I'm so sorry for the long post but I just don't know what to do anymore!
All help, advice and anecdotes gratefully appreciated as I'm at my wits end!
My DS is 5 months +1 (born at 36+3) and is EBF. He's always been pretty windy, though infacol and/or gripe water helped, until he was much better at getting up burps, circa 3 months, and would even do it himself during feeds. He is a super farter too and we do tummy massages and leg cycles etc at every nappy change throughout the day to keep on top of his wind. He's very active and happy during the day. Lots of leg kicking, tummy time, walks in the sling etc. He's never been a wonderful sleeper, but a while back we went thru a long phase of better night's; waking every 2 hours or so overnight, I'd bung him on a boob and between 1 and 10 minutes later he'd be back asleep in his next to me crib. I know 2 hours isn't great but it was the best we'd had and we were both ok with that.
He has silent reflux and was prescribed renitadine back at the start of July which helped his symptoms no end, however in the past, who can remember, 3 weeks or so (maybe 4??) he's gone to waking every hour (at least!!!!) overnight with horrible, clearly agonising, trapped wind (top and bottom). Sometimes I get a burp up, sometimes a fart, often nothing. It can take 45 minutes plus to get anything out and by that time he's wide awake. (Will need feeding back to drowsy which then risks more trapped wind!!) Often he stops howling before this time, and is clearly exhausted and desperate to sleep, and even though no wind has come out, I put him back down as he's already asleep and shattered in my arms. Half an hour later he's flapping like a fish out of water in his criband we have to do it all again.
My questions/points are this:
Why has his windyness regresses when no other factors have changed (surely he should be maturing out of this??)
Am I doing/not doing/missing something obvious?? I feel like I'm letting him down
My other half says switch to formula?? Any experience with anyone that this works??
GP says 'he's just a windy baby and will grow out of it'
I thought he already had, he seems to have grown back into it!?
I took him off the renitadine and his reflux symptoms all came back with no obvious improvement on the wind, so he's back on that.
Please anyone can you offer any advice, or is this really just another phase that will pass. We're both having horrible sleep and I don't know what else to do?!
THANK YOU!!!! xxxx
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AJBee
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Sorry to hear your struggling. It's so hard isn't it.
You could have hit a sleep regression which won't be helping, we've been through a few & it feels like you will never come out the other side. My son has recently turned 1 & I'm only just starting to feel like I'm getting a decent amount of sleep during the night.
The trapped wind, have you tried anything else to help? I always found dentinox helped my boy best. Infacol has to be given with each feed to be effective.
If he's a windy baby then switching to formula might not make a difference because air will still be taken in when feeding- that's only my assumption though
I'm sorry I can't offer much more than that. I know it's hard but it will pass one way or another, in the mean time, make sure your partner gives you opportunities to rest when possible xx
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! We tried dentinox recently as a friend declared it her miracle cure, but sadly it didn't seem to make too much difference. I wonder if I should go back to infacol, only thing is when it's all sticky and slippery in his mouth he breaks the seal on his latch quite frequently so air gets in this negating the whole thing!
It's hugely reassuring to know it will pass, and it's so awful to be wishing away time isn't it, so fingers crossed it'll be soon. Thank you again so much xx
One of my twins was super windy, would wake up in agony, screaming the place down. We had him on infacol for first 4 months or so, then he came off it as he seemed to be getting better then at about 7 months he was back on it for about 2 months. Best thing for us was anal suppositories, don't know about your little ones pooing habits but even though our little boy was a good pooer he still got constipation. The suppositories are amazing, you can get them over the counter in pharmacies. Worked a treat for us. His wind was mostly down to teething though. He's 11 months now and seems much better. Anything is worth a try I think! Hope he gets better soon so you can get some much needed sleep ❤️
I suppose when you have one to compare against its easier to work out! His bouts of wind always coincided with teething episodes and it was pretty obvious he was teething - snotty, dribbly etc. Sometimes a high temp. I went to our pharmacist (we have 2 who are excellent) and he said the extra saliva causes an excess of enzymes in the stomach which can give babies wind. Could have been nonsense but seemed to make sense and seemed to fit. We found that dentinox gel stuff really helped (calpol, I'm not so sure but we gave it to him anyway). Funniest thing the pharmacist said was to use a jumparoo as much as possible! 😄 Just to get things moving around in there! We gave him the suppositories only when he was particularly bad, like when his stomach was distended and you couldn't even change his nappy without him screaming in pain. I know none of this might help and you might need medicines to combat this but like I said it's always worth trying anything and everything - they're only tiny humans after all, unfortunately they just can't tell us what's wrong 😔
That's amazing thank you. Makes perfect sense! He's got a door bouncer thing that he's just starting to get the hang of, so I guess plenty of that is on the cards now! Thank you again xxx
We have a lot of medical issues, red blood cell count not fine, liver function not fine, reflux, constipation etc. He’s No3 and No1 had silent reflux and horrendous colic. No2 was perfect in all those aspects but just kept waking every 2 hours for a year...
