Coping at night with a refluxy baby

[MoiraRoseIsMyQueen]

My DD is two weeks old, and becoming increasingly refluxy. She is fine upright, but constantly sicks up when laid flat - you can hear her gulping and swallowing, even if there is no milk brought up. She is also extremely grunty and uncomfortable when laid flat. We’re going to try cutting cows milk out of my diet to see if it makes any difference.

Anyway, it’s manageable keeping her upright in the day, using a combo of sling and just lots of contact naps, but how do you manage at night?! She can’t go down in her cot, even after being kept upright after a feed for 30 mins, as she’s just constantly sick. Me and DH are basically just sitting up with her, but obviously this isn’t sustainable! Any tips gratefully received!

Towel under the mattress - head above stomach.

Their stomach muscle is weak and allowing acid into their throat - by titling the mattress you can stop this happening.

@Threelittlelambs we have the cot tilted already, doesn’t seem to be making much difference unfortunately 🥴

Start down the route of going to the GP. Infant Gaviscon may be enough to help at the moment.

@RandomMess I’m so reluctant to start medication - especially as it’s double hassle with trying to administer it with breastfeeding! I’m not convinced about the effectiveness of Gaviscon either, and there seem to be quite a few potential side effects. May consider it in a few weeks, but we’re not quite there yet I don’t think.

Try and do short but frequent bursts of tummy time. Apparently it helps build muscle tone which can improve reflux symptoms.

I was assuming getting an appointment would take a few weeks 🤣

Basically you need to sleep in shifts in the meantime.