How to put down a refluxy 1mo?

[Nickyandparis]

I suspect DD has reflux, have an appt next week with a specialist. She was gulping and crying in pain after being BF and then vomiting almost religiously after every feed. She is just about keeping weight on and is increasing the minimum amount.

While I wait for the appt next week I am in a vicious circle of feeding her (20 mins) winding/holding her upright on advice of the doc (30 mins.) Often even 30 mins is not enough for the milk to go down as she will still start squirming, gulping, crying when I lay her flat and eventually vomit again. The vomit/misery of pain makes her hungry again and by then two hours have gone by again anyway and she's due for another feed and she finds the breast comforting anyway, so the cycle starts again.

Cue me (and her) getting no sleep

When she (and I) eventually sleep it's because I have BF her lying down and she has taken cursory/comfort sucks until she falls asleep (in the bed with me.)

Can anyone offer advice or words of wisdom?

The only way I got any sleep was for her to sleep really upright in a bouncy chair...

I feel for you. It's awful.

You identify that lying down works - could try that more often?

Or look at laid back / biological nursing - the milk flows uphill so less of a gulping issue.

Tbh I think my 4 week old is going this way so I'm also placemarking!

It's hard, I hear you. Try swaddle and lay her on her side with white noise blasting and rolled blankets behind to prop her. Try a soother too if she's screamy.

Or just Co sleep

DD1 has silent reflux. She slept in a sling or on me. She slept while moving.

DD2 did not have any reflux but I have oversupply. She will only sleep on me or lying down. We co-sleep.

DC1 had reflux, started very early on also. Initially he mainly rested in the bouncy chair, as another pp mentioned, it keeps the baby more upright and less prone for the milk/acid to come up. However he was then able to sleep in the cot with the head end elevated (we rolled towels under the head of the mattress to put it at an incline, you can also buy bed blocks, put phone books under the feet, or buy a specially designed sloped mattress, for example).

I found the Little Refluxers website useful.

Also for us we found that leaving gaps between feeds was more successful - we thought we were being odd, but I found other people on reflux sites who had the same experience. If we fed small amounts regularly it seemed to be worse, but when we started feeding, say, every 2-3 hours, DC1 was much less prone to being sick or uncomfortable. It was also easier to wind him for some reason. However, he was formula fed so that may not be useful. We were recommended trying to settle him with a dummy, as apparently that helps some refluxy babies, but he never took to one.

We used gripe water from 1mo and that helped as well.

In the end it was a combination of feeding upright, keeping upright for at least 15mins after, using gripe water, making sure he burped, spacing feedings, and Ranitidine (which we got after referred to the paediatrician). For a while we had to soothe him at the start of a feed as he would cry at the sight of a bottle But he moved past that after a few weeks on Ranitidine. With that vomiting became more of a once-a-week occurrence, and then gradually as he got older it became less often until it went altogether at around 7mo. Infant Gaviscon was a bit useless and just made him very bloated and constipated.

My LO has reflux (8 weeks) though it doesn't sound as bad as yours. We hold her upright after a feed for as long as possible, in a sling if necessary (which is really handy because I go about my business while she happily sits upright and gets burped at the same time!) I also feed her upright.

This includes at bedtime. After I started burping her and sitting her upright after the last feed (despite being impatient to put her to bed) I noticed she's settled much more quickly and sleeps better when I do put her down.

Also I put a pillow under her mattress to elevate her head slightly. You can buy a "cot wedge" which does the same thing, but I'm cheap.

Ds1 had severe reflux, I coped by:
Raising one end of cot/Moses basket
Giving dummy during feeds for 5 mins at a time ( this really made a difference) and then using it during sleeps
Winding for 10 mins after a feed
Holding upright for 20 mins post feed
Once on medication, getting baby weighed every two weeks as some medications are very weight sensitive
I didn't eat tomatoes, any dried fruit inc mince pies/Xmas pud and cake etc, brussel sprouts, strawberries and similar fruits
Having a tumble drier for the 4+ changes of clothes a day
Weaning at 19 weeks - even just one meal of veg seemed to help
Getting out and about helped me a lot. Ds1 projectile vomited in pretty much every cafe in the city and no-one ever minded or said anything.

Remember it's not your fault and if you child is gaining weight in spite of the reflux that's down to your hard work.

Severe reflux is awful, but my son stopped with his medication at 9 months and hasn't looked back.

Grr can't spell or write correct English today seemingly!

My premmie had severe reflux so I feel your pain. It's impossibly hard to manage. Gaviscon just made him miserable and vomiting up thick milk, but ranitidine has worked wonders.

But during the first 10 weeks we would spend an hour holding him up, then 'sleeping' in a bouncer. I expressed a bit and used some formula so that my husband could do the odd night to give me a break.

Also a cranio osteopath really helped and took the edge of the severe vomiting and gurgly breathing. And we bought a cocoonababy which also helped. Each thing is a minor step but they each help. In the end growing bigger is the main cure IMHO. It does get better I promise.

I agree you need to get out too as it can drive you bonkers. I put him in his pram seat from birth as the basinet was too flat and while he looked so tiny in there he was fine and seemed to relax with walking about. Other people get freaked out by him vomiting (especially as he loves to vomit out his nose) but you learn to cope. DS was less than 5lbs when we went home so I'd get plenty of looks just for having such a tiny baby out and about!

And the laundry... Oh the laundry... Suffice to say the subtle smell of vomit still lingers in all soft furnishings.