Aa
so very frustrated and need advice..AGAIN. :(
i know this is a pregnancy forum and i ask alot of baby questions..and im sorry!! i just don't know where else to ask this and yall are always so helpful so here goes:
Ariana is constantly hungry, as most of yall know lol. she will take 4 ounces and then an hour to 2 hours later is hungry again. i know its hunger because she is rooting, screaming, sucking on her hands and fingers. and we try the paci..she'll spit it out often and we'll put it back in...we play this game for about 30 minutes...and then we dont feed her until it is to the point where she will NOT take the paci anymore and is screaming.
the past couple days though she is wanting to eat nonstop. and she has been spitting up a lot more than usual. and by a lot i mean she probably spits up 1/4th of what she eats every feeding (so about an ounce)...and i have noticed she arches her back sometimes when i lay her down and shes crying. but when she is upright she is the most soothed. granted if shes really hungry this ceases to work but sometimes if she's just fussy and wanting to eat a little keeping her upright will work for awhile.
i'm beginning to suspect reflux..i think she might be wanting to eat for comfort and then is spitting up so much lately because we are overfeeding her not knowing what else to do. but keep in mind she does not have all the symptoms of reflux..she is not in pain constantly. she ONLY really acts like she wants to eat constantly and that is whats bothering her.
i placed a call to her pediatrician and you know what he told me (GRR) he told me she is supposed to be eating every 4 hours..OKAY. i know that. he's said that before. but its just NOT gonna happen.. 2 1/2 isn't working for her..and i would wanna shoot myself if i had to stretch it out to 4. i would have to leave the room because she would be screaming bloody murder..and i just can't let her scream that much i feel like its bad for her. and she has little tears and it just breaks my heart..anyways point is 4 hours is never going to happen. but then the real thing that got me. is he said to DECREASE the amount of ounces shes taking. so that means he wants me to feed her 2 1/2 ounces (WTF) every 4 hours...and then slowly increase the ounces blablabla (we've already done this as she is now 6 weeks old..4 ounces is normal)...i dont see HOW almost halfing the amount shes taking and doubling the time shes taking it is going to help anything.
i need better suggestions; because the doctor's suggestion is just not going to happen and im not even going to attempt it. oh and i should have mentioned it takes her about an hour to finish a bottle.
SO with all that info should i try a faster nipple so she drinks faster and is fuller longer? should i use a different formula (like maybe similac reduced spit up?) or if it truly is reflux and shes eating for comfort and spitting up from overfeeding what do i do? the doctor didn't seem concerned about that possibility so now i need yalls help. please; any suggestions are welcome because idk what to do.
Ariana is constantly hungry, as most of yall know lol. she will take 4 ounces and then an hour to 2 hours later is hungry again. i know its hunger because she is rooting, screaming, sucking on her hands and fingers. and we try the paci..she'll spit it out often and we'll put it back in...we play this game for about 30 minutes...and then we dont feed her until it is to the point where she will NOT take the paci anymore and is screaming.
the past couple days though she is wanting to eat nonstop. and she has been spitting up a lot more than usual. and by a lot i mean she probably spits up 1/4th of what she eats every feeding (so about an ounce)...and i have noticed she arches her back sometimes when i lay her down and shes crying. but when she is upright she is the most soothed. granted if shes really hungry this ceases to work but sometimes if she's just fussy and wanting to eat a little keeping her upright will work for awhile.
i'm beginning to suspect reflux..i think she might be wanting to eat for comfort and then is spitting up so much lately because we are overfeeding her not knowing what else to do. but keep in mind she does not have all the symptoms of reflux..she is not in pain constantly. she ONLY really acts like she wants to eat constantly and that is whats bothering her.
i placed a call to her pediatrician and you know what he told me (GRR) he told me she is supposed to be eating every 4 hours..OKAY. i know that. he's said that before. but its just NOT gonna happen.. 2 1/2 isn't working for her..and i would wanna shoot myself if i had to stretch it out to 4. i would have to leave the room because she would be screaming bloody murder..and i just can't let her scream that much i feel like its bad for her. and she has little tears and it just breaks my heart..anyways point is 4 hours is never going to happen. but then the real thing that got me. is he said to DECREASE the amount of ounces shes taking. so that means he wants me to feed her 2 1/2 ounces (WTF) every 4 hours...and then slowly increase the ounces blablabla (we've already done this as she is now 6 weeks old..4 ounces is normal)...i dont see HOW almost halfing the amount shes taking and doubling the time shes taking it is going to help anything.
i need better suggestions; because the doctor's suggestion is just not going to happen and im not even going to attempt it. oh and i should have mentioned it takes her about an hour to finish a bottle.
SO with all that info should i try a faster nipple so she drinks faster and is fuller longer? should i use a different formula (like maybe similac reduced spit up?) or if it truly is reflux and shes eating for comfort and spitting up from overfeeding what do i do? the doctor didn't seem concerned about that possibility so now i need yalls help. please; any suggestions are welcome because idk what to do.
As tiredbuthappy said- you can at least get a second opinion from someone else in his practice if there are others. Just to get a different opinion since he does seem "old school" in his thinking. Don't worry about hurting his feelings by switching. You need to do what is best for Ariana. Is he willing to look into the reflux/colic issue and find a solution?
