Does this sound like reflux? If so, any tips?

[ellesabe]

Dd2 is 5 weeks old and ebf.

Every time I feed her she struggles to burp and then spends the next couple of hours dribbling sick every time I lay her down, with the occasional projectile vomit (usually in the middle of the night). As a result she is getting though vast numbers of babygrows, as I don't like to leave her with a damp neck, and she is often in visible discomfort. She is happier (and less sicky) when upright but I also have a 2yo to entertain so have to put her down.

We are using infacol and have no idea if it's helping with the wind but we are unsure whether this level of sickyness is normal or something worth mentioning to the gp when we have our 6-week check on Friday.

Dd1 was quite sicky but nowhere near as much...

Any advice??

[Sparklingbrook]

Hi elle. Are you getting plenty of wet nappies? Do you think it is whole feeds coming up?

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

elle think you might be better posting this in the breast and bottle section, you may get a few more responses.

Has your Dd been checked for tongue tie? If you google milk matters tongue tie, some information will come up and they also offer a virtual diagnosis service.

As for not wanting to be out down, have you tried raising the head end of the Moses basket or sticking her upright in a sling?

[NiceCupOfTeaAndASitDown]

Couldn't say for sure if it's reflux but DS had silent reflux as a baby so I was looking out for signs (he was miserable and I only discovered why at 4.5 months, cutting out dairy as I was ebf got rid of it almost completely) - I could have written your post a few weeks ago about DD. I asked the hv about it when I got her weighed because despite her sleeping fine I was barely sleeping at all from all the nighttime clothe changes/holding her upright so she did t projectile vomit all over herself. The HV suggested infacol saying that if she had taken a bit of wind down mid feed and couldn't burp and then had more milk it would be normal for the milk taken after the air to be pushed back up. That made sense to me but I was convinced it wouldn't do any good. I used it for about 5 days before every feed and looked for signs of wind during each feed stopping to burp her if necessary (rubbed her back, sat her up and laid her back down several times and if that didn't work patted her back) and I'm happy to say that it cured itself. She's still quite difficult to get a burp out of (now 7 weeks) and occasionally possets a bit but I think she's basically grown out if it and I'm now pretty sure it's not reflux. I hope the same happens for you! I read something on here the other day about baby sick often being a laundry problem rather than a medical problem, it made me realise I'd been worrying about her when she was fine, it was just my washing basket that was groaning! I'd definitely get it checked out if it continues but it may just be something she grows out of in a week or two

[NiceCupOfTeaAndASitDown]

Dairy?! I cut out caffeine not dairy, that was going to be my next step if cutting out caffeine made no difference

[Jayne266]

Sorry not sure if BF or not they do advise keeping the little one upright afterwards (have you got a bouncer chair or swing you can use?) I had a problem with this and bought podee bottles from the baby reflux company and I found its getting better. But I also feed him upright and put him in his swing for at least 15 mins to let his food settle.

[Bakingtins]

Very common for babies to have reflux due to immaturity of the oesophageal sphincter - something like 70% of them in the first 12 weeks, the majority of whom will outgrow it in the first few months. It's only a problem if it is causing them to be miserable all the time, failure to thrive or the associated respiratory problems - for the "happy chucker" it's not an issue. A sling and a cot/moses basket/pram mattress/change mat wedge are your friends.
If it is getting worse rather than better then I'd suggest you get hold of a copy of a book called Colic Solved (about reflux and milk protein intolerance) by Dr Bryan Vartebedian, and pop over to the Little Refluxers support board where the lovely ladies have the wisdom of years of bitter experience to share.

[Purplelooby]

Hi ellesabe yes it does but luckily it sounds mild and there are things that you can you. At this level, it will probably clear up in a few months.

DS was just like this at 5 weeks and in addition, he cried with a very sore cry during and after feeding, was unable to regulate his appetite (he tended to over-eat as the milk neutralised the acid) and became congested after feeding. His reflux was still considered mild and was controlled by 1) infant Gaviscon and 2) lifestyle changes.

Gaviscon: don't worry, it isn't absorbed into the body so you're not actually 'medicating' your baby - it just forms a raft in top of the stomach contents. BUT try the lifestyle changes first as you might not need Gaviscon.

Lifestyle changes: Experiment with upright feeding positions, put the cot/moses basket at an angle, during nappy change put baby's head and shoulders on a cushion or wedge, bibs!, a suitable baby chair, a dummy. For DS, the chair was the most important - we got a Concorde Rio 2nd hand and this was the BEST thing as I didn't have to hold him upright all day and he was a much happier baby.

Lastly, infacol made DS projectile vomit at 6 weeks old, as did Gripe water, but he's ok with it now at 3.5 months. Burping reflux babies is really hard :(