My baby is 7 months old and has never slept well (by himself). He was diagnosed with silent reflux at 2 weeks. Was better on ranitidine for a couple of months and could get himself to sleep. Then got bad flu/cold and hasn't been able to get himself to sleep for past 3 months. Changed to losec about same time and seemed to help but still problem with sleep. His night sleep has got worse also. Maybe coinciding with increased solids as he is prone to constipation. I currently rock him to sleep for about 1 1/2 hrs a day, and push him in the buggy over 2 hrs a day so that he sleeps. He's been sick 4 times in 2 months and he's even harder to get to sleep. Past 2 nights I've been up since 3.30 rocking him then holding him. Lately he wakes up betwen 3.30 and 5 and doesn't want to go back to sleep. I'm exhausted and had enough of the variability. Please can you help...

Four questions (sorry if info already here I don't have time to trawl through)

1. Which formula good for baby, don't know if has dairy intolerance, but is prone to constipation

2. Does anyone know if losec linked with insomnia? Plunket nurse thought there might be. He's on 30mg / day and he weighs 10.5 kg

3. Does anyone know anyone who can help me look after the baby? I live in Christchurch and need someone trustworthy and capable (obviously), preferably with some knowledge of reflux. We can pay, can't afford it but I'm at wit's end

4. Is there some special way to get reflux babies to sleep in their cot???

I have a 2 year old as well, that's why it's so hard.

I'm so sorry things are so bad for you at the moment . Having a refluxer is so very hard, been there, done that!

It sounds as if your wee boy has got used to being held and rocked to sleep and he is unable to settle himself. We got into the same situation with our refluxer, we felt that we had to respond to him every time he cried as usually we would find him in a pool of vomit. It made it very hard for us to be able to try a sleep program with him, in fact, it was when he was 18 months old and after reflux surgery that he finally slept well. Have you tried controlled crying - if you are happy to use that method, or other sleep methods? For me, I found controlled crying the best for my situation, I didn't have to leave him crying for too long and in a few days he was sleeping. It is a hard few days but worth it if you stick to it.

It sounds as if you have got yourself so exhausted, heck, looking after a 7 month old and a 2 year old is bad enough without reflux and poor sleep thrown in. That would be my advice, to teach him to self settle and fall asleep on his own. It sounds as if he is really well medicated, 30mg of losec is a high dose, so hopefully the pain of reflux is controlled. I have not heard of losec being linked with insomnia.

I don't know about formula sorry, it has been years since I had to worry about that.

Can you contact Barnardos, they could put you in touch with a caregiver. Do you have family around that can help? I'm not from Christchurch so don't know what services are available there but your GP should be able to help.

Good luck, I wish there was more I could do to help. Hang in there .

I really feel for you, cause it just feels like a never ending nightmare doesn't it .... My initial reaction is that his reflux is out of control, which may just be reflux, or may be food intolerances causing it to flare up. 30% of our refluxers are allergic/intolerant to dairy, so that would certainly be a place to start.

have you been to the website: http://www.cryingoverspiltmilk.co.nz? There are some good pages on there with advice and tips to help. Things that really helped me with my twins were/are: tilting the cot on an angle, keeping baby upright for half an hour after a feed (basically letting the food progress further into their tummies before lying them down, keeping the pressure off the tummy valve that isn't working properly), not giving my girls any tummy time or do anything that allowed them to lie flat.

There are two problems with reflux, one is that the valve at the top of their tummy isn't working properly yet, and is allowing stomach contents to come back up. The second problem is that the stomach makes too much acid, which when combined with the valve problem, often causes acid burns (oeshpagitis) in their throats. This can then cause major issues with feeding etc.

Does your bubs spill? Have you tried gaviscon? My girls need both losec and gaviscon - the losec to turn the stomach pumps off, and the gaviscon to thicken the feeds making it harder for the stomach contents to go back up their throats.

I assume that bubs is eating solids? My suggestion would be that there is something in what he's eating that is causing a reaction, which in turns causes the reflux to flare up. So I would suggest to stop all foods (I know this sounds drastic, but it's the only way to figure out if there is anything that he's reacting to) and go back to straight formula. Give the reflux and oesphagitis time to settle and then try solids again. In fact, I would try alternate formulas first before going back onto solids.

Most paeds etc put babies over the age of 6 months with diary issues onto soy first, and if they can't tolerate this then will move to either pepti junior or neocate. For me, Neocate was a miracle!! All of a sudden my girls slept ... and WITHOUT being on me - before this I spent all day in my lazyboy chair with them sleeping on me, and most of the night ....

So in amoungst all this, my main suggestion is to stop solids temporarily, try soy, and if no joy after a few days go see a paed (in fact make an appointment now cause it takes a few days at least ....) and get a special authority number for neocate. Then once this has been done, and if bubs is settled and happy, then try solids again. But do it really really slowly and keep a food diary.

My dietician has said to do one food every 4-5 days. On day one you give them 1/4 teaspoon of the food. On day two double this to 1/2 teaspoon. On day 3 double this again to 1 teaspoon, day 4 2 teaspoons and day 5 4 teaspoons. If at any stage along the way bubs reacts (our girls get constipated, diahhroa, nappy rash, and the wonderful reflux flare up, so sleepless nights, grizzly, clingy, etc) then stop the food and don't touch it again for months and months.

