Straining Baby

Hi E.,

I'm so glad you wrote in about this. I don't have any advise for you, b/c my 3rd daughter (Saylor) is doing the same thing. I thought also when she strained she was having gas.

She is taking Zantac and has a prescription gas medicine. I feel like both of them make her worse or make her puke more often. She gets better for a few days after she is off the meds.

My other 2 daughters had acid reflux as babies also. My 2nd and 3rd seem to be more gasy. I breastfeed now and did w/my other 2 also. I stopped drinking cokes w/caffiene and drinking more water, but I can't tell it makes a difference.

Saylor is gaining weight fine also and doesn't seem bothered by it. I just hate it for her and me...we usually get drenched. ha!

I would like to make it better for her also!
Good luck!!! D'Anne

You might want to pick up a probiotic (from the health food store) that is suitable for infants. Also, breastfeed him while in a sitting position and hold him upright for at least 15 min. after a feed.

hi E.. I have totally been when you are! my daughter had and still has very very bad reflux! she is also on prevacid. she didnt get diagnosed until she was 4 months old though. that have gas medicine that is called hyoscyamine sulfate. mylicon wouldnt work with her than this is a perscription and it is awesome! also i know he is young and you cant feed him rice cereal and you breast feed you may try pumping like 4 oz. and adding a tbs. of rice cereal to it and feeding that to him with a bottle a couple times a day it helped with my little girl and she didnt throw up as much because it is thick.. i didnt breastfeed but it is just a suggestion.. also burp very often!! this will help a lot. you can also elevate your baby bed and it help when they are sleeping the reflux wont come up in to his throat and wake him up at night screaming! the dr also put her on goodstart natural cultures and it helped tremendously(sorry on the spelling) with lowering the gas in her belly... if that were an option for you!.. hope i helped in some way! good luck i know exactly what you are going through!!!!

Try letting the baby sleep in the carseat. My daughter, now 6 yrs old, had colic for 6 months. The only way she would get any amount of sleep was in her car seat. It was great because i would just set her down beside my bed and it was convenient for nursing.

Maybe taking a look at you diet and record how he does with changing it.

The forceful let-down thing is definitely something to look into. Also, you may really think about what you're eating. He could have an allergy to something in your diet.
Most likely not a food, but an additive or chemical in the food...
If you can or will, eating organic is your best bet. Pesticides can cause very violent reactions in some people--like me! haha I have a food-poisoning-type reaction to eggs,unless they're organic...and then there is no reaction at all. The same with peanuts/peanut butter...and some other foods. Might try it can see if this helps your sweet baby.
Hope he feels better!
I am not telling you to go against doc's orders...but be careful giving prevacid (And other like drugs) to an infant. They do it alot, now, but it can screw up their GI tract for the rest of their lives, causing chronic under-- or over-- production of gastric juices. Also, remember--acid reflux is NOT a disease. It is a symptom of something else amiss...Straiging usually means constipation, but sometimes babies have a small part of their bowel which hasn't completely developed, or isn't as strong as the rest..? If that makes sense? This can make digestion a bit difficult.
Personally, I would omit the acid reflux meds and pat him extra long at burp time-- or multiple times, gently. It may just be gas and he's not burping well. Some kids don't.
If it continues or gets more severe,
Blessings,
H.

Hi E.,
Both of my kids had horrible reflux. Our dr. put them both on persciption Zantac which helped with the burning a lot. He also told me to watch what I was eating. He told me to cut out as much dairy as possible and also no spicy foods. There is really nothing to stop the spit-up that comes along with it though.My chilren's reflux ended up going away once I added in jar food, even though I was still breast feeding. I think it had more to do with their age than the food though. I hope this helps. Hang in there because I know reflux can be a struggle.

I feel your pain... we figured out that my little ones projectile spit-up was from me eating dairy - mostly drinking milk and also chocolate. If you can cut as much, if not all, cow milk from you diet (you need to give it at least 3 weeks is what I understand (I think kellymom.com says that) for it to make an obvious difference sometimes. Let us know how it goes!!! Also, if that turns out to be the problem you will need to take a Calcium/Vit D supplement (especially if milk is a favorite for you)!

