Infant gaviscon help

[Reggiesmum88]

Please help,
wee boy is 7 weeks old, he’s been on gaviscon for reflux and generally has been ok. He was starting to get constipated so dr told me to put him on Aptamil Comfort as well as gaviscon and that made him projectile vomit. So went back to normal aptamil and he’s been fine past few days. He’s been fine all day and just then we fed him he projectile vomited again at end of feed. Usually he wants fed every 3 hours as well like clockwork but today He’s not seemed fussed and slept through his feeds twice until I woke him at 4 hours.

Could it be the gaviscon? Is this ok or should I phone the dr? I’m such a worrier and panicking something is really wrong

Hi Reggie - DD1 (now 10 months) also had reflux when she was a newborn, which was treated with Gaviscon, and she was also on Apatmil Comfort for colic. I can't say that either ever made her projectile vomit, but every baby's different, so maybe the Gaviscon isn't agreeing with your son anymore. Are you giving the Gaviscon with every feed? If i remember correctly, I think you're only supposed to give it 5 times in a 24hr period, but I'd double check that.

Is he projectile vomiting after every feed, or managing to keep anything down? When you say he's slept through do you mean he's drowsier than normal, or still his usual level of alert? Is his temperature normal, and is he doing plenty of wet nappies?

Sorry for all the questions, this is just a mental checklist I do myself when deciding on what level of worried I should be!

If he's otherwise his normal self, i would hold off going anywhere tonight, keep an eye on him over the weekend, and go to the doctors on Monday to see what alternatives there are. If you're worried about him getting dehydrated, you could try giving him a wee bit of cooled boiled water and see how he gets on, or just cut out the gaviscon altogether for a day and see how he gets on.

Aptamil also do a reflux milk, have you given that a go?

By the way, I meant to say - DD had also randomly projectile vomited on a few occasions, and been totally fine! It seems to be something that babies just do sometimes, so try not to worry too much!

He’s only vomited that once, yeah giving the gaviscon every feed, he screams if I try without.
Dr said for his weight he could have 2 sachets 6 times a day but I only give him one.

He doesn’t have a temperature and when he’s been awake he’s seemed his self, happy and chatting away haha.
Just usually wants fed like clockwork every 3 hours but today it’s like he’s going to 4 hours Which is what I’d like him to do but wasn’t sure why he’s changed. And seems like he’s sleeping a bit more than usual. If it’s normal for him to vomit like that occasionally then I’ll not worry to much. I’m a bit of a panicky Mum, husband doesn’t seem worried.

Also, he’s been doing plenty of wet nappies, and one poo.

In case you find you'd like to change milk - I found Cow and Gate with Gaviscon worked ok, Cow and Gate comfort was awful, and Hipp with Gaviscon (then eventually just Hipp) was best for my reflux baby. A friend landed on the same combination and it worked for her baby with reflux, too. Avoid the premade formula though - seems to make them sick more if they already have reflux.

My health visitor told me to give him a bottle of the pre made aptamil a day to help with constipation! Could this be making him worse?

My little one has bad reflux, and I can’t give her the pre made aptamil bottles. I think they are thinner - she used to bring them right back up and definitely made her reflux so much worse.

Agree with a PP about trying different formulas- hipp is the only one that helped with constipation for us. If it doesn’t, either ranitidine or omeprazole can be prescribed to help with reflux without the constipation side effect that comes with gaviscon.

I didn’t really notice a difference with premade bottles but we used them very infrequently so someone else may have more experience with them.

I also noticed the premade Aptamil bottles made DD worse; we tried switching back from the Comfort milk once she was on the Gaviscon, on the recommendation of the HV, and had a terrible night. Switched straight back to the Comfort and she was a lot better. For constipation we used to do warm bath + tummy massage, and that worked treat. Also, making sure the bottles were nicd and warm, and giving the occasional bit of water.

I'm also a panicky mum, so feel your pain, haha!

I have no advice regarding tell reflux as I've been having my own issues that are yet to be solved.

However I want to point out that Aptamil and Cow&Gate are exactly the same. Changing from one to the other will make no difference. You also should not use gaviscon with thickened milk ie comfort or reflux milk.

Hipp organic without gaviscon is best for us as the constipation caused too much of an issue. We are fighting to get a referral as my gp is refusing to prescribe ranitidine but that's a whole other story. Just wanted to make you aware about the brands of formula.

You should use the two sachets as the GP directed and stick to the same milk!