Feeding issues

January

My son is 3 months old.

We thought he had reflux (basically refusing to feed, getting only 4 ounces into him, wanting to be fed constantly, screaming, arching back, puking constantly) so GP put him on a combo of comfort formula (c&g) and infant gaviscon. That didn't seem to be working so GP suggested SMA Stay Down. While he's now drinking the formula, he is still fussing with his bottles (has to be nearly sleeping for me to successfully give him a full bottle without fussing) and still constantly puking... and when I say constantly, he's still puking up the last feed just before I'm about to give him his next bottle. He also cries. Constantly. I cannot put the poor child down, sometimes he cries even when I'm holding him so it doesn't even make a difference if I pick him up or put him down.

He has a small tongue tie too but doctor doesn't think that has anything to do with his feeding issues. (He can't seem to keep his soother in his mouth for any length of time either.)

I am really at my wits end now... even though he sleeps through the night the constant crying and puking during the day stresses us both out and I can't leave him with anyone because they all just think I have him ruined by picking him up all the time because he cries constantly.

I'm going to bring him back to the GP on Tuesday but has anyone any tips or ideas in the mean time?

vibe666

We had similar problems for many months with our son, made significantly worse by scar tissue in his throat after being intubated in temple street at 4 months, but he was puking 2 to 3 times every day at one stage and nothing seemed to help.

In the end, the only thing that helped (at around 12 months) was switching to goats milk.

Doctors confirmed that he wasn't lactose intolerant (we had him tested for everything) but after the switch, we noticed that anything made from cow dairy caused him to get very phlegmy and irritate his throat which made him throw up the entire contents of his stomach very violently and very regularly

Even if you've had him tested for lactose intolerance, it may still be worth getting some non-cow dairy formula just to try it out, I know that feeling of desperation and you'll probably try anything at this point, my wife was trying homeopathy and just about every other form of quackery to find something, *anything* that might help when ours was struggling.

EDIT: Amazon have some: http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0012TFXOQ

January

He's not just puking 2/3 times a day... It's a constant thing, all day every day.

cbyrd

Dairy issues with both my 2 youngest. I had lots of feeding issues too and was told (too late) that taking them off the cows milk formula would have sorted them. The youngest (2) has been dairy free for over a year and his eating is brilliant and his skin is completely clear too.. To be quite honest, the gp's and phn's are quite reluctant to try anything that's not mainstream.. they'll give you stuff to put into bottles without querying if its the bottles themselves. If i knew then what I know now, I'd go straight for the nanny formula (goats milk), soya is not recommended for boys as its high in oestrogen.. U never know, it might work..

My 4 year old puked after every feed too. Gavisgon and lactase drops helped until i got him off bottles at 8 months, it only started when i put him on bottles.. the phn said breastfeeding wasn't working as he wasn't gaining weight fast enuogh.. stupid woman didn't take into account that he was small anyway and was actually gaining steadily but had put the fear in me.. why oh why do they do this.. i had been recommended the stay down the comfort stuff and nothing really worked.. he doesn't eat dairy at all now either

vibe666

Might still be worth a shot?

Maybe even try a milk bank? https://www.facebook.com/HM4HBIreland

Pretty much anything has to be worth a shot at this stage, you must all be going demented with it.

cbyrd

On another note.. He was tested for lactose intolerance and tested negative, i was told i was an over anxious mother.. I was tested for it too years ago and tested negative but was told it was probably not the lactose but another protein in it that didn't agree with me.. get very sore and sick when i eat it..

vibe666

cbyrd wrote: »

On another note.. He was tested for lactose intolerance and tested negative, i was told i was an over anxious mother.. I was tested for it too years ago and tested negative but was told it was probably not the lactose but another protein in it that didn't agree with me.. get very sore and sick when i eat it..

I'm not even sure they test properly specifically for intolerance to cow based dairy as I've heard from several people who have been diagnosed as lactose intolerant and who can't touch cows milk or dairy that they are still perfectly fine with non-cow dairy (goats milk etc.)

Drdoc

It does sound like reflux January that just hasn't responded to treatments so far. Poor little guy
My little man, although breastfed, was something similar and cried all day everyday. I'm sorry to say I found it difficult to enjoy him at times.
We tried Zantac initially which helped a bit, but eventually ended up on losec until aged 1. It was like a miracle drug
In terms of formula it would be worth discussing nutramigen or even neocate with you Gp to help try and eliminate any intolerances.
Good luck

MaxCharlie

My third born child is 3 months now and is considered a spitty baby and is gripy. I've been using gripe water since she was 1 month old, she gets immediate relief. When I sense a pain I give her a dropper of gripe water and she relaxes immediately. I also did baby reflexology from when she was 3 weeks old. My 2nd born had colic so I was very conscious of what signs to look out for and acted immediately. I was using sma first baby and I recently changed to sma comfort, I don't see any real reduction in the regular spitting back. I'm not overly concerned because feel that she is still thriving in her own little pace,

Moonbeam

I think you need to try Nutramigen mostly because I think it is the best stuff ever after needing it for Caoimhe .
There is a difference between being lactose intolerant and being actually allergic to milk .
Luckily I copped what the issue was almost immediately (I am also allergic to milk and more so goats milk ) and gp and phn agreed .
Smallest girl is still terrible for spitting up but she seems to be fine despite being tiny .

