Welcome March mammas from the pregnancy board! I see a few of you are already here.

Ryan has his own issues. He is 3 1/2 wks and has reflux pretty bad. It keeps him fussy and irritable, especially at night. At night, he is constantly burping and choking on it well after his feedings and our burp session. The Dr. won't put him on any medication (ie:zantac, gaviscon, etc) because he is gaining weight well. Born 6.15 and is now 8.12! (almost 2lbs in 3wks) Anyways, the proping, laying on side, gas drops, etc. aren't helping all that much. Now his stool is foul smelling. Any advice for the reflux? Should I demand a medicine?

IMO, I'd demand medicine. THere is no reason why you and your child should suffer if it can easily be treated!!! My cousin's baby suffered for weeks with silent reflux -- didn't spit up but was in horrible pain and the doctor kept telling her it was colic and other things and this was her second child and she KNEW this wasn't right. Finally her doctor put the child on zantac and she had a completely different child.

Your child is gaining weight okay, but foul smelling stools sound worrisome. Could be nothing, but that can also be symptomatic of something else -- celiacs, cystic fibrosis...

If you're not getting satisfaction from your current doctor, maybe see about seeing a pediatric gastro specialist.

My little girl was born in September and was put on meds for reflux at like two weeks. The doctor also suggested 1 tablespoon of rice cereal for every 4 oz of formula. My doctor didn't mess around with it. She is six months old now and she is still on the meds. I remember how bad she felt before her meds started working for her. It was the worst feeling ever. I felt so bad for her. She is on reglan and zantac. The doctor said she would grow out of it. I am glad they put her on the meds. She feels better on them. She has no problems with it now. I don't think that she would be sleeping through the night if it wasn't for that. She started doing that as soon as the meds and rice cereal started making her feel better. I would demand the meds. Also try the rice cereal. My doctor told me that this would make the formula heavier so it would stay down easier. I would even maybe get a second opion.

Thanks for your responses. Our doctor said there were side effects from meds, without going into detail. She wanted to see if the problem improved before giving the meds b/c of the side effects. Have you experienced any side effects with zantac, etc... Any constipation,etc.... I'm breastfeeding so I don't know if the rice cereal will work, any ideas... Last night was the worst night we have had yet. He was grunting, fidgeting, spitting, and farting all night. Amazingly, he slept through some of it, but I couldn't sleep listening to him. I was too worried that he might choke.

I can't really remember any side effects -- DS has problems digesting his food and we were told this would actually help. We did go through some constipation issues off and on, but nothing major -- I attributed that to the fact that DS just isn't a very good eater or drinker.

My cousin did say that her pharmacy actually screwed up and she was giving her child too much of a dose and he got really gassy and constipated, but that was straightened out easily.

The thing that was most helpful for our daughter was placing her in her carseat to sleep (we put it right in the crib). Another option would be sleeping on the tummy. SIDS rates are extremely low no matter how the baby sleeps and many peds actually do recommend it when a baby is found to have reflux or even colic.

Nancy

hey there anxious!! :wave:

Have you tried the mylicon drops for the gas? Ethan doesn't have any of the reflux issues too bad, but sometimes he does get gas. I give him a dose of these drops and it seems to make him feel better. As far as the reflux is concerned, for a long time I thought that my first son Jacob had this. I even made the doctor take those x-rays to test him, but they came back negative. I would think that since you are breastfeeding that it must actually be reflux, with Jacob he never would latch on (Ethan too) so I just pumped my milk for the first month and then went to formula. I later found with Jacob that my choice in formula made a huge difference with his spit up, poop, and gas problems. I have heard that sometimes while you are breastfeeding that things that you eat that give you gas will probably give your little one gas too. Maybe you should ask your ped about that. I guess I don't really know what to suggest for the spit up issues, with Jacob I just dealt with it for the first 6 months. It was nerve racking and bery messy at times, but he grew out of it. I later found out from my mother in law that my DH was very colicky and had many stomach issues when he was a baby. So maybe it is something that is hereditary. I don't really know, just guessing now. But Jacob did sleep better in his carseat, and Ethan is the same way, he will only sleep in his carseat or his boppy pillow, all propped up in the middle of the bed with DH and I.

