Self Settling a baby with reflux

Can you talk to your doctor about other meds - Losec (omeprazole) or ranitidine. While the Gaviscon thickens the stomach contents and makes it harder to come up, it doesn't stop the stomach producing acid, and it's the acid that causes the burning sensation when it comes up. Daniel is on 5mg morning and afternoon, and we notice a real difference in the afternoon if we forget to give it. Other things you've probably tried include a pacifier (gives them some comfort hormones while they go to sleep) and elevating the bed head.

Gaviscon never worked for us - we only used it for a week or so. Losec has made a huge difference however and Emma is still on it. Talk to your GP.
Also some babies don't like much sleep - at least Emma never did, she's always been a light sleeper and has slept less than Gina during the day. In fact her naps are often only 15 min long
I too have found that crying makes Emma's reflux much worse and would not leave her to cry.
Does your bub sleep in a cot? Have you tried to elevate the head end?

Def try some different meds and raise the head end of the cot.
If self settling is making the reflux worse I wouldn't do it. It is different for a baby with reflux - the reason most of them can't self settle is to do with pain, so trying to push this can actually cause them unnecessary pain and damage the oesophagos. If I were you I would rock your baby to sleep, or push him in the stroller or something, and then once his reflux is under control then try the self settling thing again.
Don't stress about self settling, it will happen when it happens. i know most of the parenting books push it but it really doesn't suit all children.
My son is now almost 11 months old and still suffers from reflux, but it is controlled with ranitidine which helps a lot, and I avoid certain foods that can pass through into my milk which worsen the reflux. A really good website to look at is www.cryingoverspiltmilk.co.nz
good luck

Mostly I would like to just second what the others have said: get some acid-reducing medication (I was reluctant but it made the world of difference) - we're on ranitidine. And yes please don't stress about making sure they self-settle - they will learn how to self-settle in time ... I stressed all the time that I was helping her too much get to sleep (everyone says you're making a rod for your own back), later I realised that I was just easing the transition from sleeping in the womb to sleeping outside the womb - they don't need to get used to it all of a sudden, helping them a little with some rocking or some soothing white noise doesn't hurt.

And a hammock was my lifesaver...

Personally I didn't like doing the feed/play/sleep thing as sometimes it's so hard to spot their tired signs. You might want to try a routine like Save our Sleep (I think it is?) or Contented Baby - I used a flexible version of Contented Baby and swear by it... they say having a structured routine can make babies a lot more settled? Might be worth a try.

Reflux babies often sleep well at night or so I am told. I think they are just so exhausted from the day time. Definately try raising the bed, a 30 degree angle is good for reflux, you might need to use a safety sleep, and it is best to raise the bed at the feet not under the mattress. One thing we do is to use a dummy, everyone feels differently about dummies, but sucking and sollowing can help reduce the occurance of the acid rising. Reflux babies often like movement as well so you could put him in a front pack, car or stroller to help him sleep, you don't want this to become a habit as they can start to rely on it to go to sleep but in the mean time while you are getting his medication sorted it might help.
It sounds as if you need to take him to the doctor tho and try some of the medications that have been suggested. If you find that something isn't working then keep going back to the doctor it is really important to stop the burning as it can cause scarring and long term health complications if allowed to go on for too long. Isobelle was prescribed Gaviscon and Ranitadine when she was two weeks old, we used that till she was 6 weeks old without any change in her behaviour. She has now been on Losec for 6 weeks and is so much better, she will sleep for up to 2 hours. From what I understand Ranitadine reduces the amount of acid produced and Losec changes the ph of the stomach acid.
The other thing to remember is about 11 to 12 weeks a baby's sleep pattern changes slightly. Now is the time to start to slowly teach them to self sooth and it may take months before he learns to sooth himself. There is also lots of research to indicate that control crying is not appropriate for a child of under six months and even older. Babies cry to tell us something is wrong or they need something, personally I always felt that by allowing my babies to cry was just teaching them that I wouldn't meet their needs. There are lots of different methods of teaching your baby to self sooth and so many that are a lot gentler on baby and mum than control crying. Creating sleep associations is important we have a set bedtime routine that we use religiously, nappy change, story, wrap, dummy, in cot - prayer or song. The baby whisperer has some good ideas and thesleepstore.co.nz is quite good for finding resorces.
I hope some of this was helpful. Take care and all the best

Both of my children have reflux...lachie still!. I know it is not recommended but they are both tummy sleepers but I only felt ok about it cause they could lift their heads really well. Tummy sleeping is aparently common for reflux babies according to my plunket nurse also it made it easy for them to suck their thumbs and that is how Soph settles herself and she is a really good sleeper we also have the head of the cot up on some books to raise it. They are both on ranitidine.
I found that to start off so that they would get some sleep while the meds kicked it i would sleep in a semi upright position with them on my chest then when they looked like they were not ocertired all the time I did the whole eat/play/sleep thing and it has worked out beautifully.
Good luck and i hope we have helped.