My son was born with terrible reflux. He is 4 months old now and doing much better. I dont breastfeed so we were able to put alittle rice cereal in his bottle to thiken it. Maybe you could pump and try that. If you do try it its 1 tsp rice cereal per 2oz of milk. They started my son doing this before we left the hospital with him. We make sure that he sits as close to a 90 degree angle as possible for about 30min after eating. Always burp every ounce although at first my son was so bad that we had to burp him at a half an ounce. If I was you I would limit my intake of anything spicy or foods that might irritate babys little belly. Everything you eat gets into your breastmilk. But just hang in there your baby should get better with time. Both of mine had reflux badly and they both grew out of it many loads of laundry later. LOL!

It might not be reflux. It might be that you have an overactive letdown. check out kellymom.com it has lots of good research based info about breastfeeding that your doctor probably doesn't know (dr's aren't trained in human lactation typically).

When my son was at that age, he had a lot of spitting up issues... and I finally figured out that I just had a really strong let down. there are thing you can do to help with that. and once i got a handle on that, it was all good.

also, my son gets pretty grunty sometimes, but I've come to think that its just one of the noises he makes. because he isn't showing any signs of distress or anything.... so maybe you just have a grunty baby?

P.S, DON'T stop breastfeeding!!!!!! It's the BEST thing you can do for her health. breastmilk is so much easier for babies to digest than formula is... so switching to formula could make any problems worse. breastfeed as long as possible. AAP recommends AT LEAST one year, and WHO recommends at least two.

My baby had reflux, he finally grew out of it. My dr. gave mine zantac and Reglan I did some research on the Reglan and i felt very uncomfortable with it and refused to give it to him. I gave him gripe water which is all natural by Baby Bliss, and teething tablets (wal-mart Pharmacy)i forget how many you are suppose to give him but i only gave him 1 tablet. Jimmy Darling is real good about natural stuff it may cost a little extra but it is worth it. Also, I kept him on a schedule, and only gave him 4oz at a time. that was with rice cereal. Breast feeding-be careful what you eat, believe it or not he gets it. Also, burp several times during his feeding. I'm not promising a cure, mine was 1 before he grew out of it. But every effort helps.

mine didn't strain, but had horrible reflux....i am sorry! she threw up all the time and it alway came out her nose, we were constantly washing sheets. it was hard to give prevacid while breastfeeding and it got stopped up in the nipple, but our dr told us to give her mylanta or maalox and that seemed to help some. hope this helps. she finally got over it and slept through the night at 9 months! good luck!

My third child is almost 10 weeks and has terrible reflux, so I feel your pain! She is also exclusively breastfed. It sounds like your son's worst symptoms are during a time when he has probably been sleeping. Is he sleeping flat on his back? Reflux babies have a terrible time with this position because the bottom of the esophagus connects to the stomach near a baby's back, so everything just flows back up. Consider placing him on his side to sleep with a sleep positioner. This helped my daughter at first, but now she sleeps in a Tucker Sling and it is wonderful! Go to www.tuckersling.com to check it out. They are pricey, but well worth it! It elevates their head about 40 degrees and they can sleep on their back, side, or tummy. My daughter sleeps in it on her tummy and sleeps 8-9 hours a night! She has great head control so I don't really worry about SIDS, but if this is a concern for you and you want to place him on his tummy (he'll be much more comfortable) get an Angel Monitor from Babies R Us that will alert you if he stops breathing.
Also I have found it is VERY important to keep him upright for at least 20-30 minutes after eating, even in the middle of the night. I let Elizabeth sleep on my shoulder during this time while I sit in a recliner.
Elizabeth is also on Prevacid and we have seen some improvement in her discomfort. Our pediatric gastroenterologist increased her dose to 15mg twice a day a week and a half ago. I've heard it can take as much as 3 weeks for the damage and inflammtion to the esophagus that has been caused by the acid to heal, so try to be patient. I know that is so hard when your baby is hurting!
Whatever you do, don't stop breastfeeding! Even if there are things in your diet that upset her from time to time, it is still much better digested than any formula. As far as thickening the formula, I've heard mixed things. My doctor said a lot of the problem with reflux is that the stomach doesn't empty as fast as it should, and cereal will make it take even longer. However we thickened my son's bottles (who also had reflux) and it did seem to help. We have not done that with Elizabeth.
Best of luck!

