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Best formula for reflux

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Topic: Best formula for reflux
Posted By: Berg19
Subject: Best formula for reflux
Date Posted: 27 November 2009 at 11:10am
My baby has gastric reflux, have had him on all sorts of stuff and nothings worked. Still getting no sleep and hes still feeding all the time. i want to try him on formula and see if that helps him, but MW said the anti-reflux formula is not good for them at all. Should i try him on a normal one or something else??
TIA!

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Replies:
Posted By: monikah
Date Posted: 27 November 2009 at 11:18am
My plunket lady put me on S-26 AR. he was losing weight so we didnt have a lot of choices. we have had no problems at all with it and noone has even said that it is different from any other formula

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Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 27 November 2009 at 1:14pm
I take it that you are still BFing at this stage? If so have you cut out reflux aggravating foods? Dairy & potato.

Have you got Losec if he's that bad?

Have you seen a Dr about it or just your MW?

eta: Maybe go see your Dr & push for a paed appointment & get a formula like Neocate?

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Kel
http://lilypie.com">

A = 01.02.04   &   C = 16.01.09   &   G = 30.03.12


Posted By: Berg19
Date Posted: 27 November 2009 at 1:55pm
went to the doctors, put him on gaviscon and losec which is in liquid form so he just vomits it all back up. I've cut out 98% of dairy but had no idea about potato?? Cut out choc,caffeine etc aswell. Have him on magnesium and Rhugar mix but nothings helping.

might ring and make another appointment with a doctor that actually knows what there doing. He rang the paed after telling me to put him on formula but i really wanted to keep breastfeeding so i told him no. But now im at the end of my straw!

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Posted By: emz
Date Posted: 27 November 2009 at 1:59pm
Keep persevering with the meds, you'll be surprised that they do help even when they're vomitting all the time. Ava's been on them since 2 weeks and she used to be a power-chucker at least 2-3 times each feed (didn't gain weight for her first month) but we kept them up and she's definitely holding most of it down much better. She still vomits all the time but its not projectile.


Posted By: Bberry
Date Posted: 27 November 2009 at 4:01pm
Hi there,

I tried Karicare HA formula (for babies prone to allergies) after getting some advice from some other mums here and from the staff on the Karicare helpline. I intended to keep breastfeeding her (had already cut all dairy out of my diet) and just give her the occasional bottle of formula but she was so much more settled on this formula that I gave up breastfeeding altogether and she is also no longer on Ranitidine.

Good luck finding something that works for your baby. Reflux babies are hard work!


Posted By: Berg19
Date Posted: 27 November 2009 at 4:55pm
He doesn't even get the meds down 95% of the time! Just spits them out.. cheeky little...

Oh Bberry why was that recommended other than AR?? Im liking the sound of that. I also intend to only give a bottle here and there but most people that have had trouble babies say they switched to formula and they were so much more settled! I know hes only 3 weeks old but i feel like I've tried everything except formula. Even though it breaks my heart..

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Posted By: Bberry
Date Posted: 27 November 2009 at 6:35pm
I think it was suggested to me because my baby had already shown signs of being dairy intolerant. The HA formula is partially hydrolysed (which means the protein has been partially broken down, therefore the body may not recognise it and attack it). Karicare also make HA AR which is a hydrolysed one that is thickened for reflux babies. But I was put off the AR formulas because I was told they're really thick and set like concrete!

I was disappointed to give up breastfeeding too but it was worth it to have a much happier, more settled baby. I'd been told by doctors, Plunket etc that switching to formula probably wouldn't improve my baby's reflux and might even make it worse, so this might not be a fix for you, but it might also just be worth a try, one or two bottles, to see how your bubs reacts! I also felt like I'd tried everything (Rhugers, Colic powder, Ranitidine, Osteopath, Kinesiologist - to name a few things) so I really empathise with what you are going through.


Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 27 November 2009 at 6:41pm
Are you using a dummy?? They help heaps! Oh & you can get those sucking medicine dummies, not sure if they work though?

If you want to keep BFing, you might need to look at doing an elimination diet.

Make sure you aren't having the usual windy veges, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage & the sulphide veges, garlic, spring onions, leeks. Also watch the acid fruit & veges!

I presume you have his bed raised & have you tried using a baby carrier with him cause they do love to snuggle into you. Also side sleeping if you are comfortable with doing that.

