5 week old - colic/silent reflux/infant gaviscon?

[Laurafayeone]

Hi All

Any advice/experience would be appreciated!

I started with breastfeeding my baby girl but after 9 days of constant rooting for food (feeds could be over 3 hours and then still unsettled after!) and her failing to gain weight I moved to formula feeding.

We started on aptamil but after failing to gain weight quickly enough we were recommended c&g - which seemed (we thought at the time) to not agree with her so now we are on SMA.

In short, she screams for hours after each feed - she does have terrible wind from both ends but even with that the crying and unsettled behaviour carries on until she falls asleep again which means up to 10/12 hours a day of crying or fussing - she hasn't had any 'quiet alert' time at all yet without being upset and I am getting worried! She also gets frequent hiccups and wriggle around in pain a lot after feeds, with lots of straining and grunting too.

We visited the docs after trying every single over the counter colic remedy and dr browns bottles with no effect and they have prescribed infant gaviscon as they think it may be silent reflux, which we have tried for 3 days now to no effect - how long does this take to work?

Has anyone had any experience with similar symptoms?

It's been a long time since I had a baby but I can sympathise with you as mine were the same with reflux and I don't want this to go unanswered.

Gaviscon thickens the formula so makes it less likely to go back up into the esophagus so it works immediately. Can you see formula pooling in her mouth at all?

Have you tried a slight elevation for sleeping time? How are her stools?

You might try an elemental formula - that is what saved the day for us. That means that the long chain proteins that are found in other formulas are already broken down so it moves more quickly through the stomach and has less time to be regurgitated/refluxed. It tastes like arse though so it took me time to transition over to it as my baby refused it.

I used Neocate but that was many years ago - you would have to get it on prescription.

Also, please find out if there are reflux clinics anywhere around you - we were referred straight away to a clinic at the hospital that was equipped with a Paediatrician, Occupational Therapist (they help with props, feeding positions, etc.)

I also had to use a surfactant with every feed to break down wind - but it's been so long ago I can't remember which one I used.

It will take some time to work out what combination of bottles/formula/medications help. Be very persistent with pressing for support and keep trying things out.

My DS had problems feeding when he was little too. He lost lots of weight and was diagnosed with a tongue tie. He fed better after that was resolved and stopped losing weight, but was still in a lot of pain and struggled to settle to sleep. Waking up about 30 mins after he'd fallen asleep every time. He was then diagnosed with silent reflux and given omeprezole and infant gaviscon. The infant gaviscon worked instantly. He was much more content and settled better. I understand it takes a little while each feed to thicken the milk in their tummies so I used to hold him upright for 30 minutes after each feed and then carefully put him down. He'd then settle to sleep properly.

From what I've read about silent reflux and having spoken to other parents, different medications can work for different children, so if infant gaviscon isn't working for your DC go back to your GP.

Sending hugs to you though. I well remember how hard it is having a baby who won't eat or settle.