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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Infant gaviscon, contradictory advice from GP and on the packet! Please help!

26 replies

emeraldgirl1 · 16/04/2013 18:09

GP has (thank God) prescribed infant Gaviscon for DD. I am just praying it helps a bit.

BUT the GP said to put it into water and give after the feed. I had told her already that am bottle feeding. According to the packet however, you only give it in water after the feed if you are breast feeding, if bottle feeding you put it in the bottle of milk.

This is what we have just done (put it in the bottle) and DD seems worse than ever right now :(

Have we done something wrong?

OP posts:

LaDay · 16/04/2013 19:53

Hi there - sorry to hear that your DD is suffering, we went through the same with DS and it WILL get better... hang in there.

When BF we put a little in water and fed in a bottle pre feed. Once onto formula we put it into the bottle with the formula. Also used infacol too.

You might want to look at the book "Understanding Infant Colic" which can be bought at www.churchdownosteopaths.co.uk/books/ we found it really helpful.

Hope this helps, good luck.

Wishihadabs · 16/04/2013 20:00

You can do either. I think it's more effective if mixed with feed. Give it a few days but if no better do go back, there are lots of other(more eeffective) treatments for reflux.

Original poster

emeraldgirl1 · 16/04/2013 20:31

Thank you!!
Oh dear is gaviscon not very effective?! Am just desperate r something to help and I think I have got my hopes up.
Am dreading tonight, she has only manged 40 mins sleep all day and that was while being held. We can't seem to put her down a t the moment even with a dummy (which she seems to need almost permanently even when she is up).

I am chronically sleep deprived and don't know if I could stay awake while holding her tonight, I was dropping off doing it last night which scares me. DH has huge meeting in the morning so don't want him staying up but if she won't sleep I don't know what we will do :(
Feel an idiot fr letting it get this bad, I should have spotted the signs a week ago or more

OP posts:

Wishihadabs · 16/04/2013 20:38

How old is dd ? Tends to peak around 6-12weeks.

sleepingsatellite · 16/04/2013 20:41

DS2 was really bad for about 3 days when we started the Infant Gaviscon, on the 3rd night he just grizzled and cried non-stop so we took him to OOH GP, she examined him, he was fine just very constipated (I never noticed he hadn't done a poo I was so tired). She prescribed lactulose, starting off on just 2.5ml per day. The next day he had a large poo, and started to settle really quickly after that.

We had to use the lactulose every day, until he got himself settled on solids. If we ever missed a day, he would be back to the grizzling and crying.

We also took him to a Paediatrician, who said that even if he is not drinking a full 8oz (he wasn't) then its still fine to mix in the sachets. We found this worked better than faffing around trying to make a paste, and then trying to get him to take it!

Can you rock her to sleep in her buggy? This would sometimes work for DS. I used to put it in the lounge, and if he did nod off, so could I.

Big hugs, its grim, but it will get better

CreatureRetorts · 16/04/2013 20:44

Have you tried co sleeping? As in properly co sleeping? So duvet is tucked in so only goes to your waist, baby is next to you, dad goes elsewhere? I took a decision to lie mine on their left hand sides - I used to have them sleep on me upright but I nearly dropped dd out of sheer exhaustion (she was on my chest, I feel asleep and let go. Luckily I woke up and grabbed her leg stopping her falling head first onto the floor).

Also get your baby some hydrolysed formula (or try comfort milk and ditch the gaviscon). If they've got reflux its very likely they're dairy intolerant too.

Mine had silent reflux. I didn't even bother with gaviscon with my second as I knew it was shit. It doesn't neutralise the acid like adult gaviscon, it just creates a solid plug and can make it worse in some cases.

Feed your baby little and often. Wind after a feed but not too vigorously. Also make sure your baby isn't overtired - this can result in behaviour like reflux (screaming, arching etc where they're just so tired). Keep nappies loose around the tummy. No trousers to keep pressure off the tummy.

CreatureRetorts · 16/04/2013 20:46

Just to add - if she's only had one nap and you can't get her to sleep tonight, try white noise on really really loud, swaddling her and rocking her in a dark room. We did this with ds on his bad days.

But to be honest, DS got better once we got a handle on his meds and his day sleep. Do you have a sling? If not, get one and use it for all day naps. Get out, get walking.

Mehrida · 16/04/2013 20:48

What is the problem? We found Gaviscon helped with DS being a really sicky baby but didn't make much differency to the colic.

We found colosynth granules pretty good.

I also cannot recommend enough a wee track on youtube called 'baby got colic'. It's a horrible video/noise but the sound of it used to calm him within seconds. Still works even now and he's 11 months.

Feel for you, the sleep deprivation is chronic.

Original poster

emeraldgirl1 · 16/04/2013 22:00

She is 5 weeks old...
She isn't (so far) sick with it, if it is indeed reflux it is silent, she is just in awful pain the poor thing.
So disheartened now, I thought it might help but sounds as if it doesn't?
Not expecting an instant fix but not sure I will get through tonight if I start to think it won't ever work.
We have only done on bottle with it so far so not much.
Does it aways cause constipation!??

