Reflux In 8 Week Old

(Nashville, tn)

My son is 8 weeks old and suffers from reflux. He wants to eat all day. He cries a lot and I know I am feeding him plenty. Sometimes 2oz every hr but never more. I dont know what to do to make him comfortable.

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Reflux In 8 Week Old

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Dec 08, 2008

Some thougths
by: Baby Help Line

Hi there!

Do yo suspect that he is actually hungry? If so, is there any way you can feed him just slightly more or slighlty more often? I know reflex babies can't eat full bottles, but you need to somehow help him stop being hungry. He is growing increadibly fast, so it isn't strange if he in hungry. This will slow down at around 3 months old.

You could also try giving him a pacifier. That is a great help for some little fellows with a huge suckling need.

Also carry him in a baby carrier (BabyBjörn is my favorite) or a baby sling. Studies show that babies that are being carried a lot cry a lot less. (Like 75% less on average!)

Hope this helps!

/Paula

Dec 08, 2008

reflux
by: maureen

My son also had reflux, was diagnosed at 6 weeks. Has the doctor given him anything to help? Our doctor prescribed Zantax and we continued to use it until he was 6 mos.

Some things we did to help in addition to the meds:
- Sit him upright immediatly following a feeding and keep him that way for a good 20 minutes or so.
- Infant massage - there are great books and resources (possibly a class offered at the pediatricians) to show you the best movements to use and the exact locations of the belly, back and chest.
- I was nursing at the time and was instructed to eliminate dairy and certain veggies like broccoli for a week. soon after he was diagnosed with a milk allergy so I gave up nursing and started using isomil formula.
- Burp after every ounce or two.
- Sometimes I'd lay him on his belly across my legs and gently sway my legs back and forth. He seemed to love that.

A friend currently is going through this with her infant as well and was instructed by the doctor to use a warm rice bag on his belly and add a small amount of cereal to his formula. All doctors are different though, so I'd be sure to check with the doctor about anything before trying myself.

Dec 10, 2008

Reflux
by: Erin S in NC

Reflux is a very common ailment of newborns and can be very disconcerting to parents. My daughter had reflux from six weeks until about 5 months. She was a colicky baby in general but her reflux made her inconsolable at times. I read quite a lot about it in magazines and books when I was going through this.

We tried keeping her upright after eating but it didn't make a difference. We saw a very impressive change in her demeanor when we started her on Zantac. You need to have your baby seen by the doctor in order to have this prescribed.

Also, there are many feeding styles practiced with newborns. For me, I was most comfortable to feed on demand and once my baby's reflux cooled off she reverted to a more normal eating volume and schedule. If I were in your situation I would continue feeding the baby on demand. But if it is distressing you, you could try feeding higher volumes of food.

Another thing to consider is whether the formula or breast milk you are giving is affecting the baby. I breast fed and my child would get very fussy if I had had a lot of dairy in my diet. I essentially had to cut out all milk and dairy from my diet while breastfeeding. I also had to stop eating chocolate. When I stopped breastfeeding and switched to formula, the only thing that didn't make her fussy was the soy formulation.

Some babies with reflux vomit after eating and the recommendation is to continue feeding them on demand to ensure they get the appropriate nutrition.

Sep 20, 2009

mk: Australia
by: Anonymous

hi, i just wanted to add a comment my son suffered bad reflux oesph reflux for 2 yrs from 4mths to 2 1/2 yrs old after so many tests all that had to be done was a simply allergy test to find an underlining allergy to tree nuts and peanuts which was causig him to vomit which he was getting via my breastmilk and causing him to vomit all the time sore tummy, heart burn. now he's healthy. Also at every sleep/nap time i used a raised wedge which his body was slightly raised thus allowing the food to stay down in his tummy when placed just lying flat down everything goes up and can cause discomfort for the baby we continued this for a few years.

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