Rhett continues to fuss and seems uncomfortable whenever we place him on his back in the bassinet and wants to be held or rocked or placed more upright in a swing instead. I’m hoping that if it is reflux, it’s relatively mild at this point since he’s not spitting up tons of milk when he spits up and it’s mostly just little amounts frequently after nursing. Have any of you been through this before? How did you get your little one to settle? What did you do about nighttime sleep? How did you sleep? Haaalp! In so many ways I feel a million times more relaxed about the newborn baby phase since this is our third rodeo but this just goes to show we always have something new to learn when it comes to little ones and motherhood.
My mom is leaving on Friday and I cannot say how grateful I’ve been for her help and Ryan’s help with Rhett (and Chase and Ryder!) right now because earlier this week I hit a major wall after several nights of horrible sleep. (Go figure last night was finally a better night so I’m feeling pretty good today!) Ryan and my mom have jumped in and helped in a big way the past few days so I could get a few solid, uninterrupted hours of sleep which truly saved me. Life with a newborn ebbs and flows so much and I almost forgot how some days you feel like you’re flyin’ high only to feel like a tiny little 7-pound baby completely kicked your butt the next.
I didn’t mean to start today’s blog post with a deep-dive into baby sleep mayhem, but clearly that’s a big part of life over here right now! What I initially sat down to blog about today was our day yesterday. It’s been a little more than a month since I’ve shared a day-in-the-life blog post so I wanted to share what life looks like over here right now as we continue to adjust to life with the newest addition to our family.
Morning
Bless my mom and Ryan for taking over all the kid stuff first thing in the morning yesterday because after passing Rhett off at 3:45 a.m. after several hours of restlessness and zero sleep, I crashed hard from 4 – 7 a.m. and emerged feeling like an actual human. Victory!
Ryan had Chase and Ryder’s preschool lunches all packed up and my mom was snuggling with Rhett when I emerged from my cocoon of comforters and blankets and I scooped Rhett up and nursed him as I joined in the big kid chaos.
Then it was coffee time!
Chase and Ryder served as my little baristas and helped me make a cup of coffee with collagen and frothy coconut milk that I sipped as a I ate a homemade apple cinnamon muffin. I ended up taking most of my coffee to go because preschool drop-off sneaked up on us as it seems to do these days!
This is the first week of “real” preschool for our big boys, as the past two weeks their school did a staggered start. Rhett hung back with my mom (Ryan was upstairs in our bedroom at this point where he continues to work from home these days) and I brought Chase and Ryder to school before swinging by UPS to drop off some Amazon returns and making my way back home.
After I walked through the door, Rhett started crying again, so I quickly nursed him and said goodbye to my mom as she headed out for a car appointment. (Her car is having some issues she wanted to get checked out before her drive back to Florida on Friday.) Rhett seemed wide awake as I nursed him, so we followed up his feeding session with some play time on his play mat.
He seemed content to look at the little dangling toys above him, so I took advantage of a happy baby and made myself some oatmeal for breakfast 2.0.
This combination looked like oats, banana, cashew butter, egg whites, cinnamon, shredded zucchini and cacao nibs. I’m all about oats these days because I truly believe they help my milk supply and this combination reminded me a bit of zucchini bread.
I hoped Rhett would settle for his nap soon after his play time but he had other plans and I ended up walking around with him and nursing him off and on for a couple of hours while I stress-ate several handfuls of chocolate chips before he eventually drifted off into a solid sleep for about an hour. Sadie took full advantage of me being baby-free and curled up next to me on the couch as I got some work done on my laptop.
I think she appreciates the fact that even after three kids, she’s still front-and-center as the background on my computer.
Afternoon
My mom arrived back home just before preschool pickup and stayed back with Rhett again so I could pick up Chase and Ryder and bring them back home. They seemed to have a great day at school and we drove home as Ryder sang the “how I wonder what you are” line from Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star over and over again and Chase told me all about his day.
(They did twirls in our driveway when we arrived home and collapsed giggling because they were “so dizzy.”)
Once we were back home, both boys ate an afternoon snack and then I settled Ryder down for his nap and reheated some leftovers for lunch.
Leftovers looked like this balsamic chicken Instant Pot recipe with potatoes, broccoli and kale. It was a winner on day one and also on day two!