HI E..
I did go through this exact dilemma with my son, who was also exclusively breastfed.
He was placed on prevacid because I was having a difficult time ruling out which foods I was ingesting that may be making him experience reflux.
I have since learned that prevacid does next to nothing for the baby - including mask the symptoms.
Hang in there and try to remove dairy from your diet, I'm sure you've heard that before. It really does help & it isn't forever!
The breastmilk is the easiest thing food on your baby's tummy - so don't give that up! If baby is gaining weight, then you know he is getting nutrition. My son finally 'grew out of reflux' around 9 or 10 months old. I hope that you can find a fix before that! Good luck!
There are some great archive articles about this very matter in Mothering Magazine, try www.mothering.com - it is a great resource!
Take Care
V.

I am going through this exact same thing. This is what I did: if you are strictly nursing, burp him after ever 3-5 minutes. I would pump A LOT and bottlefeed him the breastmilk. After ever 1-2 oz, burp him. If he is like my son, this constant interruption leads to lots of screaming, my son hates being burped. Just constantly burp him. Another thing: after feeding him, for about 20 minutes, keep him sitting upright, ie a boucer seat. I hope this helps!! My son still spit up a lot, just not near as much as before. He is now 5 1/2 months and 15 pounds. It really is just more of a laundry issue than a health one...Good Luck!

hey E....
i have been there and done that.
we survived the acid reflux but now have childhood gerd. the nice thing is that most acid reflux cases are over by 6months or 1 year of age. hope you are in the first group.

things i did that helped was when i finished breastfeeding i used the premade bottles or the canned ready to go formula... because it is thicker and therefore more likely to stay down..so less vomiting.

also give mylicon in the correct dose before every feeding about 15-30 mins prior to the bottle and the gas should decrease.

and the straining you are referring to could be the back arching from the acid reflux or constipation a side effect of the prevacid. to help with the a.r. keep your little one upright for a half hour after every feeding and then try keeping him in a slanted to upright postion for everything else. my little one still sleeps in my bed propped up on a high pillow and cradled in my arm. (not recommended for everyone, just the only way to keep her from crying out all night due to reflux pain.)
and for the constipation... talk to your doctor or a pediatric gastroeneterologist to see what the safe does is.. that was awhile ago for us, so i do not recall the amount, but we were told to give our little one maalox and we just had the pharmacy flavor it to make it more appealing.

if i remember correctly... the meds do not stop the acid reflux they just decreased the acidity of the acid and therefore decrease most symptoms... so your little one should still spit for awhile just less physical pain and long term effects from the acid in the esophagus. but do watch for stool types. our doc wanted every stool to be pasty... not loose nor thick.. more like toothpaste in texture.
best wishes.. from a been there mom
-mb

Hello there, my name is C. and I'm a stay at home mom of a year and a half year old. She had reflux really bad and would spit up really bad. She actually started to become dehydrated. She became so bad that she couldn't stay awake during breast feeding, because she was weak from dehydration. We ended up putting her on formula and she had to go on allimentum (sorry I think that spelling may be wrong) but its an alergy free formula and she did great with it. Unfortunatly its very expensive, we had to end up going on WIC for it. I hope this may help, Good Luck!

Our granddaughter (now 2 yrs. old), had same problem, on all the meds for reflux. I really believe elevating the head of the bed (mattress) was a big help. Look and see there are about 3-4 levels for the mattress, just elevate the head part...hope this helps. Good luck and God Bless, our prayers are with you'll.
LOUISIANA

These tips helped me a ton!

