Baby Reflux?

WestonDave

A couple of teaspoons to me suggests possetting rather than anything more serious. My guess would be that you aren't quite getting all the wind out, so that when you lie her down its gathering somewhere uncomfortable, and as you pick her up, its forcing a little bit of milk back out as she comes upright again and the wind comes out. If she's OK after that then she's probably OK - if she goes on being uncomfortable after being sick then you may have more of a problem. Talk it through with your HV - its also worth seeing if your NCT branch has a breastfeeding counsellor who can give you a bit of "experienced mum" chat rather than the clinical feel of the professionals.

Trouble is - for us blokes kids a tricky proposition as they don't come with troubleshooting guides! There's a lot that could be going on here - she may simply not like the fact that you've put her away from you so gets a bit fussy from that. If you can time a feed so she's just finishing as the HV arrives you can get them to watch what you do after the feed and give you any comments on how she responds - that way its a lot clearer than trying to work out from descriptions etc. Don't be fobbed off, but on the other hand, get used to the fact that they do wierd things, cause a lot of worry, and still manage to be far more robust that you ever imagine possible!

teasleym

If it really is only a couple of teaspoons, than it might just be normal baby sick. My little one has severe reflux and is on all the medication she can have to reduce it. She was constantly sick from birth, bringing up whole feeds, and ruining hers and my outfits! We couldn't even change her outfits as she would be sick whilst putting on a clean one.
Our health visitors were awful, telling me "babies are sick, live with it", but fortunately my doctor took us seriously but even so she ended up in hospital to sort out her medication and milk.
If you do find putting her down is a problem, can you prop up one end of the crib? We used to prop ours up with thick books, as this way they are not lying flat and they don't struggle with reflux so much. We have a proper reflux pillow for her cot now that she is diagnosed. We also keep our daughter upright for half an hour after feeding to help keep the food down.

[Deleted User]

ok well thanks for all the advice here, its our first child and everything we see or hear with regards to her we are fearing the worst, good to hear different views, we'll have another chat with the HV tomorrow when we get her weighed.

Nicki

i think I might have responded to your wife using the same username about this last week!

My DS had reflux as a baby and his symptoms were miles worse than you describe. He vomited a lot after every feed, not just a small posset, cried for most of the day and couldn't be soothed, was clearly in a lot of pain, arching his back and screaming, and not able to sit in a carseat or bouncy chair. He also dropped from the 85th centile at birth to the 2nd centile as he could not keep enough milk down and was admitted to hospital for a week when he was 28 days old because he had not regained his birthweight.

The treatments were initially baby gaviscon, then ranitidine, then omeprazole with bulking agents in the milk. We also had to stop breastfeeding and give a prescription only formula milk as he couldn't tolerate lactose, and had dozens of bad nappies every day.

My other two children did not have reflux, but all possetted a small amount of milk sometimes after a feed. Most babies do which is why mums use bibs or muslin clothes when feeding very young babies who haven't started messy solid food yet.

Obviously if you are concerned about your baby you must take medical advice, but nothing posted today or last week jumps out as being out of the ordinary for a normal healthy very young baby.

DanE2010

My baby has this too, she is sick all the time and doesnt like to be laid flat on her back as it makes her tummy pains worse. I went to the dr's and they werent overly concerned because she is still putting on weight, I think they only see it as a problem if the baby stops putting on weight and starts losing it. If they start losing weight etc my HV said they would prescribe baby gaviscon to thicken there feed but my dr said as my baby was still putting on weight she wouldnt want to prescribe any medication as it would be jumping the gun abit.

My HV suggested getting a foam wedge for the baby to lie on so she wasnt lying flat but I wasnt keen on that idea, what I did was sit my baby up for at least 20 mins after every feed and also gave her gripe water which actually really helped with her tummy pains, she is alot better with it now (11 weeks) although she still vomits loads so I always have a towel or muslin to hand to mop up the sick, she has umpteen change of clothes a day but least she isnt screaming in pain like she was before, she has the odd grumble where im worried its getting worse again but generally she is alot better.

Oh and also when I ate anything rich or spicy she would be worse (im breastfeeding) and also if I had large amounts of milk the pain in the belly would start up again so I have switched to that lactose free milk and ive definately seen an improvement - and it tastes just like regular milk.

HTH

DanE2010

Ooops just seen ur post Nicki and you've already mentioned baby gaviscon! Sorry didnt read all the posts before I wrote mine:o

barbiedoll

Just to add, if she cries when she vomits or it comes out through her nose too, it could be reflux. Baby Gaviscon doesn't thicken the milk, it neutralises the stomach acid, and drugs such as Omerprazole stop the acid being produced in the stomach. Babies tend to have a weak valve at the top of their stomach, when they lie flat, sometimes the stomach acid will leak back up, into their throat and will make them sick. They will usually cry because the acid burns their throat. Reflux vomit is often "frothy" or "curd-like", it will appear to be more than 1 or 2 teaspoons, most parents will say that it goes everywhere!

If your baby is just vomiting and then settling, and she is gaining weight, it doesn't really sound too serious. My son vomited after every feed, I got through a lot of bibs! (he was breastfed too) My brother, on the other hand, couldn't keep milk down at all, he was investigated for all sorts of problems at the hospital, eventually, the doctor said that he was just a "sicky" sort of baby and told my mum to wean him at two months old! :eek: (This was 45 years ago!!) Looking back, he probably had reflux, it just wasn't recognised as such then. Even now, he will vomit if he eats too much, and he always suffers with indigestion.

See how her weight goes and don't stress too much. Prop her up a little at night, give her a good 10-20 minutes after a feed before you put her down and keep an eye on her. If you are seriously concerned, don't be fobbed off but new parents do tend to panic at the slightest thing, we've all done it! If she is generally happy and contented, I wouldn't worry too much. (Easier said than done, I know! )

peachyprice

Deleted_User wrote: »

i don't know its hard to gauge how much she throws up it may be 1 or 2 teaspoons but it does happen after every feed and only after placing her down flat, then she gets a bit restless then you pick her up and she vomits?

That amount is pretty normal TBH, it couls just be that you need to use a different winding method. Different babies respond to different methods, have a go at some different ones to see if it improves. The ones I found worked best were:

Sitting baby on your lap with her chin resting between your thumb and forefinger while raising her chin slightly, while rubbing/gently patting her back. I've had a baby that only responded to rubbing and one that only responded to patting.

Standing with baby over one shoulder while rubbing/patting, walking upstains with baby like this can be great for particularly wind

Laying baby face down over your lap and rubbing/patting, this worked particularly well when one of mine had colic.

HTH

ellay864

Both my boys had reflux, til they were about a year old. The pyloric stenosis problem usually shows as vomiting, often projectile, whereas reflux is the valve at the other end of the stomach and shows as the milk more 'falling' back out...hard to describe but it's a lot more than posseting the odd teaspoon, but doesn't usually have the same force as the projectile vomit. You get loads back when they do have reflux, and if like mine they're still going when they're weaned and also mobile you can have bolognese coloured goo being deposited in a trail all round your house! Speak to your HV or doctor if you're concerned, especially if it gets worse or there's weight loss

SkintGypsy

My girl had reflux, but not painful. Other forums described her as a 'happy chucker'. She would feed, then vomit frequently until the next feed. We tried gaviscon, but that just came up with the milk. SMA staydown helped, as did adding a product called Carobel to normal formula. It got better with weaning, better still with crawling, but didn't go away until she walked. We all stank of sick for a year. Sorry if that's not the news you were looking for!