New mom, 12wk old with silent reflux

[corrie8213]

Hi my name is Corrie my husbands name is Jon. Our son was born Sept. 1st at a healthy 9lbs! We brought him home from the hospital and he was a pretty good baby. About 3 weeks later he began to cry and cry. No I shouldn't say cry, scream and scream. He would eat (not much) then sleep for 15-20min cry for a bit, arch his back then go to sleep for 15-20min, then cry. I couldn't get anything done around the house, eat or take a shower. He would cry and cry. I just thought he was colic. After dealing with it for a few weeks more, about to pull my hair out and crying day after day I started to research online. I came across an artical about how doctors miss diagnos acid relux as colic. I read the symptoms and they were talking about my son. I called the doctor that day and he got him in. The doctor put him on Zantac and the next day my child was a totally different baby. He was sleeping 2-3hrs at a time and the crying stopped. I thought everything was great and my husband and I were done pulling our hair out and cry. I was wrong. Im not pulling my hair out anymore or crying but im still so worried about my baby boy. He doesn't cry as much as he did but he is not eating well. He is only eating about 18oz a day. He is formula fed. After he started taking the medication he was sleeping much better at night. In bed by 8pm up at 3:30am feeding then back to sleep till 6am. I feel like we are now going backwards. He is waking up so much more. In bed by 8pm up at 12:00am soothed back to sleep up at 2am feed him then up off and on till 6am. We have elivated his crib matress so im not sure what is going on. He is going to the doctor tomrorrow for a weight check because he has not gained any weight in 4 weeks. He does not spit up he just doesn't eat that much. We have tried giving him soy for a couple days but he got so constipated we changed him back. If anyone has any suggestions I would love to hear them. Im really glad I have found this site. It is really good to know there are parents that are going threw the samething my husband and I are. Its tough having a child with acid reflux. If anyone would just like to talk or vent there frustrations im a great listener and will do my best to help if I can.

Thank you,
Corrie

[Triplemcl]

Hi Corri!

I'm new here too, but I've been dealing with infant reflux for 11 months. We tried Zantac first with Ryan, but it didn't do anything for him. Once he started on Nexium he was, and still is like a different baby. The time has come for us to try to wean him off of his meds now.

It sounds like your little guy may need a different medicine. I hope your little guy (and you and your DH) get some relief soon. Infant reflux is hard on everyone. :hugs:

[EllaGracesMom]

Welcome to IRD!!!!
Zantac is weight sensitive - has he had his meds increased with weight gain?
Has the doc considered a PPI type of drug (like Prevacid or Prilosec) instead?
What type of formula is he on? Moms here may suggest an alternative for your LO that might work better (my DD is breastfed).

[erinsmom1964]

Welcome Corrie. You have come to the right place hun. Wow where to start??? Welcome to the reflux rollercoaster. You will find that just about the time you think you have it under control it will rear its ugly head with a vengence. That being said KNOWING that makes it easier to deal with. With my darling Erin I have lost track of all the things I do to help her with it. If I am telling you things you already know forgive me I am new here also and get excited when my limited knowledge can be helpful I think First raise head of bed...try and feed at 45 degree angle....wait at least 30 minutes after feeding to lie LO down..We tried a bunch of different bottles finally stuck with Playtex drop ins because you can get all the air out...Erin uses Enfamil AR and we add cereal to bottle( this really helped alot) if your LO has milk protien issues then this idea probaly wont help.... I dont let Erin cry for real cause it makes her reflux act up bad....be real careful with new foods and take your time introducing them because they can make it worse and dont assume that if level one fruit was ok same fruit in level 2 with work( I call it the level 2 incident at my house)Zantac is VERY weight sensitive and needs dosage adjustment often. That being said we were moved to prevacid and boy did it work great for about 2 months. We then had Zantac added back at night and now today after GI appt Zantac removed and extra Prevacid added. Hoping that will get her back under control. Oh and teething seems to kick it into gear also. I think the best advise is to breathe, know your not alone, and come here frequently because I know it always makes me feel better and stronger. Good Luck