My thoughts would also be that it may be worth going to see a dietician and an immunologist. They should be able to help with his diet to see exactly what he might be reacting to and suggest alternatives.

Haven't heard about losec being linked to insomnia, but if the reflux has caused the acid burns then reflux babies will NOT sleep ... in fact my girls stayed awake virtually all day so that they were exhausted enough to sleep most of the night - and this is VERY common for reflux bubs ....

Your story is so achingly familiar to me ... my heart goes out to you. But I really think that the only way to improve this is to see specialists .... My girls now are just incrediable! I actually enjoy them now, which makes a huge change from the first year .... it will get better I promise .... just hang in there ...

Hi there,
In christchurch theres a plunket family centre in Riccarton. I took my 3 mth old there, they try and help with settling babies and offer advice etc. It really is worth it, the numbers in the phone book. Its a really supportive environment and you can talk to other mums going through similar circumstances
Hang in there :-)

You've got some excellent advice above, I just wanted to say that we are where you are at the moment and offer you my sympathies . My son is also 7 months and we are seeing an immunologist to try and deal to some of the food issues.

My sister's refluxer (and I know it's very common in refluxers) was very prone to ear chest and throat infections. My son has an ear and throat infection at the moment plus bronchiolitis and it's hell! It's certainly the time of year for them... I'm sure you have already thought of this, but you need to rule these out before doing controlled crying.

All the best. You're doing a fab job! I hope you get some help.

Thanks for your responses. Have tried crying technique before, worked for a while then not. Currently he's sick all the time so can't do that. Tends to get himself on to back and thrash his arms and legs about and swallow a lot of wind (and he hates to have wind) so doesn't work.

I have a paed who's pretty helpful although didn't know 30% refluxers are dairy intolerant, and suggested just going on a normal formula. I just don't want baby getting any more constipated so was wondering if anyone had a baby in a similar situation and which commercial brand was good.

Maybe I'll try an immunologist.

Keep the advice coming!!! Thanks

Gaviscon made him constipated so don't want to try that again.

Barnardos were OK but just offered someone to come in 5 months time to talk about parenting issues etc(!). The Plunket Family Centre are great but basically said I have to wait it out for 3-6 months and try sleep techniques when he's not sick.

I try all the normal reflux mgmt techniques but he still has tummy time cos I figure that it will only get significantly better when he is more upright and if he doesn't have tummy time then how's he going to sit and crawl? Genuinely wondering, not being smart.

As far as a formula you can get from the supermarket, we are on Nestle Nan HA (stands for hypo-allergenic) and is working OK for us at the moment.

It won't be long before he can sit on his own - that will help a little. Hang in there

Neither of my girls had ANY tummy time till they were about 7 months old, and have been right on time with crawling and walking with other kids their age group. In fact with walking they were one of the first .... a lot of that comes from the fact that they are VERY motivated to walk, as it really makes the reflux more manageable, cause then they're upright most of the day, keeping the pressure off the tummy valve. I worried about the fact that they'd be delayed developmentally with rolling, crawling and walking, but it really hasn't been an issue for us at all.

I found with one of my two who had constipation issues, if I put a little sugar in her drink or food (on biscuits for example) that softens her up. Alternatively the gp can prescribe lactolose which is a good constipation meds.

the Karicare reflux formula (I think it was called HA ... can't remember ...) won't be good, simply because the formula's that are targetting reflux are thicker, which makes constipation worse. So don't go down that road. Soy formulas and neocate are thinner formula's than the regular stuff.

Just thought I should clarify this - hypoallergenic does not mean that your baby will not react to this formula if he has a dairy allergy/intolerance - it was recommended to us by the paed cause I had allergies as a kid.

hi there

i would definitley give dairy free a try. the gastro paed we saw here in london seemed to suggest that constipation can be realted to this, and if your son is prone to bad wind that can be another sign that digestively all is not well too.

for us, ranitidine and losec did bugger all until we came off the dairy (at 8/ 9 months) onto neocate formula.

as the others have said, solids can also really complicate the issue. i would be tempted to go back to baby rice and pear, and start all over again.

until the reflux was under control, my daughter had constant ear infections/ viruses, liek your son. every week she had something. it just makes everything harder.

hang in there. it does get better when you get to the bottom of the reflux. but where you are right now absolutley sucks.

if he will sleep in the buggy the paed said it was fine to leave them in there all night. basically do anything that helps you to survive!

good luck

I too have a 7 mth old refluxer. He is on losec & gaviscon, as well as neocate formula, but still we have a huge problem with wind, which causes him a lot of pain, and he often wakes up from sleeps day & night needing to be winded. I also can relate to the rocking, as we seem to do it an awful lot, as well as gentle bouncing which bubs loves but it killing my back and knees !! It's really frustrating when it seems like no-one can help, I'm right there at the moment. What area of ChCh are you in as I live there also?

