Reflux. Help

[GreyGemini]

Hi all

I'm breastfeeding, son has reflux (I'm assuming based on his 'symptoms'), he's almost 3 months. He's gaining weight well and is currently a chunk! So not concerned about weight gain. Lucky with that.

I've read today about over feeding being a possible reason for reflux, I feed on demand but also if he's fussing I seem to whip the boob out and he often takes it. Worried I'm doing something wrong.

When feeding (I also have really fast let down on one side) he pulls off a lot but always goes back on. Usually this is my sign to burp him but he can do this throughout the whole feed. He also chokes a lot on the milk. I try to drain some as it's shooting out but by that point he's hungry and crying!

So could be a combination of reasons for the reflux. I'm hoping it's not an underdeveloped oesophagus. But haven't been able to get a doc appt yet and also as he's gaining weight I'm not hugely worried.

During the night after a feed he is often sick whilst lying down. This is where I need the advice really as he's been arching his back in the night and recently started waking more. Before this week he would only wake twice for a feed and then sleep through.

Could anyone give me some advice please. Or point me in the direction of breastfeeding help?

Really don't want my baby to be uncomfortable. :-(

My bf daughter had terrible reflux. Had her on gaviscon which helped but this was just helping the symptoms and not fixing the problems.

With breastfeeding, if your son is anything like my daughter then you really need to be careful what you eat as it can affect them. I luckily found out at about 2 months that she has a cows milk allergy and since cutting out all sources of dairy (and soy as proteins are similar) it fixed many problems she had - reflux, face rash, gasping breathing, constant fussiness and never wanting to be put down, constant feeding and again more fussiness.

Will be following the milk ladder when she’s a bit older to slowly introduce dairy back in.

But it wasn’t just dairy. I realised when I took my prenatal multivitamin it really brought back all the symptoms. Low level on the first day, but by the second and third she was all out screaming and inconsolable and reflux and needing gaviscon again. I’ve tried to research it, and the only thing I can find is that vitamin E can be derived from soy, so maybe it’s that? All I know is everything cleared up again when I stopped taking them.

She’s 14 weeks now and is a dream.

@Loukifre thank you for this. Dairy was next on my list. I'll remove it. There's going to be a lot of packet checking! X

I hope it helps! I'd try and avoid soy as well. Try avoiding both for three days and you'll see a difference if that's the cause. I went for oat milk as I don't mind the taste. Avoiding cheese and yogurt was easy (can get a coconut based yogurt and I just avoid cheese) and I just eat more naturally - rice, meat, veg etc. Or specific free from foods with no milk or soya.

Anyway, you'll know in three days if it's the cause. For DD I saw a difference after 24 hours, and each day she got a little better.

Good luck!

Try and hold your baby up for 20-30 mins after feeding. A real chore in the middle of the night but does help. Also prop the head of the cot up a little, again will help stop the sickness in the night. Also echo pp mentions of cutting dairy and soy.