Forceful Let-down (Milk Ejection Reflex) & Oversupply

By Kelly Bonyata, BS, IBCLC

* Is forceful let-down the problem?
* What can I do about it?
* Additional Information

Is forceful let-down the problem?

Does your baby do any of these things?

* Gag, choke, strangle, gulp, gasp, cough while nursing as though the milk is coming too fast
* Pull off the breast often while nursing
* Clamp down on the nipple at let-down to slow the flow of milk
* Make a clicking sound when nursing
* Spit up very often and/or tend to be very gassy
* Periodically refuse to nurse
* Dislike comfort nursing in general

If some of this sounds familiar to you, you probably have a forceful let-down. This is often associated with too much milk (oversupply). Some mothers notice that the problems with fast letdown or oversupply don't start until 3-6 weeks of age. Forceful let-down runs the gamut from a minor inconvenience to a major problem, depending upon how severe it is and how it affects the nursing relationship.

What can I do about it?

There are essentially two ways you can go about remedying a forceful let-down: (1) help baby deal with the fast flow and (2) take measures to adjust your milk supply down to baby's needs. Since forceful let-down is generally a byproduct of oversupply, most moms will be working on both of these things. It may take a couple of weeks to see results from interventions for oversupply, so try to be patient and keep working on it.
Help baby deal with the fast milk flow

* Position baby so that she is nursing "uphill" in relation to mom's breast, where gravity is working against the flow of milk. The most effective positions are those where baby's head and throat are above the level of your nipple. Some nursing positions to try:
o Cradle hold, but with mom leaning back (a recliner or lots of pillows helps)
o Football hold, but with mom leaning back
o Elevated football hold - like the football hold, but baby is sitting up and facing mom to nurse instead of lying down (good for nursing in public).
o Side lying position - this allows baby to dribble the extra milk out of her mouth when it's coming too fast
o Australian position (mom is "down under", aka posture feeding) - in this position, mom is lying on her back and baby is on top (facing down), tummy to tummy with mom. Avoid using this positioning frequently, as it may lead to plugged ducts.

warm bath, baby yoga positions to promote digestion, sit them on the potty, check out diaperfreebaby.com, it may give you ideas to relieve gas and bowels.

J had a reflux test at the hospital and the Dr. prescribed Reglan. He only took a small amount before each feeding. It helped a lot. We also used only Nursery water and formula with Gas Drops (about 1 drop per ounce) mixed in the water before formula was added. He could only use Enfamil, he couldn't keep ANY Good Start Formula down. We also kept him under fed, with many small feedings. He stopped having so many problems and I think the system we developed with J worked for us. When someone else watched J, such as Mothers-Day-Out we fixed all the bottles with water and gas drops mixed in and took the can of formula. The teachers gave him his Reglan just about 10 minutes before they sat down to feed him and they were glad they didn't have to worry about adding the gas drops. He could not lay down to feed at any time or it would come back up.

We kept J sleeping in a bouncy seat for at least 6 months, all times he was sleeping. He finally started fussing during the night because he wanted to roll around and turn over. The medicine was a life saver.

I think when J started really eating food regularily is when he started to keep stuff down better.

Try Thicken Up or Thick It. This is what was prescribed for our baby due to GERD. It works by thickening the milk which helps it to stay down. She is also on Prevacid and Reglan. Takes a couple of weeks to see a change on the Prevacid.

D. S.

If he's haviong reflux while breastfeeding, you should check into your diet. If you're eating a lot of processed or restaurant food, that could be a prime culprit as there are a lot of additives (google MSG). Just remember that your baby IS what you eat, so the fresher and healthier foods you consume means the healthier and more able to battle disease and complications your baby will be. It drives me nuts that doctors would rather medicate a newborn than to bring this issue up. give this web info a try: http://www99.epinions.com/content_###-###-####
I hope this helps :}