Oh No! We forgot to give him his medicine!

This morning my husband Leo started work earlier than usual. On a typical morning he gives Finn his Pepcid at 8am. Well, we both totally forgot to give it to him at 8 due to the different schedule! I didn't notice anything until about 9:30 when we had a tough feeding. He was crying and writhing around. I thought he just wasn't hungry or he was having some acid issues. We tried playing on the floor but he started crying. Then on my lap he suddenly gulped and screamed terribly in obvious pain. By now he seemed hungry again so I got another bottle. He wouldn't even take it. He screamed after a gulp. Then it dawned on me that he might not have gotten his Pepcid! 20 minutes later and he is asleep (upright) on my chest as I am typing this! I feel terrible for forgetting and causing him pain. Although at least I know he still needs it!!! Poor baby!

Things are better...

The projectile spit up has lessened. We decided to up the Reglan up to .8ml which seemed to help. we of course had the doc's OK! I read some scary things about Reglan online which my doctor told me not to do! I wish he didn't need it! But he is so miserable without it! Our doctor said there is rarely side in babies under 1 year... but it still bothers me! I feed him special organic formula but i shove drugs down his throat 8x a day?? Am I a hypocrite?
Oh well, I guess I an just doing the best I can!!!

New Trick!

At first I thought it was a fluke, then he did it again, and again this morning! What am I talking about? Finn has learned the art of projectile spit up! These voluminous occurrences are so powerful the last one went down my back, butt and onto the floor. Oh! The poor floor! It has been hit hard recently! Nothing is safe! Anything can and will be used to sop up these messes! Wear only old clothes when visiting!!! I can only imagine how bad it might be not on Pepcid and Reglan!!!!

He is fine by the way not sick at all... just talented?

Choosing a bottle!

    There certainly is a ton of bottles out there. I have a distinct memory of standing in the aisle of our local Walmart trying to choose a kind of bottle after our doctor told us to start supplementing breast milk with formula. In my postpartum haze choosing a bottle was very overwhelming! So many of them advertised things like "vented", "anti-colic" etc! I wanted that! Who wouldn't? The other problem was cost! Most were nearly $10 a bottle! This wasn't a decision to be made lightly!
    I ended up choosing Dr. Browns and Avent on that trip. We still have and use those bottles today! I love the Dr. Browns. They have a great venting system that prevents the baby from gulping too much air. The major disadvantage with these is they have 4 pieces to assemble before you can feed your baby! Way too time consuming if your baby will take a different bottle!
     I also like the Avent. They are vented and have only 2 pieces the nipple and the ring. The disadvantage to these is you have to make sure you match up the little lines on the nipple with the vents in the collar or they leak terribly! Sometimes they leak anyway, but less as they are used more and get worn in it seems. The other disadvantage is they don't travel well.
    I also have many Medela bottles. Which I love!These are not vented but once your baby is older and their acid is well controlled they should have no problem with these. What I like about them is that they are simple, nipple  and collar. No extra pieces or matching up vents! They never leak and travel soooo well! They have little caps that screw on the top and never leak when you are traveling. I always take these when I leave the house.
     We have tried other bottles but none really seemed that great. We have this mix of 3 types. My only dilemma is what to buy as we move up to the 8 oz bottles! Any suggestions??

Burp Cloths

Sounds simple right? Have a few and your good right? Wrong I have recently discovered I need more, Way more! I originally bought 12 Prefold Diapers. Nice diaper service quality unbleached ones. I try and keep them near every chair or room I go with Finn. The problem is he is soaking them with spit up faster than I can wash and rotate them! I have been caught without one more than once. They also seem to disapear kind of like socks! I also think I need some pretty embellished ones. I am getting sick of the plain ones. They are probably the most used by me baby item in the house! My son has beautiful cloth diapers that he gets to wear, don't I deserve to wear/use a pretty burp cloth? Either way I will be getting some more and super absorbant ones! Stat!

Gripe Water?

