Will my baby be spitting up in kindergarten?

[Anonymous]

Jackson is 9 months and his reflux is still going SO strong. We will have a few days where I think that it is better and then it gets so much worse. He has had a cold- fever, congestion and ear infection over the last 2.5 weeks. It has been rough. He is on Omnicef (antibiotic) and his reflux has just been terrible throughout his illness. I am so tired and I felt myself losing patience this morning when he was puking up prunes, formula and motrin on my newly washed comforter. I just feel beat down. I felt like I deserved a parade on Mothers Day for all of this crap and instead, I just get even more reflux and another ear infection. I hate to see him suffer. I feel like I get my hopes up and each time, I am disappointed. When he was 4-5 months, I told myself that he was peaking and that we would see improvement at 6 months. Then, when nothing improved, I told myself 9 months would be the miracle age. Well, here we are and nothing is better. I am hoping that when this illness is over, we will see some sort of improvement. Then again, I should not get my hopes up! I guess that I am just feeling sorry for myself and Jackson today. I know that there are bigger problems in the world, but this feels big to us. Sorry to depress- just venting.

klmccart2008-05-20 09:05:00

[Anonymous]

Awwwww…………
You are a wonderful Mommy! Poor Jackson, I know all these little babe’s will get better eventually. I hear you about thinking that things might be better and then all of a sudden, we feel like we are back to square one.
I wish I had words to make it all better but I myself, am new at this whole reflux rollercoaster. My little guy has it. And like Jackson, it seems that when Kaden seems like he is having a good few days, it all comes crashing down a few days later.

I have found so much useful information and support here, I am sure someone will have some ideas for you!

Take care

[Anonymous]

I am so sorry! Hugs to you! I’ve done this with both boys and I know how hard it is ‘waiting’ for them to outgrow it. It really makes their first year drag on when everyone else is saying “wow that went fast”..yeah, maybe for you. lol

Have you tried pepcid complete at night? it helped a lot along with a good dose of prevacid when landen was at his worst.

also, landen cannot take omnicef or augmentin b/c it makes his reflux and GI SOOOO bad. we ask for zithromycin and also give probiotcs. the nice thing about zithro, is even though it can still be rough on the tummy, it’s usually only a 5 day Rx.

Hang in there. This too really shall pass…

[Anonymous]

I can honestly say as they get older they deal with reflux alot better than as infants! That first year was so hard and stressful. You are doing a great job with him and are totally entitled to vent here. I hope he is feeling better soon!

[Anonymous]

The truth is that his spit up does not seem to bother him as far as the acidity goes. He chokes a lot on it and it is high volume, but he is sleeping ok (other than a couple of nights due to the ear infection). It is just the sheer volume of reflux that is troubling. From the time we put him on formula at 6.5 weeks, he gained weight rapidly and went from the 10% to the 80% fast despite the spit up. Lately, he has just not gained any weight. He has dropped down to the 20%. I am not sure if it is due to his very active nature (crawler, stander and cruiser at 6 months) or if it is reflux related.

Jill, why is Omnicef so bad? Does it make their spit up more acidic or just upset the tummy in a way that makes them spit up a higher volume? Is Omnicef worse for reflux babies across the board?

[Anonymous]

Omnicef and Augmentin just upset landen’s stomach so bad that it made his reflux worse. There really isn’t any ideal antibiotic for Landen, all of them mess with his stomach and reflux, one of the main reasons we got tubes in his ears (godsend!) but Zithromycin is the easiest on his stomach and the shortest course of antibiotics.

[Anonymous]

We love Zithromax here. It is only 5 days only has to be given 1x/day (after the first day when you give it 2x) and it doesn’t upset Cooper’s tummy at all. My ped usually gives me a choice b/t the zith and Omnicef. We have tried both and prefer the Zith. Just a little info on Augmentin, in the pharmacy where DH works they call it Augenema if that tells you how it effects tummies. I try to avoid that at all costs. He will get better with time. When that time will be who knows. But from what I can tell most babies do really well with stopping spitting after 12 months… I hope that is the case for you. Vent away.

[Anonymous]

Hey Katie.. your post reminds me so much of the ones i was posting when Ben was a bout that age. He too had back to back ear infections, colds ect. and we were on continuous rounds of antibiotics for a long time. FInally got tubes and that made a world of difference.

But I was going to ask what formula your little one is on? Do you think it’s something that he is eating?

It will get better… it really will.