Can I suggest you try and stop feeding him quite so often? I know it’s terribly hard but he doesn’t *need* the hourly feed at that age. It could be that, unintentionally, you are making his symptoms worse. It could be that either his tummy is reacting to something in your milk (have you stopped dairy etc/changed your diet to see whether it makes a difference? Early on I knew that every day I had a lot of milk to drink my son would scream for hours the following night..), and you are constantly providing him with that same milk that causes the pain... or that his tummy is very sensitive in general and could probably do without having to deal with new milk every hour. Ie that his tummy could do with longer rests. It’s really hard to break that cycle but I also gave in SO quickly just to comfort my poor boy. I still have days when I do it but try not to fall back into old patterns. His Paediatrician says ideally he should go for 4 hours between feeds. He does sometimes but I’m happy with 3, and so is my son.
The wind and pain seems to indicate his tummy isn’t all too happy with something he is getting so I would think that giving him something every hour is only going to make things worse, a vicious cycle. Personally I would try and be stricter for, say, 48 hours. Maybe over a couple of days where your partner is around and can take him away from you a bit more. And see whether that makes a difference. And maybe have a very bland, possibly non-dairy, diet. Give his tummy a break and it might make a change!
I know how tough it is, I’m right there with you and you must be exhausted! You could stop breast feeding but then again, formula could make his tummy worse as well... with my No1 I refused to stop for 6 months, then had to give up. In hindsight it was SUCH a relief! And yet again now with No3 and all his Health problems I want to keep going for as long as possible.
Just don’t use the breast as a comforter. Easier said than done. And I’d start during the day. I found that my son doesn’t ask for as much during the night when he hasn’t been allowed to use it as comfort during the day. We all sleep better at night if I let him on more often... so it’s easier to give in. Stretching the feeds out during the day does change the cycle slightly though, so I’d really start with that - good luck!!
Thank you so much for replying. I'm so sorry to hear about the issues you're having with your baby. Poor little mite. I will definitely try and stop those comfort feeds over night (as you say, easier said than done when it's 3am and you know you could get him back to sleep in 2 mins by feeding him!! But it's heartbreaking to think I might be unintentionally causing (or exacerbating) his discomfort, so I will defs give that a go. He's pretty good during the day with feeds, that's to say they're functional rather than comfort. The HV didn't think he showed any signs of allergies other than the wind, no rashes, eczema, runnyyvor blocked nose etc, but again, its got to be worth a try (but why would it suddenly be worse recently when nothing in my diet has changed from weeks ago when he was fine??) These babies are tricky characters aren't they!! 😊 My bot was due 12 April, born 18 Mar 😍 Thank you again and I really hope things improve with your little boy xx
Also, we were on Ranitidine (worked fine for No1) but with No3 we’ve just been changed to Omeprazole. It’s the next level up. Might be worth giving it a go. If he’s happier during the day it might also be that during the night the acid is bothering him and he’s looking for comfort because of that. Do you have him raised somehow? My boy slept on me for weeks because of it. Reflux/silent reflux is horrible. Ultimately resulted in hospital admission due to him vomiting blood, though I believe that was mainly due to the initial medication he was given.
I’m not sure I’d go with sleep regression when he’s upset. With my first two sleep regression just looked like wide awake babies in the middle of the night, but not babies in discomfort.
I think you're right about the regression, as you say, it's discomfort that's waking him. His crib is propped up at one end as much as I can without him slithering down into the bottom! 😂 He used to only sleep on me until he was nearly 4 months, then we had this glorious breakthrough of him sleeping 2+ hours in his own ceiby o issues. Can't think why it would suddenly change so drastically?! He is absolutely fine during the day, lots of farts, naps in his crib etc. I suspect the renitadine dose needs upping to match his current weight as it was prescribed at the start of July and he's a proper beefcake now! I will ask them about Omeprazole too, thank you. So sorry to hear your boy was hospitalised, how scary, you poor thing. Cant thank you enough for your advice xx
It’s so hard to know what’s going on when they can’t give you an indication at all, isn’t it? And frustrating at the same time. Trying to remember that it’s not their fault and that they’re in discomfort when you haven’t slept in weeks can be hard sometimes.
We keep having appointments, this and last week we had 8... that’s for him and me (won’t bore you with the details but had an injured bladder and a DVT alongside other health issues). I’d love to start enjoying this baby rather than spend every waking moment waiting for some appointment.
I’d really suggest trying to stretch the ‘feeding’ out and see whether it makes a difference. He could also be teething or something completely different to that! Overstimulation during the day was an issue with my first, if there was too much going on during the day he went absolutely mental for hours in the evenings...
