Acid Reflux

Over the past 2 weeks or so Aidyn has began spitting up clear liquid (like water almost) about an hour after eaitng. He also got to where when we would feed him in the evenings, around 5-9pm, he wouldn't want to finish his bottle after burping midway through. He would turn his head and push the bottle out of his mouth only to cry because he was still hungry. This only happened a time or two before our 2 month (actually 7 wks) appointment. It hadn't happened frequently enough to really catch our attention or be of a concern...

until AFTER his appoitnment.

We went to the dr on Monday, March 16th and his reflux began to "pick up" and get worse on Wednesday. By Friday he was spitting up quite a bit, only it had began to be formula also. He wouldn't cry when he would spit up, he just spit up. Usually when we burp him he'll spit up a little bit...every now and then what seems like more. But about 30 min to an hour AFTER eating, he started spitting up clear. It was like I had been feeding him water instead of milk. Weird.

By Friday he was doing this clear spitting up pretty regularly. It didn't seem to bother him as much as it did us between it just being a nuisance (sp?) by getting on everything and not being able to figure out what it was. The part that did bother Aidyn was the reflux in the evenings.

He would eat his bottle good, but when it was time to burp he would scream and cry. When we finally got a burp out of him, he would want his bottle until it reached his mouth. At that point he would spit it out, turn his head, and began to cry. It was like he was still hungry...but knew if he hate his stomach would hurt more. So we would take a 15-20 min. break to let him relax and calm down, and then he would finish the rest of his bottle. On several occasions he has also began screaming/crying right in the middle of his sleep.

When he "dreams" he'll whine or make a little cry noise, but nothing like screaming and totally crying. He has also started doing that...which the doctor said was his reflux (burping up the acid) coming up. It hurts and he wakes himself up by crying.

So I called and left a message on Sunday about our concerns. The lactation consultant, Gloria, called me back on Monday and I explained the situation and his symptoms. She said it sounded exactly like reflux and made us an appointment for this afternoon.

The doctor said to put a wedge or something under Aidyn's mattress to elevate his head a little when he sleeps. We have been using a pillow, but I'd rather put something under the mattress that way he is sleeping on a "flat" surface. Or he said that we could "put him to bed" in his car seat. He said that sitting upright would help with the reflux. Personally, I would rather raise the mattress. I can't imagine sleeping all night in a car seat would be too comfortable. He also gave us a prescription for Ranitidine for stomach ulcers and to help prevent as much acid production in his stomach.

According to everything I've read in books and online about reflux, we should be able to see improvements within 48 hrs. I plan on giving him his first dose tonight at his 8pm feeding. Hopefully this medicine will help.