If you are new to my blog, then let me explain to you about Thomas. He is a VERY happy little man! but he has had bad silent reflux since he was born. Even when he has bad reflux he generally doesn’t cry and just smiles through it. So I should be thankful that he is so relaxed about it, when it must cause him so much pain.
But I can’t help but worry. I went to the doctors about it when he was a month or two old. The doctor didn’t want to give me anything and told me that it was normal and he would grow out of it in a few months. But I insisted he give me something as Thomas was only sleeping for 1 or 2 hours a night and not during the day at all and I was worried about him not getting enough sleep. He gave us some infant Gaviscon to try. To be honest, it did stop the reflux, but not the stomach cramps which woke Thomas up anyway. So I stopped the Gaviscon (I hated giving it to him anyway as 1. it is high in sodium in and 2. it’s a bugger to get him to swallow it in the middle of feeding him!). When Thomas grew a bit, the reflux did get a lot better. He now sleeps for 2 hours in a row during the night (most nights, not always though, sometimes he’s up every 40 mins) and goes to bed at 6 and wakes up at 6am and can nap for between 20mins- 1 hour during the day and it’s been like this for a few months now. I still keep his head raised at 30 degrees and hold him upright for 20 mins after each feed- which kills now he is 20lbs!!
I was hopeful that as Thomas grew, the reflux would improve further. I was especially hopeful that weaning would mark the end of his reflux. But I was wrong.
Instead weaning has just made everything worse.
As soon as he started eating food he developed a cough and then it developed into wheezing. His reflux is much more frequent now. He throws up his food sometimes too. I think he’s realised that it’s the food that makes him feel bad, because now it’s so difficult to get him to eat anything because he know there is going to be pain afterwards. He won’t even eat baby rice any more. The only thing I can get him to eat is puréed butternut squash. He squealed in agony for an hour after I gave him oats with cow’s milk. So I now suspect that he may be intolerant/allergic to cows milk/lactose?? but then again he also screamed and arched his back up for an hour after I gave him broccoli, peas, avocado, sweet potato, baby rice with breastmilk….everything really 😦
So I went back to the doctors (after the wheezing started). And he is referring me to see the pediatric specialist. I also spoke to my health advisor and she told me to keep going with the solids. So I gave Thomas some gluten free fruit toast this morning (as that’s what I was having!) and he enjoyed it! and no screaming/back arching/puking so far! Although he is wheezing like a trooper!
I am hoping the pediatrician will help us. Is is GORD? Is it an allergy? or is there some underlying problem? or is it just a phase? I’m also really scared that she will just prescribe ranitidine or some other medication that I don’t really want to give Thomas unless it’s the last resort.
To try and find out the root cause of the problem- I have gone dairy/soy/gluten free for 3 days now. I haven’t seen any improvement yet. I am also trying to reduce the acid in my body- as silent reflux is due to an acid build up in baby. So I am researching about alkaline foods to eat more of. No more coffee, even decaf. No more chocolate (sob sob). I will also start Thomas on probiotics, and I will take them too because yeast is a big reason for reflux. I will also take Apple Cider Vinegar every morning. I used to do this before I was pregnant but stopped. Now Thomas is 6 months, I will start it again and if I notice my milk production slows down then I’ll stop. Anything to avoid strong medication really!
Has anyone else had this problem?
Has a Chiropractor/ baby massage/ homoeopath helped?
What do you feed your little one?
HEALTHY. HAPPY. FIT 