3 week old gagging/choking/coughing, sounding stuffy

[lactatingqueen]

My 3 week old daughter is waking up repeatedly choking and gagging. She has a slight cough and sounds stuffy when she breathes some of the time. A friend said it might be postnasal drip. Unfortunately I cannot find any info on that online. Anyone recognize these symptoms or have any idea what it might be. I'd like to avoid going to the doctor but I'll take her if I have to. If I went, does anyone know what they might give her?

[carrietorgc]

sounds like reflux to me - silent reflux. google it and see what you come up with. my ds had it - and the congestion. cutting out ALL dairy really helped. maybe that would be a good first step to see if it helps? easier than medicating from the get go, kwim?

[wirewendy]

Sounds like reflux to me too.

My daughter was doing that too, so I have started lying her on her side if I put her down after she has eaten. I also often hold her, sitting up, leaning against my chest to fall asleep, and then I lie her down on her side when she falls asleep. I have little baby bumpers that hold her in place so I feel safe that she won't roll over.

Her cough sounds like a spontaneous hack. Like she has a hair in her throat.

[anhaga]

Another vote for silent reflux. Can get kinda bad. Usually hits stride around 6weeks. Some kids outgrow it fine on their own. Some need medicine and/or non-medicinal interventions. Keep upright after eating. Google and read about infant silent reflux and you should find a lot of information.

[Bookworm]

I don't know very much about reflux, but our daughter (I think this was about weeks 5-7) had congestion that would get bad at night and by morning would be pretty bad. Some in the nose, some in the throat. The doctor said this was normal, and if memory serves, the Sears book did, too. But when I cut out dairy and soy, it went away completely. So did her scattering of little pimples, which is supposed to be normal, too. It sounds like the other Mamas know about reflux, though, and I don't really know much about that.

[mlec]

Sounds like reflux is a possibility. But please consider making changes to your diet before you put her on medication. My daughter (now 27 mos) had bad reflux for the first two months of her life. We nearly put her on meds, but fortunately, I tried eliminating all forms of dairy from my diet. She showed such great improvement, I was able to find what other foods bothered her by examining my diet any time she had a flare-up of symptoms.
Good luck, mama. Play detective and find the cause!

[wenat]

DS2 was doing that too, at around 2 months old. He would go to bed around 9 pm and wake up choking in phlegm around 4 am. One night we put him to nap at 6 pm, and he stayed asleep -- and then woke up choking at 1 am.

I did the math and figured it must be the bedding. So we ended up washing all the sheets and pillows on the bed, and the choking spells stopped. They say that newborns can't have environmental allergies, but I'm not sure that's true.

Also, I'm off dairy -- have been since month 9 of pregnancy because DS1 is dairy allergic, so I was worried that DS2 might be as well.

If you do decide to go off dairy, remember that it takes up to 6 weeks to get all the dairy out of both your systems -- 3 weeks for you, then 3 weeks for babe.

[Bookworm]

While it is true dairy can take a long time to go away, take heart, we saw huge results within just a few days.