Talk to me about reflux

[sarasansh]

I think M might have it. I went to a BFing support group and she weighed in lighter than I anticipated. The hospital lactation consultant was also insane, but I'll type that up when I'm not nursing and on mobile.

Looking at all the pieces, I'm starting to think reflux might be the culprit. What are your experiences with reflux?

[heatherbee]

My DD had it and these were the signs we saw-
Frequent and long lasting hiccups
Projectile spit up at least 1-2 times a day
Arching her back when laid flat
Screaming in pain when nothing else seemed to be wrong
Gagging when sleeping
Nursing often but not full feelings (for comfort)

Honestly the biggest indicator was my gut feeling that something was causing my baby pain. I didn't want to try Zantac right away because I didn't want her on medicine but I'm really glad I ended up giving it a try because it helped so much and showed me clearly that reflux was the issue.

[heatherbee]

Oct 8, 2015 20:02:45 GMT -5 heatherbee said:

My DD had it and these were the signs we saw-
Frequent and long lasting hiccups
Projectile spit up at least 1-2 times a day
Arching her back when laid flat
Screaming in pain when nothing else seemed to be wrong
Gagging when sleeping
Nursing often but not full feelings (for comfort)

Honestly the biggest indicator was my gut feeling that something was causing my baby pain. I didn't want to try Zantac right away because I didn't want her on medicine but I'm really glad I ended up giving it a try because it helped so much and showed me clearly that reflux was the issue.

Edit - also slow weight gain but that ended up being my supply. I don't know how much, if any, was due to the reflux.

[sarasansh]

Oct 8, 2015 20:02:45 GMT -5 heatherbee said:

My DD had it and these were the signs we saw-
Frequent and long lasting hiccups
Projectile spit up at least 1-2 times a day
Arching her back when laid flat
Screaming in pain when nothing else seemed to be wrong
Gagging when sleeping
Nursing often but not full feelings (for comfort)

Honestly the biggest indicator was my gut feeling that something was causing my baby pain. I didn't want to try Zantac right away because I didn't want her on medicine but I'm really glad I ended up giving it a try because it helped so much and showed me clearly that reflux was the issue.

Margaret has almost all of these including the slow weight gain you mentioned. I also have that gut feeling that something isn't quite right. Off to the pedi we go!

[heatherbee]

Oct 9, 2015 4:53:16 GMT -5 sarasansh said:

Oct 8, 2015 20:02:45 GMT -5 heatherbee said:

My DD had it and these were the signs we saw-
Frequent and long lasting hiccups
Projectile spit up at least 1-2 times a day
Arching her back when laid flat
Screaming in pain when nothing else seemed to be wrong
Gagging when sleeping
Nursing often but not full feelings (for comfort)

Honestly the biggest indicator was my gut feeling that something was causing my baby pain. I didn't want to try Zantac right away because I didn't want her on medicine but I'm really glad I ended up giving it a try because it helped so much and showed me clearly that reflux was the issue.

Margaret has almost all of these including the slow weight gain you mentioned. I also have that gut feeling that something isn't quite right. Off to the pedi we go!

Good luck!

[sarasansh]

Update: something isn't quite right, but thankfully it's not with her! She was very cooperative and spit up no less than 5 times in front of the doctor, so he got a good luck at what we're experiencing. He said she doesn't seem to be in pain when it happens beyond the normal uncomfortableness so he wouldn't recommend medication at this point.

It seems like the issue is more with me--that most likely my overactive letdown it causing her to chug too much milk too fast. Also he said it's possible the muscle at the top of her stomach that keeps stuff down is just very immature at this point, which will correct itself in time.

Also she gained an ounce since yesterday, but more than that she's grown almost 2 inches in length and half an inch in head circumference, so I think she's going to be like her brother and just be skinny for awhile (Robin was 1-3% until about 6 months for weight, but 90-100% for height.)

So relieved!

[laurski81]

Oct 8, 2015 20:02:45 GMT -5 heatherbee said:

My DD had it and these were the signs we saw-
Frequent and long lasting hiccups
Projectile spit up at least 1-2 times a day
Arching her back when laid flat
Screaming in pain when nothing else seemed to be wrong
Gagging when sleeping
Nursing often but not full feelings (for comfort)

Honestly the biggest indicator was my gut feeling that something was causing my baby pain. I didn't want to try Zantac right away because I didn't want her on medicine but I'm really glad I ended up giving it a try because it helped so much and showed me clearly that reflux was the issue.

I could have written this W4W. All of this with Henry.

[bantyrooster]

Yay! Really try to recline back or when she is this small pop her off and let the milk go into a cloth until it quits spraying and only drips (you will kbow what I mean) or watch it in a bottle!

[sarasansh]

bantyrooster I've been trying that and it's helped! I also pumped for a few minutes this morning before she ate and that helped a lot too. I'm trying not to pump too much so I won't make it worse, but it's at least useful for building a freezer stash.

[mrsrek10]

JA was what they call a happy spitter. He had reflux but it didn't cause him pain; it just caused lots of spit up. He didn't stop until his core muscles strengthened and he could sit up independently. In the early stages, the LC thought it was my supply issues bc I had lots of the foremilk. However, my supply died and we switched to formula around 2 months and it didn't change his spitting up. That is when they diagnosed it as reflux with no meds required. They suggested frequent burping, keeping him slanted longer after feeding (no pressure on stomach), feeding him in smaller sessions more often versus longer feedings with a longer break, lots of things...nothing helped us but maybe some of it could help you! A spitter is hard...I became obsessed with good bibs.