About an hour or so later, I was still a little hungry, so I whipped up a smoothie from Daily Harvest to enjoy as well.
I’ve been a Daily Harvest fan for years now but man oh man do I appreciate their harvest bowls and smoothies even more during the postpartum period of life. Anything that lets me get some nutritious food in my body without much effort is a major win for me right now. (Also, just a reminder that you may use my affiliate link + the code pbfingers to get $25 off your first box if you’d like to give some Daily Harvest goodies a try!)
The afternoon passed by in a blur of nursing Rhett, watching Chase hunt for creatures in our backyard and attempting to squeeze in a little work and a load of laundry. Once Ryder was up, he joined Chase outside for creature hunting and outside play and my mom and I tag-teamed watching Rhett, playing with the big kids outside and dinner prep.
Dinner last night was pretty darn simple and looked like baked BBQ chicken thighs, curried corn (a go-to side dish around here lately — I need to share this recipe with you guys!) and baked beans.
After dinner, Ryan and I put Chase and Ryder to bed and then did our best to settle Rhett and head to bed early ourselves. I’ve been a reading machine lately (I try not to look at my phone when I’m up in the middle of the night nursing and opt for reading on my Kindle instead) and just finished The Lying Game by Ruth Ware and The Girl from Widow Hills by Megan Miranda and loved both of them. Last night I started reading The Last House Guest, another novel by Megan Miranda, and am already very into it as well! I’m feelin’ suspense books lately and read until my eyes would no longer stay open… and then again during a couple of my middle-of-the-night nursing sessions. Rhett thankfully had a much better night last night and settled relatively quickly after nursing which felt like a gift.
Now I’m hoping to sneak in a quick shower before the day gets going (postpartum night sweats are REAL) and I’m also hoping to have some time amid the kid chaos to work on Friday’s post so I can have a little somethin’ somethin’ to share with you on the blog on Friday morning, too.
Thanks for stopping by PBF and tolerating my long-winded blog posts and typos during this crazy phase of life! I hope you have a great Wednesday!
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Our 11 month old had pretty terrible reflux from the start. The best thing we could do was hold him upright 30 – 45min. after every feed and burping every few minutes to get the air bubbles out. It led to not much sleep at night (especially if you’re holding a newborn upright for 45 minutes and then have to turn around and feed him again an hour later). Once we switched to a bottle we did paced feeding. Paced feeding is really tough (small amounts every hour – I think we were down to one ounce per hour). We were at our wits’ end at one point and considered medication, but after doing some research and having his reflux actually get worse after we started it, I’m not a big supporter of it. Then magically around 5.5 months he just stopped spitting up! Good luck – reflux is truly exhausting and you’ll hear other reflux baby parents talk about it like they went to war together.
Reflux mom here. Have you had Rhett checked for lip and tongue ties? Most pediatricians are NOT trained to check for/diagnose ties, but getting my daughter’s fixed resolved her reflux. I also went dairy free which seemed to help. Good luck! Reflux babies are tough but the good news is, they almost always outgrow it!
I was going to say get this checked by a pediatric dentist that specializes in this and an IBCLC.
Surely at the end of the day its a great feeling to be a mom!
My 8 month old has had reflux from day one. The only way she would sleep for first 3 months was in our pack and play napper or the mamaroo. We still have the wedge in her crib. She was put on meds at 6 months which have helped but biggest difference was the corn allergy diagnosis. Once we got rid of corn she was a completely different baby.
Corn is one of our culprits too and it’s in SO many things. Super sneaky
So interesting about corn! I have never heard of that but really appreciate you sharing. Definitely looking into this!
So my guy had a hidden corn issue too and it took me AGES to figure out. One other tip to discuss with your pediatrician is testing the baby’s poop for blood. I was totally scared by this thought but my guy had tiny blood particles I couldn’t even see in his poop which confirmed he was having a reaction to something I was eating in my diet (breastfeeding). Once I took the food out of my diet, he was like a different baby!!! And now he is 2 1/2 and has no issues whatsoever with any food, so know if Rhett ends up having a sensitivity, he will most likely out grow it with time!!
Thinking of you! No wise words in terms of colic, but like all things, it will pass.
