GERD

[SunWorshiper_26]

Anyone know what else to do?  Ellie was born preemie and shows classic signs of GERD. I had her at the dr she is gaining weight we got the spitting up under control by slowing her feedings and sitting her upright for 20min after meals.

She was still pulling her legs up to her chest often and seemed uncomfortable so I talked to the nurse at the ped today and they said it's safe to try infant gas drops. So we have done that and yay it helps. We also have her bassinet propped Approx 30 degree so she isn't flat on her back.

BUT she had another projectile incident this evening. Mid BF session it just came pouring out with no warning. What do I do?!?  It's much more upsetting to me than her an I'm afraid to sleep at night because she still does sometimes spit up. They told me I could try rice cereal mixed with breastmilk but I've heard mixed reviews on this. She also seems to over eat and does better with the bottle bc I can know how much she has gotten and can limit it. But I do love BFing and want to continue.

Any suggestions???  I know the GERD is typical for bc she was born at 35 weeks 1 day gestation but OMG I did not realize how stressful it is :(. And I'm so tired bc I'm afraid to sleep bc I'm afraid she will throw up or spit up while I'm asleep

[rvaughn]

My little Makena was 30+3 Weeks at birth. Today we just had a Dr appt regarding her reflux... She had a projectile vomiting incident on Sunday (over 4oz, and she had only eaten 2oz) that led us to the ER. She developed an umbilical hernia from all the distention of her belly as well. She had another incident this morning so her doc put her on RX Zantac. I just gave her the first dose and she seems less grunty and gassy already. I'm willing to try anything at this point for her comfort. I'll keep you posted on the effectiveness.

[SunWorshiper_26]

Thank you!  She has her 1 month appt on Wed I'll ask then :). She doesn't seem to eat till she is full which worries me. I think you are right we should try and rule that out. Let me know how it goes for you. I hope they are able to get to the bottom of it

[rvaughn]

Ask your Pediatrician about Pyloric Stenosis. My 30+3 week daughter did the same thing yesterday (she's now 11 weeks old) and they've decided to rule PS out. If your little one is projectile vomiting regularly, it's definitely worth asking for it to be ruled out. Usually, it just involves them getting an ultrasound of their tummy.

[spiritwolf31]

I did BF but it was a very little. Only for 7wks with my first son and 3 mos with my second but the feedings were about 3-6 a day with the rest formula and rice cereal mix. Needless to say I never had a big abundance of milk but I did manage to get them the good stuff right off the bat for when it counted most! My sis's son had the GERD pretty bad and had to take tons of meds from Zantac to some gas drops. He would get sick no matter what we tried and did that for his entire first year. The bad thing was that he had to remain on baby food and formula longer than normal cuz his little system was so sensitive. My sons had it awful but my nephew (poor little thing) had it worse.

I hope she gets over it soon cuz once she does...you'll be wondering where your baby went cuz they are soooo different once the GERD corrects itself!!

[SunWorshiper_26]

Spiritwolf, I am so sorry to hear your little ones had GERD so bad :( it's stressful enough for me with Ellie's reflux and she's not even as bad as your sons were. I had heard the rice cereal doesn't thicken with breastmilk I haven't tried it yet. We are doing the Zantac and upright position for 30 min after meals. She still spits up but we are having less projectile incidents. I have noticed she seems in less pain with the Zantac but still has symptoms. Though before the Zantac I couldnt breastfeed her she was arching her back and fussing. She had to be bottle fed so she could be upright. She also wasn't strong enough to BF exclusively but since Zantac she can tolerate being in the correct position to BF. I was really concerned that the GERD would stop me from BF. I am so very sorry that you weren't able to BF with your sons. I pray that this little one is born GERD free and able to BF like a pro :). Thank you so much for your help!

[spiritwolf31]

Both my sons were born with acid reflux very bad. My second son was worse in the fact that instead of projectile vomiting he aspirated it and would choke without as much as a sound to warn us. He was on an apnea monitor for his first 6months just for safety's sake but either projectile vomiting or aspirating it I was advised to do the same thing for both sons which unfortunately hindered long term BF like I intended. We were told to add 1 tblsp of infant rice cereal for every ounce of milk to thicken the mixture to help it stay down. Where some may think it taboo...it worked wonders!! No medications, no gas drops, so special exercises were needed when we did this but I am so hoping this new lil man doesnt have the same problem cuz I would love to soley BF.

