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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

Reflux baby poor feeding

29 replies

Mamabear04 · 26/01/2020 05:28

My 11 week old DD suffers from reflux and has been really bad with it the past few days. She's not feeding really maybe every 5 hours and then being sick. We ended up being sent to hospital yesterday by the GP but after lots of tests comimg back negative for urine infections etc, ultrasounds to check her bowels and blood tests (which is good but frustrating that there is not quick solution to help her) the doctor said to go cows milk free - something I've been doing of my own accord for a week now and they will reassess in 6 weeks time.

My poor baby isnt getting any proper sleep due to the reflux and now she is not eating well I am so worried. Last night she fed at 10pm and kept it down but then fed at 2am and was sick a huge amount and then didn't feed until 7:30am and even then only for 10 minutes!!! I am so worried about her.

When they weighed her yesterday she had dropped a percentile. I asked the doctor if I should give my DD some cow's milk free formula to help her gain weight but she said no to stick with breastfeeding (which she is exclusively). I've been trying to encourage my baby to feed more often but she wont take it unless she is hungry. I feel so guilty for not being able to feed her properly and so helpless to see her suffer. I don't know what to do. I feel like it's my fault because I'm the only one that can feed her. What else can I do? I am so worried about her my heart is breaking

OP posts:
norbert23 · 26/01/2020 06:11

I'm sorry you're having such a hard time, having had a very refluxy baby who is now 4 I know how worrying and upsetting it is. Luckily for us when I cut out all traces of dairy her reflux stopped but I do know that many babies with CMPI are also allergic to soya which might be worth cutting out if you want to see if that's the issue. If not, then I would keep getting help and support from your gp and hv if you have helpful ones. You also need to take care of yourself and make sure that between all the feeding you're getting rest. We found a reflux wedge helped a little when she did sleep but I think propping the cot up in one end would do the same. Don't wait too long before getting more support though if you don't think it's us cmpi, it may be your baby needs medication to help. Best of luck xx

JiltedJohnsJulie · 26/01/2020 08:11

I think it's pretty normal for babies to only feed when they hungry OP so try not to worry too much about that. Have a read of this on weight gain Smile

As the PP said you need to elongate every trace of dairy from your diet. It can be daunting at first but is pretty easy to get used too, especially now that everything is labelled. Do you need any suggestions of things to try?

This article on dairy and BFing is very useful too Thanks

Hercwasonaroll · 26/01/2020 08:17

Don't worry about dropping a percentile. Many babies do this, they aren't designed to follow a smooth curve and the charts are based on bottle fed babies.

Her feeding times sound normal, my 5 week old does 10pm, 3am then 7am. As she grows her technique will become a better and more efficient so she may only need 10/15 minute feeds.

You're doing a great job.

Original poster
Mamabear04 · 27/01/2020 00:04

Thanks for all your encouragement and advice. I really appreciate it after a tough couple of days.

DD takes liquid omeprazole for her reflux but I'm not sure how much of a difference it makes. The past day or so she has been taking roughly 5 minute feeds every 5 hours or so. Is this normal or should I be concerning? I was really worried until yesterday evening when she fed for about 20 minutes. She just seems to be eating and sleeping so poorly. My boobs have been feeling engorged and I'm worried my milk production will decrease because of it. I'm just not sure what's going on and how to get her to feed better....

OP posts:
Original poster
Mamabear04 · 27/01/2020 00:12

Ps will persevere with the cows milk free diet. I thought after a couple of days that it would stop affecting my milk

and didn't realise it can take so long to leave the system completely. will also keep an eye on soya intake. I've not found it that hard to stop it because I don't actually take a lot of dairy in my diet.

OP posts:
OffToTheMoon · 27/01/2020 00:46

Is she still producing wet / dirty nappies? If you notice she's not weeing/pooing as often, that might need to be checked out.
My dd was very ill with reflux and one of the things i had to do was monitor her output.

tempnc123 · 27/01/2020 00:56

You poor thing. So upsetting for both of you.