Good luck! Sounds like your little one is growing crazy fast! 2 pounds in 3 weeks! WOW!!! Ethan hasn't even gained a full pound yet and he'll be 4 weeks on monday!

hey girls,
just wanted to know if anyone is having problems breast feeding? i am sure you saw my other post about nipple shields. they are working great, but i am concerned about a hard lump in my right breast. it just showed up over night. i have great milk production and now that i can relax while DS feeds, it's like i got engorged all over again. i pump to drain it all (i produce at least 6oz per breast per feeding!) and it gets softer. does any one know if this is a warning sign of mastitis?

little man still sleeps like a rock durring the day and is fussy all night. but we are surviving. hope everyone is doing well.

Hey Nyxin - sorry you're having Bfeeding probs. I'm lucky, it always goes so well for me. To me, it sounds like you may have or are beginning to have a clogged milk duct, it's pretty common, I had it twice with baby #3.

You can try this - feed, then take a very hot shower, bend over at your waist and try to get the rest of your milk to let down (this is hard if you aren't experienced, think about your baby, calm thoughts, etc.) then, let all the milk run out in the shower. You can also try feeding with no top on at all, and while Morgan's on one breast feeding, just put a wash cloth or spit-up cloth or something under your other breast and let it just flow and spill down on to the cloth. Don't press on that breast or try and express more milk, just let it do it's thing. Then, when it's time to switch sides, Morgan should be able to get it pretty closed to completely drained out. Are you also being sure to start Morgan's next feeding on the side that you left off on the previous feeding?

Sometimes these lumps can also lead to Mastitis (not sure on spelling), it's an infection, your OB/GYN would call you in a prescription. I had to do this once. You would know because you yourself will run a low grade fever, feel achy all over and the lump will become reddened in the skin area above it and will become more painful.

In my opinion, I would not further pump to drain your breasts, this will actually cause your body to think it needs to make more milk than you need, which will exacerbate the problem.

Hang in there hun, I know it can be tough.

Keep in mind though that your breasts will get lots of lumpies in them during Bfeeding, they should come and go. Your body will also coordinate with Morgan's in the next few weeks and your breasts should not get as engorged or leak as much either, if you're going through that now as well.

larsons--

thanks so much to the reply. just like the other night when the problem came on all of a sudden, the problem has left. both breasts are soft and supple and only get a hardish-full feeling after 4 hours of Morgan not feeding. there is no longer a lump there thank god. the nipple shield has head my nipples, again thank god, and i am able to nurse without incident. Morgan will nurse for an hour at a time and after the 10 feedings that he wants, 10 hours+ of my day is gone. i don't mind though. i am lucky so far that my older son Caden is very patient durring this time. i have let him "hold' Morgan on the floor (i am holding but Caden thinks he is) he has been great. i have started going to bed as soon as Caden does, about 8:30 or so. Morgan sleeps until 12:30 or so, back to sleep at 1:30, up again at 3:30 (don't know why that is different) then back to bed at 4:30 and up again at 6:30. so that is technically 8 hours, but broken up like that it just doesn't do the trick. anyway, hope everyone is doing wonderful, oh and Larsons--- the c-section thing is a killer! i swear, i thought wow, this is so cool, an hour on the table and i get my baby. but in hindsight you have to pay with 2 weeks of a horrible painful recovery for that fast delivery. all in all though, you gotta do what you gotta do!

What are some of the symptoms of reflux? Just curious, my 4 week old son is quite fussy before bedtime with a lot of gas.

