how do i give dd infant gaviscon when bf?

[olivo]

my dd - 10 weeks- has been prescribed infant gaviscon for her reflux. I am worried about how she will benfit from it as by the time i get the solution mixed after feeding her, she has either thrown up most of her feed anyway or has fallen asleep. what have other people who are bf done?
TIA

YOu can get syringes to give babies medicine. Mix up the solution before you feed her and have it ready next to you. When (if) you swap sides mid feed, slip her the syringe. You can control the flow of the dosage

Agree with Iklboo -- that's how we got antibiotics into DS at 5 weeks (recent research has suggested that giving him the antibiotics at all may have been counterproductive, but that's a separate issue...)

Oh - and they're not expensive (though we got ours free in our Bounty welcome pack). It's come in handy since then for giving him Calpol too when he's been poorly or teething

thanks for your quick response, iklboo. the hospital gave me a syringe, i just wasnt sure about leaving the solution made up while i feed or giving it part way through when it says to give it at the end - then again, halfway through a bf is no different to mixing it in with a bottle feed i suppose.

bumping as i really need help witht his. am giving mid feed but dd just spitting it bak at me and then bringing her feed up. not sure how i can get her to take any. have tried giving it slowly, quickly, a bit at a time, a syringful in one go but its torture - for both of us!
help!

try and aim the syringe into the back of her cheek, to the side as much as possible, she should hopefully swallow without hardly noticing

Hi I also had probs trying to give infant gaviscon, the only tip I can give is that my DS used to take it better if he was sitting upright more, rather than lying, so if you can prop him into his bouncy chair or something it might help. If I gave it to him lying down, which logic told me was best as it would stay in, he would spit it back out. In the end I gave up, as I didn't find it made any difference, but think with hindsight he is just a "pukey baby" and doesn't have reflux. Sorry hope this helps a bit...

The only way I have managed to get my 5 week old daughter to take gaviscon is by mixing it with expressed milk, which is a pain but it seems to be working and my washing load has decreased!

Thanks for your tips. unfortunately, nothing seems to be working- dd just spits it out.i can only manage to express a few ounces each day so can only use it for one feed.
part of me thinks maybe i should give her formula instead so i can get the right amount of milk into her and she'll start putting proper weight on but i really dont feel ready to give up bf yet. but then, maybe i'm being selfish.

A friend has just suggested that I give her the Gaviscon in a dummy that dispenses medicine. I have just ordered one from the site below. I'll let you know if it works when it arrives.

www.4little1.com

I use this .

Although the packet says to give after a feed, my doc advised that you can give it before or during a feed too - it just rises above the milk in the stomach and forms a barrier layer.

It also has a cumulative effect, so the more often you can get doses into her, the better she will become overall.

It will be fine left made up for a while - I have left it a couple of hours on occasion when I've mixed it up before we've gone out somewhere.

thanks for that - i really appreciate your help. i am doing the best i can with a syringe at the moment - hopefully some of it its getting into her, despite the fact that we are both covered in it by the end of a feed! will try the dummy even though she wont usually take one - anything is worth a try!!

We've tried the dummy and it's still a slow process but better than with the syringe - we use the plunger to gently get it into her mouth as she's too small to get the whole teat into her mouth and suck properly.
She takes it just mixed with water so it saves me expressing!

(I've changed nickname - I was 'd1163156698720b002418', a bit of a mouthful!)

You can also buy a similar dummy in Wilkinson's for £1.99 - we haven't tried it yet, it's got a chamber that you can put either medicine or your child's favourite drink in, and then put the medicine in via a syringe on the back.

Have you tried expressing and mixing it with expressed milk?

thanks rachel and jenster. am still trying with the syringe at the moment till i go to england next week and can hopefully pick up one of the dummys. she must be swallowing some as her weight has gone up and the sickness has decreased. i can only manage to express once a day and only ever get about 3 oz so unfortunately not enough to put it in

anyone any idea how long i might have to keep giving it for?

Hi Olivo
Hope your LO is taking gaviscon now!
With my DD I had to persevere(?sp) for ages! I ended up mixing it with expressed milk and using a bottle in the end! But def keep trying with syringe if poss!
My LO needed it from 6weeks until about 18weeks and still have to occassionally use it now (shes 21weeks now!)
Every babes different though! Very variable on how long she'll need it!

thanks figgypud!

cool name by the way!