Hi Julie! First, Rhett is so precious. Prayers for you all right now on the sleep front! I know that is so hard and I can’t imagine keeping up with your other two as well. Have you talked to your pediatrician about if Rhett could have a milk soy protein intolerance? My little guy sounded a lot like Rhett in terms of fussiness and sleepless nights. Our pediatrician tested one of his dirty diapers (they look for blood, but you usually can’t see it with the naked eye) and it came back positive so we cut out ALL soy and dairy and in a few weeks, baby was feeling and sleeping (PRAISE!) so much better. Might be worth asking about! I’m pregnant with a baby girl now and cutting our dairy and soy in the third trimester because we don’t want to take any chances of going through that again. My little boy also had the reflux and our pediatrician recommended he sleep in a rock n play for a while so he was on an incline but those are of course a no go now. I’ll be interested to hear what you find out and praying you for in the meantime!!! Last words of advice (I often repeat to myself haha)… this too shall pass :). Best wishes mama.
I’m definitely going to ask about milk/soy at our appt this coming Tuesday. Thank you for sharing this!!!
Also big congrats to you & prayers for a healthy pregnancy + delivery with your little girl!!
Ah, yes. Reflux! Our Rhett has silent reflux. Super hard to advocate for because there isn’t a lot of spit of as evidence, or I should say, he spit up but not the amount that the doctors considered as problematic. I had to advocate hard and they finally let me try some reflux meds and it made all the difference.i finally just took a video of Rhett to show his symptoms. Man, I completely remember those sleepless nights as the baby just lays there grunting, crying and fussing and I’m staring at him willing him to sleep… I’ll be thinking of you!
Yes!!! There’s not a ton of spit up over here but it seems like something is going on. Thanks for sharing about silent reflux — I googled it after your comment and some of the above comments and have to wonder if this might be what we are dealing with.
dealing with reflux with #2. Doctor recommended we leave her upright for 30 mins after each feed. She is about 10 weeks and dropped her overnight feed, but prior I just laid in bed with her or propped her on the boppy for a bit to help.
Will you write a post on returning to an exercise schedule with toddlers/bigs in the mix? Or if you have one from before, can you send? I’m trying to get back to a routine and struggling due to nursing and having a toddler at home. Thanks!
My 10 month old had really severe reflux and it is rough! I feel for you guys! My little guy started to refuse to nurse and lose weight. Some of the best advice I received while we were looking for an answer was that “reflux is a symptom not a cause” meaning there is something causing poor Rhett to be uncomfortable. Our problem ended up being a milk protein allergy. Reflux medication made things waaaaay worse for us so I caution you to not jump straight to medicating. Hopefully your pediatrician will help you find the cause rather than just try to treat the discomfort.
hi Julie,
I had a little guy with pretty severe reflux (he still has it at 4) and lots of food intolerances. Agree that it would be a good idea to keep an eye out for signs of intolerances (especially shiny, slimy poos that have mucus) because that can be a trigger.
This is a pretty useful article https://www.reflux.org.au/how-reflux-presents/
Reflux meds are complicated- they CAN make things worse especially for the first 10 days or so (I nearly gave up too!) and often doctors give very low doses which basically do nothing. For babies with mild to moderate reflux, you can often get by without meds but children with severe cases like my son (who was aspirating stomach acid and refusing to feed because of the pain) will require them.
here’s some general tips for management https://www.reflux.org.au/category/articles/general_management_tips/
Wishing you the best!
Hi Julie, my daughter had intense silent reflux that we discovered when she was around 2 weeks old. She barely wanted to drink as it caused the acid to rise and sleeping was terrible. She was so uncomfortable on her back. We tried quite a few things- we bought a wedge that kept her head slightly elevated when she slept, I had to do an anti-reflux formula as well as breast feeding, baby probiotics and eventually she needed to be put on medication because she struggled so much. To be honest, nothing was an instant cure. We only saw a real difference when we started her on solids which we did earlier than 6 months to help her with her weight gain. In hindsight, I think we just needed to wait it out and give her digestive system time to mature. I understand how difficult this time is and I am thinking of you all. Stay strong and know that it does pass, even though on most days you think it never will xx
Thank you for sharing your experience! I had never heard of silent reflux until your comment and a few of the above comments and will be asking our pediatrician about this, as it seems like it may be what we are dealing with right now (after I looked up more info about it)!