I was recommended to give my baby colief which is an enzyme which converts the lactose in your milk to lactase which is easier to digest. You express about an ounce and put it in that. I used to keep a bottle of expressed milk in the fridge ready to decant into separate ounces as expressing with a screaming hungry baby waiting to be fed is not practical. You can buy it from amazon or most supermarkets.

Also wore him upright in a sling during the day which helped too.

Flowers
tempnc123 · 27/01/2020 00:58

Plus, expressing will help keep up your milk supply and decrease your chances of getting engorged/mastitis. You can always freeze for later if you express too much!!

Original poster
Mamabear04 · 28/01/2020 15:02

Thanks for all your lovely words of encouragement and for all your suggestions. Her nappies are normal which is encouraging. I had a phone call from a NHS dietitian today and went through how to cut out cow's milk from my diet to see if that helps DD. She said I have to do it for 4 weeks and to take calcium supplements too. She also said she wasn't convinced it was CMPI but that we should try this to check. It just seems like going in circles and all the while DD is suffering through it. I just wish there was something I could do to help her wee tummy. I will try cutting out dairy and then if that doesn't work I will definitely get some colief!

Do you think my milk supply will decrease if I don't pump?

OP posts:
PippinStar · 28/01/2020 15:11

I can't help re breastfeeding but DS was on liquid omeprazole and I felt like it became less effective once the bottle had been open for maybe 2 weeks. The doctor and pharmacist didn't believe me, but if you google it a lot of other people report similar.

Once I changed to omeprazole tablets and dissolved them in a little water I noticed a big difference. I also weaned early on paediatrician's advice and that was a game changer.

Good luck!

Pinkflipflop85 · 28/01/2020 15:16

I feel your pain. Dc1 had reflux and would projectile vomit all over me the moment he finished a feed. The only thing that ever worked for him was domperidone because it prevented the vomiting itself, rather than just neutralising acid.

I cut out dairy for a while but it wasnt the cause.

Original poster
Mamabear04 · 29/01/2020 04:30

@PippinStar did you not find it really hard to administer the dissolvable omeprazole? I find it won't full dissolve so I had to suck the remaining liquid up with an oral syringe and then spoon the "dissolved" tablet into DD mouth with my finger and then squirt the remaining liquid in after. It was such a faff and hard to do one handed and not the nicest thing for DD! Also it was so hard to make sure she got the full dose which was always my worry

@Pinkflipflop85 the HV/GP said that this might also be an option but has to be prescribed by a consultant. I have an appointment at the GI clinic at the sick kids hospital next week so I will ask about this. Did it fix the reflux entirely or just make it better?

OP posts:
Bakesale · 29/01/2020 06:23

Hi OP - I feel for you, my 13 week old DD has reflux and it's awful! I administer her Omeprazole via a small Medicine bottle with a teat on it - this works better for us than a syringe. On a practical note I use old school cloth nappies as burp cloths - I found them so much more absorbent than muslins or anything else.
Our paediatrician also suggested removing egg from my diet which has definitely helped as well.

Pinkflipflop85 · 29/01/2020 17:58

It eased it but didn't fix it.

Original poster
Mamabear04 · 29/01/2020 22:27

@Pinkflipflop85 does your LO still suffer from reflux or have they grown out of it? I've heard when they go onto solids it helps.

@Bakesale thanks for the tip! I've heard egg can be a contributing factor. I'm going to keep a food diary because I've actually suspected egg might upset her

OP posts:
Original poster
Mamabear04 · 29/01/2020 22:28

Ps @Bakesale did you remove all things containing egg or just eating eggs directly?

