Looks like baby has reflux- what can we do?

amother

Wed, Nov 29 2023, 8:23 pm

Going to schedule appt with pediatrician, but either he’ll say to wait it out or give medication…so, turning to you experienced mommys!

2 week old baby with lots of crying spells, sometimes coughing almost choking during and after feeding. And just generally not happy.

What can we do to help baby feel better?

amother

Apple

Thu, Nov 30 2023, 1:18 am

Medication will help him.
Not giving him medication would mean allowing him to live through burning pain, so bad that it can start to eat away at the voice-over.
He'll outgrow it without long-term damage if it's cooled down and managed daily.
Refuah Shelaima!

mom4many

Thu, Nov 30 2023, 1:55 am

All my babies had reflux to some extent, some reasonable, some terrible - to the extent that they were screaming practically all their waking hours.

I went to a pediatrician + baby gastro, and their attitude was that if the baby is growing nicely, there's not much to do. The most I got were 2 medications (I forgot what they were called, but it doesn't matter):
1 was an antacid which worked for very limited time (half hour?) and had a strong awful mint taste.
2 had to be specially ordered and prepared and had to be taken half hour before feeding, and I think there were more limitations. Doesn't work when baby wakes up from nap starving. I tried one bottle of it, and it improved the reflux somewhat but not fully. Later on I found out that it's not really a good medication, because of certain side effects (which I was not originally told about).

Later I heard about some people having wonderful results with BabyGaia probiotic products. So it's probably worth a try.

Sometimes an osteopath can help.

See if you can skip or postpone the rotavirus vaccine - because that can definitely make things worse.

Sometimes the right swing or rocker or position may soothe or distract them.

If all else fails, just try to be patient and hang in there. It will pass after 6-9 months. Be kind to yourself in the meantime. With the most difficult one I used to go out for walks and to malls to distract both of us. When baby cried I picked her up in a way that applied pressure to her stomach and continued walking...

amother

NeonPurple

Thu, Nov 30 2023, 1:57 am

I would check for oral ties with a very experienced provider.

Choking during feeding can just be overactive letdown and/or oversupply. But oral ties will make it hard/harder for your baby to deal with them effectively. They are probably swallowing a lot of gas leading to a lot of discomfort. They may also be overeating or not eating until they're full because it's too hard to deal with the oversupply.

I would check this out and possibly also consult with a lactation consultant before jumping to meds.

Also remove irritating foods from your diet.

amother

Tealblue

Thu, Nov 30 2023, 3:37 am

As Neonpurple mentioned, if he is coughing/ choking during feeding I would definitely look into whether you have an oversupply/overactive letdown. If so, try nursing with you lying on your back and baby lying face down on top- this will slow down the flow for the baby so that they can cope better.