Meal times when from "Oh thank GOD she latched!" To "Why is she arching her back like that and puking so much?" The telltale signs were there. Arching the back, copious and I do mean copious amounts of spitting up after eating, clawing at the chest, crying. My niece had acid reflux as an infant so in this case I knew pretty quickly what was wrong. I brought it up at Bug's two week well check and they weren't sold on the notion that she indeed had reflux. Balls to that. I was!
In another week or so I took Bug back to the doctor because I wasn't convinced. (Any parent will tell you- always trust your gut). This time we saw the doc and he concurred that it was very likely Baby Girl was suffering from acid reflux. Splendid. So what are our options? There were two different prescription routes to go and we went with Zantac. Giving her the doses was a chore. At first we mixed it in with some pumped breastmilk, but that wasn't always effective. Eventually, Bug just got accustomed to the taste and while she wasn't wild about it, she still took it but it often took singing, blowing in her face, and walking about between oral syringe squeezes to get the job done. (Uh... we made the mistake of trying to give her the whole 0.8mls in one shot. It promptly came right back out).
The Zantac alone wasn't enough to ease her reflux. I began looking into triggers for reflux and found certain foods were said to be linked to aggravating a baby's reflux. Some dispute this, I found it to be fairly accurate. There were so many things I stopped eating and as a result her reflux wasn't as bad AND that baby weight just melted off. You know, like that butter I couldn't have anymore. Oh yeah, I went balls to the wall. Cut out dairy, spices, herbs, red meat, anything fried. My mother-in-law asked, "Well, what can you eat?" I wryly replied, "Chicken and animal crackers."
That wasn't too far off the mark. I did substitute regular milk for almond milk because after a while I just HAD to have my cereal. The almond milk appeared to have a positive impact on my breast milk, bumping up production. You see- not having many food choices meant I wasn't eating as much, which meant the supply got low... there will be a post to follow on this hellish cycle!
We had to keep upping the dose as our little peanut grew into a little sack of potatoes. Gradually, I began reintroducing more food items and it didn't seem to upset her reflux. By the time Bug was three and a half months old we took her off the Zantac ourselves because we missed a bunch of doses down the shore on vacation and noted that she wasn't throwing up or arching her back. She's been off the Zantac ever since and hasn't had an issue with reflux.
Additionally- I went out and bought Bug the Fisher Price Rock'n'Play Sleeper so she wouldn't be flat on her back (laying flat tends to bother reflux babies). She slept in that for about four weeks or so. We noted a difference, plus it was just a good baby item to have. I could drag it into the bathroom, put her in it and grab a much needed shower while she was comfy and cozy and close by! We tried to feed her a little more upright, kept her upright for around 20 minutes after feeding. Baby Bjorn or a similar front carrier came in very handy for keeping her upright so she was more comfortable. We also tried to keep her feeds smaller with shorter time in between.
When bottles were involved: Dr. Brown's Bottles . They aren't hard to clean. I read that review somewhere. If you did too, disregard it. We put them in the dishwasher but even when we don't, they're not difficult. It's not a rubix cube.
*Important note about prescription medication for infant acid reflux: The medication had a tendency to make our daughter constipated. We found this was also the case with other reflux babies we knew. For our little girl- Mylicon worked wonders. After a little while she really didn't mind the taste at all. (Not the case with all babies). It's supposed to be very natural and Bug didn't have any reactions to it but as with all things we give our babies, keep an eye out for any adverse reactions. Mylicon became a daily part of her routine and I completely forgot about it until I looked in our medicine cabinet last night! If Mylicon doesn't work for your little one, I've also heard of using gripe water or prune juice. The last helping hand is a little weird but it worked for our girl- my husband would lay her on the changing table, hold her feet up with her knees bent and gently kept her little buns apart. He'd even grunt along with her as a showing of solidarity! After a minute or so this usually helped her poo.
Gas- The Mylicon helped with relieving gas but so did doing bicycle kicks with our little girl. My husband was the best at it. He'd lay her down, and bend her knees in a circular motion towards her chest and then away from her chest. This one is pretty standard for reflux babies!
We thought the acid reflux nightmare would last for months, even years. Everyone's story is different. Bug kicked it within 3 months- praise be! Ultimately, you experiment with what you're comfortable with and stick with what works. It's all a process and all for that darling little peanut!
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