Reflux and babies

[Lina]

I now understand that reflux is like heartburn. My 3 (almost 4) week old
has it.
Does this mean that every time she eats it hurts her? Is that why she
screams when we put her in her bassinette or when she's laying prone in our
arms? The only way she's happy is upright.
We're both really tired and are trying to get some answers.

--
Lina
EDD July 20th, 2003

[Denise]

"Lina" > wrote in message
le.rogers.com...
> I now understand that reflux is like heartburn. My 3 (almost 4) week old
> has it.
> Does this mean that every time she eats it hurts her? Is that why she
> screams when we put her in her bassinette or when she's laying prone in
our
> arms? The only way she's happy is upright.
> We're both really tired and are trying to get some answers.
>
> --
> Lina
> EDD July 20th, 2003
>
>

Keep her upright as much as possible! My reflux baby is 3 now, and she
still prefers being upright to laying flat. We have her bed elevated at the
head, and she never lays down right after meals. As an infant, the swing
was our friend... 45 minutes is a good amount of time after feeds, and then
laying baby down at an angle is best. If the baby sleeps in a crib, elevate
the head of the matress. Burp frequently.. The good news is that most
babies outgrow it pretty quickly.
Good luck,
Denise

[dragonlady]

In article
gers.com>,
"Lina" > wrote:

> I now understand that reflux is like heartburn. My 3 (almost 4) week old
> has it.
> Does this mean that every time she eats it hurts her? Is that why she
> screams when we put her in her bassinette or when she's laying prone in our
> arms? The only way she's happy is upright.
> We're both really tired and are trying to get some answers.

Keep her upright. The valve at the top of the stomach doesn't work
right, so stomach acids go up into her esophagas, and the esophagas
doesn't have the proper lining to deal with this acid level: it
literally burns. When my son finally had a pH probe (he was 4 years at
the time) the acid level in his esophagas was frequently about the level
of battery acid: no wonder the poor dear never slept well!

So, keep her upright, so that gravity will accomplish what the not
working valve doesn't: it will keep her stomach contents down, and out
of her esophagas. Talk to the doctor about things like frequency of
feedings (generally, a completely empty stomach has a higher acid level)
and elevate the head of her crib or learn to sleep in a chair with her
on your chest.

As someone else pointed out, the good news is that, unlike my son, MOST
babies outgrow this.

meh
--
Children won't care how much you know until they know how much you care

[Leigh Menconi]

We used to let our babies sleep in their carseats or bouncyseats when they
had problems with reflux. Zantac is a pretty benign medication that can be
used to help control the acidity of the reflux, but it doesn't really solve
the problem of an immature digestive system (the valve someone else already
mentioned). Our daughter who has reflux still at 4yo is on prilosec, it has
to be compounded, which only has to be dosed 2x day instead of every 4-6
hours and works much better. Reglan can also be used to help speed up the
digestive system so the food doesn't remain in the stomach as long.

Leigh in raLeigh


"Lina" > wrote in message
le.rogers.com...
> I now understand that reflux is like heartburn. My 3 (almost 4) week old
> has it.
> Does this mean that every time she eats it hurts her? Is that why she
> screams when we put her in her bassinette or when she's laying prone in
our
> arms? The only way she's happy is upright.
> We're both really tired and are trying to get some answers.
>
> --
> Lina
> EDD July 20th, 2003
>
>

[Astromum]

Lina wrote:
> I now understand that reflux is like heartburn. My 3 (almost 4) week old
> has it.
> Does this mean that every time she eats it hurts her? Is that why she
> screams when we put her in her bassinette or when she's laying prone in our
> arms? The only way she's happy is upright.
> We're both really tired and are trying to get some answers.

Reflux is when the valve between the stomach and esophagus doesn't
close properly and food and acids can enter the esophagus. Since it
isn't made to withstand the acidity, this can hurt, but in the long
run it can also cause infections and hurt even more. Eating itself
is no problem, but as soon as you lay your baby down, the food will
flow back (re-flux) into the esophagus and cause pain.

So, try to keep her upright as much as you can. Elevate the head
of the crib, get a bouncing chair for which you can set the back
up straighter, or put a thick book under her bassinet on the side
were her head is.

--
-- Ilse
mom to Olaf (07/15/2002)
TTC #2
"What's the use of brains if you are a girl?"
Aletta Jacobs, first Dutch woman to receive a PhD