The Burp Rag » Infant Reflux

Product Review – Hug Me Joey

admin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 20:10:45 +0000

Refluxers are notoriously bad in the car. The second you fit them down into the carseat well and begin to buckle the straps they spit up and typically scream or cry for the entire car ride. The reason for this is that most infant bucket style car seats are designed for older babies and despite that the seat puts them in an upright position it puts pressure on the tummy which can cause refluxing. In a bouncy seat or swing it’s possible to roll up a hand towel to fill in the well and relieve some pressure but it’s not safe to do that in a carseat.

I was excited to come across the Hug Me Joey car seat support which can alleviate the pressure on the tummy and has been extensively crash tested and hospital-approved. The Hug Me Joey has a wedge that goes into the well of the carseat to minimize it, lifting the baby up and out of the well. It also has a positioning roll that keeps the baby from slumping over to the side. The roll creates a cozier sense of boundaries in the carseat for newborns that makes them feel more secure.

Next to tear and barf-free car rides, my favorite thing about the Hug Me Joey is that you can also use it in a bouncy seat, swing, or stroller and the roll can be used to help position a baby for side sleeping or can be placed around the baby in a U shape to prevent a tiny baby from rolling down a slightly propped crib or bassinette mattress, which makes it a great value.

If you are tired of cleaning the carseat and baby each time you take a quick car trip try the Hug Me Joey. Another practical parenting picks winner!

Acid Reflux in Children – Sleep Solution

admin — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:36:09 +0000

Sleep solutions are hard to come by with reflux kids and if you’ve had one you understand what I’m talking about. For the parent of an older baby, toddler or child with reflux, sleep can be elusive and frustrating – especially given how the lack of it can both affect their development and household temperaments.

If you have a younger baby who is placed on a wedge with sling from an early age they adapt very well to it. However, some babies aren’t diagnosed with reflux until they are older and by then they want nothing to do with a harness. For them and the unfortunate toddlers and older kids who are too big for baby reflux wedges there aren’t many propping solutions.

It takes a 30 degree plus angle to provide real relief from reflux. An adult can simply recline with their torso on a wedge and remain that way all night. Children are very active sleepers so that solution doesn’t work well. They either roll off the side of the wedge or scoot down to the flat mattress, rendering the wedge ineffective. To make matters worse a baby may roll down and become wedged against blankets or crib railings, increasing the risk of SIDS.

I was so excited to learn about a fairly new sleep solution for acid reflux in children and pediatric reflux – an ingenious foam bed comprised of a series of stacked wedges that allows babies who weigh at least 15 pounds, toddlers and kids up to 5 years old to sleep on an angle without either rolling off the side of a wedge or sliding down to the foot of the bed or crib.

The Comfy Lift kid’s reflux bed is basically a series of wedges at the head sloping down towards the feet with another series of wedges at the feet sloping the opposite direction back to the bum to keep the child from sliding down. As the child grows and the wedges at the feet are no longer needed they can be removed. There are also wedges at the sides sloping in to the body to prevent the child from rolling off the sides of the wedge.

The bed comes with a waterproof cover and one fitted knit cotton sheet. It has a rather large footprint (48″ x 28″) but does fit in standard American crib and toddler bed frames. It can also sit directly on the floor. At it’s highest point it is 16″ high so once an older baby starts climbing you should use a secure crib tent to prevent any falls, or move the whole wedge to a toddler bed frame or the floor.

Karen over at www.InfantReflux.org has an extensive review of the bed with images. If you have never been on her site before it has an amazing forum for parents and caregivers of infants with reflux that I highly recommend.

For the toddler or older child with low oxygenation levels, pediatric GERD, sleep apnea, congestion or other breathing troubles that cause frequent and/or painful night wakings this bed is a blessing and worthy of a practical parenting pick!

