Hi All,

I am new to the site and in need of advice. I have a 10 week old son named Jack. He was diagnosed with GERD at 3 weeks old and is on baby zantac 2 times per day. He was doing great with it for the most part and then the weekend before x-mas he went on what I call a "feeding frenzy" He was totally breastfed or fed from a bottle with breast milk until that point. We had gone to the doctor because the dog had scratch him new his eye and I wanted to get it checked.... getting to my point. he had really been doing well and had been ona great schedule. I took him in the week before x-mas and the doc said that I could supplement formula if I needed to because he was taking 5 1/2 oz of formula at a time and on the feeding frenzy day it was almost every 2 hours. usually it's every 3-4. So she told me I could and I started adding formula (enfamil with Iron) to one bottle of 3 oz of breast milk and 2 of formula. He seemed to do great.

Then the wednesday after x-mas we went in for his 2 month check and he had his 2 month shots and a rotavirus vaccine and was tired you know normal stuff but by late thursday and friday my little man turned into a totally different baby. Crying a ton more. Always wanting to sleep on me.. used to take a full bottle with burping in around 25 minutes now will only take 4 oz and then plays with it...

Not sleeping in the same pattern at night either. Used to go down around 8 or 9 and up at 3 then down again.. Last night it was up at 12 and then 3 and then 5....

I don't know what to do... PLEASE HELP

Sounds like he might not be tolerating the Enfamil? You might talk to your doctor about trying Lactrofree, Gentlease, or Prosobee. They might not bother his little tummy quite so much. It seems like a lot of our GERDlings have trouble with milk and soy protein intolerances also. I'm really sorry he's having such a rough go of it!

I agree with Lori...sounds like the formula might not be agreeing with him. Our Ped first had us try regular formula, then Lactose Free, then Soy, then specialty ones. Luckily, Lactose Free worked for us. I'm not sure if Josh ever really had a true Lactose intolerance, but I was happy to find something that worked - he's now on whole milk just fine.

You might also check with the Dr on his Zantac dose. It is very weight sensitive so it might need to be adjust as he grows.

Hope that you can get things sorted out! :)

First Hi...and WELCOME!!

Since this is such a immediate change it kinda sounds like he could be getting sick...maybe an ear infection or something you cant see. Has he had a fever or anything? Has he recently gained weight? Zantac is very weight sensitive and the dose needs to be changed frequently in order for it to remain effective. It just sounds like something has changed to all of a sudden make him uncomfortable. Could very well be the formula change also. You may even want to give the doc a call and see what he thinks..

I hope you find something that helps! Good luck and keep us updated!!

:sad3: Im sorry to hear about ur baby. I agree with the above post, it sounds like he isn't tolerated the formula well. Some of these formulas out there are really hard to digest for these reflux babies. Especially those with iron, milk based or soy based. I would talk it over with the doc and see what their suggestions of a formula are. My first baby did better on carnation good start than the other formulas, and my second had to go all the way to the presription formula before we found one he could tollerate.
Also, your baby might need the zantac dose increased if he is now symptomatic. After they gain weight even a few ounces the old dose doesn't work as well.

good luck...

Thank you all for your help and support. I will try your advice and let you know. he has gainded 4 lbs since being started on zantac. That's good to know that it's tempermental.

Thanks again!!!

Amy, Married to Joe, Mom to Jack (10-25-06)

Ditto what everyone else said--formula is tough for little tummies to digest and a sudden change from total b'milk to several ounces of formula per day *might* be the cause. If this is causing his reflux to flare, the Zantac might have trouble keeping up at this point, too.

(...and, as someone pointed out, it could also be that he's getting sick--isn't it fun to try to figure all this stuff out?) :-(

I'd call your doc, describe the symtpoms you're seeing, then ask what he thinks about the Zantac dosage/trying a new formula. Remember, if you do try a different formula, give it a good week or so to see if anything improves, as it will take some time for the Enfamil to leave his system.

Let us know how it goes! :hug:

Just to let you know I think it is pretty common for babies to go thru a 'feeding frenzy' at about 3 months or so as part of a normal type growth spurt. So, other than adding formula, which can cause issues, another way to go is to up your own milk supply by going ahead and doing the every 2 hour nursing for a few days. This will typically then cause your own milk supply to go up to meet your baby's new demand so that you will produce more milk and your baby will nurse less times again overall. Also, another good way to meet the demands of a growth spurt is to go ahead and pump once during the night either between feedings (if they are spaced far enough apart) or after feedings. You can then use this extra milk during the day when your supply might be down a bit to help meet your baby's demands and you are still stiumulating your own milk supply so your supply should increase.(Nurse first then give pumped bottle as needed afterwards rather than just adding a bottle feeding to take the place of a nursing)

Both of my baby's have gone thru growth spurts like what you are describing (both also had trouble with dairy/soy to differing extents), and I've found it worked better - at least for us - to just nurse on demand and add some pumped milk as needed as my milk supply adjusts. The nursing every 2 hours should then stop on its own accord after a week or so and go back to a more manageable 3 hour pattern for most of the day.

Of course if you have an actual low milk supply, you will need perhaps to add formula as you work to increase your supply if you can't supplement enough with pumped milk, but the weight gain you mentioned that sadly probably made the zantac less effective , happened to me too, suggests that your baby just went thru a spurt.

And, just to add a bit more, for some babies - mine is one of these - breastmilk actually makes the reflux feel better so your baby might nurse more when not feeling as well. And, frequent small meals do actually work better for reflux anyways. If you notice your baby is not emptying the breast but just kinda snacking this might be the case.

Good luck! Stephanie