Reflux and newborn suggestiosn?

[Drewsmom]

My 10 week old has reflux and wakes up frequently b/c of it and burps. My first son was able to nurse on my side from 2 weeks on and slept well after 4 weeks. Sleep was great from 2-4 mo.s with my first baby. This one is a different story.

He can nurse one very rarely two sessions without needing to be burped and that takes a lot of time. If I only had one baby I could maybe do it but I'm having a hard time when it comes to getting up and having the energy for my toddler as well. Any suggestions of what helped for you? Oh, sometimes I'll start him out in the Boppy to keep him proped up but I can't do it within 1/2 an hour after feeding or it makes it worse. I also can't find a comfortable position to sleep with him propped up on my chest. Are there any pillows specifically made for this or should I design one? :)

[perditafoster]

Have you tried putting him in a swing? My dd slept in one off and on at night for a few months until the worst of the reflux passed. I would put her in there for the first part of the night and after a few hours, she'd wake up and eat. Sometimes she'd go back into the swing again, sometimes not. We parked it right up close to the bed and I could just lean over and haul her out when she woke up. I did buckle her in; paranoid, ya know. My swing has the swing up real high so that it was level with our bed. I've heard some people put babies with reflux to sleep in an infant carrier...I didn't have one so I never tried that. I definitely don't recommend a bouncy seat since they can tip over so easily. And I know that putting babes to sleep in something confining isn't the best for their physical development, but then not being able to sleep because of reflux isn't too hot either, KWIM? So i guess it's a trade-off, but the swing really worked for us. The boppy didn't work because dd wiggled too much. Sometimes if dd wouldn't go back in the swing, I would put her head on my shoulder facing up and her body alongside mine so she was kind of propped up. It helped her reflux enough for us to get some sleep. Good luck and keep us posted...

[MelMel]

have you had a chiropractor look at him? my dd would projectile spit up/vomit until I FINALLY had her adjusted at 5 months or so, and she was much happier. I am not one, and dont trust ANY type of 'doc' whether they are allopath or chiropath...lol, but maybe it would help your kiddo.

[Drewsmom]

Thank you for both suggestions. No, I haven't had him adjusted yet but I will look into doing so.

Perditafoster did your daughter ever have any problems with having a "flat head" or flat spot because of sleeping in the swing? You're the second person to suggest it to me now so I may try that esp this week while dh is gone adn we 3 have the flu...yuck. Btw I love your little girl's name, Bridget.

[car jinx]

My dd suffers from reflux. We ended up putting her in a cosleeper and propped one end of that up to keep her at an angle. I've also read about something called a "Tucker Sling" - it's a sling that goes around one of those sleep wedges to keep the little ones from doing the big slide in the middle of the night.

[kabramson]

Have you tried eliminating dairy from your diet? My 5 month old used to spit up constantly, and since eliminating dairy from my diet 1 1/2 months ago, it has become much less frequent. I saw an improvement almost overnight. You can find a list of dairy containing foods/ingredients at drjaygordon.com. Hope this helps.