Reflux and breastfeeding - am I being selfish?

[Jnice]

My DS is 20 wks and doing well apart from being a heavy (usually happy) spitter. Although he does get uncomfortable the reflux rarely causes a lot of pain. He is happy and gaining weight (albeit slowly).

To date he had no formula, but has been sleeping badly and fussy in the evening. Last night we gave him 4oz of formula and he had no reflux and slept well for the evening (woke 3 times through night, pretty good for him).

I love breastfeeding and it is a big part of my role as a mum. I fed other 2 DS no problem. But would going to formula be better for him?

This morning after bf he is barfing everywhere. I tried no dairy and soy for 2 months which made no difference. Dr says no meds.

If you got this far, thank you! What do you think?

Well it might be an over active letdown causing him to take down a lot of air, giving him discomfort and causing him to chuck up. I'm on dc2 and my letdown is worse this time (shoot across room etc etc).your let down is likely to be strongest in the morning hence being sick more then?

You csn help by feeding reclined and baby's head is higher than tummy. Also wind part way through feeds and at the end. Keep him upright for 20-30 mins after a feed too eg pop in a bouncy chair.

However I don't think you're selfish - perhaps you couldmix feed to get better nights and evenings?

Thanks iggly - could be over active letdown, but he does also spit up a lot after ebm in a dr browns bottle. Mix feeding in the evenings probably a good idea.

another 1 here who stopped bf at 8 weeks due to reflux, dd was in hospital due to weight loss

anyway, first if he took the formula ok then i doubt its a dairy allergy. if he is a happy pain free little thing then i say carry on with the bf/ mixed feeding for evenings.

I am having same dilemma with my DS also 20 weeks. Our GP prescribed a hypoallergenic formula after a positive lactose intolerance test, rather than reflux.

I don't think you are being selfish.

It's very difficult when you see them in such discomfort after a breast feed and then happy and contented after the formula. I'm going to carry on mix feeding for now.

OP maybe just do formula for the times of day which are worst? Perhaps as their guts mature and these problems settle, then they may be able to increase the amount of BM again. That's my hope anyway!

Jnice do you think it might be just a coincidence - just 2 feeds doesn't seem much to go on?

Reason I ask this is because research shows FF babies tend to get more reflux than BF ones - formula isn't generally the answer to reflux in BF babies. Although, as PPs suggest, lots of mums do stop BF because reflux is making it harder.

I second what iggly said about looking at letdown - and there are lots more helpful tips here on Kellymom.

My (breastfed) dd had reflux and used to throw up all the time, but it got markedly better from about 6 months when she could sit up and was eating some solids as well. She's still breastfed at 11 months and hardly ever throws up now. If you can hang in there a few more weeks you might find that things improve. If you're feeding on demand he should be fine as he'll try and make up for what he's lost.

I had this problem. I was told it was reflux but meds didt help. No dairy didn't help so I did my own research. Basically I had an over supply of fore milk. Which has a lot of lactose in it and make babies sick. Does your baby have frequent green nappies? If so you could have an over supply. To balance out the foremilk/hindmilk, you should just feed from one breast per feeding and if you're already doing this, do two feedings on the same breast before switching. If that makes sense? Hope that helped x

I typed a long response on iPhone which was lost

Thank you all for input. His pops were very green but around a month ago they went yellow and have been mostly fine since.

Last night on a bottle of formula he did well again so I think we will keep it up just giving him one at bedtime.

x

My ds has terrible reflux and he is ff so I don't think if it is reflux ff will stop it.

Hi all, there is this www.immergruen.co.uk baby stomach tea and nursing tea I was drinking when bf. It helped with basically everything.. constipation, colic or reflux. It as our life saver and is almost magic stuff ;-) Try it out and drink it yourself - you will see a difference within 4 hours. Or if you stop bf you could use it to prepare formula. It is so great that I always recommend it to everybody.

sorry I've tried to add the link where to find the baby stomach tea:

www.immergruen.co.uk

hope that works out better. :-)