We asked our community on Facebook “Reflux Survivors: Any Tips on Settling Bubs?”
Here are the replies. Good luck to you!!
An automatic swing!! Life saver 🙂
My daughter was reflux, bet thing was a dummy apart from the losec 2 x days.
I used Cranial Osteopathy to help with my eldest’s reflux as a bub. It doesn’t hurt them, it’s just a gentle massage & it was pretty much the only time he slept for a good few hours after having it done.
Bowen therapy
Zantac
Osteo and losec
My baby refuses the dummy 🙁 night time he is good to go to sleep laying flat but during the day I feel like a rag constantly getting spewed on!!
I got told to try New Era for acidity heartburn dysoeosia – from health shop. Put two TINY tablets on tongue and they dissolve. They work very well for Miss Sophie 7mths. Don’t use them all the time but on her bad spilly days I use it and she settles!!! Doesn’t have a taste and she doesn’t mind 🙂
Losec, elevation, chiro, swing
A bouncer that sits fairly upright with vibration mode saved my sanity with my 2nd baby to have reflux who is also lactose intolerant.
Bouncer, dummy, gaviscon infant and rice cereal as soon as they are old enough, keeping upright/elevated head to have some to help settle belly.
I have my baby on reflux formula it is great and I also still breast feed during the day it has made a big difference
A good Dr that listens, losec, dummy, gripe water for the trapped wind which makes reflux worse, elevated cot, sling, baby seat (anything to help them sleep!!!!), swaddle, white noise and lots of cuddles.
I was breastfeeding and went dairy free after being told that reflux is commonly associated with dairy intolerances – he was like a new child! And now at 18mths loves all things dairy so grew out of it completely.
My daughter had severe reflux at birth at 8wks after trying losec and specialists I took her to see a lady chiropractor that specialises in babies with reflux after 3 sessions I had a new baby was amazing!
Gripe water infacol automatic swing baby hammock, elevated cot, white noise, LOSEC!!! My true life saviour still to this day at 8 months!!! Night times are now better with a thickened formula before bed – and me cutting out coffee during the day for Breast feeding
Another one for chiropractic. Get one who specialises with children/babies. I saw changes immediately.
Smaller feeds more often and remember most importantly, you’re doing a FAB job! =]
Nothing the Dr prescribed worked. (Unless it’s a very mild case I wouldn’t waste my time trying all of them like I did) Luckily a friend told me about the anti reflux formula, this actually worked!!
For us the dummy and an electric swing were lifesavers!
Losec! I have a hug a bub and that works wonders during the day. There’s not a lot u can do except prop one end of the cot n some cool boiled water after burping helps too
My son settled better once he went on neocate at 9 months – good luck it is a horrible road to travel but there is a light at the end of the tunnel and you will get through it.
Also raised her mattress in cot
Could not go past my miyo baby hammock. It was a life saver. Selling it on trade me now to save somebody else’s sanity!
Medication to ease the pain so bubs could feed, chiro to help adjust things, and then finding out what was causing the reflux. In our case it was cow’s milk protein intolerance so once I eliminated that from my diet it got much better. Wearing bubs in a sling really helped to settle her too. Hugs to all those mums experiencing it.
Oh an infacol for the wind
A bouncer, holding baby with tummy on your arm and cutting all dairy products out of my diet, if bottle fed, use soy milk.
Chiropractor who works with babies… a few sessions and you’ll see a brand new baby!
Motorised swing was a lifesaver – my wee girl didn’t sleep in it, but was usually happy to swing for a while, giving me a break. Losec has helped a bit. Tried an osteo – don’t think it made any difference in our case. But you just try everything!!
Prop upright, push chair upright, feeding with head up, osteopath/kineseologist was amazing.
Trying elevating cot or bassinet I remember having her in the baby swing on the speed next to our bed as it was the only thing that got her to sleep!
