Advice/opinions needed on 7 month old

[MZAA]

Hi all,

I'm new here and this is my first post. I am looking for some advice/opinions and people's thoughts if possible.

I have a 7 month old baby girl. From birth she seems to have suffered with reflux in which we changed her formula from hipp organic to kendamil organic.
She has been on the kendamil for 7 months now but still seems to be suffering with reflux although it is not as bad as it was initially. I spoke to the GP regarding this but they prescribed Gaviscon for her but i do not want to medicate her at all and have read about the side effects with this.
My thinking is should i change her formula as this has been ongoing for a while now and at the moment we are weaning her also.
She just seems very unsettled during the day and night and its really taking its toll now. She wakes several times in the night just moaning and groaning and appears generally uncomfortable and is still half asleep, this then leads to crying and us having to soothe her back to sleep and put her back down. This has been ongoing for the last fee months now and to be honest its becoming tiresome.

She also sleeps on us in the daytime on our chest for her naps which doesnt help us either at the moment but she has done this from a few weeks old.
I just feel that at the moment she is really unhappy and moaney and i have a very unhappy child and its starting to make me sad. I'm thinking a formula change may help her....but unsure and I'm a bit reluctant to rock the boat at this stage, but I cant think of anything else to do?
Everyone who meets her says she is a happy baby because shes always smiling but I just cant see this when it feels like she's always moaning...or seems unsettled...what am i doing wrong?
Any advice or opinions is much appreciated.

Thanks,
MZAA

Does she have any other symptoms such as green or mucous nappies?
CMPA can often go undiagnosed if weight gain is still happening.

I do agree with others though that you need to try the gaviscon.
Formulas are pretty much all similar other than protein size but if you've already swapped and it's not improving then there is something else which needs to be tried.

@Vicky1989x

Just an FYI… infant gaviscon IS available to buy over the counter. The GPs are reluctant to prescribe it because of cost, nothing else.

Good point, I'd forgotten that! I used to buy DS' myself quite often.

Infant gaviscon is medicating the same way a crutch or splint is medicating - they are physical things to assist. It purely provides a physical barrier to reduce the stomach contents coming back up the wind pipe. (Adult gaviscon also neutralises the stomach acid slightly).

Gaviscon as suggested by my GP that its not an over the counter medicine. You may be able to buy it online and in some pharmacies etc....but some retailers/pharmacists are reluctant to sell now.

Vit D is not a medication....its a supplement. You can buy it anywhere and its only recently come into force because of the recent change in the NICE guidelines, thats why now GP recommend.

Like I have previously said, I dont post on here to be judged on my parenting skills or to be spoken to in a rude manner, its just rude and wrong.
I'm open to suggestions hence the post but there is no need for individuals to be rude and want to know the background of my parenting.
I was simply asking for peoples experiences etc without the judgemental side of some of you.

Gaviscon is available over the counter 🤷🏼‍♀️

Seriously, switching formula won't work but the Gaviscon probably will.

I understand you don’t want to medicate your child, but at the same time you’re letting her suffer. You need to really think about what is worse for your child, not for you.

Only thing that may help is anti-reflux formula or carobel in normal formula.

Kendamil made my DD’s reflux worse. Only thing that helped my DD was SMA first infant and gaviscon. She’s almost 16 months and is still on gaviscon now.

It's more wrong to let babies suffer unnecessarily. Not liking what you're advised doesn't make it rude.

I am not saying I'm not liking what people are suggesting to me....i appreciate the advice, people's experiences etc.

What I don't like is the manner of the tone that some folks have written in, thats the difference. Like I have said I'm open to suggestions, advice, opinions but not in a judgemental character like some of you have posted, asking if my little one is vaccinated and "not caring if you upset me" in which you haven't but speaking like that is not welcoming to a first time poster.

Not just that, also individuals indicating that I haven't done my research, asking about how i bring my child up, and just generally feeling like my parenting skills are being judged.
Are you all expert parents? No, you are not, you probably have all been in your own predicaments at one point or other and I don't think you would of liked it if you asked people for advice and you just felt like you were getting slammed. I just don't feel theres any need for it.

Admittedly, some of you have posted decent advice and in a non patronising manner so thank you to those that have.

If I haven't replied to some of your questions that some posters have asked me, its because I dont feel the need to divulge my personal information about my child, or how i choose to raise my child, thats nobody's concern on here and those questions dont need to be asked unless i ask for advice.

I merely just wanted advice/ reassurance/ experiences/opinions and it feels like if you are a first time poster you are frowned upon.

Issuing a crutch or splint to an individual is not medicating, these are available to buy in any local pharmacy/online/issued by physios/OTs etc.

Yes like i say you can buy infant Gaviscon in some places like the supermarket or some pharmacies will issue it to you, but in my area this is not the case, just like wanting to buy lansoprazole (unsure if i have spelt that correctly) for adult acid reflux over the counter is not the case. My GP has specifically said this to me re: infant Gaviscon.

Like i say, I'm more than happy being open to suggestions, but not spoken to in the tone i felt i have been spoken to by some of the posters, i feel there is no need for it and it certainly doesn't make first time posters want to post and seek advice.

