Gaviscon and breast feeding?

[wishingforwillpower]

Has anyone managed to give gaviscon to an EBF baby?? I honestly don't see how I am meant to get my 6 week old to take 15mls of disgusting flavoured warm water EVERY feed! This afternoon I have him 2.5mls and he freaked and spat it all out. He won't take a bottle. Any advice?

I hear you! The only way I succeeded was making it up a bit thicker than the instructions and using a syringe (from colic medicine). To be honest I gave up on it quite quickly because my baby wasn't really distressed with reflux and was gaining weight well; I just tried to keep him upright after feeds. The syringe needs to be squirted into the baby's cheek though rather than straight down the throat because it makes it slightly less likely to be spat straight back out.

I also gave up, after concluding that the reflux was less distressing for her than having a nice feed interrupted for grim Gaviscon. Infant Gaviscon is a thickener, so there is an argument that sicking up unthickened milk is better than sicking up thickened.

I mix it with breastmilk so it tastes a bit nicer. Have you tried using a little cup? I found that easier than a syringe.

If the reflux is really causing your baby distress though then you might want to consider trying something else. I found gaviscon helped but made my ds very constipated. We changed to ranitidine (which is a million times easier to give) and ds has been like a different baby since then.

I should add the caveat that DD was happily putting on weight and unbothered by the reflux, so giving up didn't feel like a problem. She grew out of it more or less by about 12 weeks, if that helps.

No. I went back to the GP and got Ranitidine. Gaviscon didn't work, made DD constipated and was a PITA.

I could have written this post. Was at a breast feeding clinic this morning where they advised:
Mix with expressed milk, not water
Give at the start of the feed as it's quite a big volume to give at the end
Give with a bottle if baby will take one.
However I have a gp appointment for Wednesday am to hopefully get some ranitidine!

Was prescribed it by one GP and ten days later after failing miserably in getting it down my DD, at her 8 week check done by a GP with specialist paediatric experience she told me agaves on is no longer advocated as first line treatment for reflux- it's too problematic in terms of giving it and causing constipation. Prescribed Ranitidine- much easier to give. Though we also stopped that after 2 treatments by an osteopath who released tension in her neck which may have been compressing the nerve which often causes both reflux symptoms and hiccups :-)

Thanks everyone, I'm glad it's not just me! It seems that infant gaviscon is simply not compatible with breast feeding. I did think of mixing with ebm but not sure I can express enough for 15mls per feed plus extra for spillage etc!

We just ended up doing 5 ml - worked fine - in a syringe - 2 lots of 2.5 was better than a big 5ml one as smaller in mouth. Right pain though and made him constipated. Reflux bizarrely got worse at 6 months so got ranitidine now - loads easier as just twice a day and no constipation!