Things I've learned about having an Acid Reflux baby

July 16, 2011

Remember when Solomon was first trying to breastfeed and he would just clench his fists and SCREAM? It all makes so much sense now! With his AR he just isn't comfortable on his back... ever. I may have a window of opportunity to change his diaper on his back for about 30 seconds before he starts to cry, but I've become very fast at it.

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Here are some things that I've adapted for Sol that I now know are what he prefers...

- He sleeps on his belly only (he loves to sleep on my chest at night and while I wasn't planning on co-sleeping at all, it really works for him and we both get so much more sleep! We haven't tried putting him in his crib during the night shift just yet, I'm sure we will once he gets more adjusted to taking his naps in it during the day)

- His favorite way to nap is where I put his boppy against something hard, lay his super plush blanket in it and then put his belly forward draped over it (like he would be on someone's chest sleeping). He stays asleep for 2 hours this way!

- He always needs something to suck on while he's awake to keep him calm (I first thought that I was giving in by giving him a pacifier, but then I read that AR babies need one to help them stay calm so that they don't get into a fuss and upset their AR even more by screaming)

- To cope with the night shift I put a basket with all of his diaper needs in it along with a portable changing pad, a glass of water, my pumping station and a lamp laying down in the bed with me so I can turn it on easily. It's all about efficiency with me:). All I have to do when he wakes up is sit up to feed and change him and then we just go back to sleep! It's a wonderful system!

- I've found that really loud "shhhing" in his ears when he gets fussy works like a charm. He calms immediately now when I start to shhhhh.

- Instead of buying an expensive mattress wedge, I just put an old photo album under one side of Sol's crib so that it's slightly inclined. 

- The bouncer is no use to him, he despises being in the sitting up position. I hope he will like it when he gets older.

- I can't overfeed Sol or he will loose his lunch... all of it. Since I'm pumping and bottle feeding, we are giving him about 2 1/2-3 ounces at each feeding. We thought that he was just hungrier for a day or two and were giving him 4 ounces, but it really upset his AR.

- When he starts flailing his fists around, I just force my fingers into them and he grips them and starts to calm down.

- Although we aren't to excited about putting a 2 week old on Zantac, we know that he needs it to help him not be in pain until he can outgrow his AR. It has worked wonderfully for him and I don't regret our decision at all.

- He spits out his medicine if we just put it straight in his mouth and so I just mix it in with one of his bottles and he seems to like it even more than normal! It's like a minty milkshake.

- He does very well on the eat, play for 45 minutes and then sleep for 90 minutes schedule. It is very predictable and he goes down at night and for naps with ease. 

- He loves to cuddle and always wants someone to be holding him upright. When we can't do this for him, we put him in the boppy belly forward and he just lays there content.

- Instead of burping him rough, we have to do it very gently and what I've found is that after each ounce if I just do a few half way reverse crunches with him over my shoulder that he burps naturally without me patting him (which I've read that the patting can upset his AR)

I love that now that I know him so much better (you know, we have spent 432 hours together so far) and I understand that he doesn't fit into the normal newborn "rules" that I feel like I have a plan on why I'm doing the things that I do and that he responds so well to them!

Here were the symptoms that Sol had that sent us into the Doctor's office: 

Always wants to be held, pushes up with legs while crying, pulls legs into stomach while crying after feeding, frequent hiccups, cries every time he is put on his back, choking during feedings, congested, wheezing, cries while breastfeeding, curds in spit up, swallowing noises, fights to suck on fists, fists always clenched very tight, and spit up several times a day.

If your newborn or baby has any of the same symptoms or you feel like he or she is "colicky" then I would research AR and see if that is what is going on, I learned that 60% of babies experience some degree of reflux. It's funny because I never thought I would have a baby with AR or colic and so I skipped over every chapter in the 20 books that I read about the topic. 

Sol will most likely outgrow his AR as soon as he gets started on solid foods. 

I love my baby and love that it hasn't been a textbook newborn experience for us, we had to try a little harder and think a little longer to figure it all out.

He is asleep in his bed after a warm bath (where he peed all over dad's hand), a lavender lotion massage and a nice bedtime story. I love my little boy. 

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October:

This was my DD#2! After about 2 weeks...she would just fuss and we could not figure out what was wrong. The only time she was content was was when she was upright. Feeding her was a nightmare. She seemed to just want to suckle ALL.THE.TIME but would fuss. After about 6 weeks we figured out that she would sleep on her stomach. I know it is a no-no now...but we needed to sleep and so did she! We were also given stuff for reflux but I hated giving such a little person medicine...so we opted to do our best to remedy it as much as we could naturally (like all the things you described above). She is a vibrant 6yo now!