I still say it's Acid Reflux. Just because she is rooting, sucking her fingers and so forth does not mean she isn't just wanting to eat out of comfort. My youngest who will be 2 in Oct still suffers from Acid reflux, and acts the same way. But thats just my opinion. Soy formula may work, but FYI, it made my sons Acid Reflux 10x worse. I would consider making her an appointment, or even researching Acid Reflux.
Also, you may want to look at the Marci-kids website. It is very informative.
Sounds like reflux. My experiences are similar to the poster who described reflux and the colic... A total nightmare. Luckily, yours isn't as bad.
My little one also over-ate because of the reflux. That was what soothed her throat. The meds made a difference, although it took us a very long time to find the right balance.
I encourage you to find a new ped or at least go for a second opinions from another if you're not willing to switch. The fact that he was your ped indicates that he may not be up on the current recommendations and procedures for reflux. In the very least, it sounds like he isn't listening to you. I have spoken to countless people whose kids had reflux symptoms a decade or 2 ago but nothing was done. That was the standard procedure and it was labeled "colic" back then. Now we know more and these poor babies do not need to suffer needlessly.
When we suspect reflux ( in our case silent reflux), we describe the symptoms to our ped. He told us that these days, when reflux is suspected, they try meds. If the meds make a difference, then they consider the child to have reflux. If they do not, then they look for other causes to the problems. We were initially prescribed mantic, which made a huge difference, but not enough. We then went onto prevacid, which again came with more improvement but still not enough and we couldn't wean her off of it. At this point, he ped referred us to a gastro. She did blood tests (can't do that until after 6 months) and upped the dose. We finally had a normal baby! We are in the process of weaning her at 10 months and are back down to half her biggest dose and she's doing well.
If she has a flair-up, we give a dose of maalox. Your pharmacist can calculate the appropriate dosage based on the Babys weight. There are other OTC antacids that can be used as well, under the guidance of a doctor or pharmacist. You may want to try one of these solutions to see if it makes a difference. However, with reflux you see some improvement immediately, but the full effects of different medications may not be evident until the esophagus has had a chance to heal. It also depends on the mechanisms of the medication. I know ppi's like prefaced may take up to 2 weeks for full effect (although we saw it within 24 hours!)
Also, be sure to look up managing reflux and do all other tips as well. Feeding smaller meals more frequently is a big one, as is keeping the baby upright during and after feeds and sleeping on an incline. Do not switch to a faster flow, as this can aggravate the reflux. I cannot imagine feeding a newborn every 4 hours. Follow you gut on this one. Especially if it's reflux, the crying and screaming will only aggravate the symptoms.
My little one also over-ate because of the reflux. That was what soothed her throat. The meds made a difference, although it took us a very long time to find the right balance.
I encourage you to find a new ped or at least go for a second opinions from another if you're not willing to switch. The fact that he was your ped indicates that he may not be up on the current recommendations and procedures for reflux. In the very least, it sounds like he isn't listening to you. I have spoken to countless people whose kids had reflux symptoms a decade or 2 ago but nothing was done. That was the standard procedure and it was labeled "colic" back then. Now we know more and these poor babies do not need to suffer needlessly.
When we suspect reflux ( in our case silent reflux), we describe the symptoms to our ped. He told us that these days, when reflux is suspected, they try meds. If the meds make a difference, then they consider the child to have reflux. If they do not, then they look for other causes to the problems. We were initially prescribed mantic, which made a huge difference, but not enough. We then went onto prevacid, which again came with more improvement but still not enough and we couldn't wean her off of it. At this point, he ped referred us to a gastro. She did blood tests (can't do that until after 6 months) and upped the dose. We finally had a normal baby! We are in the process of weaning her at 10 months and are back down to half her biggest dose and she's doing well.
If she has a flair-up, we give a dose of maalox. Your pharmacist can calculate the appropriate dosage based on the Babys weight. There are other OTC antacids that can be used as well, under the guidance of a doctor or pharmacist. You may want to try one of these solutions to see if it makes a difference. However, with reflux you see some improvement immediately, but the full effects of different medications may not be evident until the esophagus has had a chance to heal. It also depends on the mechanisms of the medication. I know ppi's like prefaced may take up to 2 weeks for full effect (although we saw it within 24 hours!)
Also, be sure to look up managing reflux and do all other tips as well. Feeding smaller meals more frequently is a big one, as is keeping the baby upright during and after feeds and sleeping on an incline. Do not switch to a faster flow, as this can aggravate the reflux. I cannot imagine feeding a newborn every 4 hours. Follow you gut on this one. Especially if it's reflux, the crying and screaming will only aggravate the symptoms.
oh also i noticed enfamil made a new formula saids colic n reflux on it n its very exspensive mayb try alil can n see if that works too!!!
when my baby had that back in feb beg of march i switched to enfamils gassy n fussiness its a lavender can of formula worked wonders. my also use the mam pacifier n my baby loves that i wouldnt feed her 2 ounces at 4 hers! shes only 6 weeks n my dr say every 2 to 3 hrs they need a feed n my son n previous would eat bout 3 or 4 ounces evry 2 or 2 n half. hrs. when he would get fussy i would jus constantly have to bounce rock him put pressure on his belly n i also gav him that med gasx 4 infants. all combined it helped n within a month it was over when she crys jus hold her close rock her pat her
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