Losec, dummies and formula for us plus lots of upright sitting/burping
I did Cranial Osteo Therapy too… Christine Thursh if you’re in NZ..
My first child had severe reflux, my 2nd bub had reflux too, but it wasn’t as bad. We used a baby carrier for upright napping during the day (ergos are extremely comfortable for long periods). Elevated cot mattress at night, with double or triple sheeting with waterproof covers between each layer for quick night sheet changes. I went on a special diet to reduce allergens in my milk, I breastfed part-time and we used a special anti-reflux formula the rest of the time, and gaviscon. Soy formula was even worse than normal formula, and the spew from soy milk stains everything it touches (in our experience of it). She also had a dummy. I walked a lot with my bub in the pram where she could sleep semi-upright too, and the motion of walking helped to settle her. To everyone that it suffering with their baby’s reflux, please don’t make the mistake I made the first time. I let it overwhelm me and I became terribly depressed, and I didn’t try hard enough to get help, and that first 12 months was like a bad dream I couldn’t wake from. Hugs to all!
We’re currently trying Rhuger with my 6 week old, I thought we were seeing a difference, but then he had his jabs yesterday so feels like being back to square 1…
Agree with you their Sara – I was the same – number two is now on its way and if it is a reflux baby like my son I am not going to allow it to eat me up like it did with my son.
Oh quick tip:- If you do go ahead with Osteo do NOT use someone who is trained in Cranial Sacral because they do not have as much training as Sutherland trained Osteopaths. I had my son seen by someone who was a sacral trained and he got worse! Then had him fixed by Christine Thrush..
Dairy free and cranial osteopath =changed baby
We had projectile vomiting caused by reflux. Tried heaps of things but the best was Elevating babies bassinette mattress, upright walks in buggy for the odd day sleep and fresh air to help Mum! And last resort was Losec…… oh and time to grow out of it which took my bub about 3mths… not too long but felt like it at the time. Good luck and hang in there.. There will be an end 🙂
Sara – agreed! And don’t let nurse/Dr tell you its “normal” for your child to scream for several hours a day, either!
Have to agree with the swing, it saved my sanity from having to rock him all day
My reflux baby was 3 yrs ago – was a long hard time up until 8 months old… losec was great and we also took her to a specialist in Remuera who gave us something called merbental (sp) and it worked wondered. The upside is, she is now a delightful 3.5 yr old and even though I thought it would never end, it did! 🙂
Keep them as upright as possible and gently rub their back in a circular fashion – try not to pat vigorously as that can aggravate it. Also reflux babies are more prone to food intolerances or allergies as well which may worsen the reflux too so the sooner you get them checked by a sympathetic specialist the better! You can also use a wedge in their bed or cot or just put blocks under the legs of the bed at the head end to elevate the head and torso. My son was put on Losec and Neocate formula (due to dairy intolerance) at 9months old what a huge difference – just sorry it took us that long to get it sorted finally!!
Each babies are different, I have seen all four children of mine dealing with reflux in different ways, change of diet, cot lifted, Moby wrap, osteo. Good Luck in finding right pathway to deal with it!
I cut dairy (from my diet) and it made all the difference. Was able to introduce it again at about 6 months.
Gaviscon, and losec both helpful for us. Just pop the losec granules straight into his mouth no worries. Automated rocking swing was brilliant in the bad times. A baby carrier – we love our Ergo – was great too. Also we bottle feed as the feeding was also a problem for us, (slow/no weight gain then weight loss) using EBM for now at least. Reflux is a really hard thing. Oh – and lots and lots and lots of throw up cloths!! 🙂
I tried everything with mine. Anything that was around that someone recommended. Nothing fixed it apart from time, 14 months! However losec did a good job of bringing it back in severity. The screaming and non feeding…. survival was about all you could do. But to settle my baby when he was little, I used to do a combo of all the ‘techniques’ at the same time I must have looked like a crazy woman, patting bum hard, shushing, rocking them and jiggling them. I slept on the couch upright at night holding baby and he slept in a sling during the day. It would extend sleeps from 10mins to an hour.
