Problem Feeding

The same happend to me and they told me to add rice (flaked) to his milk. Everyone told me he was too young for this but it worked. I pump and put the rice in his milk and he is a week aways from being 4 months old and is able to keep the milk down much better. My Mom watches him two days a week and really puts a lot of rice in the bottle. I do not put that much in when he is with me. I put about 1 1/2 table sppons in 4 oz of breast milk. Grandma puts in a lot more. Keep up the breast milk! It is supposed to be the best for them. This is also suppose to help them sleep better (the sleeping thing has not worked for me).

I don't have any real advice because I have a 2 month old with the same problem. I think I will ask my doctor the week or next at the 2 month appointment. I actually wanted to see what others had to say about this too. I have tried the gas drops which work temporarily but then it happens again soon.

So this is a new thing? And it started around the time she started daycare?

I don't know much about reflux, but it truly sounds like she is taking in too much air. Even one feeding during the day of taking in too much air will affect her all day. IF she's drinking out of a fast flow bottle, she's gulping and possibly eating too much. Plus if your milk comes out fast she's gulping. If you have a big letdown (ie the milk spraying out even if she's not sucking) then thats probably the culprit. Let her latch and when your milk lets down, unlatch her nad catch the spray in a towel. When it slows then relatch her, and only nurse from one breast, don't switch sides. If you allow her to nurse from one breast only per feeding, she will get the foremilk which will quench her thirst, and then the fatty hind milk which will satisfy her hunger. Switching breasts means she will nto get the fatty hind milk, and she will get hungry faster and be fussier.

So, check the flow of the bottles at daycare. At 3 months she should still be using a slow flow nipple, and burped often while bottle feeding. And assuming you are pumping for daycare, but if you are using formula, that may be your problem since formula is extremely hard to digest and hard on her system and WILL affect her.

Slow flow bottles, catching your letdown spray instead of letting her gulp it(which will slow ina month or two, you won't have to do this forever!), and only nursing from one breast per feeding should help her out. Breastmilk is a natural antacid, so if it is reflux keep nursing, its thebest thing for her.

do you have a chiropractor that deals with babies? sometimes they need to be adjusted to latch on properly- my son did and it really helped. if you need a chiro, write back and i''d be happy to give you the # to ours! good luck

My little boy was very similar. Not sure if she takes a long time to feed as well? I didn't know any different; my little guy would take an hour to an hour-in-a-half to eat!
Point of my story? He had/has acid reflux.
The simple thing with this is that as adults, generally, we don't eat and lay down. Well, what do we do with babies? We feed them, burp them and lay them down. As far as I know, they aren't born with reflux, but easily can develop it.
After 12-hours on Zantac, my baby was able to drink a bottle in 20-minutes!
Ask your Pediatrician and Good Luck!

My 11 week old son is having the same EXACT problem. I called the pediatrician last week, as he also exhibited signs of discomfort/pain (arching back and crying) after a bottle. The doctor said is sounded like reflux and started him on an antacid. We're only about 1 week into treatment and still waiting for improvement. I plan to call the doctor back tomorrow for an update, and possibly a weight check, as he isn't taking as much in a feeding as before.

Sounds like reflux. That first burp burns her throat and then she doesn't want to eat anymore because it hurts. Check with the Dr. about getting some Zantac. It worked wonders with my kids. Daycare might be making it worse if she's stressed about it or if she isn't being held semi upright for feeings.
J.
Mom to 4 and soon one more through another adoption.

I had the same thing with my son during breast feeding. He would cry within 5 min of eating and not want to continue eating. Turns out he had a sensitivity to something in my milk and we put him on Alimentum (a very expensive protein sensitivity formula) and everything got better within a week. Another option I was given was to cut out various protiens (milk, egg, soy, wheat, shellfish, nuts) one at a time to determine which one he was having troubles with. Good luck.

It sounds a bit like reflux. How is her weight gain? Usually kids with reflux are slow to gain weight but this is not always true. My daughter had mild reflux and was very fussy during and after eating. She would spit up a lot as well. We started her on Zantac and her symptoms much improved. You can ask the doctor about trying some meds like Zantac to help with the reflux. I am a pediatric nurse and I see this often and is very easily treated.

Could be your milk. Sometimes if you are tense while feeding this can be transferred through the milk & that could be what is making her fussy. Try some formula to see that is any different. I know my sister-in-law had the same problem because she was so tense while she nursed that it affected her baby. However, my daughter was an all formula baby & never got fussy even after we started taking her to daycare. Good luck!