Reflux 101: Book Review

admin — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:49:44 +0000

I just recently finished reading Reflux 101: A Parent’s Guide to Gastroesophageal Reflux by Jan Gambino, aka Reflux Mom. I’ve followed Jan Gambino for the last 5 years since she’s been a driving force behind the PAGER organization, a non-profit pediatric reflux website. She’s also written many articles on reflux and writes a weekly reflux blog for the HealthCentral Network so she knows a bit about infant reflux.

The book was an easy read that I wish I had when my first was born. It covers what is normal and what is GER versus GERD, sleep issues specific to reflux, positioning, testing, medications and prepares you for conversations with the pediatrician. There is a section for reflux in older children and information on high needs parenting, returning to work and taking care of yourself.

Jan covers all the topics a parent with a refluxer would be experiencing and then some, based on her experience from years of monitoring reflux boards. What I particularly love about this book is her easy writing style, non-judgmental or alarmist approach to the topic and the useful tips and stories from the trenches that other GERD parents have shared.

This book is the perfect thing to make you feel less isolated and see what has worked for other parents in your same situation. It definitely ranks as a practical parent pick!

Interview with www.InfantRefluxDisease.com Founder

admin — Thu, 01 May 2008 21:19:02 +0000

Today I’m interviewing Roni Maclean, creator and moderator of www.InfantRefluxDisease.com and author of Life on the Reflux Roller Coaster. Roni has a now almost 8 year old daughter who, as a baby had the more severe version of infant acid reflux; GERD (GastroEsophageal Reflux Disease) and still suffers from it. Here is my conversation with Roni:

AC: Roni, was it hard to get an initial diagnosis of reflux? Information was very sparse 8 years ago.

RM: It was incredibly difficult to find information and help back then. The doctors weren’t aware it was reflux at all until she started throwing up. Initially severe feeding aversions were her only symptom and they were truly stumped. Once she started vomiting, however, they began to suspect reflux and thankfully they have always done a wonderful job of treating her appropriately. She just happened to be a kid that didn’t respond to treatment.

AC: What was the range of emotions you experienced and then what did you do about it?

RM: I was very frustrated, depressed and helpless and felt a great deal of pity and pain for Shae-Lynne. I had no medical background but I started researching the disease shortly after Shae-Lynne’s diagnosis. The lack of information and support that I had were very frustrating and I wanted to reach out and help others going through what we had been through. I started a website early in 2001 which included information on reflux and GERD. Because of the overwhelming response I received from www.infantrefluxdisease.com I knew more needed to be done. I continued researching and writing, and together with my mother Jean McNeil Life on the Reflux Roller Coaster was born.

AC: For those of you who have never heard of it, Life on the Reflux Roller Coaster is a highly acclaimed “must read” and was the first book ever published which was dedicated entirely to infant reflux. What really turned the tide for you?

RM:The first big change came a few months after her jejunostomy surgery. She began to actually slowly improve slighty. Then in the past year or so we’ve seen even more improvements with her vomiting finally slowing down.

AC: How did you finally reconcile your notion of what having a baby would be like with the reality of actually having that baby and it being sick?

RM: How? I guess because I had to. Two choices, live in misery pitying myself and her (which believe me, I did spend time doing) or accept that whether she’s got GERD or not, she’s still my beautiful, sweet perfect little girl. At some point I also realized that everything we had been through with her, made her who she was and she was pretty great just the way she was.

AC: Roni, it’s so all-consuming when you have an infant with acid reflux that it takes over your life. What steps did you go through to restore your sense of individuality again after dealing with your daughter’s needs for so long?

RM: I didn’t until just this past year. I spent over 6 years living her condition, living it in real life with her and living it online with my website. Last year I finally just burned out and had do something for me. So, I started taking care of myself, working out and eating right. I can be a better mother if I can give her 100% of myself and I couldn’t do that until I got myself back.

AC: That is great advice. What other advice would you give new parents struggling with caring for an infant with reflux?