The good thing is they change SO much so quickly and soon your little one will develop a bit more again and find some things easier, and others more challenging.
I did find that my firstborn went from waking constantly to sleeping from 7-7 (literally 12 hours nonstop) at just under six months when we switched to formula. It made a huge difference. But could go wrong as well with tummy issues... all a bit of trial and error. If you wanted you could also try and introduce a bottle in the evenings and see whether it makes a difference?
Hi, I’m really sorry your having a rough time. In my experience formula would make him worse as it’s not as easy to digest as breast milk. The only thing I can think is maybe it’s something that your eating that could possibly be upsetting him. Have you changed what your eating? Spicy foods or garlic may upset them. Sorry not help. I hope it resolves itself soon. Usually when they are more upright, wind is less of a problem. Good luck x
Your situation sounds like mine. These are my thoughts based on my own experience, I hope something helps.
It sounds like you’ve hit a sleep regression as Cheekymonkey has suggested. I’d honestly say don’t switch to a bottle, unless you’re thinking of introducing one, as said it could potentially make it worse.
My daughters 13 months and I’ve only just stopped giving her ranitidine, we had bad days and when these stared I had her weighed and then took her straight to the doctors for a prescription review. Once the dose was upped and ‘correct’ she was much better until she needed it increased.
Also have you talked to anyone about allergies? I cut out dairy and that made a huge difference to my baby. I’ve started introducing milk into her diet and she’s started being very gassy and doing very smelly poos which she wasn’t before, they have also changed colour and consistency to look like a baby’s poos before solids. I wouldn’t do it with out talking it though with a health visitor or de first though. If that’s the case formula would be far worse for him than your milk as it’s made completely out of cows milk.
It will go away but may take some time and having been there myself I honestly can say it’s awful. Good luck and he will grow out of it, it just might take a few more months
This is what I was going to write 😀 sleep regression coupled with a possible allergy (milk and egg are top although I’d start with just milk first) The squirming sounds so much like my daughter when she was younger (milk allergy and now we’ve found soya, egg, peanut and coconut 😢) although we did have green poos too as well as silent reflux symptoms. I’d steer clear of formula unless necessary too just in case as it can make things worse (although then you’d get a definitive answer). It’s a lot easier to trial things through your own diet than navigate the prescription milk route all of which stink and don’t taste good 😐 x
Thank you lovelies!!! I'm pretty against switching to formula (can't be arsed with the faff I'd I'm honest!!!! 😂)
He's showing no other signs of allergies, no rash, runny nose, poo's are text book etc but it's got to be worth a try hasn't it?? Bye bye butter and cream😭 my lifeblood! Thank you again Xxx
Always worth a try and if after 6 weeks there is no improvement you can go nuts again 😉 (although soya may be worth a try too as 50% if they can’t tolerate milk can’t tolerate this either 🙄 just to make life fun!) Butter is an easy one as there is Flora dairy free and violife, cream not so much but people seem to quite like oatly cream, I know Sainsbury’s and Tesco stock it. If you need any help with food alternatives just shout, I’ve gained a lot of knowledge from the CMPA forum on FB. From what I’ve seen dairy free cheese gets very mixed reviews so might be worth steering clear 😉 x
If you do switch to bottles the Mam ones are fabulous for reducing wind. Maybe baby is needing a bigger feed and little and often is increasing the wind? Have you started on solids yet? Maybe a wee bit could help too. You must be shattered. It’s all trial and error and I’m sure you will get lots and lots of useful tips. Go with your gut and if you do change to formula don’t feel bad you have done brilliantly. I only managed a week. Good luck hope he settles soon xxx
Thank you lovely! We started on veg purée one a day last weekend on advice of HV who suggested it MIGHT help reflux. It's hard to tell if it's helping yet, plus it's only a small amount, but he is wolfing it! Thank you for your advice xxx
My boy had a reflux untill he started solids. He loved the food from the first spoon. He was not happy when I offered him milk. Just wanted solids. So glad that solids helped!
Now having a newborn and hoping that this baby won't have a reflux, as those hours of crying were unbearable... I cried too, as I just did not know how to help him... 😭
Oh yey for solids!!! I'm pinning a lot of hopes on them, so glad they worked for you. And good luck with your new baby, at least you know what to look out for and have more of an idea if how to help. Fingers crossed they'll be reflux free xxx
Hi there,
I’m just at the beginning of a similar situation; my little boy is 6 weeks old next week. He was prescribed ranitidine too, although I’m not sure how much it’s eased his symptoms (all of which are the same as you’ve described for your little one). One thing the paediatrician advised was that the dosage of ranitidine would have to be increased as baby gained weight, has this happened for yours?