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Kel
http://lilypie.com">

A = 01.02.04   &   C = 16.01.09   &   G = 30.03.12


Posted By: KazS
Date Posted: 27 November 2009 at 6:48pm
The losec doesnt actually reduce the vomitting it just helps them to not bring up the acid therefore reduces the screaming.

I tried my bubs on the S26 AR formula and she just threw up glue - the pead that my GP referred me to told me he had much better luck with the Karicare AR formula

Within hours of being on it she was a different baby - it actually stayed down and she became very contented - at the start i was both formula and breast feeding her as her vomitting ALL the time meant i couldnt keep up wiht supply enough - in the end i gave up BF as every time i BF her she would power chuck it up and i didnt make enough to be able to pump and then use a thickener

which reminds me - that is also an option - Karicare sell the thickener by itself so you can either thicken normal formula with it breast milk as well. - i got mine when i couldnt find any AR formula from the chemist

Hope that helps


Posted By: Berg19
Date Posted: 27 November 2009 at 7:28pm
Yup,tried dummy's. Wont really take them, so ticked that off the list. pretty much tried the lot! Have his mattress raised but he won't sleep alone. When he does sleep, its on me. So all day its either feeding,or screaming. Then people moan at me that i haven't managed to do anything, and im doing this to him because im not making him sleep in his cot and leaving him to scream.

May i ask how you can tell if their dairy intolerant?? The funny thing is he doesn't spill much. Only about twice a day and its not much, so more of silent reflux. He has good weight gain, around a pound a week.

Kas with the AR formula did she get constipated at all? It seems to every solution theres only more problems.

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Posted By: Bberry
Date Posted: 27 November 2009 at 7:37pm
I only figured out my baby was dairy intolerant by trialling going off it for awhile and then having some as a one-off and seeing her react so badly to it anywhere from a couple of hours to a day or two later. Her reflux would get worse and she'd just scream in pain and not settle for hours and hours. She didn't spill much either. I stayed off dairy as much as I could while BF and she was quite a bit better, but she improved much more when I switched to the HA formula.


Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 27 November 2009 at 7:51pm
Dairy intolerance will show up as frothy greenish poos or eczema.

Have you tried a Nuk one? If you hold it in & tap it helps them take it.

Oh screw them...can't they see that you are coping with a screaming newborn! Tell them to help you out! But cuddle him & hold him close, it will reassure him. Holding him upright on your chest will help sooth him.

You might find he'll settle down on the formula, prepare yourself for that because if he does it might be the best option for you both. Elimination diet does help, I've broken my diet over the last couple of weeks & we are paying for it at the moment.


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Kel
http://lilypie.com">

A = 01.02.04   &   C = 16.01.09   &   G = 30.03.12


Posted By: Berg19
Date Posted: 27 November 2009 at 8:09pm
It is really hard, it seems like theres nothing left to eat. Im a chocolate lover and having some serious withdrawals! It takes some serious commitment to give up all those foods and dairy. So good on those who are tackling it!

Yeah i have the Nuk ones, he sucks it for a few sucks and then just drops it out. Or he will pull it out himself and then cry because its out. But when hes really hysterical nothing will settle him down except offering him the breast. The homeopath lady told me that letting him feed non-stop only makes it worse - not quite sure how. I just hate to see him in pain and upset, so i let him sleep on me and feed whenever he wants. Am i being to soft??

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Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 27 November 2009 at 8:21pm
Feeding more often will make him worse, I guess cause the tummy gets fuller??? He's sucking cause it's sore. You might have to try holding in the dummy & keep replacing it til he holds it in. Cooper doesn't have his out much. I keep it on a dummy chain so he can grab it when he wants it.

I get by on porridge, toast or pita breads for lunch & simple foods for tea. No packet stuff

You should let him sleep on you, I went by the theory of the 4th Trimester where you keep them close to you.

The other place I found he slept was in a rocker cause it was so upright in the back. I'd wrap him & put him down in it & just gently rock it with my foot.

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Kel
http://lilypie.com">

A = 01.02.04   &   C = 16.01.09   &   G = 30.03.12


Posted By: Leelee
Date Posted: 27 November 2009 at 9:09pm
My son has reflux, he is on losec, gaviscon and we use Nestle Nan Pro Gold HA formula and it has made a difference, it was reccommended to us my the plunket family centre nurse. We took our son to a paed earler in the week and it turns out he has an allergy to eggs and is intolerant to cows milk protein so this has been contributing to his bad reflux.