RM: Get a support group and get educated are two of the most important things. Also, I think it helps to understand that things could be so much worse and that it truly does get easier.

AC: What is the single most common thing you see parents on your boards struggling with?

RM: I really don’t think I could narrow it down to just one. Lack of support from family and friends is huge. Listening to non stop crying and watching their babies in constant pain is also excruciating.

AC: And what seems to be the thing that helps them the most?

RM: Finding the site. You can almost hear a sigh of relief when they find other people going through the same things they are.

AC: Your dedication to your site is amazing – every time I visit it you’ve added so many new resources and topics. It quite simply is one of the best, most respected sites on the net for information and support for those with babies and children suffering from GERD. The depth of detail and the breadth of related conditions you cover such as oral aversions, g-tubes and sensory integration issues is phenomenal. My favorite part about your site is the support boards for reflux and various related conditions. You actually have a separate “Ask the Experts” thread where members can ask questions from a Medical Professional, Pharmacist, Speech Language Pathologist, Respiratory Therapist, Occupational Theraptist, Lactation Consultant, Massage Therapist and Therapeutic Riding Instructor (for Sensory Integration questions).

Roni, you’ve accomplished so much in the last 7 years in the field of infant acid reflux – any plans for the future?

RM: Oh of course. There is still quite a bit more information I want to get added on several different topics and lots of existing areas that I want to expand upon. I have tons of plans for the site and a lot of exciting applications want to have created which would be a huge benefit to it’s visitors I believe. Unfortunately, these plans have been on the back burner for several years; however, because the site is not-for-profit, we just haven’t the funds to implement those plans.

Is coffee bad for an infant with reflux?

admin — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 06:54:01 +0000

I wish, I wish, I wish that little indulgences like coffee had no health impacts on any of us but sadly they do. It’s so cruel that your morning cup of coffee could indeed be making your baby’s reflux worse because that same cursed reflux probably kept you up all of the nights since your new little baby was born.

I remember being so tired about 2 months after Chicken Little was born that I lost my balance one day while cooking dinner. Immediately I thought it had been an earthquake. Then I realized that I had fallen asleep while standing up.

Infant acid reflux can indeed be caused or aggravated by a number of triggers in your diet, although the biggest offenders are dairy, wheat and soy. I have a thorough list of dietary triggers here: improving your breastmilk to reduce infant reflux, including ways to pinpoint which items are the cause so you can continue with other triggers that don’t bother your baby.

Please don’t quit breastfeeding because your baby is reacting to something in your diet! To read more about how breastmilk is more beneficial than formula read feeding an infant with reflux breastmilk versus formula.

Breastfeeding a baby with reflux is a fabulous forum full of mothers who have been there at least once and many of them have done it many times. They are wonderfully supportive, sweet and encouraging. Please consider joining the forum if only just to lurk before switching to formula. Your baby will thank you for it later on with better health, higher IQ and lower footprint on the planet.

Wishing you hugs,

You are the reason

admin — Sun, 10 Feb 2008 20:37:06 +0000

If you found this blog from my reflux site, www.PollywogBaby.com, then YOU are the reason.

YOU are the reason that I spend the hours I do maintaining the site.

In the hopes that YOU would find it when you needed help the most.

In the hopes that YOU would find something in the information I’ve researched, and tested, and shared.

In the hopes that one (or hopefully more) pieces of information would be so useful that it will help you out in some small or large way and help you see light at the end of the tunnel.

In the hopes that if you are at the end of your rope you will notice the contact information and realize that I really do mean I want YOU to call me so you have someone to talk to you who understands what you are going through.

Because I want you to know that YOU will make it through this experience and that your baby will outgrow reflux and be the wonderful child you hoped for back when all this began.