icescreamqueen

I feel your pain so bad! I think I might have blocked this part of my baby's childhood out now. It was so difficult. The constant crying and the constant cleaning up. The infant Gaviscon helped her to keep her milk down immensely, I really can't remember what else did but in hindsight, I probably shouldn't have left her down at all. You will not be spoiling her believe me. My baby prefers to be away doing her own thing now so hold onto your baby for as long as you can. I think that the reflux passed when I started her on solids. It's a very difficult time and I'm sorry that I can't give you more advice but I'll offer you my sympathy and say that it'll pass soon. The end is in sight

Chattastrophe!

Our baby has puked all day every day, pretty much since he was born! He has reflux, but is very rarely in pain with it.

He's always been on SMA Gold, I wanted to try the Staydown formula, but the PHN discouraged it - she said that, so long as he wasn't in pain and was gaining weight, it wasn't worth the hassle of changing formula ... so we never changed. In hindsight I should probably have given it a try! (Having said that, I think the Staydown is slightly more complicated to make up than the regular SMA formula.) In general, SMA is known to be the "heaviest" formula, so it might be worth switching to even the regular SMA rather than C&G.

We had him on Gaviscon for a while, but didn't find that it helped at all.

Keep him upright as much as possible (sling is ideal), and have his cot/Moses basket slightly elevated. We used to just put a rolled up towel under the head end of the mattress. And it helps to have him in the Bumbo during the day.

He's puking a lot less now that he's on solids - some doctors will recommend starting solids early with reflux babies. We didn't do this - starting solids too early can be damaging for the digestive system - however we'd have probably considered it if he was actually in pain with it as well as puking. You could look into it anyways - it's definitely made a big difference for us, but we didn't start solids until five months. What would make me cautious about it is that reflux is basically the result of the digestive system not being quite fully developed - it kind of seems counterintuitive, so, to introduce solids early! But since he's started on the solids it's definitely made a big difference to us - sometimes, he even gets through the day in the same set of clothes now! :eek:

On a practical note, it's handy to put Huggies bed mats on the mattress under the sheet, to protect the mattress. And you cannot have enough muslin cloths!

yellow hen

Could he be lactose sensitive as opposed to intolerant? I had slot of the problem you mention and I think I've posted on one pf your other threads. A combination of Zantac and SMa lactose free milk gave me a new baby. he hated the nutramigen although I know many other babies have gotten much relief from it.
Also if you haven't already, could you take him/her into crumlin? They'll be seen quickly as they're not yet fully vaccinated and I found crumlin to be excellent.

Whatever you do, I hope it subsides, I can clearly recall how exhausted you must be

pwurple

We are talking small amounts of puke are you? Mine still does that, but puts on the weight alright. Refluxy babies throw up just before the next feed is due... Kind of separated milk. When it is undigested milk, that is possetting I think?

The fussing at the bottle... What rate teat is he on? Try faster one maybe. Mine gets really frustrated and annoyed on a teat that is too slow.

Does being upright help at all? Mine pukes way less if I have her in the sling most of the day.

January

No... I'm talking about puking from just after he's had his bottle until just before he's due his next bottle. It's constant, if he's being held up, if he's lying down, if he's propped up... it's all. the. time. Sometimes it can be a little bit, sometimes it can be lots... right after a feed it's undigested but as the hours go on it starts to separate.

He's on a slow flow, I've tried him on vari flow, fast flow, medium flow... I've tried 4 different types of bottle and different flow teats in each bottle, these ones are the ones he takes the most from even though he fusses if I get him nearly to sleep he'll drink it.

I have him in the sling a lot and he still pukes in it.

John Mason

have you had him checked for food intolerances?? Dairy, Cow protein etc.

NBO

I could have written this post. Check for lip tie. My baby (3 months) has lip and tongue tie and this results in not being able to get a good seal on bottle teat and as a result taking in lots of wind and generally being a very inefficient feeder. The result of all the wind is lots of screaming. Baby can only take 2-3 ozs at a time and then gives up due to exhaustation. Baby can't keep a soother in his mouth due to mainly the lip tie rather than the tongue tie. I'm not sure if baby also has reflux or if the constant puking is as a result of all the screaming from being in pain. Baby's very fussy during feeds and I think this is a result of being hungry and not being able to take in enough food. I've tried different formulas, made no difference. I'm seeing an oral surgeon next week to get lip and tongue tie released which I hope will help. My PHN is also a lactation consultation and has been a great help (even though I'm not breast feeding). I also use infant galviscon, keep him elevated etc etc I find the sling helpful for settling him even if I get puked on. My older breast fed baby had bad reflux and I think the lip and tongue tie could be what's making life more difficult for baby 2. Hope that helps

pwurple

My next suggestion was going to be lip tie too. Sounds like he is taking loads of air in with the feed.

Getting harder to get that diagnosed and treated. There was a dentist near us in Cork who did it, but he retired / gave up recently. I've heard of people flying to the UK for it.

Some GP's can fix it too.