HI Dani T, I live in Avonside. Yeah, I realised today that I grossly underestimated the time I spend rocking him (let alone holding him).

I gave him some Karicare Gold last night and tonight but I tasted it and it's pretty yuck. I'm doubtful that he'll tolerate it very well.

He's only eating pear, baby rice, carrot, kumara, avocado and banana, and I know the baby rice is definitely stopping him up so limiting that, as well as the banana. I was only mashing stuff instead of pureeing it, he's better on the smoother stuff.

Wondering how he's going to get iron with limited baby rice and I presume meat is a no-no since it's so hard to digest?

I've basically been dairy free for 2 months, thou still have baking occasionally with it - does this really matter?

Is high pitched screeching common for refluxers, as well as coughing? Aargh.

So many questions....

Is he current breast or bottle fed?

Insomnia is listed as an uncommon side-effect of Losec. Side-effects are more common with high doses and he is on a reasonably high dosage. Does he appear to be sore at night or just not settling? Mum tends to know her baby the best.

Have you been in touch with the Plunket Family Centre? I presume they should be able to advise you who can help. I think it is Rangi who run a nanny school and you can sometimes get a nanny student through them that might be a help. http://www.pepsicles.co.nz/ provides help (at a cost) for parents of newborns so may be able to put you on to who could help out.

Re the sleeping in the cot, have you got the head raised? Doing this and using a fitted sleeping bag which fits over the mattress or a safe-t-sleep stops them sliding down the bed and is the best way to get them to sleep in the cot. Crying it out doesn't work well with our babies with reflux. Although behaviour may be a factor it isn't the cause. Controlled crying may be more successful. http://www.askdrsears.com is my favourite website for settling babies attachment parenting style. But if you are "past it", put him in the cot, walk out and take a few minutes to collect yourself before going back in to settle him.

I haven't read through the replies and your answers but will eventually. Hope this is of some help. Oh and give me a call if you want - phone number is on Crying Over Spilt Milk. Leave a message if I don't answer and I'll phone you back.

banana is a bad food for refluxers ... would avoid it ....

Barnardoes is an excellant idea!

I wouldn't stop the solids entirely. Maybe simplify it to the safest of the solids you have introduced. Not introducing them around this age can lead to all sorts of problems. http://www.nutriciababy.co.nz/main/nutrition/the_nutricia_feeding_guide_for_b.html is a good guide if you combine it with the reflux guidelines here: http://www.cryingoverspiltmilk.co.nz/Food/FoodandReflux.htm

Re the paediatrician and not knowing about dairy allergy being common amongst babies with reflux, this would make me concerned. Medication is not the answer to all reflux problems. Careful dietary and medical management is. Give Nutricia a call and ask them what formula they would suggest. The commercial options are HA (which is designed for babies at risk of allergies but without a diagnosed one), Goat's milk formula or soy formula as long as you continue with solids/breastfeeding as it is not meant to be used as a sole source of nutrition. Then of course there is the cow's milk based formulas. We can't really give advice on the forum as to what is best for your baby. This needs to be done by their health professionals or dietician eg Nutricia. If you are breastfeeding, I would encourage you to try a dairy free diet for yourself for up to two weeks. This will give you an idea as to whether dairy is the problem or not and help you make a more informed choice about formulas.

The HA formulas are hypoallergenic not thickened - thickened is AR. Nutricia were bringing out one that was both. No formula should cause constipation though even if it is thickened as long as it is made up exactly according to instructions. If it causes constipation it is because of reaction to something in the formula - not the thickness of the formula.

If constipation is such an issue it would be good to get this treated. Constipation causes increased reflux. There are some simple things you can do yourself but not all infants with reflux can cope with these. http://www.nutriciababy.co.nz/userdata/attachments/Guide_to_Constipation.pdf If this fails then see your doctor for something like Lactulose. The constipation may settle with time or change in diet but a lot of our babies with reflux have poor gut motility so are more prone to constipation. Constipation increases wind as well.

Hope all our tips help.

Just wanted to add that we were told to avoid avocado, banana, apple and potato when we introduced solids to our refluxer.

horoeka and DaniT - hope things are going better for your both and that you were able to catch up and offer some support to each other

Hi there. New to this site but have to admit to reading all your suggestions. Reading Horoeka's thread it was like reading my own. I have 6 mth old. We are on PJnr and 10mg losec caps 7.00am and 7pm. Only kumera for solids as he appears to be dairy intolerant and I stopped everything else- hourly. We are also up 2-6x a night with screaming. He has had broncilitis which I read is common in reflux bubs for the last 4 weeks at Drs today and told he has a sore throat- no kidding, but I feel the waking is reflux related. Any suggestions of where I go from here. I have a paed appt next week. Should I up losec or change to Neocate? Have tried s elm but didn't notice much. Which probiotics are dairy free also? Sorry all the questions but a mindfield as you all know. Appreciate help

Sorry meant we are up- hourly.

I would change to neocate as pepti junior has trace amounts of dairy in it, and it sounds to me like bubs reflux is out of control still, so perhaps this with an increase in losec .... Huge hugs, it's such a nightmare ...