Giving Gaviscon -URGENT

How can i give infant gaviscon to my baby without the distress??? it says to mix 5ml water with the powder, then add 10ml water - thats 15ml liquid which i've tried giving in a spoon and syringe in the side of his mouth and apart from dribbling/spitting half of it out, he became really upset and then was sick some of it up. Being breastfed thats how the packet says to give it, but its literally too much liquid to be feeding him. Does anyone else have this problem? because it says to give after a feed he obviously doesn't want a "drink" then. What else can i do? I have to try this for a week before they will consider zantac.

B how about only feeding him a little? Is he a quick feeder? I think if you only feed him a little to start with it will line his tummy so will be gentler then milk will be after as well.

yep i would do it slowly - even if it take 30 minutes. only a ml in at a time

Thanks for the quick replies!

the problem is he is pulling off during feeding so only having super short feeds because he's in pain due to the reflux..., he's feeding for a minute or so, then gagging and trying to be sick, then crying in pain. Its so hard to administer this stuff when he's like that, plus he's not having full feeds at any point.

can you feed him in an upright position or semi upright to reduce the reflux?
i dont remember having to give 15ml.....

Hey MummaB

We tried gaviscon for a little while with our DD, but I found it was a bit of a pain to give too. I think I mixed it with EBM, and a smaller amount then recommended. I also tried popping the mix into a teat (not attached to a bottle), and then letting bub suck on the teat.
I think I also spread the dose out during a feed too, not sure if you are supposed to do that but it's something we tried.

Or, instead of the gaviscon you could try just giving some Guarcol, or other food thickening agent before, during and after a breastfeed. That can be a bit of a pain too, but can be very effective if given a real go with some bubs. He may hate it more at first, but it would be a smaller amount (but thicker then the gaviscon unfortunately). I have an almost full tin in my pantry that you could use? or I could just give you some for you to try. Anyway, probably confusing you now!

HTH

I gave Kayla her gaviscon in a bottle, and she just drank it down.

Ugh I remember doing this with DS and it was the biggest PITA!! :doh:

I ended up putting it in a little bit of EBM (about 30ml) and just giving it in a bottle. That was the only way I could get him to take it because he couldn't taste it.

I used to give it with EBM in a bottle. It actually worked pretty well for us, which I was surprised about, and we managed to avoid Zantac.

Hi MummaB,
I am one of the naturopaths working at the new Belly Belly Pregnancy Centre in Canterbury, Melbourne.
I have noticed a lot of mums are experiencing difficulty with their little ones getting reflux and know how distressing it can be and how ridiculous it is trying to get such a large amount of gaviscon into an infant.
Are you nearby to be able to bring your little one into the centre so I can help you sort out some more manageable treatment?
If not email me with all the details and age etc of your infant to jocelynmking@gmail.com and I can let you know how I would treat your little one and even send some remedies out to you if this would help.
Best wishes,
Jocelyn King

Unfortunately i am in WA Jocelyn, otherwise i'd love to come by..... i will email you though, thank you for the offer, that would be so helpful!

I tried giving him it in a bottle last night but he wouldn't suck on the teat - he's never had a bottle, is it something i should persist with? (the bottle?) today i only did 10ml because 15 ml is too ridiculous.... still so much liquid.

Also the gaviscon in general isn't really doing helping.

hi MammaB,
Yes I think that might be a bit too far to come!!
It is still way too much liquid to get in and no he won't like the bottle if he is breast fed - who would want a horrible plastic teat when you can have a nice soft nipple? Email me and we can sort something out.
Jocelyn

Yeah, it took Kayla a couple of goes to realise she could suck the bottle.. and you could see the completely different sucking action. We found Gaviscon pretty hopeless too.. but then I'm not convinced she had reflux anyway.. i'm sure hers was colic.