Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Flip

Original poster

I'm so so desperate.. could this be reflux?

17 replies

MrsDoolittle · 29/03/2006 23:14

Ds is six and a half weeks old. He's unsettled but it's getting worse, unrelenting, all day. He is only quiet if he's on my breast.

I have tried using the archives but they don't seem to be working (or I'm just crap)

OP posts:

fishie · 29/03/2006 23:24

poor you it sounds awful, do you think it might be 6 week growth spurt and building supply? i do hope so

Original poster

MrsDoolittle · 29/03/2006 23:25

No way

OP posts:

fishie · 29/03/2006 23:31

ds screamed for weeks and weeks it is just so upsetting. we did try gaviscon in case it was reflux (is in family) but didn't help and i found it diff to give - instructions favour bottle.

gingernut · 30/03/2006 00:29

Have you tried putting him in something to hold him fairly upright, e.g. a swing or a sling? If it is reflux that might help.

BornBerry · 30/03/2006 09:12

Hiya
Have you seen a breastfeeding counsellor? What is weight gain etc like and what is a standard day feed wise?
I am a breastfeeding counsellor but cant get mumsnet at work, if you want to email me for some urgent help its bornberry at hotmail dot co dot uk
Berry

LIZS · 30/03/2006 09:34

Agree is he better when held upright, will he sleep flat ? Worth getting positioning, latch etc checked out by a bfc. Otherwise is there anything you have eaten that could be upsetting him - may be try a blander diet yourself for a few days or a herbal tea like fennel which helps digestion. Did he have a difficult delivery in which case a trip to a Cranial Osteopath may help.

Original poster

MrsDoolittle · 30/03/2006 12:44

Great delivery, he was born within minutes in a pool.
I have a moby sling, it is brilliant, it's the only thing he does settle in, in fact. I assumed this was because I was holding him all the time. It's great when we are out but cumbersome to have on around the house all the time. But it's true is is more settled when upright.

OP posts:

juliab · 30/03/2006 12:47

Mrs D, I'm so sorry you're still having a difficult time. Is he bringing up his feeds?
If it is/could be reflux, the sooner you get it sorted, the better. Go to see your GP and be REALLY direct and clear about what's happening.

okeydokeygirl · 30/03/2006 12:52

i had the same prob with my little one. i was more worried about her weight gain but the crying was really stressful. My GP prescribed Gaviscon which was impossible to get into her after a breast feed. She was not gaining weight and had dropped off the charts so i got really stressed and in the end moved her over to a bottle at 5 months. i tried to express but i just didn't get enough so eventually moved over to formula. the reflux did improve drastically once i gave her Gaviscon and although i would have preferred to have breast fed her for much longer i think in the long run she was much better off on the formula with the Gaviscon. However, in retrospect, i think i would have preferred to have either persevered with getting the Gaviscon in whilst breast feeding (not sure how though). I also found the sections on reflux in Tracy Hogg' "the Baby Whisperer" particularly useful (as was the whole book). Also, i wish i hadn't been so hung up on the weight charts which i only found out afterwards were based on bottle fed babies which have very different weight gains to breast fed babies. by the way, the crying got loads better at about 3 months.

desperatehousewife · 30/03/2006 12:55

Reflux happened in my son at 6 weeks and lasted until he was weaned at 4 months. He would guzzle his milk but then scream for half an hour after every feed, quite often bring up a lot of the milk and continue screaming. Arched back, bringing legs up to his chest.

These are all classic signs of reflux.

You don't really explain what the problem is with your baby - you say unsettled...

Original poster

MrsDoolittle · 30/03/2006 13:06

I can't really call it screaming. He cries, alot and wriggles. He doesn't do the arching. Just his arms and legs keep flailing and he scratches at his face.
If I don't move him atall after a feed he is often okay, like at night when I bf him in bed he'll go to sleep and be fine.
It's not the same after every feed, some times he'll be sicky, other times not atall. If I feed him on the sofa and don't move he'll be okay and doze until I get up. Then his eyes will snap open and that's it. He starts fidgeting, then crying and won't stop until I latch him on again.
Sometimes he settles in my arms, sometimes he doesn't. Some days are worse than others. The last two days have been the worst.

OP posts:

juliab · 30/03/2006 13:10

Try looking here \link{http://www.infantrefluxdisease.com/infant_reflux_symptoms.php\refluxinfo
Any of the symptoms fit?

juliab · 30/03/2006 13:11

Oops. can never do this right
\link{http://www.infantrefluxdisease.com\try again}

foxinsocks · 30/03/2006 13:13

is he your first? sounds like it could be colic

okeydokeygirl · 30/03/2006 13:16

Have just checked my my book and the bit that I found really useful was pages 111-114 in Tracy Hogg's "The Baby Whisperer solves all your problems". This book, and her first, have and are my bibles and so far everything she has recommended has worked for me and my baby. One of the things that she suggests is to elevate the mattress so the head is higher and not to pat your baby after a feed but to gently rub in a cicular motion on the left side of the back. This certainly helped with my baby.

desperatehousewife · 30/03/2006 13:29

i spoke to my doc about possible reflux and he just ignored me and sent me home. I took it into my own hands and desperately wanted it sorted so took him to chilrens a&e where they did lots of tests and agreed it was reflux. From then on we put gaviscon in his bottle with milk. Really helped.

Go with your instinct. If you think there is something wrong, speak to nhs direct/health visitor/gp/a&e. Good luck

LIZS · 30/03/2006 13:31

Could he be getting overtired /stimulated ? If he isn't napping well he may simply be irritable unless he is comforted. Try putting him in an elevated position in cot or seat(which would help with any reflux, especially after a feed) and see if he settles any better.

Flip