For Reflux Mums

I have not posted in a while, and thought I'd touch base and offer support on a site that provided me with so much support when my daughter was diagnosed with Silent Reflux.

My daughter is now 15 months old and still has Silent Reflux. I have tried taking her off her meds (Zantac) a couple times, to get thrown back in to the hell we experienced when she first got it at 3 months. I've decided to keep her on it until she's 18 months old and try again then (last attempt off, was at 12 months).

The best formula I found was Novalac Sweet Dreams (I'm from Melbourne and found it in some pharmacies - not all though - including My Chemist, so you will have to look around for it. I would have the Chemist order me in 5 cans at a time). Its the only formula that she never threw up! It has the thickeners in there, so it expands in their tummy. (Its for "hungry and sleepless babies" - so it helps them stay full for longer, which helps them to sleep... something so very very valuable when you have a Reflux baby!!)

For the record, it took about 2-3 weeks for her med's to work when she was first diagnosed. Those were the longest 2-3 weeks of our life! We thought it wasnt working and were considering going back to get different medication, but then all of a sudden, her screaming and back arching stopped and we had our happy baby back again.

If your baby DOES scream and arch its back during and after feeds, and at night when you put them down on a flat bed for sleep, go straight to the Dr. I did the typical mother thing of thinking it was something I was doing wrong and just sat there getting angry at myself for doing whatever it was I was doing that was upsetting our daughter so much!! As I was BF'ing, I changed my diet dramatically thinking it had to be something in the food I was eating that she was reacting with. By the time we took her to the Drs, we were so sleep deprived and exhausted, which was why those 2-3 weeks of waiting for the med's to work were such agony.

But know that it WILL improve. Hang in there, and get all the support you can. A friend recently babysat a reflux baby and afterwards said to me that she knew how we'd said how hard it was, but never truly comprehended it until she experienced it first hand herself! Its horrible to watch your child in so much pain, looking at you with pleading eyes and you being helpless really to do anything - couple that with getting no sleep and no rest, and bed times being such a dreaded time of the day, and its no wonder that the parents of a Reflux or Colicky baby look the way they do! My partner and I would tag-team in 15 minutes of block time. One would chill out in the lounge (normally nursing a glass of wine for nerves!!) whilst the other would spend 15 minutes trying to settle and calm a screaming baby. Then as soon as 15 minutes was up, we'd swap. This would go on for up to 3 hours some nights!

Try not to resent the mothers in the group that would say how wonderfully their child would sleep as soon as they put them down, and they'd stay down for the entire night! They've truly got no idea of what we are going through in the homes of Reflux babies!

But get on to your Dr straight away if you see any of the signs. Elevate the babies bed (we put a pillow under her mattress to tilt her up). Keep her elevated after meals (I resigned myself to doing no work/no housework - I'd just sit on the couch with her upright for an hour after meals. I hate sitting around, but I did it for my sanity, and for less pain for her). And get her on a formula that works. If it doesnt seem to work, change it! Don't worry about the expense - again, think of your sanity!!

And, above all else - IT WILL END EVENTUALLY! Like I said, at 15 months we're still giving our daughter her med's, but as long as we keep it up, she's a normal little girl and I'm so used to giving it to her now, its just an added extra for her at mealtimes, rather than her just getting her medicine, so its really no big deal in the scheme of it all.

Good luck!