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Is this reflux or something else?

3 replies

JJ1989 · 21/09/2024 20:12

Hello,

I recently welcomed baby no 2 in August who is now 5 weeks old and was wondering if I could get some advice if possible.

We have noticed he seems very fussy after some of his feeds. It isn’t all of them, but for some he can be squirming a lot afterwards, straightening his legs out so he’s stiff, crying intermittently (it seems a dummy does calm him) and this happens until he falls asleep. This can either take 30-40 mins or sometimes a couple of hours.

Outside of this he is also farting quite a bit, however his poos are normal. Interestly he settles fine at night and will go down for 3-4 hour windows.

It does feel in the day that he is never quite settled. He wants to be held a lot of the time which is understandable as he’s only young, but even when asleep he’s often squirming, waking himself up and needs resettling during the day.

He does sometimes making these gasping noises when feeding on his bottle (he’s formula fed) and I have noticed he gets hiccups quite often and sneezes often, but I know these things can be typical in newborns.

At about 4 weeks he’s also started to get a rash on his face, ears and neck, but it’s hard to tell if this is baby acne or something else.

I was wondering whether perhaps he had a mild case of silent reflux. He isn’t sick a lot and I wouldn’t say we have hours of inconsolable crying, but more so just very fussy after some (not all) feeds and difficult to settle, which is where I’m struggling to pinpoint the issue.

We do try to pace his feeds and burp him regularly throughout the feed, although this hasn’t seemed to make a difference.

It’s difficult as baby no 1 was very easy and was just fed, barely burped and went straight down to sleep so I’m not experienced with any issues such as reflux!

Any advice would be welcome :)

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
Silverfoxlady · 21/09/2024 21:19

Hi OP,

This sounds a lot like my baby girl at that age, except she is breastfeeding. She is 3 months now and I have concluded that it was all bad wind and colic, whereas reflux sounds painful for babies (basically acid burning up the throat, so painful to eat/ make sounds etc). They also lose weight from throwing up or reduced appetite. Is he losing weight?

This was a good information page -

https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/silent-reflux#symptoms

She is doing a little better nowadays, and happily farts all night long in her sleep. :-)

Silent Reflux: Symptoms, Home Remedies, Treatment

Silent reflux, also known as laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR), is common in young babies. If your baby has silent reflux, they may act uncomfortable or like they're in distress, but show no other outward symptoms. In some cases, your baby may spit up. LP...

https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/silent-reflux#symptoms

JJ1989 · 21/09/2024 21:35

Thanks @Silverfoxlady . That’s helpful to know. We have tried Infacol but hasn’t seemed to make much of a difference, but could try something like gripe water or colief. Did you try any of these at all?

He is putting on weight so there’s no concern in that sense and still very hungry for his feeds.

OP posts:
Janeykat · 22/09/2024 06:12

Hi @JJ1989 that sounds like my daughter at 5 weeks--generally unsettled/uncomfortable, rash that looked like baby acne, lots of farting. My gp said normal and just their digestive system maturing but my daughter got worse, her nappies became green and mucousy and when there was a streak of blood (8 weeks) she was diagnosed eith cows milk protein allergy. I am breastfeeding so quit all dairy (and soy as proteins are similar) and symptoms resolved and she became much more settled. Im not saying thats what your baby has and CMPA isnt usually diagnised without mucous/blood but just something to keep in mind. Good luck!xx

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