Both of my kids struggled with reflux. My preemie also had significant projectile vomiting. After having numerous tests run we started medication. It helped ease the pain in her throat. Like our lactation consultant said, could you imagine what you felt like if you puked after every meal??? I went dairy free with my first and dairy and soy free with my second child. This helped significantly. With the second we also started slow feedings since she was taking too much of my breast milk too fast. I would pump, then give her a slow bottle with a slow release nipple at an upright position. Each feeding was suppose to take 30 minutes. It does get better. With my first it was between 4-6 months and with my preemie it was a year. Hang in there.
My now 18m old was the same, it was awful. Screamed when he was put on his back and spit up constantly. He also had bad cradle cap, had baby eczema on fis face and around 2 months developed really bad (proper) eczema/skin rashes. We ended up letting him sleep on his front even though it’s not advised, but it’s the only way he slept without being upright. He still sleeps on his front now. As for the spit up, as many others have said, try eliminating dairy and soy, that’s what it was for us in the end. They’re the most common allergens. Even now I can’t have the tiniest bit of dairy without him getting a rash, and if I forget to order a dairy free cappuccino (mum brain!) he will sure enough have a spit up about 24hours later.
One last thing that nobody has mentioned yet is cranial osteopathy. Not sure if this is a thing in the US? We never did this with my son as I read up on it too late (the therapy should Ideally be done Within the first 6 weeks of birth), but I hear great things. In the UK where I live, it’s not that common, and medical professionals don’t actively endorse it, but in Germany where I’m originally from and where healthcare is generally more open to alternative methods and treatment, it’s quite common.
Keep us posted about whatever you do.
My friend had similar issues with her little one and had luck with probiotic drops.
Mama! As a fellow mom of 4 boys, I cannot urge you enough to use the time your mom is there to REST AND RECOVER. Let Mae and Ryan take the kids to the pumpkin patch, birthday parties etc and use that vital time to sleep when Rhett sleeps and rest. You can’t pour from an empty cup and you can’t burn your candle at both ends and expect to keep going. Believe me, I know how hard it is. Especially if youre someone used to be on the go all the time. But you just had a baby! And have a stress fracture. Chase and Ryder will be absolutely fine experiencing a few weeks of fun with Mae and Daddy, or even just Daddy while mom rests. It’s beneficial for kids to have other caretakers take over once in awhile too. Maybe your mom can do pickup and you can stay back with Rhett. Indulge in takeout, call on your mom friends for a meal train, don’t be afraid to ask and receive help. Even if it’s hard. As a mama too, I know I’d jump at the chance to help my gfs if they needed it. And sometimes just a text from one saying “I’m struggling ” is all I/we as a group need to start dropping off meals, picking up older ones for playdates (if you’re not socially distancing, which it doesn’t seem like), etc. You’ve got so much support. Lean on them.
You might want to have Rhett checked by a pediatric dentist for a tongue tie? Check out the peaceful sleeper on Instagram because she has a recent series on it.
Thanks Chelsea!! I actually did have him checked for this because we went through that with Chase and thankfully that does not seem to be an issue this time around. That was definitely tough!
Both of my boys had bad reflux. My first was so bad we ended up seeing a GI specialist. They were both formula fed and we did a gentle formula and they ended up on reflux meds. You could try elevating his mattress a little by rolling a towel and placing it under the mattress. Your pedi may suggest eliminating dairy from your diet, as that is a typical trigger. Unfortunately, it takes about two weeks for the dairy to get out of your system completely. If that doesn’t work, they may suggest taking something else out of your diet. It’s so tricky.
My son had terrible projectile vomiting starting around 1 month old. Our pediatrician at the time basically kept brushing us off and said its just reflux heres Zantac. Well that made it worse and you could tell he was in pain. He would try to swallow everything and hold in as much liquid as he could until he would projectile vomit at least one time a day. I am talking a giant amount….pretty much adult size. After almost a month of this Pediatrician saying it was just normal and reflux…..every night he slept on my chest just to keep down his feed. He was fully on pumped breast milk. Finally I asked for another Pediatrician. The first thing she said is he is losing weight and needs to go to the Childrens Hospital for an ultra sound. Turns out he had Pyloric Stenosis, which is the thickening of the opening between the stomach and small intestine. He had to have surgery the next day at 2 months old in order fix the issue. After that surgery (which was probably the worst 48 hours ever!), he was a completely new baby. Never fussed, hardly ever cried and in order to catch up, he drank like a champ. One day he drank 64 oz of pumped breast milk! Now hes 3 years old and hes over 3’8″ and 57lbs. He’s giant!