My daughter had a fairly mild case that was sorted with only a few doses of Losec. She’d sleep really well propped up on my chest. I just couldn’t sit her up at all if I fed her in the bed because we’d all wear it.
Losec and trying to be calm yourself. And patience. I have 2 little ones both had / have reflux. 2nd time round worse but easier as I know what to expect and know I am doing everything I can.
And the auto swing- they sleep during the day in it- upright
my daughter had severe reflux as a newborn and still does at 9years, when she was a baby she hated the car seat, pushchair and sleeping on her back, we had to sleep her on her tummy at 3months old slept for the first time for 6 hours, was very stressful as her dad and I had turns checking her every 3hours until she got stronger to hold her head up, we also use to carry her in front pack a lot of the time which calmed her down a lot, she was on thickened formula until 9months old and no longer took a bottle, she still has trouble with this at night when she is lying down and takes medication for this, also she suffers severe asthma which was diagnosed at 12months old.
My darling 4 year old had reflux as a baby, it wasn’t severe and she grew out of it at around 10 months but by then a lot of the things we had done for her had become habits/comforts for her so the effects of it lasted for years. Some of the things that helped were gaviscon, elevation and the electric swing. Going for a drive would knock her right out, or a walk in the buggy… obviously didn’t help me catch up on my sleep though!! She also slept best on her stomach, but we were too afraid to let her do that, so hubby would lie on his back and she would lie on top of him tummy to tummy. Of course with a baby in the bed we never really got quality sleep. At about 6 months we introduced a dummy, and I quit breastfeeding in favour of formula and that seemed to sit better in her tummy. We just weaned her off the dummy at Christmas (Santa swapped them all for pressies) and she ended up sleeping the first 2 years of her life mostly in bed with us. I have a lovely nearly one year old now that is the complete opposite and I’m so grateful because I really don’t think I could have done all that again!!!
hugabub, sleeping wedge, dummy, gaviscon infant and found when she was old enough for it that brauer stomach calm helped. We had some visits to a chiropractor and I believe that to have helped her too.
Keeping upright virtually all the time, elevating head of cot, side sleeping in wedge, multiple sheets in bed to ease changes, lots and lots of mum-2-mum bibs and towels at feed times, gaviscon and losec and weleda colic powder to ease the wind/constipation from the 1st 2, initially feeding from one breast only at a feed (so more thick hindmilk than thin foremilk, meant I got a bit lopsided at times!), then switching to thickened antireflux formula, feeding in a sitting upright position, dummy, www.cryingoverspiltmilk.co.nz , hugs for the tears (both of us), accepting lots of help and constantly reminding myself that it would at some point eventually end…and thankfully it did 🙂
Do whatever you need to do that works for you. We had a Natures swayhammock which was great. Go for lots of walks – bubs in buggy – keeping cot tilted, losec, and baby osteopath definitely helps. If breastfeeding, stay off dairy, chocolate and raw tomatoes – staying away from acidic food made a huge difference to my boy.
Our son had to end up having a nissens to correct the reflux, and was feed by a feeding tube for 3 years due to developing a food aversion from the reflux. Even thou nothing was going to completely fix him, but the operation, we found that a mixture called Rhuger helped his wind and burning. Can also be used along with medications from GPs. Mixture contains a range of substances including ginger and rhubarb which help the digestive tract. We are in Christchurch and purchased this from the Balmac pharmacy in Dunedin and got it posted up.. Also all of the above comments regarding upright positions. Our son found the “Wingbo”helpful for tummy time which helped him be more upright at tummy time. Link: http://www.wingbousa.com/ our second child now 8 months also has reflux but not as bad as our son had Thank goodness. My heart goes out to all parents and families who have children with reflux no matter how bad, either way it isn’t a nice start to parenthood but take it from me there is a light at the end of the tunnel.