OP posts:
Ep2019 · 29/01/2020 22:39

Reflux babies are so challenging to work out the cause. My son had terrible reflux and allergies to dairy, soya, egg and gluten. Try and remove dairy and soya and see if that works, its worth keeping a diary of symptoms and what you eat to see if egg does make a difference.
We used to cover our bed with towels when feeding at night as its quicker to wash and change them than the whole bed! We found omeprazole tablets worked really well dissolved and spoon fed, but it can take a couple of weeks to see the benefit.
Unfortunately we didn't find early weaning helped but every child is different! A sling helped a lot to keep him upright and tilting his bed a little. We also recorded really bad episodes to assist doctor appointments.
I always felt like he threw up a lot but actually it seemed more than it was I think...I used to worry particularly with my youngest son that he wasn't keeping anything down! Ultimately you know your own baby best and if you are worried definitely speak to your health visitor and doctor for support. It does get better as they get older thankfully!! Make sure you are taking time to rest too!

MamaFlintstone · 29/01/2020 22:41

the charts are based on bottle fed babies.

This is a myth, by the way, the charts used in the UK are the WHO ones which are based on healthy breastfed babies.

Bakesale · 30/01/2020 05:02

Our paediatrician recommended eliminating all eggs - alone or baked in something else - but when I put eggs back in to go gradually. So eat eggs baked in a cake first etc. You could just cut eating eggs alone first and see how you go. Paediatrician warmed treating reflux can just be trial and error

Pinkflipflop85 · 30/01/2020 08:57

He still struggles at times now and he is 5. Weaning was actually a nightmare for us because vomiting food was worse than vomiting milk so he developed food avoidance. Even now he has a very limited selection of foods that he deems 'safe' to eat.

tempnc123 · 31/01/2020 02:52

Re your milk supply - if she is still feeding poorly, your supply will drop to match the amount she is taking (apparently it takes a week to level out) and you may struggle to catch up again once you've found a medication which helps.
It's a PITA to pump as it takes up so much time but well worth it if you want to persevere with BF.
If you can afford it, an Elvie pump might be a good investment- they're cordless and sit inside your bra so you're not tied to a chair while you pump.
5 mins every 5 hours doesn't sound enough to me unless you have very fast let down??

tempnc123 · 31/01/2020 02:59

I used to find that he was puked loads less if I took him off the breast every minute or 2 to wind him. Seems to give the milk time to settle...?!? If you stick a dummy in while you pat her back, she will relax (mainly!) and the wind will come up loads easier.
You could try giving some expressed milk in a slow flow bottle. If that helps, it may be that you have a really fast letdown and baby is struggling with that. Just a thought Smile

PippinStar · 01/02/2020 12:20

Sorry missed your question before now @mamabear04

Yes, it was a bit of a faff to dissolve the tablet but I put it in a tiny bowl and added a teaspoon or 2 of just boiled water. That seemed to dissolve it completely and really quickly. Then I spooned it into his mouth. Once he got to 17 weeks and I started purées I just mixed it into that. When he turned 6 months he started baby led weaning and I cut the tablet in half and put them on top of a spoon of weetabix or whatever - then I'd quickly shove his sippy cup in his mouth and he'd swallow it without knowing.

He still has reflux at 12 months but it's so easy to get the tablet into him and it's well under control now. It doesn't really feel like he has reflux since everything seemed to work out at about 17 weeks.

Have you tried carobel before breastfeeding? It's a thickener - you can feed them a spoon of the paste before a feed, or mix it into their bottles of expressed milk. DS is still on it now, it helps weigh the milk down in the stomach.

JiltedJohnsJulie · 01/02/2020 12:42

I was just going to ask about fast letdown too. There is some information on Kellymom about it. Have a read and see if any of it sounds familiar 🙂

Original poster
Mamabear04 · 04/02/2020 21:39

Honestly ladies my left boob is like a super soaker! She's been feeding a bit better the past few days and last night my boob was very engorged and she drained it in about 8 minutes flat! I'll keep an eye on her feeding. Sometimes she's good and sometimes it just seems to hurt her wee tummy Sad

I'm still trying dairy free but I have wondered about soya and egg. I'll try keeping a food diary.

I've not heard of carobel before so I will defo check this out!

DD has an appointment with the GI clinic tomorrow so hopefully something will come of it and they can help her. It's heartbreaking having her cry in pain and not being able to help her!!!

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