Welcome March mammas, I'm so glad you made it to the infant boards. It's been hard to find time to get on the internet, but I feel bad if I can't check in on you guys.
Ryan is 1mo. old as of Easter. I can't believe how fast time went by... He is already growing and changing. It makes me sad.
Update on reflux- I've decided that it is normal reflux for infants, probably alittle heavier than the average kid, but I don't think there is an internal problem. I went back to his dr. She still won't prescribe zantac. She said it will neutrilize the acid in the spit up but won't stop the reflux. She recommended gripe water (non-prescription/herbal found at health stores) I ran out to buy it. I was thrilled when the first day, Ryan was completely calm. He slept peacefully, etc. I thought this was the miracle water. But NO, things couldn't be that simple. The next two days, he was back to his old gassy/farty/spitty self (he is so cute though). Anyways, I'm going to continue using it during his real fussy periods b/c anything is worth a try. I'm still breastfeeding. I'm trying to watch my diet, but it is so hard for me. I'm thinking of switching/supplementing with formula. I would like him to start sleeping longer, me to be able to eat normally, etc....
Tazman and others that have had to deal with formula for a real gassy baby, what formula has worked best for you? I hope I can ask that on these boards? I would like to start him on something soy or hypoallergenic b/c I'm affraid with his reflux/gas that a regular milk base will be to strong and worsen the problems. Any ideas would be great.
Nyxin- Morgan's sleep schedule sounds like Ryans. Down by 9pm, up at 12:30, down by 1:15, up at 3:30, down by 4:00 up by 6:00 for good. Not much interupted sleep. Now you know why I want formula. He is 1 mo. so I thought I would be getting longer sleep periods. Also, I have/had a sore lump in my left breast. It comes and goes, I think. When I can't feel it, it is still sore where I know it was. I figured that I would ask dr. at 6wk appointment. I'm still concerned about it.
Breez- reflux is when the stomach contents come back up out of the stomach b/c the muscles are to weak or non-existant between the stomach and esophagus. It is marked by large quantities of spit-up (sometimes not detected b/c it doesn't leave the mouth), coughing, wheezing, etc.. Your infant is probably like Ryan. Has alittle reflux, alot of gas, and alittle colicky at times. Hang in there. Ask your doctor for more info. If you find something that helps let me know.
Sorry this was so long. Good luck girls...... :wave:

Ok, so I just read the post about switching formulas. I'm not so sure I want to do formula right now. I think I will hang in there as long as possible. I still would like to hear any comments on brand of formula to use. I will need to switch him eventually.

Gripe Water!!! Doesn't that have alcohol in it?

Because of DS's digestive issues in addition to the reflux, we were told it was a good thing to neutralize the acid in the stomach. IMO you should get another opinion.

Thanks cfmommy, I will. Sounds like a lot of people have good results from zantac. I don't know why she is so against it.
Gripe water doesn't have alcohol.
thanks!

anxious--
wierd that you talk about your diet! no one believes me that what you eat does in fact have a direct result on your breast milk. some women docs at my peds agrees, to an extent. all i know is that if i ate anything wierd like sour kraut or coleslaw--- man was caden miserable. i could smell it in his poo. with morgan, he is even steven. i can eat anything. but as far as the formula goes, i used a pro-sobee lipil type with caden because he was so gassy and sensitive. it worked better than all ther rest. if morgan would just switch things around, it would be great. i did find that if he sleeps ON me, not next or near, but on, he sleeps much better. i know that is the wrong way to go, but i think it is precious and i am so in love with my guy that it makes me purrr...you know what i mean?

Hey anxious - on the formula question you have....with Jacob, the best thing that I found worked was the good start supreme formula. With Ethan, who is 1 month old today!! :D , I have him on the good start supreme too. But I'm not sure if he likes it all that well. He definitely doesn't spit up as much as Jacob did, but he does seem to be gassy and maybe even looks like he has an upset tummy sometimes. When I was in the hospital with Ethan they let me use the Similac lactose free advanced, and he never had any of these problems with it, so I am actually considering switching him back to that. But I breastfed for the first couple weeks so after I stopped I just put him right onto the good start b/c of my experiences with Jacob. I think that for you it will just take a trial and error stage of finding out which formula works the best for your little one. Just remember that if you just switch flat out they are going to have more stomach issues than if you gradually switch...so you'll have to take that into account too. Good Luck!

Hi ladies!!!
Hope everyone shows up here, I miss hearing from everyone.
About the formula, well after I stopp breast feeding I will go to Similac with iron. I have never had a problem with it on any of my other kids.

Speaking of breastfeeding Ashley is eating great! My left nipple is so sore!! I have been using Lanolin, hoping it will get better. Some days it is better and some days it isn't. Then l;ast night I noticed on my right breats on the bottom it is red and warm and raised like it is infected. Called doc today and he called me in an antibiotic.

Thursday I will go in and get the rest of my staples removed, finally. I just wish this drainage would syop. It is awful!! Anyone else having tons of drainage from their c-section? Although this is my 4th c-section apparently the more scar tisssue the more drainage and such.

As far as sleep well the first 2 nights were awful but since then she wakes up a couple times in mid of night and pretty much goes back to sleep after feeding, which ios great. I don't remember my others doing that, they always seemed to be up all night. Oh but I definitely agree that no matter how many hours all together of sleep you get, having it split up is totally not the same has all at once. Everyday around noon I feel like I am going to drop.

