Is this reflux?

[lmk1]

Ds2 is about 12 days old. He's been spitting up more than I remember ds1 spitting up. Sometimes I see him gagging, a few times half hour or more after eating, even in his sleep. He doesn't cry very much, so I'm not sure if he's bothered by it at this point. He's ebf. I probably have forceful letdown, but can that make him spit up an hour after a feed? He also seems to hiccup more than I remember ds1 doing...and the hiccups seem really strong. I'm confused if I should burp him more often or less often? My ped said it's not necessary to burp him since he's not bottle fed at all. When I hold him against my shoulder to burp him, he often spits up or makes a sound as if he's spitting up but nothing comes out.
I also think he *may* have projectile vomited twice...not entirely sure because once he started hiccuping at the same time and the other time he was on his side...

What can I try? I know getting off dairy is one thing, which I dread, since I'm already gluten free, and I have a hard time eating enough to maintain my weight. My cousin told me to cut out chocolate, too - . He sleeps pretty well, he's gained about 18 oz since birth ... which I know is good.

We have a regular checkup with his ped tomorrow, so what should I bring up with her? Does reflux get worse? If he's not in too much pain now, and gaining weight well, can it get worse to the point where he'll need meds? What are the long term effects of the meds?

[Knitting Mama]

I have to disagree with your ped. Cecilia is EBF and has to be burped, often many times. I would try that first before going forward treating it like reflux.

[lmk1]

Originally Posted by Cecilia's Mama

I have to disagree with your ped. Cecilia is EBF and has to be burped, often many times. I would try that first before going forward treating it like reflux.

Do you burp her against your shoulder or in a sitting position?

[Knitting Mama]

Both, though mostly sitting unless she's asleep/almost asleep. I also discovered that while now she is fine with firm pats, when she was tiny, upward rubs worked better to burp her.

[jenfl]

Both of my kids had reflux, but neither spit up very much. The reflux symptoms were colic-like irritability, arching and crying when eating, and refusing to eat at times. I would also hear something like a double-swallow instead of them spitting up. But it was really obvious that they were in pain and something was wrong.

DS's symptoms weren't bad early on, but did worsen. I think we got him on medication at 1 month? Then the medication stopped being effective/reflux got worse and we switched him at 2.5 months or so.

Kids can spit up without it being reflux. I would just burp him really well (my kids were tough to burp, but it was worth it) (and, yes, some EBF kids need to be burped) and not worry about reflux treatment if and until you're seeing more severe problems.

[goldfinches]

I have a dd who had reflux. She was fine for the first week or so, then started getting colicky, spitting up, gagging, etc. I already don't drink milk, so the next step was cutting out caffeine

That really did the trick. She was still colicky, but not bad enough for me to put her on meds. I also had her sleep in a bouncy seat, so she was partially upright. She was better by the time she was 4 months old.

Oh, and yes, I've always burped breastfed babies. The refluxy one did better sitting in my lap burping than on my shoulder.