My son ended up having Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD). It was just terrible. You never knew when he was going to toss up what he had just eaten. Then when he did, he had to be refed. He tends to be a slow eater too, even now as a toddler he pokes, so it was a pain in the butt. His doctor recommended adding 2tbs of rice cereal to his breastmilk to help thicken it. I think it helped some, but it mainly just gave him some extra calories, which being a preemie, he needed. Since I formula fed twice a day, his doctor also recommended Enfamil A.R. Lipil. It's a thicker formula designed for babies with reflux. It also seemed to help with his reflux.
To reduce the amount of vomiting, I would also burp my son every couple of ounces. If I didn't, the chances he would burp up what he had just eaten increased. At one point, I also fed him less, more frequently. He's always been on a schedule, even now as a toddler. As a baby, he would eat every 3 hours, so I tried feeding him every 2 1/2 hours which added an extra couple of feedings. I think it helped, but it was very time consuming, so I ended up dropping the extra couple of feedings. It was tough, you never knew when he was going to throw up. One time we were laying on the couch and 45 minutes after he ate, his meal came shooting out. That was something to see.
His doctor also recommended keeping him propped up for 15 minutes after he ate. I would hold him on my lap and rub his back for the 15 minutes. This also acted as a sort of massage, which helps preemies grow. I really think this helped with his growth as he caught up on the growth charts very quickly. By the time he should have been born, he was caught up in weight. It didn't take much longer for his height to catch up.
By the way, I also fed him propped up. I would set him in my lap & hold him with his head in my hand. This is the technique the nurses in the NICU taught us to use, even before he developed reflux.
I also bought a pad to stick under his mattress crib which elevated the mattress and stuck a whole pile of magazines under the pad. He was propped up so high, I put a box at the lower half of his crib to keep him from sliding down. As he grew longer, I would decrease the length of the box. I covered the box with blankets and made sure there weren't any gaps he could get stuck in. It worked out very well.
The first few months, my son spent most of his time in the bassinet. That was elevated as well, thanks to a custom built contraption my hubby built. It put the bassinet at about a 40 degree angle.
My son pretty much spent his babyhood propped up.lol Out of it though, I came up with another theory.
Babies are very prone to ear infections, due to having such small tubes which fluid tends to backflow into forming bacteria. How many babies have you heard of who've had ear infections or have had tubes put into their ears because they've had so many infections? Tons, pretty much every baby I know.
Every baby, that is, except my son, who never had an ear infection. Amazing isn't it. A baby who never had an ear infection. I really believe it was because he was always propped up. Propped up means you're not laying down, which means fluid can't backflow into the ears, which, in my opinion, means no ear infections.
If I ever have another baby, I will definitely be propping it up, whether or not it has reflux.
The reflux was a pain in the butt, but in the end, it was really good my son had it. Otherwise, I would have just layed him flat like every other baby, making him prone to ear infections. If you have a baby, propping it up is certainly worth a try.
To reduce the amount of vomiting, I would also burp my son every couple of ounces. If I didn't, the chances he would burp up what he had just eaten increased. At one point, I also fed him less, more frequently. He's always been on a schedule, even now as a toddler. As a baby, he would eat every 3 hours, so I tried feeding him every 2 1/2 hours which added an extra couple of feedings. I think it helped, but it was very time consuming, so I ended up dropping the extra couple of feedings. It was tough, you never knew when he was going to throw up. One time we were laying on the couch and 45 minutes after he ate, his meal came shooting out. That was something to see.
His doctor also recommended keeping him propped up for 15 minutes after he ate. I would hold him on my lap and rub his back for the 15 minutes. This also acted as a sort of massage, which helps preemies grow. I really think this helped with his growth as he caught up on the growth charts very quickly. By the time he should have been born, he was caught up in weight. It didn't take much longer for his height to catch up.
By the way, I also fed him propped up. I would set him in my lap & hold him with his head in my hand. This is the technique the nurses in the NICU taught us to use, even before he developed reflux.
I also bought a pad to stick under his mattress crib which elevated the mattress and stuck a whole pile of magazines under the pad. He was propped up so high, I put a box at the lower half of his crib to keep him from sliding down. As he grew longer, I would decrease the length of the box. I covered the box with blankets and made sure there weren't any gaps he could get stuck in. It worked out very well.
The first few months, my son spent most of his time in the bassinet. That was elevated as well, thanks to a custom built contraption my hubby built. It put the bassinet at about a 40 degree angle.
My son pretty much spent his babyhood propped up.lol Out of it though, I came up with another theory.
Babies are very prone to ear infections, due to having such small tubes which fluid tends to backflow into forming bacteria. How many babies have you heard of who've had ear infections or have had tubes put into their ears because they've had so many infections? Tons, pretty much every baby I know.
Every baby, that is, except my son, who never had an ear infection. Amazing isn't it. A baby who never had an ear infection. I really believe it was because he was always propped up. Propped up means you're not laying down, which means fluid can't backflow into the ears, which, in my opinion, means no ear infections.
If I ever have another baby, I will definitely be propping it up, whether or not it has reflux.
The reflux was a pain in the butt, but in the end, it was really good my son had it. Otherwise, I would have just layed him flat like every other baby, making him prone to ear infections. If you have a baby, propping it up is certainly worth a try.
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