Just an FYI for any that try this method...the cereal does not thicken breast milk up like formula. Something about enzymes in breast milk that formula does not contain so making it thick gets a little harder.

[SunWorshiper_26]

I got actual sleep this afternoon an hour and a half, longest since we have had her home. OMG it was heavenly!!!  And she didn't fuss no upset tummy nursing great and she is keeping ALL of her meals down and able to go longer between feedings. I am SO relieved :D

[wannabeamommy0124]

thats great!! even though its best to avoid meds, poor you and ellie have been through so much its only fair for both of you to get some rest from all this!! i hope it does help and puts and end to this

[SunWorshiper_26]

Ped called to tell me today that they think it's best to start Ellie on Rx Zantac. Yay!  Hoping this is the answer :D

[SunWorshiper_26]

Thank you so much!  I am trying to be mindful of what I ingest to see if there is a link there. The spit up seems to be happening more frequently now. I started using gas drops which helps a bit with the insane amount of gas she has but obviously doesn't help the reflex. I think when the dr calls to check in tomorrow I am going to ask if we can try a few days of Zantac and see if it helps. I am also going to call the lactation consultant see if she has any suggestions too. I want to breastfeed but she seems to spit up a lot more from it I think because she over eats

[rccresswell]

I agree it is disheartening and it was frustrating at times.  My son is almost 4 and I do remember it took till about 12 months till he really stopped throwing up.  When he was close to one we heard him crying in bed and we thought he was just being sill until he walked out covered in vomit - we felt like the WORSE parents in the world.

I do remember the doctors saying it doesn't hurt them and as long as they are putting on weight they weren't concerned.  I do remember a lot of sleepless nights with my son but it does pass after awhile.  When he was a baby I use to dread feeding him lol because it was feed, throw up  and then bringing up wind was an absolutel mission :(  It was very, very difficult with lots of CRYING.

You will get there!!

[MrsPincince]

Oh Sun. So sorry to hear ur going through this. While I never went through this my sister did with Both of her daughters. they had the same exact symptoms as Ellie. I know u see it and It's disheartening but her symptoms are honestly not that severe. It's Very common in infants. They usually out grow it between 12 and 18 months. Besides she is at her strongest right now. She's uncomfortable but as soon as u figure out what works for u, she'll be fine:) My sister did breastfeed and she did use rice cereal. Just enough to slightly thicken up the breast milk. It worked. U have to be careful though, rice will bind her so  u have yo alternate Rice and Barley. I mean they both still spit up but it wasn't projectile and as frequent anymore. Once she stopped breastfeeding (about 4 months) she gave both girls Prosobee w/cereal. A Soy-based, milk-free, and lactose-free and it's easy on the stomach. Don't get discouraged, it'll def get better. Ur just going to have to find out what works for u. I would try the cereal and see what happens:)

[SunWorshiper_26]

I'm so sorry to hear that you have had to deal with this too. I cannot believe how stressful and draining it is!  She isn't throwing up every meal and she is gaining weight but like you said you want to monitor them closely and it's hard to do that if you sleep!  After her last projectile incident I cried and cried. I just want to make her feel better and I can't. I called the ped Saturday morning and that was NO help. Apparently the ped will call again on mon to see how shes doing. I'm tempted to make it seem worse than it is bc I know the Zantac Rx will help but they "don't like to give it to them unless no other option". It's antacid it's not like its something dangerous with lots of risks. I just can't stand to watch her be so uncomforable and feel so helpless.

[rccresswell]

I had that with my first.  I am not kidding you EVERY SINGLE feed and I mean every feed if it wasn't projectile he was throwing it up.  He threw up so bad it went from one hallway to the next and another went across the kitchen!!!!!  For me it was so bad as soon as I sat him up whether small feed, big feed he threw the lot up - never spits it was the whole feed.  It was very, very tiring so I know your pain and my son wasn't premie he was born 2 days early.  He also struggled with wind and that was draining as well.

The doctors weren't too bothered because he was putting on weight slowly and he had tons of energy.  I tried lots and lots of different things but the only thing that really worked was cloths to wipe it up and I can tell you I went through tons and tons of those.

I remember one time my son was in his room and for some reason I had the urge to check up on him and he had thrown up in his cot and then lay back down in his vomit.  That scared me senseless so I moved him back into our room so i could monitor him more closely.

I can honestly tell you it didn't get easier until he was baout 5 months old.  With my son he threw up a lot until he was 1 and he still does it now every now and then.  The bonus is we never had to worry about him choking because he was so good at throwing everything up lol.