Self Settling a baby with reflux
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Category: Support
Forum Name: Reflux and Allergy Support
Forum Description: Struggling with a refluxy baby? Looking for tips to deal with allergies? Share your experiences here.
URL: https://www.ohbaby.co.nz/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=23400
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Topic: Self Settling a baby with reflux
Posted By: Mamaofboys
Subject: Self Settling a baby with reflux
Date Posted: 31 December 2008 at 5:59pm
| My wee man is now 11 weeks old and is suffering from reflux, his gaviscon does no longer work i have also tried dairy free for me and weleda colic powder , my problem is since about 5-6 weeks of age my wee man will not sleep during the day so now i keep him up does anyone have any ideas on teaching him to self settle i have tried for two weeks feed/play/ sleep with 45 mins of controlled crying but this only makes his reflux worse, i don't know what to do he sleeps well at night with only one night feed, i would love some tips from others with reflux babies |
Replies:
Posted By: fire_engine
Date Posted: 03 January 2009 at 3:59pm
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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. ------------- Mum to two wee boys |
Posted By: kebakat
Date Posted: 03 January 2009 at 6:42pm
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Yeah it sounds like you need to try some other meds...
Also keeping him up all day he must be extremely overtired which is only going to make the reflux symptoms worse. But I think that once you find the right meds for him you will be able to get him down for sleeps easier. We side slept our little guy which is apparently way more comfy for them than being on their backs and slightly raised the bed. |
Posted By: yummymummy
Date Posted: 03 January 2009 at 9:52pm
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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? ------------- http://lilypie.com">  http://lilypie.com">
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Posted By: Andie
Date Posted: 04 January 2009 at 9:05pm
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I'd definantly see the Doc again too, about the meds. Different ones work (or don't) for different babies. Like others have said, having something under the head end of his cot or bassinette (under the feet, not the mattress) can help a bit, and experiment with whether he prefers to be wrapped or un-wrapped. Do you have a Plunket Family Centre in your town? At our one, I imagine they all do it though, you can camp out there for the whole day and they help you with feeding & settling routines - they can observe how you're doing it and talk with you about how that's working, and offer help with it all. Might be worth a shot?
I had a reflux baby too, and listened to a great deal of crying here in the early days... hope it gets better for you soon. ------------- Andie |
Posted By: newme
Date Posted: 11 January 2009 at 9:17am
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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 |
Posted By: soph
Date Posted: 11 January 2009 at 10:23pm
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All my three children were reflux babies (1st was silent reflux, 2nd was severe gastro reflux and 3rd was gastro reflux) *signs*
Having found medications doesn't work well with 1st and 2nd babies, I chosen to not give medications for my third child. Just cut out dairy and egg in my diet instead and found it work better after knowing my third may also have food allergy. Try osteopath as they have found to be huge help with reflux babies (however in my case, osteopath doesn't work because we later found out it was food allergies caused reflux in our children as they were 100% bf till 5-6 month olds and still bf till 12-14months after solids) In my experience in settling reflux babies, 11 weeks is bit early to self-settle. I found the bouncing chair are god-send, to send them to sleep because they are at 45 degree up, that help to keep milk down and they were sleeping happiest in the chair during day, so they were not overtired by bedtimes in the evening. Other things I found it help is mobywrap..oh god, I love it and my babies were more settling in it. They do eventually self-settle in cot when they are ready, usually out of blue, fell asleep while playing on the bouncing chair or under the playgym!! HTH? |
Posted By: scribe
Date Posted: 11 January 2009 at 10:55pm
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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. |
Posted By: noisybaby
Date Posted: 15 January 2009 at 10:43am
| have you tried a hammock? we did and the gentle bouncing helped get her to sleep but because the head end is slightly raised it helped with the spilling also |
Posted By: busyissy
Date Posted: 20 January 2009 at 1:08pm
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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 |
Posted By: 2girlsandaboy
Date Posted: 25 January 2009 at 1:15pm
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Hugs to you, I agree with the other comments but I just wanted to say it does get easier!!
Hope things have improved since your first post!! ------------- Tania http://www.kiwikidswithallergies.co.nz - Kiwi Kids With Allergies |
Posted By: McPloppy
Date Posted: 31 January 2009 at 3:55pm
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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. ------------- http://lilypie.com"> 
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