tips on dealing with reflux with bf baby

[umboo]

hi

dd is 12wo (today :) ) and im sure she has reflux tho its not been diagnosed yet. she vomits quite a lot anyway. any tips on dealing with this, esp non medical ones iyswim. dont want to resort to medicine just yet, esp as she is gaining weight well. (well the hv and gp dont think so but i reckon average of 4 oz per week is pretty good! and she is tracking a centile)

Oh poor baby. Its hard to see them upset isn't it. My DD had 'Silent Reflex'. She was my third, the other two were fine.

My tips - gently tilt the moses basket / cot so it slightly higher at head height than feet. We put moses basket on floor and put some thin books underneath basket.

Keep in upright position for about 20 mins after feed. I would just put baby on my chest.

Try not to change nappies right after feed - milk would shoot out of my DD's nose.

Don't feel bad about using indigestion medicine - it made a really big difference to out DD. I think we just gave a bit of Infacoil (can't spell) before a feed.

I cut all Dairy out of my diet as my DD also had a very sore bottom, slight milk sensitivity. Out of all the things - Cutting all Dairy did make the biggest difference.

My dd is 18months and is still very gassy, burpy and farty but I kind of still follow those rules. She hasn't needed any medicine since about 7 months and weaning though.

Hope that helps a bit.

thank you so much for replying.

she sleeps in a hammock sometimes but otherwise we co sleep. i don't know how to tilt our big double bed...shame because i know the uprightness of the hammock would help but i also need to sleep and co sleeping is one the things keeping me sane!

i have used infacol sometimes, maybe i should use it more...she's have a bad day today so i have actually given her a few doses. i think it was more strong prescription medicines that i'm cautious of, as i want to try other methods before i go down that route iyswim.

dd does the milk out of nose thing, she gets really scared when it happens :(

i will try the upright position post feed thing too.

what is silent reflux btw? ive heard about it but don't know much about it.

many thanks again.

I found putting my daughter in a sling after feeding helped. And Infant Gaviscon really helped her pain.

DS has reflux and I also have reflux. Our bed is on books to tilt it for me...is this a possibility for you if you co-sleep?

We keep him upright for 30 mins after every feed, including at night. The cot is angled too but we also co-sleesoo art of the night as its tiring keeping him upright for so long.

I second the not being afraid of medicine if they need it. DS is on ranitadine after he choked on his own vomit & went into respiratory distress I had no idea reflux & SIDS were related until this happened.

More recently DS lost his voice due to the medicine not being at the correct dose. The acid caused oedema on the vocal cords apparently. I felt really awful about it.

I'm also dairy & soya free as breastfeeding & he has a suspected intolerance. It's more common than people realise so might be worth a go. Kellymom has some good info here

I feed little & often as it stays down this way. Feeding laying down is out & I don't put him in the car seat once he's fed or it just comes back up.

Beware infacol - it made my son much more sick and I have heard the same thing from many reflux parents. Apparently it makes it easier to get wind up by consolidating tiny gas bubbles into one big one, which of course with a reflux baby means a big puke comes out too..

A sling (we had a hugabub) is an essential piece of kit for a reflux baby, it keeps them upright and comfortable so they can sleep and you can have your hands free. You might need two as ours were constantly covered in sick and needing washing.

I know you said you wanted non medical tips, but infant gaviscon really helped my son - it isn't a drug, it works by floating a layer on top of the stomach contents to make it harder for it all to spill out. Not everyone gets on with it but it is fairly gentle and worth a try.

The weight gain sounds excellent considering there is reflux. Well done, reflux is really hard and you are doing a great job.

thank you all for your replies. ive read up on silent reflux now and i think that is what dd has. ive been dairy free since last thursday and will see how that goes. we have a drs appointment next week so i'll know by then if its a dairy thing or something else.

will ask dh if he can do something with some books and our bed!

many thanks :)

silent reflux is when they are in pain from the acid but are not actually sick at all. if she's being sick then it's just normal reflux.

It can take upto 4 Weeks for a dairy free diet to work so don't give up on it to soon.

You've had loss odd good tips about keeping her upright. This defiantly helped DD who was a very sicky baby but we never medicated as she gained weight very well.