MUMS SHARE
THEIR EXPERIENCES DEALING WITH COLIC AND REFLUX
We put a request out to
mumsweb mums to let us know how they have dealt with colic and reflux and we
are pleased to bring you some of the great responses that we have had.
If you have any other ideas please email us on mumsweb@mumsweb.com.au
"All my three
children have had reflux really bad and other than Prepulsid and Zantac, I
tried Bowen Massage it seemed to do the trick. Ring your local massueses and
they may be able to help. - Leonie"
"Try placing baby on
a warm hot water bottle placed over your arm.(on babies tummy). You can walk
around or sit it worked every time for us, hope
it works for you. cathy"
"My daughter suffers
from silent reflux, so it would be great if you could share any hints for this
too. My experience has been that keeping her as upright as possible has
worked wonders. Her cot is up on phone books at the top end, I have
lifted the base of her pram closer to the upright position, I burp her over my
shoulder now rather than in a sitting position, I change her nappy before
feeds rather than after. Some days if it is really bothering her, the
only way I can get her to sleep is upright on my chest. this is a bit
time consuming, but worth it for my sanity. I think of it as time
out rather than time wasting. I tried infant gaviscon, but found that it
really constipated her. My doctor would not prescribe anything without a
barium x-ray, which I did not feel was necessary, and we are coping quite well
with our "upright" remedies. She is a lot more settled, will
lie in her cot quite happily whereas before every time I put her down she
would scream. I ended up at the Knox early parenting centre who detected
her gulping and then screaming, sure indicators of silent reflux."
- Joanne
"My son had reflux
& colic and screamed nearly all day, everyday. I went to many
doctors to see if anything could be done for this, they all just said that
there is nothing much I could do apart from raise his cot mattress on an angle
and try and get all of his burps straight out as soon as he has finished his
bottle, I was told if I didn't; burp him properly the pain would be really bad
later for him and it would take longer for him to bring the burps up.
Anyway being a first time mother and not knowing much, I would feed him and
try and burp him for almost an hour afterwards, I found I was not doing much
apart from feeding him and burping him, then other people told me to try
burping him for 10-15minutes, wrap him up and put him down, well I tried
everything and not much worked at all, I could not wait till he started solids
as I knew the milk was the problem, but he had to have it of course so there
wasn't much I could do about it, in the end I remember thinking oh no, he is
due for another bottle again, here we go again. I really hated given it
too him as I knew I was going to have hours of screaming afterwards.
I couldn't do much but feed him put him down and I would go back in and pick
him up about every 15minutes of letting him cry and try to burp him again.
Well I ended up getting referred
to a paediatrician after some time and was told to give him medication for
this he was given Zantac and Prepulsid(I think this is how you
spell it, it also has another name?) and from that day on he was a
different baby and I couldn't believe how much it helped him. Well he
was on this medication till he was 12months.
For his reflux I also tried
that enfalac formula which I think helped a little.
After having our second child
I was terrified that she might be the same but cannot believe how easy she is.
She has a feed and burps straight away and goes back to sleep, I never thought
it could be like this, so I really do feel for anyone who has a baby with
reflux or colic it is very, very hard to deal with.
I do not know of any other
answers for this but I tried all the medications in the supermarkets and
chemist's but nothing worked for him.
Thanking you
Sharron."
"My son is now 4 years old, I went
through a very hard time with him and colic. A little trick I learnt was to tip
the babys bottle upside down until you have no milk dripping from the teet, that
way there is no extra air to escape into the babys tummy. It was a lifesaver for
me. I hope that you can use this and other mums can too. Julie"
"My baby Jade had both quite badly she eventually had to spend a weekend
in hospital as she was up every hour with it. Firstly to those mums who
have this suggested to them by a doctor, just take them up on it and don't
feel guilty,my husband took our 18mth old son away for the weekend and I
literally slept for 48hrs as the sleep deprivation took its toll. Afterwards
I was at least more able to cope and the hospital confirmed that she did
have reflux and colic and I wasn't just a bad mother. Secondly we tried
enfralac formula, but this didn't work, and infracol drops (from the supermarket)
these helped a bit with wind. Then the doctor put her on ZANTAC drops which
were great. I also bought a baby hammock and used it instead of the crib
(you can hire these from baby hire places) and this feeling of being cuddled
and movement from the springs rocked her to sleep. Suddenly at 12 weeks
to the day, as the nurse predicted, she stopped and started sleeping like
a baby should.
It may not seem like but there i a light at the end of
the tunnel. - Collette"
"I
am a mum and a qualified osteopath. As a mum I know the problems
that many parent face with finding help with colicy and refluxy babies. As
an osteopath I know there is help!
There are many osteopaths
around Victoria and around Australia who have a special intertest in the
treatment of babies and children, with extremenly successful results.
Our approach to treating babies involves very gentle and non-invasive physical
therapy to aid the body to function optimally.
For more information with
regards to exactly what out treatment approach entails please do not hesitate
to contact me directly at buysoshea@optusnet.com.au
or the Australian Osteopathic Association at aoa@tpgi.com.au
or by phoning them on 02) 9980 8511.
1ml of Mylanta before
or after a feed for reflux. Elevate everything (cot, car seat, floor
rug, etc.) to 45 degrees, hold baby upright at all times , do not lay flat.
This helps baby to expel the trapped air/ gastric acid."
"For colic take baby for
a walk, if possible. They might still scream their heads off but
there are other distractions as well. Plus you will feel better if you
are not stuck in the house with a screaming kid. Failing that just
comfort them and tell yourself it will not be forever, just until they get a
littler bigger. It usually stops at around three months of age.
Another pair of hands to take over (the cuddling/comforting) when you've had
enough, is a bonus. If you don't have those put the baby into the cot,
close the door and go outside for a quick break. The baby will not
die,(no matter how hard they scream and think that they might) or do itself
any injuries, but you might do something to them because their screaming is
driving you to the edge. And don't feel guilty about it either.
Looking after a baby is hard work and stressful. Especially if there is
not much that you can do about it. And you don't cope well when you have
not had enough sleep.
When it is all over (the
crying, etc) do some meditation or read a book, anything to try and relax.
Take a stress break. If you have other children, you know you won't be
able to get any sleep during the day to catch up, so meditate. Doesn't
matter how long you do it for, you will feel better for doing it. You
can get a meditation CD (with music) that will teach you how to do it.
It can be as little as 5 mins, but it helps." Sam
"I am a mum of a
beautiful 2 and 1/2 year old boy. We both (and hubby) suffered with colic
& reflux for 14 mths. The joy is, it does go away - eventually!
The best thing I found was
keeping the little treasure upright for as long as possible after a feed
(breastfed). Jolly jumper - auto swing - baby sling (upright) or just carrying
him around. I tried absolutely all other magic cures (which did not
work) and seriously believe that it is simply a time thing...
Virginia"
"I was very,very
fortunate to not have a bub with colic or reflux, however, something very
interesting that I have heard from Mums that did is that you should take the
baby to the Chiropractor.
They said the results were
instant and permanent. Amazing, but makes sense.
Apparently it should be a
chiropractor who specialises/has experience with working with children.
Regards,
Tracey "
"For colic we used to heat up a dry
washer in the microwave until it was comfortably warm and put it on our baby's
stomach. It worked a treat."
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