 (07.16.11 @ 11:14 PM)
Rhonda:

i soo feel you! My oldest had the worst reflux. It meant little sleep for me or him. He grew out of his about 8-9 mos.

 (07.17.11 @ 03:50 PM)
ashley :

Hi Lauren- I have been blog stalking you forever! I have a 6 month old with AR, and I feel your pain. One thing that he LOVED was when I would hold him and bounce with him on my excersise ball in the kitchen with the microwave fan on. He also loved the dryer. It is very exhausting but gets much better, he is now on prevacid and pulmcord breathing treatments.
.

(07.17.11 @ 08:13 PM)
Amanda McNeely:

My daughter had severe reflux and outgrew it around 9 months. Just a little tip...once you put the Zantac in their mouth, if you blow in their face it causes them to swallow and they wont' spit it out. That came out of my pre-photographer RN closet..ha! He is a handsome little guy!

 (07.17.11 @ 08:21 PM)
Kim:

Lauren, Has his doctor put him on any meds for this? My son had AR very badly when he was a baby. It was tough. I would offer this advice if Solomon is on medicine - wipe his gums after each time you give him the medicine and when he starts getting teeth - brush them after each dose of medicine. The reason is the pharmacy will suspend the acid reflux medicine in a liquid that is all but pure sugar and can do a lot of damage to little teeth. You'll spend a fortune later fixing the damage. Just a heads up.

(07.18.11 @ 10:28 AM)
Lindsay Nicholls:

I co slept with my son for months because of his reflux. He literally slept on me while in the recliner. I thought i was horrible and not doing things the way i "should", BUT we both did get sleep. I am pleased to say that he is two and has been sleeping in his crib for years now and he sleeps great! : )

Sounds like you have a great system and you are a great mom!!!

 (07.19.11 @ 08:28 AM)
TANIKA:

OMG...READING THIS POST...IM WONDERING IF MY BABY GIRL HAS AR....SHE JUST STARTED SPITTING UP (EVEN OUT THE NOSE) BUT I THOUGHT I WAS OVERFEEDING HER...BUT ALL OF WHAT YOU ARE GOING THROUGH, IM GOING THROUGH

 (07.19.11 @ 12:54 PM)
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17 days old

July 15, 2011

I wanted to do a photo of Sol once a month with all of his stuffed animals... I should have started when he was a week old, but I've been busy:)

Here he is at 17 days with all of his stuffed buddies...

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one with Steph, my pregnancy buddy, who is going to have Sol's new bff, Levi, Monday!
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one being funny for momma
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Myriah Grubbs:

Love these!!!! I did something similar with my first (but less artsy). I took a pic on the same day every week of him laying on his red blanket with the same giant stuffed bear. I did it for months. Then one day, he was bigger than the bear. It was a fun little version of a growth chart. So fun to look back at. And we still have the bear. I never had time to do it with my second, lol. But maybe I'll attempt it with my third :)

 (07.19.11 @ 02:45 AM)
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16 days old

July 14, 2011

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Oh maternity leave, how I will miss thee...
2 more weeks before I'm back to work...


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Solomon is 2 weeks old!

July 13, 2011

Can you believe it? I can't.

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This last week has been kind of hard. We had our live in company leave (my mom and sister) and Josh went back to work this last weekend. I have been taking the night shift since Josh has to wake up and be at work by 6 am and Solomon started getting very fussy 4 days ago. He had been practically a dream baby before that, but it could have been because he had people holding him upright and over their shoulder the entire time. 

Solomon was put on Zantac yesterday for acid reflux. He started acting pretty fussy over the weekend and I just had that motherly instinct that it was from something other than just his "fussy" time of the day. I started to watch him closely and made a list of things that were out of the ordinary. Things like these: being REALLY fussy and inconsolable if no one was holding him upright, only sleeping when he was at an incline on someone's chest, making gulping noises, frequent hiccups, eating a ton, spitting up little curds, not sleeping when he should be, pushing up with his legs while I held him and things like that. I began to notice that they were signs of acid reflux and after 3 days of watching him we took him to Dr. Evans yesterday afternoon and he got put on Zantac. After giving him the first dose he was back to being our dream baby in about 30 minutes! He slept for 4 hours straight and went back to his usual 2-3 hour sleep/feeding schedule during the night! 

I can cope with just about any situation pretty well, but after 3 days of being on full time mom duty without any help for 17 hours a day I was starting to feel trapped. Until today I couldn't do anything without holding him over my shoulder and patting him (which takes two hands of course). My emails were starting to pile up along with all of the housework and my personal time was non-existant. Josh takes over when he gets home, but by that time all I want to do it lay around and do nothing. 