And the reflux thing, that has to be hard to go through. So far this may be my first baby who isn't really a spit up baby. And she doesn't burp. But she doesn't get gas either. She has only burped a couple of times and spit up the first time on Easter.

Well I hope all the march mommas get over here, that would be great!!

Thanks all of you for the comments on feeding/gas/reflux. This is so frustrating. I ate at an Easter brunch and today little Ryan is making me pay for not sticking to a strict diet. I'm convinced that what you eat really effects the baby. I'm trying to eat as bland as possible. But I've never been good at forgoing on my favorite things.

Hey gals....
My first son never spit up, so i don't really know what it looks like. last night morgan was sitting there cradled in my arms and all of a sudden he looked at me and a stream of milk came out! it really freaked me out. my husband and i assume this was a "spit up' i don't think it was a vomit but what the heck is the difference? i know it sounds bizzare that i don't know anyting about spit up, but it's the truth!

Nyxin-
honestly I don't either. I'm trying to figure it out. My DD didn't do any of the things Ryan is doing. She was colicky, though. Anyways, I calling spit up what comes up with his burps. Vomiting sounds like what your son did. Where it comes up alittle more forcefully and kinda on its own. The amount would be greater though. Spit up is just a messy mouth full. Vomiting is more stomach content. That is my interpretation of it.

DS was a horrible burper -- couldn't get him to burp and then later he'd spit up (throw up) later on. My cousin's baby never threw up, he was just in horrible pain from silent reflux

sheesh i dono. he didn't seem to be in any discomfort and he went right back to nursing like nothing happened. i of course freaked and my DH had to look it up on line to see what the difference is. the only thing that made me feel better was that we found that spit up can seem like a lot of fluid. vomit in new borns can be and most often is projectile. yummy. anyway, he seems fine, he just uses me as a passifier and i think he over loaded. as for the reflux, i think all babies have it to an extent as their systems are so new and fragile. morgan can be gassy, but he is rarley fussy so i guess i still got the good end of the deal.

Welcome March mammas from the pregnancy board! I see a few of you are already here.

Ryan has his own issues. He is 3 1/2 wks and has reflux pretty bad. It keeps him fussy and irritable, especially at night. At night, he is constantly burping and choking on it well after his feedings and our burp session. The Dr. won't put him on any medication (ie:zantac, gaviscon, etc) because he is gaining weight well. Born 6.15 and is now 8.12! (almost 2lbs in 3wks) Anyways, the proping, laying on side, gas drops, etc. aren't helping all that much. Now his stool is foul smelling. Any advice for the reflux? Should I demand a medicine?

Your child is in pain! Demand medicine! Do you know how that burns their esophogus, especially after their feeding and burping. My son had it and was so colic, I thought I was going to go insane. But he grew out of it after he has a year or so old and was taken off his med's. Good luck.

Melly :angel:

Melly

As far as the spit up/throw up -- a lot of times it seems like much more than what it actually is. Sometimes it's just a matter a burp getting stuck in there. I once took a 30 cc (one ounce shot glass), filled it up with water and threw it on the floor, so I could figure out how much DS was spitting up or throwing up. He wasn't spitting up that much.

Hi Mommas -

Ok, for those of you that had a C-Section, when do the incision and stomach muscles (sp?) start to feel better? I'm now at one week and it still hurts like crazy. Honestly, I would have stopped and never had another baby had any of my previous three pgs ended in a CS. This pain is my biggest hurdle, thank goodness Drue is a good baby because I couldn't handle anything else right now.

Mr Dr. isn't taking the staples out until next Monday (which will be 2 weeks after the delivery), sometimes I think it would feel better if they were out already. I don't have any of the bleeding or oozing that I've read some others are having, just this burning sensation and pulling sensation on each end of the cut. Plus, it feels like I've done 1,000 ab crunches every day! Is that all normal?

My little girl hasn't had any side effects from her meds. She is on the zantac and reglan. Nothing. She is doing just great. My doctor recommened when i was breastfeeding that i pump so that i could mix it with the rice cereal. It was better for her. The rice cereal with make the milk just a little heavier, so it will stay down better. She is the happiest baby and no problems. Now she is on baby food. My doctor said that i would start to see the reflux problems go away the older she gets and the more soild foods she eats.

