Sicky baby... Help!

[mrspink27]

Really fed up! have had 6 months of dd2 who is a sicky pukey mess again!
Was breastfeeding till 2 months exclusively, and she was sick,
combined breast and bottle (SMA Gold) till 4 1/2 months) and she was sick
and now exclusively bottle.
temperature doesnt seem to make a difference nor does time of day, and admittedly she is a little teensy bit better than she was at birth.
this came as a real shock as dd1 was never, ever sick.
just getting fed up of constant puke smell, constant changing of clothes hers and mine and mopping up of wherever she has been.
doubly bad now cos she insists on rolling over and scrabbling round on her belly which logically puts pressure on her stomach and therefore she's sick... not always immediately but i know it will come...
HV said try sma progress, but no change... and then it'll stop when she is sitting up... erm not yet it hasnt... should i change formula?? or is it a diary intolerance.... just fed up of SICK!!! HELP!!! please???

[LIZS]

Reflux, caused by immature valve at top of stomach ? You could try sitting her upright for 30 mins after each feed (car seat, bouncy chair, bumbo etc), raising head end of her cot on thick books or toilet steps and you could try either a thicker formula (think SMA do a Staydown one but there are others) or adding a thickener to the bottles (Thick n Easy is one for example). dd had it and really only began to outgrow it when she walked, but it does vary.

You could do a archive search for older threads on it too.

hth

[mrspink27]

keeping her upright seems to make no difference... it still comes out!

[Kelly1978]

I think you need to get more advice, maybe try another HV or your GP? I found that neither of my children could stand sma, but your dd2 does sound more like an intolerance.

[mrspink27]

Also meant to say she doesnt ever appear to be in discomfort from it She never ever cries during or after a feed or when she is about to be sick, she seems to have quite a small tummy capacity cos she very rarely manages any more than 7oz feeds and only has 4 a day if we time it right, sometimes its immediate, sometimes its constant little bits of spit up with a burp and other times you think you have got away with it and then wham half and hour or so later up it comes, not all but some.. and she is thriving,... has been on the same centile since birth very consistently.
Funniest time was when my not very nice SIL held her and she was sick in her handbag!

[mrspink27]

Also meant to say she doesnt ever appear to be in discomfort from it She never ever cries during or after a feed or when she is about to be sick, she seems to have quite a small tummy capacity cos she very rarely manages any more than 7oz feeds and only has 4 a day if we time it right, sometimes its immediate, sometimes its constant little bits of spit up with a burp and other times you think you have got away with it and then wham half and hour or so later up it comes, not all but some.. and she is thriving,... has been on the same centile since birth very consistently.
Funniest time was when my not very nice SIL held her and she was sick in her handbag!

[mrspink27]

why did that post twice????
Kelly - do you really think it could be more than just being sicky ?

[LIZS]

You have to be pretty strict about it even avoiding nappy changes for example, but it is easier said than done when they want to become mobile, although it worked to an extent for us . Combination of those things gave the best results but yes, she still threw up. Some others have reprted weaning as a turning point, others sitting and others at around a year or even later. If it is very regular and affecting weight gain or her health your GP should investigate it further.

[mrspink27]

Lizs crossed posts there! we tend to leave her in her bouncy chair or similar for as long as possible to give her as much chance as we can... but as you sya... it still comes up. now she's eating more solids... bits of that come up to... this afternoon it was carrot and cauliflower... mmm.. not pleasant 2nd time round!!

[Kelly1978]

I just think it sounds like a lot of sickness to be dismissed by the HV as soemthing she will grow out of, and I think you need to get a better medical opinion.
I'm no expert, but I would be worried if one of mine was being sick that much. I hope you can get it sorted soon. x

[LIZS]

lol at SIL's handbag !! Have you tried smaller bottles, more frequently, or would she get too frustrated ?

[Amanda3266]

Oh hon, I really feel for you. DS was exactly the same. No real diagnosis - just reflux which responded to Gaviscon partially (speak to your GP for that). I actually got quite depressed about it all as I could hardly seem to leave the house. Like you I was sick and tired of smelling of sick and having to take several changes of clothes with me everywhere.

The reason for it is that the sphincter which controls the food going into the stomach is weak in babies and in some it is extra weak so they regurgitate alot - your HV is right - your dd will grow out of it. (I'm a HV too). My HV also said that my DS would "grow out of it" and it didn't make me feel any better. Gaviscon did improve things though and your GP can prescribe infant Gaviscon which might help.
My DS stopped at about 9 months in the end and I was so relieved. I hadn't realised until then how down I had got about it all.

Mandy

[Casmie]

mrspink27: no advice, just sympathy. My ds2 is 9 months old - the refluxiness (is that a word?!) had reduced down quite a bit recently, then he had a tummy bug and while the tummy bug is all gone, the reflux is back.

Still, I keep telling myself that quantity and frequency is less than it was, and it'll get better. In the meantime I'm glad my carpets are tacky anyway, and wearing cheap clothing until it all stops.