You seem to think people telling you that your'e misunderstanding how gaviscon works is rude. I don't really know how else to say it and can't be "nicer" about it because infant gaviscon is not a medication like omeprazole. It just isn't. That's a fact. As can be seen by the fact that it is sold over the counter in many places.

Your own criteria for whether something counts as medication is if it is prescribed by a GP. I pointed out that vitamin D in high doses is prescribed, it's not a medication and you agree with me. So clearly you do see that not everything a doctor prescribes is "medication" in the true sense of the word.

At the end of the day, your DC is suffering and has been for quite a long time. It's time to do something.

I'm sure you've done this/do it already but do you properly wind her and have you tried changing her feeding and sleeping positions? For example having her more upright to feed and winding her during and after a feed and having her cot on a slight angle? If you've started weaning her you could also look at what she has been eating and see if that makes a difference.

There's a sleep specialist I follow on Instagram called the Parent and Baby Coach who specialises in reflux treatments (non-medical). I would urge you to take a look at that too.

Come on, OP. You've left her uncomfortable for five months because you don't want to give her 'medicine' (which Gavison barely qualifies as anyway). Of course people are going to challenge you on that.

I had bad reflux when pregnant and it was bloody awful. Gaviscon was my saviour. Please treat your daughter.

It’s not about YOU and what you think and what research you’ve done.

It’s about your child who is in pain and discomfort and you will not give her something which will ease this for her. This has been going on for SEVEN MONTHS.

Changing her formula will not solve this. In my view this is actually neglectful.

@MZAA you’re taking things far too personally, I’m no parenting expert trust me I know. I am also reluctant to give my son medication unless he needs it.
However, you said it yourself dr didn’t want to prescribe it until you’d tried everything else.

Ps. Things are either over the counter if they are not. ASDA can’t just decide to sell morphine OTC. Just because not everywhere stocks it DOESN’T mean it’s not OTC.

On a different point have you tried anti-colic bottles such as Dr Brown? Could be worth a try. Just a thought.

If the dr has prescribed Gaviscon, give her the Gaviscon.
It is very common, widely used, and will help. It would not be prescribed if that wasn't the case. Many many many babies have it.

You have avoided questions about weaning - have you started? My DD is 8 months and finally over the reflux now that she is on 3 (puréed) meals a day.

If your DD was mine, I would follow dr advice and concentrate on weaning; keep a food diary and experiment with different formulas to see if any make a difference.

Sorry OP but you would rather your daughter be uncomfortable and in pain rather than give her what the doctor has prescribed?
Somethings not adding up here

@MZAA

Without getting into a debate....of course Gaviscon is medicating. If it wasnt it would be available over the counter to buy ...its prescribed by a GP.. Anything that is prescribed is medicating. My GP was reluctant to prescribe until all other avenues had been explored. Any drug that is prescribed by a GP is medication.

You can buy infant Gavisvon in boots over the counter. Most people get it prescribed as it costs £5 a box. Honestly all this dithering you need go make a decision, buy formula today and try it or try the gaviscon don't leave your little one miserable.

Also weaning really helps reflux, all mine have had it and it's gone just past the one year mark.

Give your dd the gaviscon.

If you were poorly surely you'd take medication? If you had a headache, heartburn etc.

Why are you leaving your baby to suffer? 😩

This post is heartbreaking.

I understand your reservations, but really try the gaviscon.

My son had bad reflux and weaning did really help. Instead of changing formula, increase the solid food amounts.

Also, give the gaviscon. I had horrific heartburn while pregnant and I was basically drinking the stuff.

My second suffered terribly with reflux and we tried gaviacon first which worked but it really bunged him up which caused a whole load of other problems so we switched formula to aptamil anti reflux.

He was already on normal aptamil so the switch was easy I’m not sure what it would be like moving from a different brand. It was much thicker and stayed down and he stayed on that until he was fully weaned (I was too terrified to take him off it despite gp suggesting I could go back to normal formulae after a few weeks).

Reflux usually happens because the muscles at the base of the oesophagus aren’t properly developed, so you need to thicken the formula to keep it down. Changing the formula another time is highly unlikely to help (unless CMPA is triggering the reflux, in which case you need a prescription formula).

I can’t imagine choosing to leave my baby in pain because I don’t like the idea of a tried and trusted medication.

Good luck when you get to teething, if you don't like to give medicine when they're in pain....

Your definition of ‘medicating’ is a bit odd. You can buy lots of medicines (including gaviscon) over the counter. It still counts as medicating if it was bought by you over the counter rather than prescribed.

I think rather than asking the question ‘is this medicating or not?’ (Which is a pointless question really) you should be asking ‘is this going to stop my small baby from being in pain and miserable all the time?’ And if the answer is ‘yes’, do that thing.

7 months is a long time to let your baby be sore and miserable because you have slightly odd hang ups about what does / does not constitute medication.

Give your dd the gaviscon.

If you were poorly surely you'd take medication? If you had a headache, heartburn etc.

Why are you leaving your baby to suffer? 😩

This post is heartbreaking.

This!!