OP posts:

CreatureRetorts · 16/04/2013 22:04

Silly question but how did you conclude silent reflux? Did you rule out extreme overtiredness (so they're so unsettled they don't want to be put down even if asleep as they're not relaxing)?

CreatureRetorts · 16/04/2013 22:07

[http://parentingaustralia.com.au/newborn/sleeping/523-colic-or-reflux-or-just-overtired-whats-making-your-baby-unsettled worth a read]]

redwellybluewelly · 16/04/2013 22:08

Now I always trot this out because dd has it but she is intolerant to dairy (cows milk protein not the laftoose) and soya, she has horrendous silent reflux which we still medicate for but for her it was removing the triggers which helped her.

She had a hard time weaning as well.

But friends that have bottle fed children without reflux have said that different milks do have different effects. Have you tried a gentle formula? Can I ask which you use? Can take a week to notice an improvement but wondered if you'd tried that

CreatureRetorts · 16/04/2013 22:08

try again!

redwellybluewelly · 16/04/2013 22:08

Laftoose? !?!?!?!

lactose

DewDr0p · 16/04/2013 22:14

OP I'm so sorry to hear you are having such a tough time.

Ds2 had silent reflux and Gaviscon worked brilliantly for him. It took a week or so before we saw the full effects though. I think it's fine to follow the instructions on the packet - is there still a helpline number on the packaging too? Do call them, they were very helpful to me.

I was advised to avoid infacol as it is a relaxant and can make reflux worse.

Fingers crossed for you that the gaviscon works and brings your lo (and you!) some much-needed respite very soon. Reflux is so tough.

LittleBearPad · 16/04/2013 22:15

I th

LittleBearPad · 16/04/2013 22:19

Try again. We used infant gaviscon with DD cos she was sicky. It seemed to help with the sickiness but not colic. Time dealt with that - I'm afraid that's not a quick fix - sorry.

I'm afraid your doctor probably wasn't listening when you said you were ff hence the incorrect advice.

Give the gaviscon a few days to work. If it still doesn't go back.

Original poster

emeraldgirl1 · 16/04/2013 22:27

Thanks everyone!
No I don't think is just over tiredness, she is waking with a really sad and pitiful little cough which she also gets every time she is on her back for more than three mins, she is arching her back and going rigid in legs during feeds, hiccuping almost every nappy change.. Kind of fighting the bottle when she feeds in pain but also hunger... . Does that sound like silent reflux? That is what GP thought...

She is on aptamil, is that a bad one for reflux? We tried her on hipp organic last week (not cos of reflux but just stupidly because a friend said it had been great for her) and reaction was awful o I am scared to switch milks again. But if aptamil is making her worse of course I would try a switch. Any reccs?.??

Am getting in a state here :( don't know what to do for the best

OP posts:

CreatureRetorts · 16/04/2013 22:40

Can you try comfort milk? It's partly broken down so might help. All brands do a comfort version.

LaDay · 16/04/2013 22:41

Some great advice here - I would just give some things a try and see what works...two more things I would add which worked for us.

Try day naps in a sling (we had a baby bjorn) as then she is upright to sleep or in a deckchair baby bouncer thing

Also at night put a pillow under one end of the crib mattress so it's on a slight angle or prop the bottom up with books a bit - seemed to help (and we only rarely had to shift him back up).

Take care of you and good luck to your DH for tomorrow

Original poster

emeraldgirl1 · 16/04/2013 22:46

Thank you all so much

We are propping the crib up at an angle tonight, hoping it may help a bit.

Will investigate the comfort version of the milk, can anyone explain how these work or if have been effective at all?

OP posts:

katiecubs · 16/04/2013 23:07

We used aptamil comfort (it's a thicker version of the normal stuff) mixed with Gaviscon for DS1's silent reflux (sounds exactly the same as you described OP) abd found it really helped.

You will need to go up teat sizes though as the milk will be much thicker and very slow to drink on slow flows. The only issue may be you find she gets constipation as Gaviscon makes their poos solid (they look like play dough!) which can be upsetting and swaps one problem for another. DS cried a lot over his first poo and I nearly chucked in the towel but he soon got used to it and was fine after 2/3 days :) hope it works for you!

Mehrida · 18/04/2013 11:42

Oh why on earth didn't I think to suggest comfort milk? Go NOW and get it if you can!

We had six weeks of colicky hell until I went to Tesco one day and picked it up. After just one feed it was like having a different baby. He took 5 oz, gave one hiccupy burp and passed out for four hours, which was unheard of at the time.

LittleBearPad · 18/04/2013 14:06

Just seen baby got colic mentioned. I loved that horrible noise. Ten or so minutes of it and DD was asleep. It was brilliant.

DewDr0p · 18/04/2013 15:39

How's it going OP?

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