All of our babies have had reflux. I dread it. I take our baby home from the hospital and I wait for it. It typically rears its ugly head right around 2 weeks.
Now, most babies, if not all, have reflux (they all come with an immature digestive system), but most babies just aren't bothered by it. Unfortunately, it bothers our babies. A lot. They scream (and arch their back) all during nursing. Did I mention the screaming? Painful screaming. The kind that breaks your heart. The kind that makes you feel helpless. As soon as the milk hits their stomach, it comes back up right along with the stomach acid. And it burns all the way up. They also don't like to lie flat after eating because the reflux is worse with a full stomach, especially while lying flat. So, our babies have to be held upright for 30-60 minutes after eating. Sleeping is difficult...it's that whole lying flat thing. They actually do better on their stomachs, but the nurse in me just won't allow that, despite the screaming. In general, they are on the irritable side. And there is A LOT of spit up.
Our poor little babies!
Then starts 3-4 months of ups and downs. I make an appointment with the pediatrician and Zantac is prescribed. It takes several days to begin to work (meanwhile, our baby is still screaming during feeding, along with the rest of the symptoms). Then it turns out the dose prescribed isn't enough to provide relief, but the pediatrician won't increase the dose (even though they can) and I am referred to a GI doc. While we wait for that appointment, our baby continues to suffer. Once seen by the GI Dr., the dose is nearly doubled with room to increase if needed. After a few days on the new dose, there is relief. Still it is not perfect because the medicine is prescribed every 8 hours, but only lasts 6 hours (at most)...so there are still times of increased irritability and some difficult feedings. Still, I'll take it over all out screaming for every feeding. The next problem arises 3 weeks later when our baby outgrows the dose (babies grow too fast!). The screaming starts again, a new dose is prescribed, and after a few more days it takes effect. And so the cycle goes until 3-4 months of age when the doctor finally prescribes Prevacid. The good stuff. It is given once a day and works for 24+ hours. And while it takes 2 weeks to become fully effective, a great deal of relief comes within the first 24 hours. Love it. Unfortunately for Caden, the good stuff came too late. It worked for the reflux just fine, but by then he had been conditioned to hate nursing. All I had to do was sit down and get ready to nurse and the screaming would begin. He also stopped gaining weight at 2 months (because he hated the pain associated with nursing and therefore didn't nurse well) and I had to start supplementing with formula at 4 months. At 7 months my milk dried up, and by then I was grateful because nursing was torture for both of us and giving a bottle was so peaceful.
So, when Ryland was born, I hoped he would be different than the others. In all honesty, I didn't think he would be so lucky as to escape it. Alas, at 8 days old (earlier than ever before) the reflux symptoms began. We already had a "weight check" appointment scheduled for 3 days later, so we waited. I admit that I haven't always loved my pediatrician here and I went into this appointment armed with 3 past experiences and was prepared to tell the pediatrician all about it. And I did. I explained all the symptoms and that I had been through this 3 times before. I told her about all the screaming, about Caden's lack of weight gain and how he learned to hate nursing. I told her about Zantac and its drawbacks and how my babies suffer for months before they are placed on Prevacid. I told her all of it. And it was a good speech. At the end of my lengthy spiel, she said,
"Well, I was just going to order Prevacid from the beginning."
Oh.
Can I say that I now LOVE her! Our little babe has been well medicated since 12 days old and it has been a dream. I have since profusely thanked her!
Love this little pink pill.
Now, most babies, if not all, have reflux (they all come with an immature digestive system), but most babies just aren't bothered by it. Unfortunately, it bothers our babies. A lot. They scream (and arch their back) all during nursing. Did I mention the screaming? Painful screaming. The kind that breaks your heart. The kind that makes you feel helpless. As soon as the milk hits their stomach, it comes back up right along with the stomach acid. And it burns all the way up. They also don't like to lie flat after eating because the reflux is worse with a full stomach, especially while lying flat. So, our babies have to be held upright for 30-60 minutes after eating. Sleeping is difficult...it's that whole lying flat thing. They actually do better on their stomachs, but the nurse in me just won't allow that, despite the screaming. In general, they are on the irritable side. And there is A LOT of spit up.
Our poor little babies!
Then starts 3-4 months of ups and downs. I make an appointment with the pediatrician and Zantac is prescribed. It takes several days to begin to work (meanwhile, our baby is still screaming during feeding, along with the rest of the symptoms). Then it turns out the dose prescribed isn't enough to provide relief, but the pediatrician won't increase the dose (even though they can) and I am referred to a GI doc. While we wait for that appointment, our baby continues to suffer. Once seen by the GI Dr., the dose is nearly doubled with room to increase if needed. After a few days on the new dose, there is relief. Still it is not perfect because the medicine is prescribed every 8 hours, but only lasts 6 hours (at most)...so there are still times of increased irritability and some difficult feedings. Still, I'll take it over all out screaming for every feeding. The next problem arises 3 weeks later when our baby outgrows the dose (babies grow too fast!). The screaming starts again, a new dose is prescribed, and after a few more days it takes effect. And so the cycle goes until 3-4 months of age when the doctor finally prescribes Prevacid. The good stuff. It is given once a day and works for 24+ hours. And while it takes 2 weeks to become fully effective, a great deal of relief comes within the first 24 hours. Love it. Unfortunately for Caden, the good stuff came too late. It worked for the reflux just fine, but by then he had been conditioned to hate nursing. All I had to do was sit down and get ready to nurse and the screaming would begin. He also stopped gaining weight at 2 months (because he hated the pain associated with nursing and therefore didn't nurse well) and I had to start supplementing with formula at 4 months. At 7 months my milk dried up, and by then I was grateful because nursing was torture for both of us and giving a bottle was so peaceful.
So, when Ryland was born, I hoped he would be different than the others. In all honesty, I didn't think he would be so lucky as to escape it. Alas, at 8 days old (earlier than ever before) the reflux symptoms began. We already had a "weight check" appointment scheduled for 3 days later, so we waited. I admit that I haven't always loved my pediatrician here and I went into this appointment armed with 3 past experiences and was prepared to tell the pediatrician all about it. And I did. I explained all the symptoms and that I had been through this 3 times before. I told her about all the screaming, about Caden's lack of weight gain and how he learned to hate nursing. I told her about Zantac and its drawbacks and how my babies suffer for months before they are placed on Prevacid. I told her all of it. And it was a good speech. At the end of my lengthy spiel, she said,
"Well, I was just going to order Prevacid from the beginning."
Oh.
Can I say that I now LOVE her! Our little babe has been well medicated since 12 days old and it has been a dream. I have since profusely thanked her!
Love this little pink pill.
Love this happy baby.
I had no idea you went through all that. Makes my life feel easy! :-)
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