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Posted By: bext1
Date Posted: 27 November 2009 at 9:14pm
Hi Berg

Karicare actually make a 'feed thickener' that we had for our two who were reflux babies, you can express and add it in your own milk, and it helps baby keep it down. You get it at the chemist. It's slightly expensive but fantastic.

for the AR formula we did try the S26 AR first since we couldn't find any karicare at the supermarket that day, but the hospital recommend the Karicare AR formula, and that worked well. Makes the milk slightly thicker than the normal formulas.

Hope baby comes right!!

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Posted By: emz
Date Posted: 27 November 2009 at 10:13pm
If he's not throwing up much but not keeping down the meds, then I guess you need to work out the best way to keep the meds down. Does that mean he's just spitting them out? If so, squirt slowly down the side of the cheek, not directly down the mouth.

Babies usually spit dummies out at that age too if they don't have their tongue in the right place to suck. Obviously if he's beside himself then its not going to work, but if he's not, persevere with it because dummies really help to keep everything down.


Posted By: Shezamumof3
Date Posted: 28 November 2009 at 9:29am
I second the dummy thing! If I manage to get Belle to suck her dummy after a feed, she doesnt spill so much as it goes back down I guess, we just get a little bit that spills out the side of the dummy instead of half her feed.

My trick to get her to suck the dummy is to dip it in gripe water and that works a treat, so give that a go :) and also tapping it and wiggling it in her mouth and if you wiggle the dummy then go to take it out they will more often than not start sucking on it.

*hugs* reflux suck, my DS never had reflux or anything so its been a shock for us having to deal with a baby who crys most of the time in pain. We have finally got her on losec after 3 months! First dr gave us gaviscon, second dr said its not reflux, and then i finally got in with our family dr, and he saw first hand what she was like ans perscribed losec, yay! She's only been on it 2 days, so it takes about 2 weeks to take full effect.



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Posted By: Aithne
Date Posted: 28 November 2009 at 9:55am
Originally posted by Aliasmum Aliasmum wrote:

Feeding more often will make him worse, I guess cause the tummy gets fuller??? He's sucking cause it's sore. You might have to try holding in the dummy & keep replacing it til he holds it in. Cooper doesn't have his out much. I keep it on a dummy chain so he can grab it when he wants it.

I get by on porridge, toast or pita breads for lunch & simple foods for tea. No packet stuff

You should let him sleep on you, I went by the theory of the 4th Trimester where you keep them close to you.

The other place I found he slept was in a rocker cause it was so upright in the back. I'd wrap him & put him down in it & just gently rock it with my foot.


That sounded a lot like me. Rory always has his dummy close by as well. To begin with like a couple others said it helped him keep his milk down and also gave me a break at the very beginning as most of the time he was on my breast it was comfort sucking. I figured that out because when he couldnt suckle on me he would suckle on his fist and it would go bright red and be tender so i then bought him a dummy and for awhile he kept spitting it out but someone (cant remember who) told me a little trick is to tilt it upwards to the top of there mouth when you put it in as that starts off the sucking motion i think because thats where the nipple usually goes.

And also i agree with the bouncer. When i needed a break from him sleeping on me allllll the time i would put him in his bouncer and bounce it with my foot and it would almost instantly stop him crying and send him off to sleep. But on some of the bad moments i did have to bounce him kind of hard. Im not sure how that helped him but it always did.

Im sure ive told you but Rory also had reflux, thankfully though it was just a mild form of it so i didnt give him any meds. Another trick someone told me was after his feed keep him sitting upright or lying upright on your tummy for about 20mins or longer if you can as i think the gravity helps it stay down a little bit.

I really hope Jarvi feels better for you soon. I remember how hard it is in the beginning so i really do feel for you! It does get easier i promise, even though it may seem like it wont now it honestly does.


Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 28 November 2009 at 5:04pm
Yeah I did some pretty vicious rocking as well. You do what works.

To help keep the meds in, syringe in the side of the mouth works where as straight on the tongue doesn't...found that one out first hand last night. We've been on Gaviscon for 2 days now & last night we got a sleep from 12-4.30am...a first in 10 months!!

Did you get some formula Berg?