Wishing you hugs,

Natural cures for infant acid reflux

admin — Sat, 09 Feb 2008 07:25:41 +0000

The first three months with Chicken Little were the hardest of my life. I was completely unprepared for a fussy baby with infant acid reflux. He cried more than I did and my husband was working long hours so I went at least 10-12 hour stretches without a break. He constantly spit up on me and refused to be put down even long enough for me to use the restroom. Medications the doctor prescribed had little to no effect on his acid reflux and it took quite awhile before I had the energy to begin researching things that might help him. Once I did, things improved dramatically for us.

Here is what helped:

Positioning for infant acid reflux

Be sure your baby is always upright with a straight spine and no pressure on the tummy. Carriers, slings and bouncy seats that allow him to slump will put pressure on his tummy. To keep from going insane check into a nice adjustable baby carrier that keeps him close to you so you can actually use your hands. I recommend the moby wrap and the baby cuddler. For sleeping invest in a good sleeping wedge like the Tucker Sling or the AR Pillow. When feeding always be sure your baby’s spine is straight and he is as elevated as possible. It is virtually impossible to do this without using something like a Pollywog baby feeding pillow. I sell these items in my store because I have virtually tried them all and these are the ones that work for babies with infant acid reflux.

Dietary changes to cure infant acid reflux

If you are breastfeeding try eliminating triggers from your diet. Dairy, soy, and wheat are very common ones. It may take several weeks for these foods to clear your system so you really need to continue the trial that long. Pay close attention to your baby’s diapers and spit ups when you do add things back. It can take 12 hours or more for a food you consume to hit your baby’s system, although you may notice changes immediately depending on the level of his intolerance. Read more about making breastmilk easier to digest.

Breastmilk imbalance can trigger infant acid reflux

Be sure your baby is getting the adequate amount of hind milk. Only switch breasts once a side is empty! Too much foremilk can cause gas or reflux. See Empty the first breast for more information on how to tell if it’s time to switch or not.

The right baby bottles can improve infant acid reflux

If you are bottle feeding try Dr. Brown’s Bottles. They are uniquely designed with an internal straw that eliminates air bubbles and vacuum buildup. They really are the best bottles for baby spit up and gas.

Medication for infant acid reflux – a last resort

Talk to your doctor about medicating your baby only once you have tried these other natural remedies for infant reflux. Medications are not tested for infant use, nor have there been any follow-up studies done.

Dealing with infant acid reflux

Get as much help for yourself as possible. It’s so easy to slip into depression when you are dealing with a refluxer. Be sure to leave the house. Getting outside will change things dramatically for both of you! Visit friends, go for walks, but above all take care of yourself. See reflux and colic sanity tips for more ideas on how to preserve your sanity when dealing with a refluxer.

Wishing you hugs,

That feeling of panic…

admin — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 06:22:37 +0000

I had totally forgotten that feeling of panic until I helped take care of my neighbor’s 3 month old baby today. It wasn’t that she was fussy at all. It was my two kids. Chicken Little is extremely jealous anytime I give attention to Toddler, although he is making huge strides now that Toddler is able to play with him. Toddler, however, has never had to share me in that way before. He whined and cried incessantly.

Clearly she didn’t want to be in her carseat the whole time so when she began fussing I picked her up. I smiled at her and she looked at me with huge eyes. After an uncertain minute she smiled back. Then I smiled larger and she smiled back again. I smiled even larger, playfully throwing my head back. Apparently the sight of my open mouth and all my teeth was too much and she began wailing inconsolably.

I walked her around the house, let her look out the window and finally went down the hall to rock her. Nothing helped. Then when I came back into the living room she fixated on the sight of a large purple dinosaur singing and dancing on my television screen. She calmed right down.

The whole episode reminded me of the panic I felt with both of my kids. Chicken Little cried inconsolably for months. In the beginning I felt constant panic and frantically tried every position, every song and shush I knew, every movement I could think of. After awhile you begin to realize it’s not you and you’ve tried just about everything you can try but at first it eats you up. A smart person should be able to think their way out of colic, right?