Today was the start of a new day though! I had resolved in my heart to start the Baby Wise schedule of feed, awake time and then put him down for a nap when he was 2 weeks old and today I was able to start! He is on his own timetable for the feedings, which is about every 2 1/2 hours, but I had never attempted to put him in his crib awake to let him sleep on his own. 

I knew that he was changed, fed, burped and had his medicine and so I felt good about letting him fuss for a while. I took a shower, fixed my hair and even put on makeup! He fussed for about 30 minutes while he was on his back and I went in to check on him and rolled him to his tummy (our Dr. said he was strong enough to sleep on his tummy for everyone who is worried about this) and he immediately calmed down and only fussed for about 5 more minutes before falling asleep on his own!

He slept for about an hour and a half and woke up hungry. I fed him and then read some books and kept him awake and upright (to help his reflux) for about 30 minutes and when he yawned I put him in the crib again. He only fussed for 8 minutes this time before going to sleep!! I keep my IPAD2 in the crib with him on skype so that I can make sure that he is doing ok. I even sing or shhhhushh him when he gets a little fussy through it. I love my IPAD2 and I love that my son is now starting to sleep in his crib! YES!

What's new this week:
-Solomon weighs 8 pounds now! He is outgrowing his newborn onesies and is moving into his 0-3 clothes.
- I feel like he looked at me this week and watched my face! It was special.
- He is lifting his head so much longer this week, he is getting really strong.
- I am trying to cut out dairy to see if it will help Sol's AR (I'm on day 2 now) and boy did I not realize how much of it I was eating! I mean seriously! Ice cream, cereal, butter, cheese, cheese, cheese!! I am sure to drop below my pre-pregnancy weight without being able to eat all of these things! 
- I've lost 26 pounds now!



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Ashley Hlavaty:

Your such a good Momma!

 (07.13.11 @ 01:18 PM)
tina:

oh i love this shot. have been looking forward to seeing which shots you got of your baby. we're not friends, but i think we know lots of the same people because i lived in lubbock for a few years & went to trinity church, plus i follow your blog & you know how that makes you feel like you "know" the author. anyway, i had a baby 3 weeks ago. i'm going through similar things. just want to say how ahead of the curve you are in your approach (schedule, stomach sleeping, crying it out, etc) for being a 1st time mom. and also wanted to encourage you to keep sharing your feelings with someone or on your blog like you did here. motherhood can be so isolating & draining at the same time it is fufilling. sharing those thoughts are important to keeping you from drowning in them! i learned the hard way. congrats!

(07.13.11 @ 01:26 PM)
Meghan:

Are you eating dairy? You may try eliminating all dairy products from your diet as well. It takes 2 weeks to exit your system, so he will be an even happier baby in two weeks with his medicine and no dairy :). My baby has the same acid reflux problem and we were put on zantac, but we found out a few weeks later that the acid reflux can actually be caused by a milk protein intolerance (MSPI). And sure enough, they tested her stool and she had the MSPI. It is very common in babies and they usually outgrow it between 6 months and one year.

(07.13.11 @ 01:33 PM)
Katherine I:

You are becoming a great mommy. You know what to do. I'm happy he is feeling better. I am very proud of you on your weight. I kinda didn't lose the weight and now after almost two years I'm getting it off(it's harder after a long period of time). You are doing great!!!

 (07.13.11 @ 02:05 PM)
Brenda Landrum:

I loved using the Baby Wise method. My daughter is now 6 and she's so well behaved (of course she has her moments!) and she's so comfortable with who she is. I believe that a routine is what has made her comfortable, she always knew what to expect and was never surprised and wondering when was what. A routine is key!! Not that you have to live life according to it but it really does help. :) She has always slept very well at night with only a period of time when she was moved to a big girl bed and had to get use to that plus her trying to claim some independence. Sorry for babbling but I just wanted to tell you that I loved Baby Wise and the books that follow. Oh and Soloman is such a cutie pie!! Congrats!

 (07.13.11 @ 02:34 PM)
Lindsay Nicholls:

My child had silent reflux. it was hard to diagnose him because nothing ever came up. Hince the name silent. YOU were very smart to notice the signs early. It can be tough! It sounds like you are doing well. Something else i swore by was the book Happiest Baby on the Block. You might have heard of it all ready but it got us through some tuff days. I give it as gifts now when i go to baby showers. Hope this advice from a stranger is not too weird. I am sure you are getting tons of advice and probably more than you want ; )

(07.13.11 @ 04:43 PM)
Jennifer F:

Your doing great!! I remember when we brought our daughter home and I was so overwhelmed and couldn't get everyithing done. I was telling this to a friend and she said...Don't worry about having your house clean and dinner on the table by 6 o'clock everynight. Your babies grow up so fast and you can clean your house in 20 years when their grown and in college. This was the best advice given to me. We did the Baby Wise and I HIGHLY recommend it! It gave me a lot of freedom and it also made me feel better knowing that they were getting really good sound sleep. And with the baby on a sleep schedule it gave me time to pick up the house. I started doing one chore a day, like Mondays I vacuum, Tuesday I dust, Wednesday I clean bathrooms, Thursday I sweep and mop and Friday I vacuum and Saturday and Sunday I don't clean house at all and then I do one load of laundry a day. I hope this has helped you. Just remember the stage won't last long so enjoy every minute of it!

