Is it Reflux?

[Olliepoly]

Hi. I’ve been reading a lot of mum’s and parents experience and finally got around to creating an account as I would really benefit from advise.

My DS is 10 wks old and was born at 34 wks. At the moment, he spits up every feed (more than once, sometimes 4 times until he takes his next feed) and you can usually tell that it’s coming because he squirms and sometimes cries before he lets it out. He doesn’t cry frantically but he is unable to sleep for more than an hour because he squirms and then spits up.

I’ve talked to GP and HV who said it’s normal and as long as he is gaining weight, he’s fine. Drop in clinics are closed at the moment so there’s no way of finding out. He looks well to me but I’m bothered by the amount of spit and that he is not taking enough milk.

Any advise will be really useful. My husband thinks I worry too much, which I probably do but I’d rather worry than ignore signs which may mean he is not well.

My little boy was diagnosed with reflux at around the same time - it’s not pleasant at all to think of them in pain I know.

When he spits up, is it projectile or is it a ‘blup’ of milk? I would agree with your HV that so long as weight gain is nice and steady, following the right centiles and he’s having lots of dirty and wet nappies, you should be absolutely fine. My HV also told me to try pouring an equivalent amount of water onto some towels as he would have in a feed to see what a full feed throw up looked like - what we think of as loads when it comes back up can actually look like a lot more than it really is, I was really surprised when I did it! It also helped me to recognise the few times when he did throw up everything in his tummy, which was like the exorcist to be honest. I’ve been covered head to toe before...

I know the treatment protocol has changed for reflux thanks to the ranitidine recall so if you were to go down the treatment route if diagnosed, they’ll suggest gaviscon at first, before trying other medication.

It’s not projectile vomiting. It’s sometimes curd, if it’s been an hour or so. The last few days the amount of spit up has declined, although it’s still about 3-4 times every three hours.

What really gets to me is how he is unable to rest/sleep (could be just my perception) because he wakes up squirming. As soon as I lay him down, he seems to be in discomfort.

Sounds like it could be reflux - does he settle to sleep upright at all? We had a next to me crib for the first 6 months and could adjust the angle so his head was a bit elevated which seemed to help a lot.

If I hold him upright, he could sleep for an hour or two. I also make sure his head is slight higher than his tummy.

I spoke to the GP and she suggested trying a thickened milk for 5-6 days and then if it doesn’t work, probably proceed to prescribing gaviscon. I’m unable to determine if he’s within the same centile at the moment as my digital weighing scale is unreliable