The best advice I can give is to raise whatever mattress or basinet you use for any type of naps or sleep. Either put towels or a bunch of diapers underneath so he is at a slight angle. Also, hold him upright for at least a half hour after each feed. Very tedious, I know!! I know its hard not to but try not to get too discouraged about breast feeding. If you have to eliminate some things from your diet, its not too bad.
Rhett is so frickin cute! Just curious, does Ryan typically not help out with those things you mentioned in the post? I’m a work from home mom with three littles as well and my hubby typically does lunch packing and countless other childcare duties too, since in my mind parenting is 50/50! The plus side is that i (and he) feel totally comfortable handling all three of them on his own. I’d never think to specifically thank him “for his help” at a time like this because in my mind, it all comes with the job of being a father! After all, no one ever says “thanks for your help” to mom!
My other question is how did you guys decide on you being the one to do pick up/drop off, and take the kids to parties, etc right now? It might be easier if you focus your attention on bonding with the adorable new little guy, and leave the older two to dad and grandma!! Those newborn baby snuggling/bonding days fly by!!
oh yes!! i really love your comment, kristie, and agree with you so much! thank you for looking out for me and encouraging me to take advantage of help. thankfully i do feel like ryan is really helpful — sometimes it’s just challenging because while we both technically work from home, he is on conference calls/video calls almost all day long (seriously!) beginning at 7 a.m. — when he has breathers in the day, he jumps in and is great at immediately doing things like cleaning up around the house, engaging with the older boys, etc. i am definitely with you in feeling that parenting kids is a job for BOTH parents to share as equally as possible. i must admit that during the baby phase, i do feel like i am the “go-to” for the baby for a while, mainly because i’m nursing and we aren’t doing bottles yet (my choice, as i really don’t like pumping) but i do feel like things even out more over time.
as for drop offs/pick ups, my mom and ryan have been handling most of them actually! i just really genuinely like doing it when i can (which was the case on tuesday) because i am spending so much time at home right now (a good thing, i know) because i admittedly can get a bit of “cabin fever” during this phase of life and something about drop off/pick up can feel like a little glimpse into the “real world” which is kind of nice. plus, i love chatting with the boys about their days/school. 🙂
The rock and play was our savior for getting our baby to sleep. Sleeping slightly upright was the only was her reflux didn’t interfere. Although I think now they don’t recommend the Rock n play…seems like all the tried and true things that work they find something wrong with the safety of them. 🙂
Weird question. Any chance you are taking lecithin (typically soy or sunflower)? It’s pretty typical for people who are pumping to take to prevent mastitis/clogs. I had to pump for both of mine and took it… and it definitely caused them issues. Namely, it caused spitup/discomfort and also green poops. They would fight eating all the time. I didn’t figure out what was causing the issues with my first one and went the whole non-dairy route(didn’t help) and eventually hypoallergenic formula. For my second one I finally put it all together (but kept getting mastitis without it, but thats another story). Soy lecithin is also found in most formulas, which makes it hard to get away from!
Probably not it but I thought I would mention it!
i am not but thank you for letting me know about this!
I would definitely consider probiotic and cutting some dairy (especially “soft” dairy-yogurt, ice cream, milk, sour cream, soft cheeses) and some people cut soy and that helps. I had to cut dairy with both of mine for reflux and it helped a LOT. And yes to the elevating of their sleeping location! We put blankets under crib mattress and bassinet mattress.
You are doing a great job, Julie! Hope the reflux smooths itself out soon. My sister’s girls had it and tilting the mattress seemed to help her. I’m so glad your mom has been able to help. She’ll treasure her snuggling times with Rhett as well as the nature exploring with your older boys. Sleep is the key to being able to feel human and ” be there ” for your family- even a few hours can help- kind of like a super nap!
Ryan sounds like he is a big help, which is great! He is experienced by now so can fill in for lots of things the boys need. Don’t hesitate to ask for help from your friends or hire a neighborhood teenager to keep the older boys entertained in the late afternoon. Three is very different from two, at least that was my experience. You will find your way through this. Good nutrition will help keep you going.