Many people wonder if giving their child gripe water will help their baby with reflux. The answer really isn't straight forward. I know for us we used it before Finn got prescription medications to control his acid and we still use it when he seems to be having a flare up. I like to think of it as a baby antacid. It works especially good when he gets these awful and severe hiccups. It seems to help ease what I am guessing is a burning sensation in his throat.
We have tried only one brand of gripe water called Colic-ease. It has all kinds of oils like fennel seed, and cinnamon bark. It smells kind of bad but he seems to love it. We give it to him in a little medicine cup that has a nipple on it and he sucks it down. Yum! Yum! I say its worth a try, it does seem to relieve some of his pain so for that I think it is worth it.

Sometimes its the little things!

Sometimes its the little things that some people would not think of that can make big difference! For example, lets talk about baby swings. Its a simple concept really, most babies LOVE there swings!! Finn liked his but it was not until we were at a friends house and tried their cradle swing that I realized it was probably much more comfy for him to rock side to side as opposed to up and down!! When I saw how suddenly content he was in this different swing I knew I had to get him one!

Problem was the Fisher Price Papasan swing retails for $100! Enter Craigslist.com! I found one for only $30!

Since then during times of acid and fussiness this swing has saved our life! And it makes sense why he likes it! The acid must not wash up his esophagus going side to side. The seat is also at nice angle!

Doctors today!

So we had our long awaited for appointment. I say long awaited because his reflux always gets worse as he gains weight and needs more meds! So he was weighed and we saw the doctor. He weighed 13lbs and 5 oz! Which is much more than the 12 he weighed a few weeks ago! The doc upped both his meds! He is having a great night too! He is smiley and in the best mood! If you are on meds for reflux make sure you are getting at least monthly weight checks!! It makes all the difference!

More Babywearing pics!

Wombfruit gauze wrap

Ergo!

Babywearing and Acid Reflux

Babywearing simply refers to wearing your baby around in a carrier, wrap, sling etc! Wearing your baby is great when you have a baby with acid reflux for several reasons.

1. It keeps your baby upright to reduce refluxing
2. It comforts your fussy baby
3. It can calm your baby when nothing else will- try bouncing, walking, rocking ect My husband often does chores like taking out the garbage wearing an Ergo carrier!
4. It lets you do something else besides carrying your baby and having your arms fall off!!!!!

Some great carriers we have tried are the Ergo Baby Carrier.

 This is my husbands favorite. We have the heart2heart infant insert which Finn really likes. He loves to be against your chest. The insert is used up to 25lbs I think. One disadvantage is if you are sharing the Ergo you have to readjust it if you are a different size!

I have tried the Moby Wrap but found it too strechy! It felt like Finn was going to fall out and he was only 10lbs at the time! A friend suggested the wombfruit gauze wrap. It was awesome so secure! It is also very breathable, and lightweight! It packs easy in the diaper bag too!

I also got a linen one from handmade shops it was only $20 a great way to try out babywearing! I love mine! See picture!

Best of all these types of wraps go right in the wash! Great because Finn usually spits up on them!

There are lots of tutorials on the web on how to put these moby type wraps on. It is tricky the first time but after a bit of practice its easy!

Right now is not good!

I am taking a break! My husband took Finn for a bit so I can have a break. I can hear his cries from here. Thursday we have our weigh in at the doctors for a med adjustment! I wish it was now! He is screaming his head off in pain. I even gave him some gripe water which helped for a bit, but now he is back at it:) I can always tell when he has gained some weight! The meds just don't seem to work and wear off sooner! Is it Thursday yet????

Sleeping!

This is by far the most important topic for parents with children with acid reflux. I will be posting more on this in the future but because I know it is so important I thought I should start right away!

Before Finn was medicated would only sleep in an upright position usually against one of us or in a baby carrier (more on baby wearing later!). We then thought of putting him in the car seat since he seemed to be fine (and sleeping) when we went somewhere! The car seat although was weird and I didn't really like it worked great!!!