Ask your doctor about GERD (or acid reflux.) A friend of mine has a 3 month old who was recently diagnosed with the same symptoms and they've put him on Zantac. He is now sleeping much better and has almost completely stopped spitting up. It's worth asking about, its hard to believe, but babies can get this. :) Good luck!
C.

Just to throw something else in it could be a sensitivity to dairy that you are consuming that is going into your milk. My son had this & spit up a lot & was gassy constantly. He pretty much grew out of at around 6 months although he is still somewhat sensitive to milk now (he has thrown up & had diarrhea after consuming too much). What helped was for me to take probiotics (lactobacilius, also found in yogurt). It may completely help to avoid milk altogether (yogurt & cheese are cultured so you can still eat them). I found that his symptoms were greatly reduced by me taking the probiotics though.

I would talk to your pediatrician to see if they can do any reflux testing.

It sounds to me like she needs to burp more. For many babies one burp is not enough. Try to make it so that she gets less air when she eats and give her time to burp more. Try different positions for burping. If none of that seems to help much she could have acid reflux. If it continues or becomes a major problem, just talk to her doctor about it.

It is probably a haital hernia - which is not as drastic as it sounds but causes the trapping of air when we eat. Millions of people suffer from it but don't know how to treat it. There is an easy finger manipulation that is done under the ribcage that releases the tissue and lets the air and food pass easily. Parents can learn this move in a minute and help their babies for a lifetime. Eventually, the manipulation "sticks" and the symptoms cease to exist.

Chiropractors know all about this problem and could show you how to help your baby. Consider Susan Clarke, D.C. in St. Paul who has worked with babies and adults for decades and knows this trick inside and out. You can find her on the web at The Healing Circle.

The reason your baby doesn't eat after the "burp" is because not all of the air gets expelled. If you stop and tip the baby forward over your hand and burp her repeatedly, that will expel enough air to make her want to eat again. However, this could make for very long sessions, so you might want to get her to a chiropractor right away and take the pain out of nursing/feeding forever.

You may want to try Colic Calm available at www.buyactivatedcharcoal.com
Also consider that she may be allergic to dairy products and you may need to go with a different formula.
She may just be swallowing too much air while feeding. You may need to try a different nipple or a nipple with a different sized hole.

If you are comfortable with prescription meds, talk to her Dr. about Zantac... my daughter went thru the same thing for the first 2 1/2 mos., as well, very gassy and uncomfortable at times...I started using the Zantac (.8) twice daily about 3 weeks ago, and while it took a good week at first, now it's as though we have a different baby! She is SO happy & content all the time, and has no problems anymore getting those bottles down either and we don't have to watch her squiggle & squirm in discomfort. She has stopped spitting up (if that's what you call it?!) so much as well.

If you're not comfortable with meds, I've been told & heard via many friends that "Gripe Water," which you can purchase at any co-op or Wole foods type store (natural/homeopathic) works wonders too. The way I understand it, you just give a few drops at a time... one bottle can be a bit expensive, but again, i've heard it lasts awhile. A girlfriend of mine uses only for her sons hiccups, and says it's unbelievable stuff!

good luck to you!

Hi M.,
I have 5 children, and I have breastfed them all. My 4th child started having similar issues you are facing around 6 weeks of age. Every time he ate he would spit up at birping and get fussy and hard to get him to feed again. I found out he had acid reflux. Their essophagus (sp?) doesn't develop all the way sometimes and causes them to spit up and it burns their throat. My doctor gave me liquid zantac and told me to give him about 1/4tsp. of mylanta before he ate. It really helped and it was done with by around 7ms. of age. Hope that helps. Just ask your doctor if that could be a possibility for your little guy. It is very common I guess.
N.

she sounds like she has some allergy/sensitivities- that's how one of my daughters acted when she was a baby. Even breastfed babies can be allergic to some things in their mother's milk.... I couldn't drink any milk or have any butter when I was nursing her - then she was fine, but she had a reaction to my milk otherwise....

First of all, super job with the breastfeeding! It may be something YOU are eating. Try to eat really bland food and remember not to drink any caffeine/pop. My child (3 now) used to be quite fussy for the first year and often it was just his way of working through the growing pains. He had alot less fussiness when I didn't eat or drink anything spicy or too sugary. One time I had garlic and my little one was very fussy. It can really depend on what you eat since what you eat goes straight to the milk.
Also, does she need to burp a few more times after that first burp? My kid would burp several times. Then, he would want to nurse on the other side (just when I thought he was done he would take more!) Good luck!

Hi M.,
I'm not a doctor, but it almost sounds like reflux. I would talk to your ped about it. Our little guy had reflux and his meds helped immensely. Good luck!