any encouragement.

Take Care

[Silas Mum]

Hi again ... you know, I was re-reading your posting here and I was thinking back to how the Alimentium didn't work for us (same thing as Nutramigen) and I really think that you should consider the goats milk sooner rather than later.  I just know that my life was beyond crazy with the reflux and MSPI ... and I never want anyone to go through that ... it was complete hell.  After the first bottle of goats milk, it was the last time I took out the carpet cleaner solution and the first time I didn't have to wear old clothes all day for fear of the throw up.  The Nutritionist at the hospital told me that the homemade goats milk recipes aren't necessary and that all they need is an infant multi-vitamin, Vitamin D drops and fatty acids (which you can get from canola oil).

As for switching formulas all the time, it is hard on the them, but I found for us it was better to change quickly and not gradually.  That's another story!

Allison  =)   

[mlindsey]

thanks again for all the help.  i have not had any milk products for 3 days now.  yesterday he had 2 episodes of SCREAMING gas pain.  i was a little disappointed that he wasn't doing better.  but i'm writing down what i eat & hoping that my change in diet will help soon.  he did sleep much better last night...which has given us hope.  plus, i am trying to help him wind down before he gets overstimulated & pretty much following a 3hr easy...occassionally letting him snack if i think he's still hungry.  anyway, i appreciate all the support.  i pray this works! 

keep sending me suggestions!! 
misty
 

[mlindsey]

i was wondering with this change in diet...they said i should see a difference in 2 weeks.  but just wondering how soon something i eat affects him.  maybe i should ask this question in the breastfeeding topic. 

also someone mentioned not eating citrus & this helped.  i do drink lots of OJ w/ calcium since i'm not drinking milk.  i didn't know that citrus caused gas. 

misty

[simran]

Hi There,
Some info for you from a reflux support website here in NZ.

About one third of all babies with reflux will have a cow's milk allergy or intolerance, and this can affect them through their mother's breast milk.
The foods that can make reflux pain worse for a baby/child are:  Fruit and fruit juice, especially oranges, apples and bananas. Pears are the least acidic and an ideal first fruit for reflux babies.
Tomatoes and tomato sauce
Chocolate
Tea and coffee
Spicy Foods
Fizzy drinks (especially COKE)
Fatty foods (i.e. fish and chips!!)
NB:The above is for solid eating babies

It is important to note however, that these foods will not worsen vomiting, and so it is not necessary to avoid them in a 'happy chucker'.

Breastfeeding and the mother's diet

Citrus fruit, tomatoes, tea, coffee, Coke, alcohol and chocolate may also need to be avoided by the breast-feeding mother of a reflux baby. Some asthma medication (e.g. Theophylline) taken by the breast-feeding mother may also make the baby worse. Remember that all babies are different and different babies react to different foods - the list above is a guideline only.

Hope this helps

[mlindsey]

wow.  so for dinner last night i had spaggetti w/ marinara sauce.  & orange juice earlier in the day.  & this could have made him worse.  i hate that.  he still is having some painful gas.  not as bad i guess today.  could it be because i'm eating more veggies??  or maybe i need to eliminate soy too. 

thanks!

[simran]

Hi again,

I am not able to advise you on Soy or the extra veggies as I myself am not too sure because I never experimented with my DD as I switched to Goat's milk at 5months & as a result was able to eat everything again.  The best advice I can give is try to eliminate the major reflux problem foods and see how you get on.  I know It's a hard one but it's really a hit and miss with reflux babies, some settle & some just take longer!
Do keep us posted.

Take Care

[Pele]

Boy can I relate to you!! I feel like I'm reading about my son!  He's 4.5 months old as well and now adding Prevacid to his Zantac.  We'll see how that works!  I was wondering how it is that you know that your LO is in pain during the night wakings?? My LO wakes but I think  its because of habit.  I only ask because after all the posts I have posted and read, everyone says that you need to be consistent about the EASY  even with reflux babies because babies need the routines.  Have you been consistent?? Tried it for at least a week with out interuption??  This is something that I am going to work on starting the new year.  I decided not to start until than since I wouldn't have been able to be consistent!  Tracy said to plan on 2 weeks totally devoted to you're LO on the EASY.  Sorry I don't have any answers but YOU  are DEFINATELY not the only one!! Wishing you luck!!

[mlindsey]

well we are sortof on a 3 hr EASY...but hudson does snack some.  he nurses sometimes to goto sleep too.  he is just often in pain & eats to soothe the pain.  plus he can't eat too much at once or it makes the reflux worse.  the reason i can tell he is hurting at night is that he screams & arches & pushes back.  then he will often have lots of gas.  he won't really eat...but kicks his legs in pain.  i do know that he sometimes wakes from habit too.  but every night is different.  he never wakes at the same times. 

so are you on zantac & prevacid together? i actually quit giving him the prevacid today...going back to just zantac.  but his reflux is so much worse today.  i just think the prevacid is constipating him.  & causing the stomach pain.  i've changed my diet (no milk products) for 10 days so far.  & it hasn't made any difference.  how are you giving both zantac & prevacid?? 

sorry you are going through the same.  i'll say a prayer for ya.  thanks for your thoughts! 
misty

[simran]

Unfortunately some meds can constipate baby and as a result as well as having the discomfort of the reflux they also get nasty stomach cramps & lots of wind!  Our Ped prescribed Lactulose syrup when my DD was constipated, this really helped.
We can tell when Simran is in pain as she whimpers, whines & is in a bad mood all day, refuses to nap or eat. I guess she has grown out of the constant crying, arching back & kicking her legs like she previously used to do.  It took us almost a month to get her onto EASY and I found that once we had her pain under control her sleeping improved.  She did also get up during the night out of habit and after a few weeks of allowing her to self settle these stopped.  It is very hard to know when to go in or when to leave them, whether or not they are in pain from reflux or not but what I did was to make a note esp at night on how many wakings and at what time.  I also noted how she was communicating, was it a 'pain' cry, an 'attention seeking' cry, whining or talking.  Once I understood these I knew when to leave her & when to go in & help her settle.
I am sorry that changing your diet has made no difference, I understand your frustration! have you spoken to your ped again?

[Pele]

I give him Prevacid in the morining since it's once a day med and then zantac twice a day.  Usually around lunch then late night.  I'm starting the Prevacid today so we will see how it works.  I need to overlap since it takes about a week for the Prevacid to kick in.  I feel for you about the gas!! I use Colic Calm to help him when the gas is really bad, when he arches and screams in discomfort!  This stuff really works!! Not just for colicy babies but for gas and reflux.   Maybe try that??  As for the milk, it can take up to 2 weeks for it to be out of your system completely.  That's the info I recieved from the nurse.  Why do you think the Prevacid is constipating him?? Is his stool hard?  My LO doesn't go but every couple of days.  The Dr says that's fine normal for some babies.  I just have to watch for hard stool then it's a problem.  Okay well thinking of you!!

[motherof3]

Pele:  it took 2wks for the Prevacid to start helping Abby.  But we really didn't start to notice a difference until the dr told us to give it to her twice per day.  What a difference.  Babies metabolize the meds faster so they need to take it more often then an adult.  Also, make sure that you don't give the Zantac and Prevacid together.  Check with the dr.  But I think they need to be given at least 2hrs apart. 

BTW, Abby also takes Lactulose for constipation from the Prevacid.  Works great!

Andrea