After the first heatwave though, I pulled him out of the car seat and he was really sweaty! I had forgotten how hot kids can get in their car seats! With summer coming soon I knew this was going to be a problem! Plus I really did not like him laying on the buckles. We didn't want to wake him up, which usually resulted in us laying him down in the seat on the buckles.

I started searching around the web for something to help him sleep. I found a couple of things. One of which was called the Nap Nanny. It is essentially a piece of foam molded into an angle like a car seat. It has a soft harness that straps the baby in. I got one and we are loving it! It is more open than the car seat, softer, and just looks more comfortable. We put it right in the crib (not recommended by the manufacturer). Our mattress is on a bit of an angle for an extra bit of an incline. We simply put the metal parts on one end down one setting. The Nap Nanny is only a 30 degree angle and I felt Finn needed more than that.

I am really liking the fact that he has a comfortable place to sleep now. The Nap Nanny really has helped him reflux less at night and as of last week he has been sleeping through the night!!!!!!! Disadvantage of the Nap Nanny is that once he starts moving around, you are not supposed to use it:(

They are expensive though about $129.99 and are sold on Amazon, Ebay, Buy Buy Baby etc.
I got mine at Buy Buy Baby with a 20% off coupon from Babies R Us! Buy Buy Baby also takes those Bed Bath and Beyond coupons that come in the mail! Click here for a list of brick and mortar stores that sell it!

Other things to try are the Tucker Sling! Which I hope to post about soon! I think it is better for older babies. Check it out at http://www.tuckersling.com/

Finding Support!

My favorite site is a forum on babycenter.com called Babies with Acid Reflux. It is an amazing place where you can ask questions, get support, and get ideas about how to help you child! You have to join baby center and then join the forum but it is worth it!

Other good sites for information and support are:

www.infantreflux.org

http://www.marchofdimes.com/pnhec/24043_24063.asp

http://www.parenting.com/article/Baby/Care/Ask-Dr-Sears-Coping-With-Babys-Acid-Reflux

Common symptoms of acid reflux or GERD in babies

Here are some of the most common symptoms of acid reflux/baby GERD

crying during feedings
arching head and back while eating
frequent spit up/often curdled in appearance and continues long after feeding
Does not like laying down flat- sleeps only in car seat or bouncer or upright against you
gulping/swallowing noises
choking/coughing
frequent wakings when sleeping/ poor sleep habits
refusing to eat or wants to eat all the time
bad/sour breath
hiccups
frequent/constant or sudden crying
scrunches up legs/ acts like they are in pain

If your baby has several of these symptoms I urge you to visit and discuss them with your doctor!

Playing on the wedge!

To help with the issue of my son throwing up and/or screaming whenwe laid him down flat, I bought a $20 7" wedge pillow at a local medical supply store. I use it as another place to play on. He loves it and actually prefers it to the boppy.

We use the boppy in the same way to prop him up under the activity gym. I do let him lie flat and play when he is not super acidy so he does have the experience to roll around more.

But he often wants to play when I know he is not having a good day or couple hours and this solves the problem!

Our Story!

My son was only a few weeks old when we realized something was terribly wrong. He would scream/ throw up every time we laid him down on a flat surface. He started choking on his formula/breast milk and choking when spitting up. I lost count of how many times I had flipped him over in the rescue choking position. He threw up all the time not just after feedings. Often it was curdled looking. He writhed in pain and cried through feedings. No one in our house was sleeping not even him! He would only sleep in his car seat.
We rolled into the doctors office for his 6 week appointment a week early exhausted and frustrated. She diagnosed him with Acid Reflux and prescribed Pepcid and new formula. He got better immediately. He has needed adjustments of the medicine as he has gained weight and recently we added Reglan when his symptoms seemed to be getting worse again.
The medicines have really helped but we have found we have also had to alter basic things to help him manage the acid from refluxing up. For example we have a wedge that he plays on, we keep him upright as much as possible and he has an angled mattress and sleeps in an angled sleep positioner called a nap nanny!
He is so much better now but it is still something that we struggle with daily as his symptoms still persist. Hopefully, he will get better as he gets older. Until then I will share our journey here:)