Hi Julie,
You seem to really be rolling with the punches, as they say, and taking the struggles in stride. We had similar issues and like someone said above, the pediatrician thought it was silent reflux. They put her on Zantac I think. It didn’t alleviate it completely, but definitely helped. We also tried having her nap in a slightly elevated position, as well as supervised tummy naps. I hope you find something that works!
On a different note, I wondered if you might do a post on the nitty gritty details of how you did Chase’s baby book. You mentioned you’re working on one for Ryder, so maybe you could share a bit more on that. I really want to make one for my daughter but really don’t know what to include and would love some sort of template. Mine is 2.5 now, and I would love to make her one before she turns eighteen 😉
Julie, you are a superwoman and crushing the mom game! We dealt with a lot of unhappiness with my first and a couple of things helped us get through it. Mylicon gas drops were a GAME CHANGER. Our pediatrician was all for them and you can give them it multiple times a day. It definitely helped settle my little guy down and make him happier and calm within 2-3 mins of taking it. We did find out later that even though that helped “mask the reflux” my guy had silent reflux and we had to get him on meds short term. I hope your pediatrician can give you some suggestions. I did end up cutting out dairy to see if it helped the situation and it did.
You got this!
Sorry you are having sleep troubles! With my youngest I had an overactive let down and over supply which was causing issues similar to your little guy. It took me awhile to figure out since I was never engorged or anything. I began to pop him off after he latched on and caught the let down in a burp cloth. And I also nursed laying on my side as well until my supply regulated. Just an idea!! Good luck and congratulations!!
Sounds a lot like a sensitivity (could be some reflux but the sensitivity probably causing it). Usually dairy, then soy, then possibly eggs or corn. I’ve been down this road 3x (although didn’t totally know with my 1st and he was colicky…first time mom!). Ask your pediatrician to test a diaper for blood as that is a good start! Hang in there. It’s SO hard on all fronts, especially when you are so tired. For sleep, might try a tighter swaddle so he can calm better. And a bit of survival…but, I’m here to say it does get better! My 3rd is 9 months and all of that newborn stuff is a blur now.
Hi Julie.
Are you eating foods that could upset his tummy? Milk, beans, corn, zucchini, fruits? Just guessing. I know you know what you are doing. As long as he is gaining Weight hopefully you won’t need meds. I’m a WHNP and mom of three. Best wishes! You got this!
You got this mama! I just recently had my 3rd and my 2 boys are around your big boys age! 3 is just complete madness but so fun! I know it’s very against the rules but I started letting my baby sleep on her tummy and she has been so comfortable like that! We got the owlet monitor for peace of mind but some time on their tummies can help the gas and tummy troubles! I started with just naps on her tummy while I was with her and could watch her!
I’m so sorry you are going through these sleep/nursing struggles! I feel you. mama! Your little one sound just like my last/3rd child! My concerns pop up right around the same time too, and of course the pediatrician and myself first thought reflux. I can’t remember why, but we decided to give it some time I think and see how it went, before of course he wanted to try meds. I think I ended up talking with my midwife, or somehow came around to looking into a lactation consultant. I also at this point still had some serious nipple pain/discomfort with nursing, which I knew was not typical/normal. I went and saw the lactation consultant and we were able to determine my little guy had some oral motor weakness. He was nursing frequently (which can also be a sign of reflux, because the milk actually soothes the upset tummy at first), but also falling asleep with nursing a lot (which I had just attributed to using it for some comfort to fall asleep). This was because his little muscles were getting so tired from the work, because he was pretty much only using his tongue, rather than tongue, cheeks and jaw. This frequent nursing to make up for the tired muscles ended up creating an oversupply and as I tried to back off the frequent nursing to more 2 hr stretches, he couldn’t handle the volume and speed of my letdown. That’s what would end up upsetting his tummy some and make him spit up some, but not large volumes of spit up. So, the lactation consultant gave me some cream for my nipples (what a relief!) and sent us to a Speech Therapist for an evaluation. We did some exercises to increase his strength and it helped all around. He continued with some minor weakness which later on affected his speech, but our nursing journey improved greatly! I hope you can easily find the answers to your struggles, if not from your pediatrician (remember, they are not always proficient in nursing) than maybe from a good lactation consultant! And may you find some better rest/sleep soon!
