Colic and AR- PLEASE HELP =(

Has anyone tried the formula Aptamil AR (Anti Regurgitation)? DD has very mild reflux and her paed recommended it <em>edited by sourskittleashnut on 28/08/2012</em>

oh and obviously if you are giving small frequent feeds you wouldn't necc give motilium before each one as you might give far too much, there must be a maximum dose you can give per day, so it would pay to find that out rather than follow the "before each feed' advice as clearly there could be a wide variation in number of feeds.

Keep in mind that neither the zantac nor the motilium will actually stop your baby from spilling, The zantac should reduce the acid, so its less painful when it rises and the motilium will move things though the stomach faster, hopefully leaving less time for the acid to rise. We only ever had the zantac, and from memory it was as you say, twice daily, with dosage based on weight. You can't really "cure" reflux, unless you discover the cause (and in babies the cause is generally immature/weak stomach muscles so they need to strengthen with time, tummy time does help as mentioned below), sometimes its a food allergy (commonly cows milk but in BF babies they can also be reacting to other things in the mothers diet, for me it was gluten and chilli although removing these only lessened the severity). Basically all the meds are designed to relieve the symptoms/pain as much as possible, until your baby grows out of it. Apologies if I already said this but we found the biggest help was to give small and frequent feeds rather than large feeds further apart. Best to feed (and stop feeding) on demand, although right now it might be hard to read the cues while your baby is unsettled much of the day.

all the signs which you mentioned were with my baby.one doc said its just the gastric pain and other said its mild AR. but since mine is a high demand child so he is showing aggressive symptoms. he was on nexium for 14 days. and now he is fine. its been 20 days since i stopped nexium but he still hiccups or vomit sometimes. but that's completely normal. atleast crying while feeding and arching his back al those have stopped.although i do put him on his tummy to sleep during the day when i am besides him awake. if i am not in the room i put him on his back. he seem to find this position relaxing.and i don't burp immediately after feed. i have noticed whenever i do that he spits everything out. so i wait for 5 min play with him or talk to him then burp. hope your LO is better soon. its really depressing to see your baby crying constantly.

Its really tricky, an hysterical and overtired baby will scream, thrash, bring their legs up, arch and comfort suck regardless of the reason for their distress, And the hiccups, vomitting, spitting up etc can happen at the same time, but may or may not be the cause of your baby crying all day. For example my baby vommited after every feed, hiccuped all day and pretty much covered anyone who ever picked him up in vomit, for the entire first 4 months of his life and yet was content and very rarely cried. So I guess I'm not saying you baby doesn't have reflux, but the level of distress you describe is not normal for reflux, as I said, both my nephews were like this, and no medications really helped, what did help was constant soothing, carrying rocking and swaddling but it was a rough first few months for everyone.

I haven't read it, but this book is supppsed to be good http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/885451.Your_Fussy_Baby

JBR mom -- so sorry to hear that you guys are still having a rough time! -- It's awful when they are just screaming and screaming. I'm so so sorry you're going through this! I can't help with the formula suggestions as we bf. But, some things that helped us: 1. We only gave the gaviscon when he was screaming from the reflux, then a few feeds after -- that seemed to help. 2. We gave him a pacifier which was one of the few things that seemed to help during the reflux episodes. 3. As I said earlier, we pretty much kept him upright the whole day, either on our chests or in an ergo carrier. Until he was about 5 months old we couldn't even put him down for a diaper change until 30 minutes after he'd eaten. 4. Looking towards the longer term, we gave him what would be considered a lot of tummy time for his age -- so he developed that strength pretty quickly which I think lessened the severity of his reflux earlier than otherwise. Also -- make sure you get a break for yourself :-\ good luck

I really think its "colic" not in the sense of gastric pain but in terms of unsettled/high needs baby, it will probably peak at 6 weeks and then slowly get better from that point, get yourself live in help, you'll get through it but really hard to do it alone. Probiotics and daylight might help but truthfully, if its "colic" then really only time will help. Soothe as best you can, if rocking helps then buy one of those motorised rockers. Don't worry about creating bad habits, you need to do what you can to get through this.

Hope your little one gets better soon JBR mummy. my LO is on and off from acid reflux. ( 4 month old) he was better since last month but i have just returned from vacation and he has got the reflux again. poor soul make faces and then spits ( but it is happening only in the morning) i have a bottle of infacol if you need as i don't require it much.

I have some Infant Gaviscon sachets that you are welcome to have! Please let me know if you are interested? I also have Colief (you were urgently looking for some last night) if you still need it, I'm in the Springs. Mail me on [email protected] I've mailed you! Replied x

I have some Infant Gaviscon sachets that you are welcome to have! Please let me know if you are interested? I also have Colief (you were urgently looking for some last night) if you still need it, I'm in the Springs. Mail me on [email protected]

We tried the zantac and I just wanted to say, don't be an idiot like I was and think you can give it through a bottle teat, the particles in the suspension are too big and stay in the teat, you need to give it by syringe or spoon. It took me almost a week to notice :( ! We didn't stick with the zantac anyway because in our case there was a lot of vomiting but no apparent pain and the zantac is really for the pain as it reduced acid levels. Giving a dummy can help with reflux pain and can be a great soother, I'd give the dummy a try.

I switched from Similac to Aptamil 1 and my DD loves it! She was getting really constipated and gassy from Similac. Aptamil also has a formula for babies with Reflux, might be worth switching to. Best thing though would be to go to a paediatrician (I highly recommend Dr Khan at Cooper Clinic) and get a proper diagnosis, or see a midwife like Cecile (never tried her but heard very good things).