Will probably use the excuse to replace the washing machine at some point though as it's sounding rather knackered

[NotQuiteCockney]

It does seem to be normal. DS1 didn't have it, but DS2 has it (both breastfed). He's gaining well, so I'm not too bothered.

It's funny, though, picking him up after a feed seems to bring it on - maybe pressure on his stomach?

It does seem to be getting better over time. Do refluxy babies generally turn into children who vom lots? DS1 almost never threw up as a baby, and is still the same, while a friend whose kid had bad reflux still throws up relatively often.

[LIZS]

NQC, dd is 3 1/2 and still throws up more readily than ds. For example they've got a flu type bug atm - she's thrown up twice but him not at all. She only has to get a cough and she's off, so still have her mattress with a couple of pillows under it at head end to help prevent the cough and sickness. She is also more prone to travel sickness. Could be coincidental but I fret already that she'll have an eating disorder when she is older as she is tiny anyway.

[NotQuiteCockney]

LIZS, that sounds hard, with the throwing up ... I'm quite spoiled with DS1, he really hardly ever throws up.

I think eating disorders come from self-image and control issues, though, not a natural propensity to vomit. She shouldn't be any more difficult about her weight than any other girl in our culture - as long as she knows she's fine the weight she is, she'll be fine.

[LIZS]

NQC, logic tells me you are right although can't help but worry (isn't that the nature of parenting!). We've never made a big fuss over it and she gets quite upset so it hasn't become a control issue either.

Anyway don't want to sidetrack mrspinks'thread.

[KathH]

ds 2 (5mths next week) has reflux. Gp & HV both said as gaining weight ok so just a laundry problem. I got really depressed about it just before christmas, i think one particular day he'd brought back bits of feed about 20 odd times. We've tried the Staydown milk but tbh only reduced sickies slightly altho i guess anythings an improvement. GP referred us to a consultant who we saw 3 wks ago and he prescribed domperidone which i think empties the stomach quicker altho i'm not sure - it doesnt seem to be working that well - as ds can still be bringing bits of feed back 3hrs later. We have to go again in a fortnight and i am going to ask about an allergy/intolerance as read that about half of babies who have reflux also have milk/soya allergies. We were advised by consultant to start weaning and this has also improved things a little bit. If its any consolation our other son who is now 6 had silent reflux where they're not sick at all but have acid going up and down all day and it was much much worse than the sicking kind. i think the general consensus is that in most cases it improves on weaning and then in most of the other cases when the baby can sit up on its own. then of course there are exceptions but i am not even thinking about that! dont know how but despite all the sicking he's managed to actually go up on to the next centile! I look enviously at the other mums when we go to get weighed and they all have perfect hair, makeup etc and if i've only got 3 or 4 little sick marks on my top its now classed as clean.

[NotQuiteCockney]

KathH, I'm with you on the laundry thing. I only count things as dirty when they have an impressive large sick mark on them.

Our GP offered Gaviscon, but I couldn't be bothered. DS2 (5 months on Thursday) is gaining beautifully, so I'll survive the vomiting. I hadn't heard that weaning helped ... I think I'll still wait until 6 months, though.

I hope it stops when he's crawling, but whatever.

[mrspink27]

glad its not just me who has little sicky stains on her clothes then!
had to laugh
last week dh came home ... i said to him did you pick dd2 up this evening? no was the reply... oh... cos you have sick down your back!
he'd been walking round with a sicky shoulder and back ever so slightly all day!! and no one in his office had told him,...
Amanda... know what you mean about depression.. i am just starting to realise that this is all part of the way i am feeling to!

[SeaShells]

DD was the same, we resorted to using towels instead of bibs, she'd know it was bottle time when she saw us covering everything in towels! She grew out of it eventually, about 8months I think? I worried that she wasn't getting enough food, when alot of it came back up, but she's always been a good weight and healthy.

[IlanaK]

Sorry, haven't had time to read through all the responses, but wanted to add my thoughts.

I have 2 ds. Both have been terribly sicky babies. I too was soooo fed up with sick, changing clothes on them and me, etc etc. Both outgrew it. Both were fully breastfed. Both were seen by doctors. Ds2 even had cranial osteopathy. Neither had actual reflux as there was no acid and they were not in pain. Basically, they were what is termed in the USA as "happy spitters". No fun for you at all, but also not a medical problem. AS someone said, it is a weak muscle that lets the food back through and it will improve. Ds2 is now 8 months old and it is a LOT better, though not totally gone. AS someone once said to me, it is a laundry problem more than anything else.

HTH

[bakedpotato]

DD did this for 9 months. we tried thickeners etc but (oh dear, sorry) nothing really helped -- then it just suddenly stopped. like Miss Pink, DD wasn't bothered in the slightest but boy, I got fed up of smelling like a cheeseboard, the constant wardrobe changes (hers, ours) and ugh, those bibs. maybe talk to your HV about trying thickeners, it might work for you. otherwise, commiserations, strength and lots of fairy non-bio xx

[prunegirl]

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[bakedpotato]

prunegirl, take heart: DS (4 wks today) doesn't do it. (crosses fingers hurriedly)

[prunegirl]

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