Regarding switching to formula, the consultant we spoke to advised breastfeeding was better as some of the contents of formula can exacerbate the symptoms of reflux , also babies take in more air with bottle feeding.
We’re about to start exploring whether inclining his cot will help with sleep (as advised by the consultant mentioned above) as he HATES lying on his back and we can hear and/or see from his facial expression that he’s refluxing; he’s happiest being held upright but that’s obviously impractical and tiring in the long term (as much as I love all the cuddles). Have you tried inclining the cot? How did you get on if you did?
Has your baby been checked for lactose intolerance or other intolerances (wheat, eggs, peanuts are the most common)? As these can come through your milk based on what you eat. Bear in mind if your baby has a lactose intolerance you’d need a special formula if you decide to formula feed as there’s cow’s milk present in it too.
I’m holding on to the fact babies will outgrow silent reflux eventually, but we’re a way off that point just yet!
Out of curiosity, has your little one had issues with a stuffy nose/sneezing? We’ve been told it comes as another symptom of reflux but it’s been really bad these last few days and I hate hearing my boy struggle; it also impacts on his sleep.
I'm so sorry you're struggling with it too! Poor little guys ☹️ probs not what you want to hear but my boy slept on me for about 3 months! Hated his Moses basket and laying flat (even though it was inclined with towels etc!) I bed shared for a while too, with him sleeping on a wedge and on his left side (against SIDS advice I know) and that helped a lot. His crib currently is inclined yes, I'd say it definitely helps, well you'd hope, it's physics after all!! Interestingly I was told stuffy nose etc may also be a sign of food allergies/intolerance? He doesn't have a snuffly nose as such but occasionally, normally after laying on his play mat for a while, goes NUTS really rubbing his nose, which is horrible to see cause again, he's clearly uncomfortable. This reflux is such a design flaw isn't it! Good luck with your little guy xxx
Thank you; yes, it’s horrible seeing them struggle. He’s pretty much sleeping on either me or his dad a lot of the time. I occasionally manage to get him to sleep in the next to me crib if he’s really tired, but usually it takes a few attempts and often he wakes a short time later with wriggling and cycling legs or making little sounds in the back of his throat.
We’ve just bought a wedge. But how do you get baby to stay on it? My little one half slid/rolled down the thing and ended up in the corner of the cot!
I thought the snuffly nose was more likely to be allergy/intolerance based tbh, I had eczema, asthma and hay fever as a child so I’d be surprised if he doesn’t react to something. I’m combi feeding atm (had early troubles with milk supply due to anaemia) but working towards exclusively breastfeeding and have already cut dairy out of my diet.
SUCH a design flaw! I don’t want to wish these first months away but equally I don’t want him to suffer every time he eats!
That's the trouble with the wedges isn't it, they shlump down. That was a real issue when he was in the big bed with me, I'd wake up and he'd be off the wedge completely but still fast asleep bless him so I'd just reset him. I'm sure you know, but the next to me cribs can go at different heights each end to provide an incline, I think I have one end on setting 1 and the other max height. It's not huge but it does make a small incline. I also stick wedges or towels under his changing mats ( one upstairs one down) as he always seemed to get really refluxy during a nappy change, and I try to roll him side to side to get the nappy under him, rather than lifting his legs. Every little helps I figure.
Hi my son had reflux for just over a year. I know exactly how you feel. I cut out various foods from my diet to no avail. Which meant it was just reflux and it was awful. We tried ranitidine which helped but everytime he was fussy like your little one I'd go to Dr's and they'd alter dosage and it would help. It never truly completely went but it got alot better. Try omitting foods from your diet and get his dosage checked against his weight. Also I did switch to reflux formula by cow and Gate and I was at peace knowing he's had enough milk and I would feed every 3 hours instead. The formula helped him bring up wind alot and she was generally much happier. I'm not saying that you should switch its just what worked for us. Also I slowly began weaning onto food at just over 3months as this was recommended by a paediatrician and it definitely helped. By 12minths I weaned him off ranitidine and he was a happy baby. He had the odd spit up or upset tummy but didn't need meds and a bit of gripe usually helped. All the best. Feel free to contact me if you need a chat x
Thank you so much for your reply, that's all really helpful thank you. I'll definitely get his dose checked tomorrow as it's been nearly 2minths since it was prescribed and he's a beefcake now!!
Hi there, sorry to hear you are struggling with DS’s symptoms.
We had a lot of this too in our DS, EBF!! I cut dairy out of my diet, worked a treat, it’s hard work but worth it. We got referred to paediatricians and have a milk ladder to work with, I try to reintroduce milk into my diet every3 months to see if his intolerance has got any better! This could help you too? X
Both of my babies were on reflux milk cow & gate and it was brilliant stuff they struggled pooing for the first couple of days but great after like completely different children xx
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