JBR, your baby probably has reflux, but I suspect he also is a "high needs baby", Drs sometimes use the term "colic" to describe this but its confusing because its also used to describe gas pain. A high needs/fussy/colic baby basically cries for up to several hours a day for no apparent reason, there are a multitude of theories some Drs think its a brain immaturity that causes a problem with sleep cycles, just as they start to fall asleep they flick into awake mode, in the process becoming really over-tired and finding it harder and harder to calm down. Others say its a sensory problem, they over react to heat, cold, light, dark etc and can't filter these sensations out, same end result, inconsolable crying. (all babies will arch and clench go rigid etc when they get this upset so it doesn't actually mean they are in physical pain and they will also take in a lot of gas with all the crying so will tend to be gassy anyway). Whatever it is, they do grow out of it (basically there is not something "wrong with them, they just weren't quite ready to be born in some ways) but it is a tough start for all of you. I had two nephews who were like this and it was extremely tough on my brother and my SIL who were/are wonderful parents and now have two lovely little boys. You can help your baby calm down by swaddling, shusshing (use a hairdryer or vaccum cleaner, the white noise it creates calms them), swinging and trying a pacifier. These all help block the sensory overload. Baby carriers and slings are also good, the movement again seems to help. You can help yourself by getting extra support (consider a night nanny, calling in relatives etc and taking it in shifts so you get as much sleep as possible. this is not at all your fault, nor is it your baby's fault, its just how it is and it won''t be forever but don't try and go it alone! Because your baby is on formula, it would be worth ruling out a milk allergy, see if you can get a prescription specifically for neocate, if you see a massive improvement you'll know thats what it was. This link might be helpful http://www.parentingscience.com/what-is-colic.html <em>edited by kiwispiers on 24/08/2012</em>

Oh Hun, I can hear the pain and desperation in your words :( And it takes me back to when I had my first born! She was colic, reflux and very high maintenance! I too felt exactly the same way that you do "this is meant to be the happiest time of our lives"...but instead we were at our wits end! There is so much in your post that is "normal behavior" for newborn and then there is the fact that he may have a physical barrier which is causing him all this distress. You are doing absolutely nothing wrong, babies unfortunately do not come with manuals, and 80% of babies do not follow the text book! Please, get some help and support. I can, out of personal experience recommend Cecile De Scally! She was a lifeline to me at the 7 week mark where I felt I was about to lose the plot :\: Unfortunetly, like many services there are mothers that are pro-Cecile and anti-Cecile. Do a search on the forum and you can draw your own conclusion! Her number is 0555886298. She does home visits for newborns, so if that works best for you, she is able to accommodate you! Another midwife that can recommend from personal experience is Andrea @ Lifeworks! She only does home visits and is not as busy as Cecile, so I'm sure she could possibly pay you a visit tomorrow! http://www.counsellingdubai.com/lifeworks-development-dubai.html I would also consider taking him to a specialist!? Dr Loubser is one of the best Peadiatricians in Dubai. Again, do a search on the forum, and you will only read praises from Mums! Both my girls are with him, and I am 100% confident we are in the right hands! http://www.ihcdubai.com/doctors/michael-loubser/ With the right amount of help and support, you will be on the right path to forming a wonderful relationship with your baby! The first few weeks are possibly the hardest, but know that it will pass and you will gain your confidence as a parent x

Hi JBR_Mummy, our first child had colic so I just want to say I know what you are going through - it is h*ll. You have been given advice already and I'm sure you will get lots more suggestions of things to try. We tried all sorts of things, none of which worked for us, and eventually we realised that we just had to survive and do whatever it took to get through it. It's hard to believe that it will ever end, but it does. I hope you find a solution, but if you don't, please don't feel guilty. Our DD came out the other end just fine, we were the ones who were worse for the wear! So look after yourselves and just do whatever you have to to get through this difficult time. It will get better! <em>edited by nixdxb on 24/08/2012</em>

yes pretty much what you have described my DS went through i am using the normal NAN stage 1 he is nearly 5 months and he is thriving on it. It just could be something in certain formulas that affect some babies that is what i think anyway. If you do swap formulas they say it will probably take a few days to see if it makes a difference although i have to say for my DS was instant i wish i had swapped sooner !! goodluck i hope this helps i know it is hard to see the little one in pain and lack of sleep doesn't help either !

I had the same problem with my DS we were on similac too. After a few weeks i decided to change formula to NAN he was a different baby slept right through the night and hardly cried he was happy and content.I would suggest changing formula and see if that helps it certainly did for us !!

I'm so sorry to hear that you're having a hard time! Sounds like your bub is not feeling so well at night :( -- We had a midwife come to our place a few weeks after delivery and this helped a ton in knowing what to do with our little one and to understand why he wasn't feeling well (he had silent reflux). Perhaps, you could look into someone coming to visit you at home? In the meantime -- although I know it's hard do try to find some time for yourself for a shower , sleep or perhaps even a walk outside? Can you leave the baby for a short time with dad or another relative or friend? One thing that helped us considerably with our newborn was putting him in a front carrier for a lot of the day -- unfortunately it doesn't help you get any sleep, but it does often ease the new born's pain/crying/etc. I'm pretty sure I spent the first couple of months with our baby in the front carrier or asleep on my chest in the rocking chair -- I do remember it being really hard then, but now (with a 6 month old) I look back on the time fondly and miss all those wonderful snuggles! Goodluck and take care of yourself!