Silent reflux - The aftermath

[ladybirdm]

Hey :)

I just wondered if anyone had any experience or ideas please.

My DD is 4 months old and was diagnosed with silent reflux 3 weeks ago and the medicine is working. I believe she'd probably been suffering since she was 4 weeks, but I was told numerous times it was colic....

During this time myself and DP has spent hours rocking her to sleep and her crying would wear her out. But now we have another problem.. She crys when's she's tired before her nap times and before bed, she wants to be picked up and rocked to sleep. This is really wearing and I can't always hold and rock her as she has a twin brother.

I am currently using a hairdryer to send her off to sleep 4 times a day. Which is still a lengthy drawn out process.

Any ideas please.....

[fabanflabby]

I feel for you. The fact that you have twins as well!

My eldest had reflux for the first 6 months, then for some reason it just stopped. Our house was wrecked as was our health and sanity!
My son was exactly the same - he would not be put down and needed to be rocked at all times - it seemed to sooth the discomfort for him. then he would fall asleep, then came the projectile vomiting which woke him up.
Poor little sod was exhausted and hungry all the time. I had to have him on me at all times in a carrier - which some would say did him no favours as he got used to the comfort but it did settle him!
I wish i'd thought of a hairdryer - very resourceful!
Seriously though, do you have any family close by or friends who could come in and give you some sleep time? This was the only thing that kept me sane and helped me keep things in perspective.
I promise you it does get better and this is just a blip but you have to make sure and look after yourself!
Good luckxx

[Iggly]

Can you use a sling for her naps? Bedtimes, we rocked DS (he too had silent reflux) until about 6 months or so and he started to self settle although still need rocking every now and then.

At bedtime you could feed in a dim room, then sit down and cuddle or gently rub her (easier than rocking) and put her down drowsy on her left hand side and keep your hands on her and keep patting her bum. Then once asleep (give it some time) gently roll into her sleeping position. We did this from about 5 months - didn't always work, sometimes did, but by the time he came to sleep on his front DS would mostly let us pat him to sleep.

At bedtime, make sure she hasnt got wind - 9 times out of 10 it would be a burp upsetting DS and rocking would give him comfort then we'd get it out eventually! So I had to make sure I winded post feed (even though he was BF) - and this sometimes sent him to sleep.

Naps were a bit harder - so I used a sling a lot until he got too heavy at 7 months. He slept on me mostly for naps at home but we worked on napping in his cot but he didnt self settle for naps for a long time. If I caught him at the right time, I could put him in his cot with a toy which he flapped about while I was in the room and he fall asleep in ten minutes.

[cottonreels]

dd also had reflux. Walking up and downstairs helped get burp out. Warm bath helped, but yes, we had ourd of crying and soothing by being carried around in her baby carrier.
I sometimes used to hoover instead of the hairdryer as at least then the carpets had been cleaned!
Sitting her in an upright position in the car seat (propped up in the lounge) also helped (doctors recomendations).
My dds reflux also stopped at 6 months. It simply seemed that one week she had it the next it had stopped. Not many weeks of it left... it'll pass before you figure out what to do most likely

[Dippy001]

I used to stay up all night with my LO, holding her upright because of her reflux. In the end I used a baby wedge and cut up foam pillows to cushion her sides against the cot, with another bit of the foam wedge under her bum to stop her sliding down. She went to sleep straightaway. I know it sounds bonkers (and by that time I was bonkers) but it worked. My LO was on meds as well.

[Gumps]

Wow ladybird you are a super mum to come with silent reflux and twins. Ds2 nearly broke us but he is the most gorgeous 2 year old now. Sometimes I look at his happy nature and wonder if it is the same child who screamed for the first 6 months of his life, which I barely remember as it passed by in a sleepless haze, and it makes me sad. Sorry pregnancy hormones I digress...
We literally did everything and anything to get him to sleep, which is I guess where you are now. His problem was more that he would wake at worst every 20 minutes with a piercing scream like he had been shot. Of course all the usual tips apply, car seat, wedged on side (wish I'd been brave enough to put Him on his front), incline. The omeprazole was the only med that made a difference for us, that and developmental stages. Again if I had my time again I would have weaned a lot earlier. Sitting, crawling and standing also help as they keep the acid at bay.
Under medical advice, at around a year we did controlled crying. Ds2 had learnt such horrific sleep associations that he simply could not fall asleep alone. We were at the point that my sanity and our marriage was under pressure and we needed to do something. I needed reassurance from the paediatrician that he was 'well' as I had got to the point where everytime he cried I thought he was in pain. We did go in at 1 min, 2 min, 3 min, 4 min, 5 min and then every 5. It was awful and dh had to literally sit on top of me to stop me picking him up! He got there in the end though and in a few days he was sleeping through until 430 am which sounds bad but then was amazing!
He has had phases where the reflux seems to come back and it's usually signalled by coughing a lot first thing in the morning a d stomach pain. He can also make himself vomit on demand ( if I try to make him eat something he doesn't like) and still won't drink milk as he had an intolerance to dairy, nut will happily eat cheese and yogurt.
Dc3 due any day and I have been taking a pro boitic to help reduce the chance of reflux this time. Will let you know if it works.
Best of luck with your dd and hope you get some sleep soon.

[Sleepglorioussleep]

Can't help on most of this but am a White noise veteran. Baby three is now addicted. I used hairdryer too, but then found radio between channels better. And for number three? I phone app. if you have a smart phone I would highly recommend it. Good luck.

[ladybirdm]

Thank you so much for your responses :)

It's really reassuring to know that there is an end....

Im not sure if the crying is still the reflux ( but it does seem to be getting worse) but not sure if it could be constipation, the doctor said this may happen with infant gaviston. I've been giving her water and baby rice which she loves and sitting her up after each feed.

Even been thinking that she could be teething but not sure if it would create this much crying?

I'll go back to the doctors I think.

Thank you again :)