A med from a health store called blow the wind by in season
Definitely the motorised swing, losec and an ergo carrier for keeping her comfortably upright during those long times when she wanted to be carried. Also slept her on her left side very tightly propped towards her back (i.e. If the propping failed she would roll to her back rather than her front). I cut out a lot of aggravating foods such as anything acidic (from my diet, I was breastfeeding) but didn’t go as far as dairy because the initial “cut” was sufficient and cutting out dairy is a big deal – so don’t do it unless you have to. Also avoided acidic and other”bad”foods when introducing solids. Ours was silent reflux so none of the spilly problems. See www.cryingoverspiltmilk.org.nz for some good tips
A battery powered swing worked pretty well when I needed my hands to make tea etc
Having a dummy, limiting chocolate and acidic foods helped my son, limiting dairy didn’t make a difference.
Dairy free (for Just over a week) And planning cranio osteo next week (were on holiday) Also planning on putting the kids to bed and reading the 70+ comments on here 🙂
My 4 year old has now changed from reflux to GORDs disease but we have it under control at the moment (touch wood) and now we are on a new medication it is all good! Good luck to all you out there who are going through it!
I tried food elimination and it did not work and it was awful for me, after 12+ months of pure torture I put her on Losec, I wish I had done it at day one, no point in being a hippy when it causes so much heartache! We only medicated her 3 months and it was sussed. The ongoing problems are a child who is not a great sleeper! I would def suggest it. Even though I would consider myself a naturalist! Oh and a good front pack!
And one of those fisher price vibrating bouncers was great too!
I would note than we tried cranio, homeopath, nurolink, tonics, food elimination etc before we tried losec
Always used breastfeeding pillow to prop him up for nappy change or to do stuff. Took over a year to grow out of.
We used 3 types of medications for our son but didn’t make much difference- the best things that worked for us were – cutting out dairy (good choice as he has a milk protein allergy), keeping upright 1/2-1 hour after each and every feed, bed elevated and him kept upright as much as possible, cranio and bowen (both made the most improvement but need a few or more sessions, we had about 10) , digestodoron, colimed relief which I know is for colic but honestly helped, calm-med for when he was stressed out with it, changing nappies before feeds not half way or after, slippery elm was suggested but can’t remember if we tried that, and if all else failed lots of cuddles and sleeping on me (I was elevated with pillows), which was the only time we both got a decent sleep. He is 14 months now and it seems it’s all but gone, so there is light at the end, best of luck 🙂
Oh and a really deep bath when he wouldn’t settle, would calm him down enough to sleep 🙂
I have to agree with a previous poster about time here too. The spewing continued for over a year but the pain appeared to subside around 9 months – either that or he got used to it. Not feeding during the night helped him though as he wouldn’t be in pain while trying to sleep but only worked because he had a dummy
Crying over spilt milk website – check it out, there is even letter and info to give your doctor if you are having trouble with them
Yup – Crying over Spilt Milk Website, a fabulous Paediatrician, lots of Family and Friends to support you. The sleep deprivation is awful. Our wee girl now 9.5 months (third child) is on high dose Losec and has been weaned from exclusive breast milk to a hypoallergenic formula for lactose and dairy intolerance and is a new wee girl during the day. Only the last three nights has she only woken once per night, otherwise it is more than 30 times a night. A pacifier helped, also propping the cot from under the legs, and plenty of support from your partner/husband.
sleeping in a buggy during the day
Gaviscon to hold down milk, and an upright pram to take the screamer for a walk, so and other people around to give you some sanity time
Losec was our wonder drug after trying many of the suggestions on here. Even better when we went from losec liquid to losec capsule. Now he is a dream (once we get those tonsils out he should just about be fixed). Waited for ages with son no 1 before trying drugs but was onto it quicker second time round so was less time spent unhappy.