[corrie8213]

Thank you for all of your support and suggestions. I am hearing alot about this Previced. My son goes back to the doctor today for a weight check so I will talk to him about it. We do do everything we are supposed to. We have is crib elevated, hold him up to eat, hold him upright for 30min after. I feel like we try so many different things and it works for one feeding but not the next or a day and not the next. Im getting angry at the disease because I feel like it consumes my life instead of my son. It is always on my mind and holds me back from really enjoying my son. If we are playing and he starts to get excited I try to bring him back down cause I know he will get the hiccups and then he will be in pain. My son should be able to be as excited as he wants to be. It is hard for me to let friends or family watch my son because im always worried and thinking are they going to feed him right, will they keep him up for 30min after. I just feel like all I do is think and worry about him.

To answer a couple other questions. My son is on Nestle Good Start Protect Plus. Supposed to be one of the gentlest on the market. Like I said we tried Soy the other day for a few days and it didn't seem to make a difference just made him constipated. We did try the whole cereal thing in the bottle but he didn't drink anymore then normal and he would get the WORST gas ever. I don't stop him to burp as much as I should because if I stop him, burp then try to feed him agian he isn't interested. So that feeding he may only take in 1oz when if I didn't stop him he would get 3oz in. My son is doing better then he was before we knew he had acid refulx but I just feel he could be doing so much better. I hope he grows out of this soon. I just feel so bad for him.

It is really nice to have a place to go and talk to people that know how I am feeling. I don't think friends and family really understand what its like to have a child with acid reflux and how difficult it can be.

Thanks for listening!

[erinsmom1964]

Hey corrie just to let you know the enfamil ar isn't for easy digestion it has added rice starch so that it thickens in the tummy. "usally" the thicker the formula the easier it will stay in the stomach with everything else you are doing. That is the same reason for the cereal. You have to give these things time to work and time for your son to adjust. At first you will get more gas and maybe even constipation but you can deal with that and your sons body will adjust....the goal being keeping as much of the formula as possible down in the tummy.

I know it feels if it consumes your time and thoughts and lets be honest it sure does especially when things are going wrong. And I sure agree that others dont really understand. I love the confused look on peoples face when I explain, they will even say oh so she just gets heartburn?? LOL I dont really have any words of wisdom except to say thats why we are here to help each other with it as best we can.

It sounds as if you really do need to talk to ped about changing meds and I hope your visit goes well today. Let us know

[spyfoxx]

hi corrie,

just reading your post abut how this consumes your life, you're constantly worrying about your son, being afraid to let relatives watch him, people not understanding, being frustrated with medicines-this is like you're writing about my life-totally! -as well as sooo many other ppl here..right now, i had to put my son down to nap on his stomach-thats the only way he can sleep-but he's only 6 weeks old so i have to watch him like a hawk to make sure he's breathing and nothings over his face..it's maddening that i can't even have 15 minutes to myself to type this post without having to turn my head every two sentences and look to see that his chest is rising up and down..i'm just so defeated..depressing..

i'm new here too- i am also frustrated with everything and i am also "mad at this disease"- it's so unfair-i tell my fiance everyday that i would take 100 times my sons pain-just to take it away from him and put it on me-if i could..

i feel like life isn't fun anymore-we are in a really dark place-everyone says "it will get better" but it's not what i want to hear sometimes- it's hard to hold my head up when i see my son in constant misery and there's no where to go fr immediate relief for him.. i worry about my relationship with my fiance-i'm sure it's being affected by this misery- he is wonderful-but it's taking its toll on him, us and i don't even like talking to other family members about it anymore because they minimize things and just don't understand..i stopped blaming them and chalked it up to ignorance- how could they understand- you never can unless this happens to YOUR child..so now i just ignore their calls an shut them out- i know it's not the best thing to do but right now, i don't even care about that- all i care about is dealing with this rises at hand and continuing to find the energy to trudge n another day and have some kind of hope that somethings gonna give..

i totally hear you.. i'm here anytime to talk! hang in there.. that's all we can do sometimes..