[Anonymous]

Naomi- Jackson has always been on Enfamil Gentlease. It is a dairy based formula. I have asked the doctors whether a dairy allergy of some sort is possible. The doctor said that it is unlikely based on two factors- the fact that he does not always spit up immediately after he eats (sometimes it is delayed and unpredictable when he will spit up) and he does not have any sort of rashes. That being said, I have still questioned whether an allergy to his formula is possible. What do you think? Do you think an allergy is the culprit? I have always been reluctant to switch his formula.

[Anonymous]

I think milk intolerance is DEFINATELY something to consider. Recurrent ear infections and continuing reflux are often signs of milk protein issues. Milk intolerance does not always result in rash, and definately doesn’t mean he would spit up immediately after eating. Many children have delayed reactions to milk protein, which can take hours to days to show their effects.

What else, other than formula, does he eat? Perhaps you could try a few weeks of a hydrolyzed formula like Nutramigen or Alimentum as well as no dairy or hidden dairy in solids. What have you got to lose? But think of how much better it could be if it helps…

[Anonymous]

Reading your post reminds me how I USED to feel. I say used to feel, because it’s easier to keep it in perspective when you’re not exhausted and in the thick of it.

I know that it feels like you’ve been enduring the spitting forever, and it’s disgusting and messy, BUT uncomplicated spitting (GER) is typically outgrown faster than MSPI and/or complicated GERD. The fact that he’s 9 month means that he’s likely on the cusp of outgrowing it, if it’s GER from an immature LES. Doctors often tell you that they’ll outgrow it by 3 months, then by 4-6 months (when they’re sitting up), then 6-9 months (when starting to crawl). But research does show that reflux tends to peak at 4-6 months, with most babies outgrowing it by 9-12 months. Maybe if moms knew this outright, then it wouldn’t seem as disappointing- like you’re always waiting for it to stop.

My dd developed a very bad feeding aversion from her GERD which placed us in constant threat of a feeding tube. She never slept and cried all the time and was miserable, and so was I. The stress was exhausting. We kept waiting for her to outgrow it- 6 months, 9 months, a year. Unfortunately, we were one of the few who were still dealing with it at over 2 years old, and things kind of settled down for the most part at 2.5 years old. But even so, it definitely got easier the older she got. During that time, especially during the first year, I spent so much time trying to deal with the reflux and the feeding problems and my own exhaustion that I missed out on a lot of the other great things that were part of her infancy. Now that she’s going to be turning 3 soon, I wish that I could go back and enjoy her baby days, because it really was fleeting.

So, I know it’s hard, and I don’t say this to sound condescending (b/c believe me, I posted my share of boo-hoos on this forum), but try to enjoy your little one while they are still little, vomit and all. If you are feeling tired or overwhelmed, try to find someone who can offer you a break, and some time for you.

Believe me, it will pass. At one point I was starting to get skeptical, but it does get better. And as you said, there are worse things in the world. That’s something I didn’t truly appreciate until we were recently given a small dose of that reality. Now I’d take reflux anyday over some of the other challenges that life can present.

Hang in there.

[Anonymous]

You are right, Lori. I am trying to keep things in perspective. When I posted the message, I was having an emotional day. It has really been an exhausting 18 months! I had severe morning sickness (except it was all day) for my ENTIRE pregnancy. I actually threw up every day for 9 months and I was on Zofran for nausea! Still, I managed to gain 50 pounds. Then, his delivery was stressful and we had an emergency c-section because he was not doing well after the epidural. Then, reflux has pretty much consumed a great deal of our lives since that time. I am trying to focus on the fact that he is generally healthy- but for the buckets of spit-up. The choking stuff is stressful, but I am really praying that ends soon. I am sorry to hear that you are dealing with stressful stuff, Lori. i did not mean to make it seem like I felt sorry for myself. I just needed to vent that morning.

[Anonymous]

I would jump up at a restraunt, other peoples homes, shopping, dr offices etc when Owen would start to gag and it seemed especially bad with cold and congestion. I was constantly changing bedding in the middle of the night. Yes, it sucks and I too thought it would end by 12 mo, but honestly, I think the last throwing up was about 4 weeks ago with a cold, but now it is much better and very few and far between. It used to be just the common textured food would cause throwing up, now it seems very limited.

[Anonymous]

Katie, I did not mean to sound like you’re not allowed to have bad days! Believe, me I had my share. I apologize if I came off sounding that way. My point was more that it WILL pass, it WILL get better. The more I waited for it to get better, the less it seemed to get better. I know it’s hard, and I was having a pity party for myself a lot of the time after Hailey was born, and the feeding issues started. It will end, and you are allowed to feel sad until then, but because I spent so much time focussing on the hard times, I missed so much of her infancy. Only now do I realize how much I missed. Hang in there.

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