All three of my girls had reflux so yeah, feed and then hold upright for 45 minutes. So hard to do especially at night. I feel you! It eventually goes away. My third daughter was just needier and a worse sleeper and napper than the other two. It sucked, but my ped heavily encouraged sleep training at six months. LIFESAVER. Hard as heck but if you can make it to 4-6 months you can sleep train and you will finally sleep again.
Both of my boys were uncomfortable like that with pretty minimal spitting up and it ended up being a dairy sensitivity with both of them. As soon as I cut it out they were totally different babies!
Hi! My son had reflux as a baby. His pediatrician suggested holding him upright for 30 minutes after eating. This made for long middle of the night feedings but my husband and I took turns. He was also prescribed some medication that he took for a couple months. He finally grew out of it as he got older. Prayers Rhett will grow out of it soon and better nights of sleep are ahead!
We were having some similar mild but exhausting issues, and I made two changes that have seemed to help. I breastfeed him with his rump lower than his head. Keeping him more upright seems to help keep it down. It also reduces the time you have to keep him upright after to like 15-20 min. I also cut back on the more direct dairy like yogurt and kefir….but still eat cheese.
Good Luck!!
Our little guy had extremely severe reflux. Symptoms first arrived at 2-3 weeks, but were much worse by 4-5 weeks. At 14 months we are *finally* symptom free!
Some symptoms to look for include: significant, painful vomiting (including projectile vomiting) after most or all feedings; coughing and gagging; congestion; arching back / neck; crying in pain (not a typical hunger or tired cry)
We tried many of the solutions that we found online and from our pediatrician. These didn’t work for us but seemed to work for other kids:
1. Holding upright after each feeding
2. Sleeping inclined in a swing (the straps on his stomach led to immediate spit up/pain)
3. Small/ frequent feedings
4. Elimination of dairy, eggs, spicy foods from diet.
Here is what ultimately worked for us:
1. Naps in a solly wrap and eventually a happy baby carrier. Fully upright / head extended & neck arched back when symptoms were severe. And we really watched wake windows so he was sent overtired and in pain.
2. Nighttime sleep upright on us in an armchair. (We had a medical trade pulse-ox from the hospital and his oxygen saturation would drop when we laid him flat because he aspirated his spit up). We took turns and each took 1/2 the night. Not ideal but it was the only way our baby could breath / keep his O2 saturation and heart rate at a healthy level.
3. Medication. This was our last resort but it was necessary so that he could breathe and get into a crib once he was more mobile / we were out of steam for holding him all night long. Zantac was recalled. We used famotidine. We were finally able to wean him off it at 13.5 months old (we tried monthly from 6 months onward but he was still symptomatic). Be careful of prilosec- the side effects are more significant. It was our last resort and we were thankful to not need it.
4. Limit car seat time as much as possible (crunched / pushed on his tummy and exacerbated symptoms)
5. Buy an absurd # of burp cloths. Reflux isn’t only a laundry problem (duh), but doing laundry less is still helpful.
Goodness Rhett is such a sweet looking little guy!
My 1st and 3rd were spitters, it was so exhausting. Wearing them as much as possible during the day saved me. Less spit up because they were upright and they napped better which led to better nighttime sleep (I think anyway). If they napped for 20 minutes in their bed one time a day, I considered it good practice, ha!. All 3 of my kiddos transitioned just fine to more naps in the crib. Tuck and Bundle makes my favorite wrap for newborns. My husband would even wear our youngest in it when seeing patients virtually while their clinic was closed! Good luck! You’re doing great!
Check out the Babocush pillow for your sleep issues. My son had to be held and it was the only thing i could get him to nap on. Connected it to the mommaroo so he would also get the rocking.
I’ve never heard of this — thank you for sharing!! I’ll definitely look into it.
Hi! Something that we ended up doing with both of our little guys was elevating the bassinet mattress with a folded hand towel underneath the head end; it creates just enough of a tilt so they are slightly elevated and that seemed to really help both our boys with fussiness and spit up issues. Best of luck to you and your beautiful family!
Hi Julie, my baby spit up after every single feed and we always attributed it to gas. If we held her upright and burped her continuously until she burped and only then lay her on her back she would do loads better.
