LO has been struggling to put on weight for the past 6 weeks. More recently, he's also been getting increasingly grouchy and struggling to settle when laid down. It all came to a head 3 days ago when he was crying so inconsolably and arching his back so much, I took him to the dr and he has been diagnosed with reflux. He throws up about 10 times after each feed and can still be bringing milk up 2-3 hrs after a feed. He can't settle to sleep (in cot or my arms) for any nap or bedtime now without screaming himself to sleep. He is so uncomfortable and in pain that the back arching is happening right the way through the day now. He's been prescribed gaviscon which we started two days ago, but he seems mostly to be throwing that up as well and still in pain .

Have just been for a weigh in today and he's now tracking under the 25th centile (from originally tracking along the 50 line for several weeks) - and has also gained absolutely no weight in 2 weeks.

I feel so helpless and hate to see LO in so much pain. I can't stop crying and feel like I am just stressing him out even more. I thought reflux was supposed to be something worst in newborn babies, but he's never had a problem up until recently.

Against the backdrop of all of this are extended family telling me we should be giving him baby rice in his bottle to settle him off to sleep, and should be weaning by now, trying formula to help with the sicking blah blah etc etc... They haven't mentioned any of this since he was diagnosed with reflux, and our health visitor has been very clear about none of this helping and also that switching to formula would only aggravate him all the more... but I dread being near this family now for their comments. LO cries all the time so I don't feel comfortable being near them at the moment. I just feel like I am not doing right by LO (and family, maybe not on purpose, will only make me feel even more like this), I just don't know what else to do - need some reassurance that it will pass, and/or any advice for what I can do to help him...

Oh you poor thing, I've no advice I'm afraid, at least you know now it is reflux, I didn't realize that babies could get it when they were older either. I have huge sympathy for what you must be going through.

ask to be referred to a paedetrician as he hasn't gained weight in 2 weeks and is very unhappy. they can give you medication to help if suitable. my lo is on domperidone and ranitidine. i know its really stressful but hopefully it will get sorted soon x

by the way, we were alo told by the paeditrician to continue bf x

Thanks Lyre - he is on Gaviscon at the moment - I have another appointment with Dr's in a couple of days to review if that is working, if not, they will talk about alternatives, I guess Domperidone etc. Do these seem to be working for your LO?

my eldest was a severe reflux baby in her first year. She want from the 50th centile to the 9th centile and still no one would listen to me. She would bring so much milk up she actually used to choke on it and on a couple of occassions turned blue.
It was a very difficult struggle and eventually she was admitted to the childrens ward and a barium swallow showed sever reflux.
We were given gaviscon along with domperidone and renitdine to give her and eventually she started gaining weight. On her 1st birthday she weighed 15lbs.
Anyway, now she is a healthy 3 year old although still a little on the small side.

I know how difficult it can be dealing with a reflux baby so if you ever want any advice or just someone to talk to you can PM me anytime xx

the domperidone helps the stomach digest food quickly so it has less chance of coming back up and the ranitidine helps reduce the acid, so they are more comfortable. initially when we saw the paed they gave us a low dosage and it worked for a week or so, but then he started vomiting and crying again, so we called them and they increased the dosage. it has been working like a dream for the past few months, but now he has put on weight it has stopped being so effective this week, so i need to get it increased again. just something to be aware of..............doctors dont like giving meds to babies understandably, but if the reflux is severe, they will do. you have to keep pushing for a solution. i know its really hard, i used to be in tears often when i'd feed him and he would throw it straight back up all over me and be hungry for more, especially with breastfeeding, you can run out of milk sometimes, but just keep persevering and it will be ok.. i did give formula a couple of times, but he won't take it now.

Another thing to note, is because of your lo age, the paeds might think its better to wean early rather than give medication. anyway, keep asking different doctors until you get satisfaction.

I've no advice I'm afraid but just wanted to give big

actually just wanted to add something. im not medically qualified so i dont really know, but it doesnt make sense to me personally for reflux to start at 4 months, as its supposed to be because the valve at the top of the stomach is weak. could it possibly be something else? maybe start another thread to see if anyone else has experienced the onset of reflux at that age. i could be completely wrong, but thought it was worth mentioning.

Thanks Ley - that's really sweet of you

Hi Lyre - no it didn't make sense to me either. Mentioned it to the hv too and she said it could have been triggered by something, e.g. him guzzling more than usual could have increased the pressure on the valve. He was spurting around beginning of Jan and its got steadily worse since then. He's also always been a sicky baby, so I think it's probably always been there but not to the extent that he was in as much pain as now.

I found this website too which talks about reflux actually peaking at 4 months so I guess it can just get detected at this point - http://www.livingwithreflux.org/brea...nd_feflux.html

HV advised us to increase the gaviscon to every feed and it's been working wonders since yesterday afternoon. He's puked up like one spoonful worth of milk in the last 6 or 7 feeds (usually would throw up about 10 times after each feed lately) and is arching his back less and less. Our happy boy is back ! It's awful to watch them suffering isn't it? She's said if it continues to work well, we could think about trying to phase it out feed by feed, but also warned us on the reverse side that some babies can need to continue it even after they've started on solids, eek!

Hope your LO is doing ok and thanks so much for all your tips.