 (07.14.11 @ 03:09 PM)
Sara Davis:

I love that sweet picture. It's one of my favorites you have taken of him. Congratulations...I am glad he is getting back on track!

 (07.14.11 @ 03:56 PM)
Ash Tollett:

Oh my! This sounds exactly like Asher's newborn period. Acid reflux + a little colic = one tired mom! We're still doing Zantac with him. I think baby boys are much more needy of their mommy....especially if they don't feel well. Hang in there...it does get a little better and much easier. But there's no doubt it is the MOST exhausting period for ole mom =)

 (07.15.11 @ 09:06 AM)
cortney:

So glad to hear things are going well! My sister's little man has acid reflux bad too! he's about 3 1/2 months and things are getting better with him too! Email me and I can send you her email if you want to chat about it.. i know that always helps! Hope the puppy doggies are loving their new little brother! Take CarE!

 (07.15.11 @ 03:57 PM)
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Birth Announcement video

July 10, 2011

Here is a little video that I made for Solomon's birth announcement! It could use a little more work, but I am tired and ready for bed:)

Don't forget to video your children!! I love watching our old family videos and want to have many videos for Sol to watch when he is older, there is no excuse especially if you have a Canon 5d Mark II!!

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Jennifer S.:

That turned out soooo cute!! :)
What did you put the movie together with, if you don't mind me asking? I would love to do one of my kids, I just need more video. :D

 (07.10.11 @ 10:11 PM)
Lindsey Jost:

Lauren, this is absolutely beautiful! So sweet.

 (07.10.11 @ 11:11 PM)
Tanika Lamar:

Very Sweet!!! This is oh so precious! And love the song!

 (07.10.11 @ 11:56 PM)
Alex:

Oh my gosh this was one of the most beautiful things I've watched in a long time! SO CUTE and such an amazingly good idea! Congratulations, he is gorgeous!

 (07.11.11 @ 03:13 AM)
shannon:

BEAUTIFUL!!! That was the most precious video I have ever seen! What a blessing. That wil be something... too look back on that video 5, 10, 20 years from now! Honestly amazing!!! :)

 (07.11.11 @ 09:24 AM)
Ashley Hlavaty:

So sweet!

 (07.11.11 @ 09:30 AM)
Chelsea:

So precious! Your little boy looks so sweet-what a beautiful blessing.

 (07.11.11 @ 11:29 AM)
Chanda's Photography:

This is just beautiful!! He is a gorgeous baby!! Congrats to you all!

 (07.11.11 @ 12:35 PM)
Dena:

what a precious video and memory for Solomon when he grows up and has children of his own. :) He is a beautiful baby!

 (07.11.11 @ 11:09 PM)
cortney russell:

This was just amazing Lauren! It brought tears! congratulations to you 3!!!!

 (07.11.11 @ 11:40 PM)
Leslie Harris:

This is priceless and this is why I became a photographer:)

 (07.12.11 @ 09:33 AM)
AllieN:

This video is sooo sooo cute and special! You will all cherish it for years to come. Such a great idea!

 (07.12.11 @ 10:46 AM)
Lucy:

I don't know you, but I love you! God uses you in the most incredible ways! Thank you!!

 (07.12.11 @ 04:19 PM)
Alex:

He's here, he's here! He's finally here!!!! So excited for you and Josh! Soak it all in, 'cause it will fly by way to fast :-( Congrats!

(07.12.11 @ 09:29 PM)
Lacy:

Lauren: Where did you get the shelves in Solomon's room? Love them!!!!!! (I'm assuming IKEA) :)

 (07.12.11 @ 10:40 PM)
Erica Sledge:

Love this so much! You are seriously Super-Mom...

 (07.13.11 @ 09:51 PM)
Jenny Beck:

This is such a neat idea. You'll be so glad you took lots of video year down the road! =)

 (07.15.11 @ 11:07 AM)
Lindsay:

I love everything about this video!

(07.15.11 @ 03:51 PM)
Baby Birth Announcement:

This video is amazing, the music makes the video set in time almost

(07.21.11 @ 06:52 AM)
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