Reflux just diagnosed

[IrishConn]

Hi Everyone,

My little fella is just over 9 weeks old.There have been many issues with him since the start.To cut a long story short he lost a lot of weight at one stage and my milk had not really come in so we had to supplement him on formula.He was crying all the time and when we started to supplement him he calmed down considerably.I am still mostly breastfeeding him and my supply is really good now.He now only gets some formula in the morning and evening and we will probably cut that out soon.His sleeping is terrible and hes always so restless and never seems to go into that deep sleep.His has started sleeping with us and I am probably noticing things more.The last few nights he was woken at 4am and seems to be in pain.He stretches his legs out and goes into a complete rage bright red with tears streaming down his face its heartbreaking.But also I noticed he sounds really wheezy and raspy and the last 2 nights he has done this kind of choking thing where he kind of struggles to breathe.He coughs sometime as well in his sleep a kind of choking cough.Then sometimes he would be happy as larry and all of a sudden he is screaming at the top of his lungs,its unreal.He also sometimes gets agitated breastfeeding,pulling on and off and crying in between.He does have a lot of wind also.We went to the doctor today who said it sounds like classic relflux.Our doctor is a big believer in homeopathics and has given us drops which he said should work if not then we will look at my diet.I wonder does anyone have any other tips on how to deal with this,Just now he has been screaming for 40mins as my husband has tried to put him to bed.I feel like such a failure as I think this may be been what was wrong with him all along.Also could he choke with reflux/

Thanks Hilary and Conn

[~Trish~]

Don't feel like a failure. It is so hard to know what is going on with babies! My DS#1 had a dislocated shoulder from birth, but I didn't find out until he was 10 weeks old! I knew something was wrong with him, but no one could help me. It was a paediatric chiropractor that found the issue, with some gentle manipulation I had a new baby.

I would highly recommend taking your DS to a paediatric chiro, my DS#2 was diagnosed with having reflux when he was about 4 months old. I took him to our chiro who found his shoulder was out of alignment. After one session his reflux was gone within 5 days and we didn't need to use any medication. Sometimes when something is out of alignment it can cause other issues to occur such as reflux.

Another thing I would suggest for sleep time is to try a baby hammock. These are wonderful for babies with reflux as their heads are slightly elevated and they are snugged in cosily. Lots of people swear by them. I used one for our DS#1 when he would only sleep in our arms and it changed our lives. You can hire them from baby hire places or some hospitals.

In regards to your question asking if he can choke with reflux, yes he can if the acids are rising up his throat, it can make him choke. The poor little man .

It's a horrible thing to go through and I'm glad you've finally gotten him diagnosed so you know what it is. I hope you find something that works for you soon

[rufalina]

My DS has just been diagnosed with reflux too, he is 8 wks old. And that waking in the night screaming with pain that you describe sounds exactly like my poor little guy. I find that at 3am, if he wakes in pain, I need to give him a good rub, clockwise, in the belly, and that gets him settled and back to sleep.

There is nothing harder than seeing him in pain and not being able to do anything to help. My DS was prescribed Zantac, but I am not sure how it is working. What did your DR suggest or prescribe?

Other things I have tried is for me to drink chamomile tea, which has a soothing effect on his tummy (i think), if sometime I give DS a small amount of warm water, (or the very weak chamomile tea) when he is in pain from wind, as the sucking and the warm water does help to get things flowing in his tummy. I also try to keep him upright for 20 mins or so after a feed and really try to get him burping before putting him down to bed. At night, if he has fallen asleep on the boob, I still try to keep him upright a bit before settling him into bed. He sleeps in his own bed, a bassinet in my room, and I have a towel rolled under his mattress, under his head to keep it elevated.

Good luck with getting things sorted for your DS and if you find anything works for you I would love to know.