With Lander the feeling of panic was because I had so much surgery after he was born that I wasn’t supposed to carry him for months. What if I was alone with him and he started crying? I wouldn’t be able to dip into the bag of tricks that I had developed with Chicken Little because they all involved standing up and moving around, obviously carrying the baby.

It’s amazing how overwhelming panic can be – difficulty breathing, fuzzy vision or loss of color, such extreme blood pressure surges that your ears buzz.

Panic is one of those amazing animalistic sensations that you just cannot control. Just like having an infant with reflux or colic. If you feel panic trying to soothe your little one read infant reflux and colic comfort ideas. You may find something in there that helps eliminate that feeling of panic.

Taking a hit for the team (or for mom, anyway)

admin — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 07:07:00 +0000

One of my most favorite things is getting phone calls from people who have visited my website. I love talking to families who are having a difficult time with infant reflux – it’s the reason I started my website in the first place. I love giving them someone to talk to who understands how difficult what they are going through is. I love directing them to some information that they are looking for, or didn’t even know they were looking for but will help the insanity of their home life dramatically.

They frequently ask me if my kids ever outgrew their reflux and I confidently reply “yes.” Chicken Little outgrew his several years ago and Toddler outgrew his several months ago or so I had thought.

Today Toddler had his 18 month check-up and got some shots, which is usually a trigger for any autoimmune disease, including reflux. He was a little fussy and fell asleep in the car on the way to pick up Chicken Little from preschool. He ate a big lunch and played well all afternoon. He ate a huge dinner and asked for a cookie. I obliged him with few pieces of graham cracker since he had eaten so well. He walked to the other room and played with the train table for awhile, followed closely by the dog who was hoping to pick up some dropped crumbs.

A few minutes later he came walking over to me and wiped his hands on my pants. I realized they were covered with something sticky, as was his stomach and his face. I took one whiff and realized he had spit up. I cleaned him up and then grabbed some paper towels to clean up wherever he had been playing in the other room.

That’s when I saw her. The dog was feverishly licking her fur, contorting her body trying to reach the top of her head and all down her back. In her zeal to not miss a single crumb she had been standing right in front of Toddler when he threw up and taken the full blast. She was covered in barf. But not a drop on the floor that I could find. Now that, my friends, is loyalty.

Forget all the baby gear – the one thing you really need in a house with a reflux baby is a dog!

The isolation of infant reflux

admin — Wed, 09 Jan 2008 07:36:25 +0000

If you are a first time parent and your infant has reflux it’s lonely. And maddening. Infants with reflux don’t sleep contentedly in strollers while you eat out at restaurants or get pedicures with girlfriends like other babies you see. Not only do they cry most of the time but they frequently don’t stop crying when you pick them up and try to console them. They have the audacity to spit up all over themselves, you, the furniture, the carpet, and your immediate (or even appoximate) surroundings.

For others with infants it seems so easy to leave the house and resume life as normal. For you it can seem so daunting. Infants with reflux can shatter your self confidence both as a parent and a person. It can isolate you, even from your significant other.

The single most important thing you can do to avoid this is to get out of the house. Take baby steps long before your baby does. Start with short trips even though they seem like the effort of preparation is not really worth the trip itself. Spend 30 minutes preparing simply in order to go buy yourself a decaf latte. If your baby spits up on you pass it off as a bad steamed milk accident. Plan for a longer outing next time and try to meet a friend.

Each trip will build confidence that you can handle any situation with this incredibly demanding baby and help restore some of the old you.

Not convinced? If I could come to your house and drag you out I would – it’s that important! Here is a checklist of items you need to leave the house with a reflux baby:

Out and about with infant reflux.

It’s all about getting to a point where you can enjoy the dry moments.

