Baby reflux

[BeckyBloom]

H, any advice gratefully received. First grandson is 9 weeks old and was born at 36 weeks at 4lbs. He has gained weight well and is now 8lb 2. When he was 6 weeks, he couldnt keep a bottle down and was prescribed omeprazole which seems to work although he still seemed windy. 3 weeks later, although good weight gain, he seems to be almost back to how he was. He is generally happy but does seem uncomfortable especially during late feeds and night feeds. Thoughts? Thank you

I don't know if it seems a bit silly to suggest but have you tried the tommee tippee anti colic bottles the ones with the sticks inside? We had them and it seemed to improve not sure if it was a coincidence though!

Hi thank you. She has the MAM anti colic bottles for him.

No problem.
My LB really suffered with it and my friends LB did even with omeprazole I think it's one of those things but certainly not nice to have to see them go through it and not be able to do anything

Has his omeprazole dose been adjusted to his new weight? DD2 was always very sensitive to the dosage – fine on a relatively low dose of 1mg/1kg, but got worse quickly if she'd grown and we'd not yet had the meds adjusted.

Thank you for your message. The GP gave her the capsules to dissolve instead of the liquid and he can't keep them down. They are having no effect at all

It sounds like your grandson is doing amazingly well with his weight gain, but I know how tough it is to see him uncomfortable. It could be that his reflux is flaring up again, as this can happen even with medication like omeprazole. Wind and discomfort during late and night feeds might also be linked to feeding position, bottle flow rate, or even trapped air from earlier feeds. You could try keeping him upright for 20–30 minutes after feeding, experimenting with anti-colic bottles, or gently burping him more frequently during feeds. If he’s still struggling despite these adjustments, it’s worth checking back with his pediatrician to review his dose or explore other options—it’s often a bit of trial and error with reflux babies.

Okay, if he can't keep the dispersible tablets down, she needs to go back to the GP and explain that. The tablets are much, much cheaper than the liquid and more stable, so they are generally supposed to trial them, but if they're not working for your grandson, then the liquid exists for a reason.

She may have to argue her case a bit. The price difference is roughly £1 for a month of tablets, £100 for a month of liquid, so it's not unreasonable for them to want to be sure the liquid is needed – but they should prescribe it where it genuinely is needed. It may help if both parents can go to the appointment.

Hi thank you. We couldn't get an appointment at our GP yesterday so went to a walk-in centre who prescribed the liquid. Hopefully he will start to improve and actually seems a little more settled already.