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Kel
http://lilypie.com">

A = 01.02.04   &   C = 16.01.09   &   G = 30.03.12


Posted By: Berg19
Date Posted: 28 November 2009 at 7:56pm
Hey ladies! Yeah i put him on the HA formula this morning, and i tell you, he hasn't ever slept as much! Hes been pretty much sleeping allll day long! Its such a great feeling Im waiting to see how much sleep i get tonight, hopefully a few more hours that i have (mostly haven't) been getting! I know its bad putting babies on formula and most people are against it, but this is great i don't care what anyone says!

Wait till my MW comes on wed, she is NOT going to be happy with me at all! Im in for a big growling hehe

I've been using those tommee tippee closer to nature booby bottles and hes taken them really well, golps it down except for the leakages out the side, he just forgets to swallow sometimes i think! The supermarket didn't have any AR formula so i'll get the karicare HR-AR formula next time, because he does still cry for a few mins in pain like hes trying to push a baby out and see if that helps even more!

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Posted By: Bberry
Date Posted: 28 November 2009 at 8:14pm
That's great Berg! I really hope the good sleeps continue for you. We use the same bottles and have noticed the leakage out the sides too, we've tried a few other bottles but our girl still prefers the C2N ones over any others. And don't worry about the BF Nazi's. You know what is best for you and your baby better than anyone else does so keep trusting yourself and your instincts.


Posted By: tropics
Date Posted: 28 November 2009 at 9:08pm
if you dont have future luck with that formula we used Novalac reflux formula, my pead gave me a tin to try and we stuck to it, I tried other thicker formulas from the supermarket but found them hard to mix and quite gluggy, the novalac you get from the chemist and Ive also seen it at countdown.

Also have you tried the losec granules rather than the liquid? you may have already said that sorry if Im repeating a question, havent fully read all of this thread, but Jayden hated the liquid form and wouldnt take it but he ended up having the losec granules that I mixed with baby pear from 6 weeks old and that worked a treat.

Have you been to the crying with spilt milk website? very useful info on there for reflux

All the best reflux sucks!

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Posted By: littleLittle
Date Posted: 28 November 2009 at 9:47pm
Just thought I'd add my 2 cents as well and say that I'm using Karicare AR formula and it has been a god send! As soon as I put DS on it he was like a different baby.

And don't let your midwife bully you about switching to formula! You do what's best for you and your baby and formula will work for some babies with reflux but not for others. I suffered from terrible guilt for months about not BFing but at the end of the day I had a happier baby and was a happier mummy so it was the best result for us.

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Posted By: AandCsmum
Date Posted: 28 November 2009 at 10:11pm
Berg, I would hope that your MW will be supportive of your decision especially if he's improved so much!

Great that he's sleeping & crossed fingers that he keep sleeping for you

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Kel
http://lilypie.com">

A = 01.02.04   &   C = 16.01.09   &   G = 30.03.12


Posted By: Shelt
Date Posted: 29 November 2009 at 8:21pm
We were also using the Karicare AR formula and it was really good (G is also on losec). Though she did have some trouble with it being too thick to drink as she has a really weak suck (prem baby) even though I b/f for 6 months and only put her on the AR formula at 7 months.

We switched to the Karicare Gold formula at 9 months and thickened it with the Karicare food thickner (you get it from pharmacys as the supermarket doesn't stock it). Not sure from your post whether you have fully switched to forumla feeding or not but you can use the food thickener when you are b/f as well - just mix some up and give it to bubs before a feed. It helps everything to stay down a bit better. The lady I spoke to on the Nutricia help line was great and she even sent me a free tin of thickener to try when I asked her about it.

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Posted By: Shelt
Date Posted: 29 November 2009 at 8:23pm
PS I sympathise too with the crying in pain when feeding thing - Gabrielle used to take a few sucks, scream, take a few more, scream and then refuse to feed. It was horrible. Hope things get better for you from now on.

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Posted By: Berg19
Date Posted: 02 December 2009 at 9:14pm
just a question, does the karicare ar formula make them constipated? I tried him on the hr formula, screams half the day, and his poo's have gone army colour green, so im now trying the ar formula

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Posted By: tarayadao226369
Date Posted: 10 October 2017 at 7:03pm
There are a lot of http://myparentingjourney.com/best-formula-for-spit-up-and-gas/" rel="nofollow - formula for spit up and gas in the market, and what works for others may not work for you. It's best to read through reviews or asky your pedia for suggestions. My baby was always spitting up, so we decided to change his position when feeding, which didn't help. I notice the spit up lessened when he started on solids.



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