Acid reflux in 10 week old baby

[Claire78564]

Hi

I'm feeling pretty down and deflated today. My son is 10 weeks old and has been suffering from acid reflux since he was 2 weeks old.

His initial symptoms were projectile vomiting (although not very often) crying for hours upon hours at night, excessive feeding, fussy after his feeds, upset about lying on his back, diarrhea and hiccups.

The gp prescribed gaviscone but it caused him to be very constipated so he was taken off this and given Omeprazole one dose per day which we give him in the morning ( hea very sad about it) I've elevated his moses basket and keep him upright as much as possible.

After weeks of trialing medication the gp advised I needed to go dairy free as I breadt feed. It'd been just over 2 weeks and I've seen a very marginal improvement. I believe this to be more down to his age than anything else although he no longer projectile vomits. He also let's us put him on his back for a little bit too. He will sleep a good 3-5 hours without waking too.

I know peole say the next step is to go soy free but honestly I don't know how I can do this and I want to go to have him tested for allergies. He's been referred mainly because after I had been eating peanut butter he had a reaction in the milk in the form of a rash on his face. I loved breastfeeding my first son and I want this bond with my second which is why I haven't pursued the formula route.

I have been taking him to baby sensory which has been awful. I haven't enjoyed it and I don't think he has either as he's been pretty upset so we haven't been able to engage with the class at all. Today he had a 2 hour melt down before we left and I honestly thought we were going to go out. Nothing I did would ease his suffering, I was getting worried and thought I might have to get him seen by a doctor or something. He screams so much that sounds doesn't come out and then he screams again. I've filmed this reaction to show to the gp as the last time I was there the gp said 'he looks alright to me'.

I feel like there's hardly any support. All I want to do is cry. I can't help him and the constant crying is getting me down. I feel even worse for feeling this way when he smiles at me. I wish there was more I could do. I'm seriously thinking of taking him private as the NHS don't seem to be able to move quick enough and I'm worried about the damage this is doing to his little body.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I can't get him in the pram for a walk because he screams the place down. He will sleep in the carrier but even that bothers him. I just worry this special time is going to pass without us enjoying the time together and I will regret it and I look back.
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Here offering sympathy! My baby was the same when she was 5 weeks old. We persisted with omeprozole and saw a difference after 2 weeks. We used Gaviscon too but only 3 sachets a day to stop her constipation being too bad. I felt so hopeless especially on days when I desperately needed to sleep but she would only sleep in my arms & I was too frightened to co sleep. Push to get him tested for allergies and I know everything can seem so overwhelming when you’re asked to try this then that or cut out this and cut out that. I hear you. Try your health visitor too and express your concerns regarding support. It seems strange to say but our reflux journey seems like a blip now she’s 10 months old; it didn’t ruin those lovely smiley times we did have in between meltdowns (both hers and mine). Good luck Xx

Thanks for your kind words. Hes been on omeprazole for over 4 weeks now. The health visitor is shockingly rubbish. I am still waiting for her to do the 6-8 week check up. I've asked more times than I can count to be referred to the feeding clinic and to book him in to be weighed. I think I might have to request another one.

I hope we can move past this soon. Did your baby improve once she could sit up? Xx

Hi OP, mum to 2 allergy babies here. I was dairy and soya free for 1 son for 2 years EBF and noble Dairyz soya, egg and legume (beans/lentils/chickpeas/peanuts ) free for the other (7 months in )

There is no test for non IgE allergies which is what you're describing ( delayed reaction which does include rashes but not hives instead of instant hives and breathing difficulties)m the test IS to remove the allergen for 4 weeks and then reintroduce to see if symptoms return. Cows milk protein allergy and soya allergy are closely linked because the proteins are very similar unfortunately. I would give the dairy free diet a go for a further 2 weeks and then move onto soya if you feel able to. Unfortunately the support from GPS re allergies is piss poor, we ended up speaking to private dieticians for my first allergy baby which helped hugely.

Always happy to chat! Allergy babies are hard, hard work and I remember feeling really helpless. It would also be worth getting him properly assessed for tongue tie not by a HV or GP but by a trained professional as tongue tie can mimic symptoms of many other things including reflux and painful wind etc

Aw sorry to hear your HV is hopeless! But baby massively improved once being able to sit up. Even when she was sat up supported it helped then further again once she could sit unassisted.