FTM - advice please!

[Kej13]

Hey
Just looking for some advice, DS is 16 days old and is my first child so I don't know if what I'm going to describe is normal or if I'm doing something wrong. I'm seeing the HV on Thursday anyway so will speak to her but looking for advice in the meantime.

DS has a tongue tie and is unable to breastfeed (were on the waiting list to have this sorted) so I am formula feeding him and topping up with expressed milk where possible.

Every single time I feed him, he is sick after and 90% of the time he will be sick everywhere, to the point where it's like all of the milk I've just given him. I've tried EVERYTHING I can think so, adjusted the position of the bottle/DS, stopping to burp him more frequently, anything I can think of I will try. Even if he isn't sick from feeding, most of the time he gets hiccups after I've fed him and that will make him sick instead. It's to the point where I spend ages feeding him because I won't let him have much at a time to make sure he's digesting at least something only to have him get hiccups after and sick it all up anyway. Completely understand babies are sick this just seems more than normal but like I said I have no idea what normal is.

It takes so long to feed/burp/get rid of hiccups that by the time were done it's like half an hour/an hour max until the next feed - I just feel like I'm letting him down but I've tried everything I can think of 😭 any advice would be amazing.

Could be reflux? Best to get him checked out.

Congratulations on the new arrival.

I did wonder if it could be reflux - is there anything I can do to ease it in the meantime? Or is it worth me seeing if I can get a gp appointment tomorrow rather than waiting until HV on Thursday?

GP prescribed our little one gaviscon, ranitidine and carobel. Google them and have a little read. The carobel is good because it slightly thickens the milk and makes it easier for them to keep it down. It’s so hard but sounds like you’re doing an amazing job!

See if you can get a gp appt, in the meantime have you tried feeding him in an upright sitting position rather than with him laying down. Small amounts at a time, don't let him guzzle it.

Are you using the teats that came with the bottles? They should be the newborn ones, with the smaller hole, if you bought them separately and have the ones with the bigger hole he might be getting too much milk too quick.

Try to keep him sat upright for at least 20-30 minutes after the feed too, it helps them digest and settles their bellies.

Sounds like you’re doing a great job. Theres a lot of feeds before Thursday so for your own piece of mind try and see GP or health visitor tomorrow. It might be an idea to feed him with them so that they can see what is happening.
Just to reassure you in the early days it’s really normal for feeds to take so long that it’s time for the next one soon after you’ve finished.

Also get him weighed. Sometimes they can be sick a lot but still put on weight so they are getting more than you think.

Good luck OP

@Lwmommy I've been sitting him upright, tried that the last few days and doesn't seem to have helped, just means he has better projectile distance 😂 but will keep trying with that position as it does make more sense that it would work if anything will. Using the teats that came with the bottles, they're the slow flow ones with small hole so I know he shouldn't be getting too much either he just really struggles to keep anything down.

@Pipanchew2 I'll ring the GP in the morning but Thursday was the soonest I could get in with the HV but currently feel like the worst mum in the world so need to get him seen really! He was 3 weeks early so I don't know if that has anything to do with it, he's now just over 7lbs which is just above his birth weight so he must be getting something! But HV will weigh him on Thursday so I'll see then how much he's put on as it was Saturday he was last weighed.

@SS1987 oh interesting, I will ask about that at the gp

Thank you all so much, makes me feel less terrible to know maybe I'm not as bad as I think 😂

Sounds like reflux (especially with the hiccups) or CMPA. Please get him seen by a GP. A HV is not medically qualified to give you a diagnosis.

@titnomatani sorry if I'm being stupid, what is CMPA?

CMPA= Cows Milk Protein Allergy

Which formula are you feeding your baby?

My DS was exactly like this, also three weeks early. We think it was reflux, GO have us gaviscon which made him constipated so only have it to him every other feed.
You're absolutely doing nothing wrong, some babies are just sickly. I remember a friend coming over (who had children) and making comments about how much he was sick....it made me so worried and anxious I kept trying to fix it. You name it, we tried it. At about six months it just stopped. GP said this was likely to happen as apparently babies don't have anything in their stomach to stop the milk coming back up and it grows in the first six months (sorry this does not sound biologically correct but I was horribly sleep deprived at the time and can't remember the exact terminology!!)
Anyway DS is now 18 months and eats like a trooper.
What I'm trying to say is see the GP but try not to worry. Every baby is different and you're being a wonderful mum

@titnomatani thank you - that makes sense!

@itshappened sma, tried cow and gate and that was even worse

@wobblywibble thank you!! Glad DS grew out of it, will definitely take him to the GP!

Maybe explore using a dairy free formula with your gp as sometimes cows milk can be too harsh on babies tummies. Alternatively maybe try a goats milk alternative like nanny care, as a number if my mum friends swear by it as being easier for their babies to digest.

As others have said it could also be reflux. My daughter has a dairy intolerance and suffered with severe reflux which we required a high dose of ranitidine and omeprazole medication from the gp. But before you go down the medication route I would try a dairy free / lactose free formula first. Also I was advised by a specialist consultant that gaviscon is useless and simply creates other problems by causing constipation. If your baby really does have reflux then it is unlikely to do very much to alleviate their symptoms.

Are you doing paced feeding? If you want to breast feed I would look at getting the tongue tie sorted privately, it will work out cheaper than formula, as the longer you wait the much harder it will be to get the baby to breast feed.