Wishing you hugs,

Lander’s Reflux Story

admin — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 20:59:27 +0000

After having survived one very demanding son with reflux who we will call my very nearly only child, I was fully expecting reflux a second time. This time I was prepared! Lander was a relatively easy-going baby. Around 3 weeks old he started showing signs of reflux and severe intestinal gas. I had some serious medical issues when he was born so at that point he was still getting supplemental formula. We struggled with reflux for several weeks until I had the last of my surgeries behind me and could focus on getting my milk supply up and eliminate all formula. I then tried the elimination diet with no improvement but just by taking him off formula his gas cleared up.

Our vast arsenal of positioning products helped us manage his reflux from that point on. At night he slept on a reflux wedge. He was still fairly tiny so we swaddled him and tucked him into the harness without putting his feet through the holes. It worked great! He fed on the nursing wedge. During the day when he wanted to be held, which was all the time, I put him in the Moby Wrap which he loved and it let me pay attention to my older son, clean the house and cook dinner. It was great when we were out doing things as well.

I honestly believe it is in part because Lander was soothed quickly, fed on the wedge, slept on an angle and always worn in the Moby that he developed into such an easy-going boy. Here he is:

Just as with his older brother, positioning minimized his discomfort and spitups and around 8-10 months when he became more mobile and a greater portion of his intake was solids that pretty much went away too.

Max’s Reflux Story

admin — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 20:57:08 +0000

Max was my first son and forage into parenthood. People had told me “new babies just eat and sleep” so that is what I was expecting. Max did NOT just eat and sleep. He alternated between nursing with the suction strength of an industrial vacuum for 45-90 minutes at a time and needing to be held in the absolute perfect position the rest of the time. If I wasn’t nursing or holding him in my arms he wailed with the shriek of a banshee, earsplitting screams that sent the dog out of the house for weeks on end.

And I don’t mean he only needed to nurse and be held during the day, it was around the clock. I slept in the recliner with him for at least the first 4 months. I called him my 8 pounds of fury. Hell hath no fury like my son Max, even now.

Here he was then, quiet but crabby:

He seemed so angry that it was hard to realize at first it was due to discomfort. As with most babies, he didn’t start showing signs of reflux until he was about 3 weeks old when he began projectile vomiting. He vomited every time I tried to put him down, burp him, put him in the carseat or the sling or the Bjorn. As the weeks went on the vomiting increased. The doctor finally put him on Zantac but it did little good. I tried the elimination diet but it didn’t make a difference. We tried starting solids early but that made absolutely no difference.

We never left the house because every time I got him ready and me ready (which is nearly impossible unless you can put a baby down) then he would barf on his clothes. I would change his clothes. Then he would barf on me. Then I would change MY clothes. Then he would barf on his clothes. I would change his clothes. Then he would barf on me. I would change my clothes. I am grateful we had a dog to clean up what hit the floor because that saved me time. Then one or both of us would be out of clothes and in tears so it wasn’t even worth it to leave. Even if I made it as far as putting him in the carseat he would shriek and barf the car trip and be so upset he may not calm down even once we had gotten to where we were going.

Finally around 4 months I took things into my own hands. Rather than experimenting with other prescriptions I began researching alternative remedies. I discarded the baby carriers that he hated anyway and held him perfectly upright and close to me all the time. I learned that the left side is the best side for reflux so we started swaddling him and putting him on his left side to sleep. I made a foam wedge to breastfeed him on. I changed the way I breastfed him by leaving him on the same side until I was absolutely certain it was empty before switching but I did let him nurse as often and as long as he wanted to.

Things got better! Then when he began sitting up on his own around 7 months things got even better!! And when he started crawling around 8 months things really got better!!! He still has the occasional reflux episode (mom, food just came up my throat), even now that he is 4 years old but once we improved his positioning his discomfort disappeared and the spit-ups minimized and once his core muscles developed and he started eating predominantly solid food his spit-ups all but disappeared.

Here he is now, reflux-free but still crabby:

So really the reflux is gone but not much else has changed.