Otherwise she would scream in pain from gas. We
Also found “pumping” her legs up and down gently would help.
No advice but I’m sorry you’re dealing with this and I hope it gets better soon. Hang in there Mama, you got this 💙
So sorry for you and baby Rhett! It is so difficult when they’re uncomfortable and no one sleeps well.
Both of my boys had similar symptoms that eventually progressed into colic. It was reflux caused by milk/soy intolerance and a more severe version of food intolerance called FPIES with my second. Eliminating foods from my diet resolved the reflux. Unfortunately many pediatricians are not knowledgeable about so we had trouble finding support from pediatricians and mostly learned about it from other moms and eventually specialists. Best of luck finding a solution.
Ours had reflux, too. It is SO HARD. Although he never had colic, I think reflux is equally as tough as colic. You have a lot of great advice in these comments. What worked for us: me cutting out as much dairy as possible while breastfeeding, supplementing with (and then moving completely to) Alimentum formula, gripe water, probiotic drops, and reflux medication. I was very, very relunctant to put him on actual medication, but it made a huge difference. And he was only on it for a few months.
He did also prefer to sleep elevated, so he slept for the first few months in a bouncy seat, rock & play and swing. I know that none of those are recommended, though. (He is 2, so the rock & play had not been recalled yet.)
Good luck, Mama. You are doing a great job.
Culturelle baby probiotic drops were a lifesaver!! Within two days we noticed a HUGE difference!
Hi Mama! Hope you’re already finding some relief! All three of my babies struggled with silent reflux and it was so difficult! WE TRIED EVERYTHING. In hindsight, I think a good probiotic (for both baby and mama, if breastfeeding), chiropractic care, and properly addressing tongue ties are what helped us the most. Addressing any underlying food sensitivities can also make a huge difference. Big hugs to you. You will get through this!
I feel for you!! Life was insane when my third was born and this was pre pandemic. While she didn’t have reflux, she was a pretty stereotypical baby and cried every time she was put down, and often when she was held (much like my other two and, you know, babies in general lol). She wasn’t too pleased to be on the outside of my body and I had many nights of just walking her up and down the stairs at 2am bc it was the only thing stopping her from crying.
From one mom of 3 to another, I mean this gently, make sure you take care of yourself. When my daughter arrived I did literally nothing with or for my sons. For at least the first month, probably more. My sole job was nursing and holding the baby. I didn’t cook, clean, take my older two anywhere, when I felt really good I would come downstairs and maybe watch a show with them. I think I took them to one gymnastics class when my husband had an evening work event that was very important. I had two friends meet me to help out and I was still exhausted. I totally get that you want to spend time with them and reassure them that mom is still around even in the upheaval of a new baby arriving. But you need to take care of yourself too, and delivering and nursing a newborn means you need so much rest. My kids are 2, 4 and 6 now and have absolutely no memory of that time where daddy did everything and they still love me, want to spend time with me, and love each other. It’s such a short time in the long run but it’s so important to allow yourself to heal. Good luck and sending you and Rhett restful vibes.
Lots of great advise here in regards to food allergies. Another culprit can be all the sugar alcohols on the market now and sometimes hidden in foods you wouldn’t expect – ice cream, gum, drinks, yogurts, pancake mix etc. Erythritol, Xylitol, Stevia and Monkfruit can all be tough on little tummies. My breastfed baby would spit up green foam if I had even the tiniest bit of stevia. Best wishes in solving the reflux puzzle 🙂
There are so many comments already but my first (of three boys!) was a terrible spitter. We had him checked for pyloric stenosis in the Er when he was 10 days old bc he just wouldn’t eat or sleep. That was negative and I found he napped well on his stomach (I watched him of course) and put him on his belly for night sleep around 6 months (each boy I did that with 2 months earlier…it helped them sleep so much!) also, we elevated the head of the crib (while he was still on his back) with some books, and during the day tried to keep him upright for at least 30 min after each feeding. All of that helped some but the winner winner chicken dinner that saved us all was reflex meds started around 7 months -12 months when I weaned him. He just spit like a normal baby instead of literally puking up a feeding. Hope some of this helps! I can relate, as I only had one at the time (my hardest was my oldest). My boys are all just two years older than yours ❤️