GOR

[bumbly]

after many threads here and advice and support from all you fabulous mumsnetters

and a bit of research...I think my 5 week old LO has (GOR) reflux

i think all the symtoms add up to this and not PS

the possetting, vomiting through nose, severe contortions, extreme wind, very mild colic, not settling to sleep, kicking around etc.....

esp the baffling wanting to ALWAYS be on my/hubby's tummy all the time and not lieing down unless in a pram on the move

apparently babies with reflux find pressure on tummy soothing

now how do I cope??...I don't mind being with him all the time - but I do need half and hour a day for me...just a small gap to recollect myself (please don't say am being selfish)

and the night is bad...my shoulder kills me as he sleeps on top of me...and I get zero sleep

so sometimes it would be nice if he could bare to sleep flat in his crib or moses basket for 2-3 hrs

he is bottle fed by the way but don't think that is now important...oh well unless i can get down his wind by finding a way of minimising his gulping....he is on medium flow teats but I wonder if a fast flow would help under superivision he doesn't get too much?

please tell me all your GOR tales..any help appriecated

if i don't answer doesn't mean i don't read the replies

i usually am holding little on and can't type with my right hand well..that is the main prob with GOR - he always needs conforting through holding

so have had no break from holding him in 48 hrs as hubby away for work....

just now he has dozed off ...so sneaking in a long typing session

Do you have a bouncy chair(or car seat) or a sling , both keep them more upright and enabvle you to have a bit of a break. Found that useful with dd and she napped in her chair during the day. If it is reflux the wind isn't from too fast/slow flow it is more like indigestion. Feeding less, more often may help, as there will be a smaller amount in the tummy available to come back up each time.

bumbly I don't have any experience sorry but just wanted to say you're not being selfish for wanting a little time to yourself
Hope you can get this sorted out
Have you seen a doctor or mentioned it to HV?

get him to docs i think,,,,not sure about his age being an issue, but my lo had reflux and he was put on infant gaviscon - he was older though (8 months i think). U had the gaviscon to the milk, it thickens it and reduces chances of it coming back up and also settles the stomach.

Have u tried baby massage? have a look round locally if there are any classes as this can really help an unsettled tummy.

What formula is he on?

it gets better
Gaviscon helps lo will still puke but will not be so uncomfy all the time
it gets better
anything that puts them it an upright position is good
it gets better
you can get stands to put under cot so lo will be more comfy at night
it gets better
feed little and often
it gets better
try pushing lo to sleep in pram and leave pram in garden or in park when you sit and read and have coffee

Also cranial osteopathy might be worth a go, sounds bizarre but especially if he seems unsettled anyway it could help. You need a gp to look at him before you can move on to any milk thickeners or thicker formula and worth trying the other practical things first, before medication which can cause its own side effects. Genreally if he is gaining wieght and developing normally they will tend to wait and see. btw he may grow out of it as soon as next week , next month or several months time as it is related to an immature valve at the top fo the stomach.

my ds got better when started to sit up without help (6 months) and was on 3 solid meals a day.

now I don't know but I'm under the impression it gets better

The yellow pages is very good for raising the end of the cot slightly, junior gaviscon also worked for us, but is a bugger to give if bf! We did this though after seeing the dr, its always worth getting medical advice, plus they give you the junior gaviscon on presciption. Dd3 is now 16 months and seems to have fairly much grown out of it now [touching wood emoticon]! It does get easier.

we used yellow pages (and our Phd Theses!) but think these may be safer
mother care bed blocks

We used large books then Ikea toilet steps(non slip top)

oh and they are about £2 each and have a rather longer lifespan that the "bed blocks"

I found a sling was a godsend. One of the traditional upright ones rather than the ones where the baby is in a more foetal position. Ds was still attached but at least I had my hands free! He had silent reflux and was exactly the same with always wanting to be against our chests on his tummy. Not sure what to suggest about the nighttime, dh and I slept in shifts for a while when it was really bad while the other one held ds up but not very helpful if your dh is away. We had some success with putting books under the legs of his moses basket to keep his head raised, although we had to have it VERY high - we did wake up a couple of mornings and find him scrunched in a heap at the bottom of his basket! We were also advised to hold ds upright for 30 mins after each feed. If you have no success with "do-it-yourself" methods like these then you can get medication, gaviscon is the first step which you can get on prescription. If you are bottle feeding you just add it to the milk so very easy. I think you can also get anti-colic teats which might help as they minimise wind? (not sure as bf). Good luck - if it's any consolation ds had such severe reflux he was on three lots of medication but was almost totally recovered by 4 months.

i now may have a use for my phd thesis!!!!!!!!!!!

you educated lot and your reflux cures

get meds!!
DS had bad silent reflux so no vomiting but endless screaming through feeds and writhing - also wouldn't lie flat

Start with infant gaviscon and if that is no good then, Rantadine and Domperidone are your next step (when my DS was on these it was like havng a new baby)

also, keep LO upright after feeds for as long as possible
elevate the head of the cot (phone book)
use a sling
also feed little and often

it does get better ... DS had outgrown it by 6 - 7 months and was off the meds

oh and don't pat to wind, rub gently......

Hi bumbly - sympathies as my ds had dreadful reflux too. A couple of things that really helped me were:

Carrying DS around in a sling/carrier - he was upright so was more comfy and he was next to me so felt secure. Only drawback is that I was regularly covered in baby sick - nothing like the smell of patrially digested milk.

The other thing that helped was seeing my GP who prescribed some Gaviscon for DS. Although DS was a very sicky baby there were times he wasn't sick but still remained very uncomfortable I put down to silent reflux/heartburn.

He also did much better on slow flow teats when I abandoned bf and went onto formula - anything which went down too rapidly came up just as fast.

By 16 weeks he was more comfy but was still puking at six months - my living room carpet has never recovered especially as he crawled at six months so the milk spots were everywhere.

All eventually stopped at around 7-9 months when he was much more upright,

PS - it's not selfish to want a bit of time for yourself each day. I used to send DH out with DS in the evenings so I could have a bath and relax for an hour. They used to drive all over the county.