growling?

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone,

I wasn’t sure where to post this, but I’m wondering if any of you have heard your baby making a growling sound and whether that could be due to discomfort from reflux?

I don’t want to overanalyze every noise or anything, but Caden seems to growl loudly sometimes, and I’m not sure if it’s just a new noise he has discovered or whether acid could be irritating his throat, and he is dealing with it by growling. It is usually followed by fussiness, and that is the reason I’m suspicious.

Thanks

[Anonymous]

Yes – It seems like whenever Paige’s reflux flares up (like right now ) she is a growly little girl. I say she sounds like a devil child, actually she sounds a lot like the kid in the movie The Shining when he says “Redrum”!

Also, she’s been sticking her fingers so far in her mouth that she’s gagging herself. She’ll try to stick her whole hand in there as far as she can. At least she hasn’t made herself sick doing this – yet. I was thinking that might be reflux pain related as well.

[Anonymous]

oh my gosh.. this is the WEIRDEST thing i have EVER experienced!!

i was just going to ask this TODAY! i never thought much of shanes growling.. i thought it was cute! i thought that is the way he talks sometimes! maybe it still is.. but my sister inlaw watched him today and called me and asked me if its possible that his growling is related to an allergy .. as in he is trying to scratch his throat i guess.

i am not sure what to think now! he has done this for atleast 4 months.. and it doesnt seem to correlate to any crankiness.. just when he starts talking a lot he will sometimes growl his words.. kinda like a dog! and everyone laughs!

oh man please tell me this is normal for a baby..and i ( we) dont have another thing to worry about!!!

[Anonymous]

I’d say that if it’s followed or preceded by fussiness and irritabilty it could be due to pain, but babies love to vocalize and make all kinds of sounds, so if they are happy when they are “growling” then it’s probably just vocal experimentation.

[Anonymous]

Alana was a growler in the early months of her reflux…hence the nickname Alana bear. It went away after her reflux was well controlled.

She still occasionally growls but it tends to be a vocalisation….gee I can growl, so let me do this over and over and over and over again.

I agree with Christine (like always…..) and think if it is reflux pain then there might be some other symptoms showing up.

Caden bear doesn’t have the same ring to it

[Anonymous]

We have a growler on our hands lately too, and it’s definitely reflux related. Ben’s also fussy during/after the growling episodes.

Benjamin Bear works well, huh?

[Anonymous]

Maybe Benny bear? or B Bear? You have yourself some options!!!!

[Anonymous]

Thanks everyone – your replies are helpful. So, I have another question…if most of your babies are on some type of reflux med, but still have these flare ups, I’m thinking Caden is still doing ok w/out the meds?

I keep debating on whether to try meds again with him, but I don’t see the sense in medicating him if he will still have flare ups as he does now (it’s not every day for him at this point) and will still not sleep any better at night (as many of the medicated kids don’t).

Just thinking out loud…thanks again!

[Anonymous]

Oh, and Christine, actually the nickname could work for Caden, because we call him “bubba” and “bubby” a lot, so he could be “bubba bear”!

[Anonymous]

Seth never growled but he did (and still does) try to gag himself at times. I always thought it was because his throat hurt because of the reflux.

[Anonymous]

In answer to your question about flare ups, Myles was a not at all silent refluxer, so when his reflux flared there would be an increase in spitting and throwing up, but he remained pain free on Prevacid. I’ve read of other babies who needed dosage increases due to flare ups when teething or sick, but Myles never needed that.

Personally if I knew my baby had reflux and he had any signs of discomfort I’d put him on meds. I’d worry about damage to the esopagus if left untreated. That’s just my opinion…

[Anonymous]

Good point, Christine. I do feel that he has many of the symptoms, and I did end up writing Dr. Phillips to see what he thought, and he recommended giving Zegerid a try – since Prevacid didn’t really help Caden. I think that will be my next course of action.

Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Lauren,

Well, I observed Caden very closely today to see if/when he growled and whether it seemed to be related to pain, and GOOD NEWS – in our case, it seems to be related to when he is getting sleepy! He does this right before he takes a nap and gets louder and louder with his babbling too, so it’s right before he starts to fuss. It’s his way of working up when he gets tired…whew! I’m glad it doesn’t seem to be pain related for us after all. It is accompanied by fussing, but like I said it is when he is sleepy it seems.

Hopefully the same is true in Shane’s case

[Anonymous]

hmm.. well we have been watching him too! and i think shanes is when he is playing! haha.. or happy! just the opposite 😉 but, i have noticed it A LOT more! almost all day!! my husband thinks its his play voice too..he will even say da da in the voice! i dont know…but i will keep an eye on it. sometimes i get nervous that the actual growling will end up hurting his throat!

but thats good that caden’s doesnt seem to be reflux related. and if you do end up trying zegerid..let me know how it goes! expecially how it effects his sleep 😉

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