Larsons--
i got my staples out before i left the hospital, so i am not sure why you still have them in. i do know the pulling you are talking about and the burning at the sides of the cut. i just have that itchy scab feeling. you can not even see the incision, it just melds in with the crease of my yucky belly. i used to be 110 lbs and very cut and tone. now i have this "tumor" as i call it lagging around with me. i have lost 20 pounds so far but you can't tell in my opinion. i am now, according to my scale 148, so i have a LONG way to go still. i would like to be 115 at the very least.

cfmommy-- good idea with the shot glass. i get so panic stricken when something like that happens-- that makes me feel better that it probably wasn't that much.

LArsons everything you are feeling is normal. I will be getting the rest of my staples out tomorrow! My 1st 2 sections I don't remember all the pain like I had with my 3rd and 4th. You are lucky you aren't having all this drainage though!! I just want to be normal again. Tuesaday was 2 weeks from my section and I finally started feeling better, not as much pain. You'll get there.

I can't wait to start working out again, wish it were sooner than later.

Good luck and feel better!

As of last week, Nathan has been spitting up quite often but not after every feeding. My Dr. said he's fine and that he might just be eating too fast which I can see because that boy is a chugger. Dr. aslo gave me some Gripe Water so we'll see if that works for the gas. I've tried every product out there and nothing has yet to work.

Nathan is on Nutramigen.. it's a hypoallergenic formula because he has a milk protein allergy. I don't know if this stuff is causing more gas in him or what, I'm kinda thinking it is. When he was 1 week old he started having blood in his stool so thats when the Dr. switched him to this stuff.

Glad to see everyone here from the pregancy board.
Having a baby is so exhausting!! I love Adria to pieces though! Born on the 16th.

Breastfeeding has been up and down...had a really bad cracked nipple that has now healed. I think I had mastitis or clogged duct that cleared up with heat compresses.

In the beginning when I put her on to feed, she feels my nipple, nibbles for a little bit then starts crying, pulls away and scratches me...sometimes for 5 or more minutes, but eventually latches on.

She's been really good with burping until yesterday. She usually feeds 15 minutes per side. After the first side, she might give a small burp then throw up what looks like ALOT or all of the milk up until 30 minutes after. So, is she sucking too hard, getting too much milk, or on my breast too long?

She up about every 3 hours at night...how often are other babies up to eat? How long before they sleep a little longer at night?

heavenly--

here are a couple of tips--

try to hand express your milk down before having her latch on. she is crying because it seems like forever to her while she waits for your milk to drop down. then she won't gulp so much when it finally does come down and won't swallow so much air. also, don't let your baby play with the nipple, they need to latch on to the whole areola area. the nipple ends up pretty far back in the mouth, pointing kinda upward. she is playing with it to stimulate the milk let down. (i am sure you know this, but just in case) if you should get cracked nipples again, try a nipple shield. they saved my breast feeding life. and they don't start sleeping more until they get to be about 12 pounds or so. i know it's rough, but you are doing the best thing for your baby that you possibly could.

i am pumping once a day as well and will introduce the bottle at about 4-6 weeks. i had my older son on formula at 8 weeks because i became gravely ill. i wanted to nurse more but it was impossible and he is just fine as well. hang in there! you are doing a great job!

heavenlly sorry to hear about your nursing problems. Everything nyxin said is very good advice. I had a sore niple as well and I used Lanolin for about the past 2 1/2 weeks and I htink it is finally getting better!!! Ashley has been eating pretty well. MOnday went in for her 3rd check up since she was born. Doc always wants to see the babies until they are back up to their hospital weight. She was born at 8lb 9oz and Monday she weighed 9 lbs!! Yeah!!
Ashley during the night is up about every 3 - 4 hours as well. So when the rest of my kids go to bed at 8 I try and go to bed as well.
All of my other kids ended up sleeping through the night around 3 months.

I tried using Lansinoh for my cracked nipple when it was very sore, but I have a picky little lady...she wouldn't latch on at all.
Things are going very well now, she's awake about every 3-4 hours (4 if I'm lucky) at night. She goes to sleep after each feeding at night, but needs to be rocked in the daytime when she gets tired.
Had a checkup today...she's already at 9 lbs. 7 oz., that's up 2 lbs. in 3 weeks!! Dr. says she doing great...spitting up is normal, and let her feed as long as she wants.