How to reduce symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) in infants (Reflujo)

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By eliptica
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GER in infants

Gastroesophageal Reflux can be a serious issue which may effect the health of your baby. It can effect your baby's growth and even your baby's breathing. The symptoms include:
Vomiting a lot of milk,
An irritable baby,
Trouble sleeping,
coughing,
Refusal to eat.

All equal one sad baby. Lots of infants are born with this problem. Luckily it goes away for most babies. My 4 month old baby was born with this problem. As a mother who has experienced the problem here are a few tips that I am using to help relieve the symptoms.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

A diagnosis from your doctor saying your child has GERD
A child seat (I use a car seat)
Baby bibs and Large Towels
Rice cereal for infants or Gerber Whole Grain Oatmeal
Breast Pump
Special baby formula for GERD (For babies who don't drink breast milk)
Patience and love

Step 1

If you suspect your child has GERD it is best to go to the Doctor and get it diagnosed. It can be a very serious disease. Babies have died from GERD. The doctor will probably have a test done to check if your baby has GERD or if it is another problem.
Step 2

Your doctor may prescribe a medicine and a special formula for the GERD.
They both help tremendously. My baby takes Unimol for her medicine.
Step 3

Milk...

My baby had trouble breast feeding so I pumped her breast milk and she also drank formula. She currently drinks Nan AR made by Nestle. This is one of the brands of formula specialized for babies with GERD. My baby did not vomit up any of this milk.

Breast milk was a major problem. My baby tended to vomit quit a bit of this milk. Adding rice cereal or the Gerber oat meal to the breast milk helps prevent the baby from vomiting it up. I mixed 1 table spoon with 2 oz of milk. This greatly reduced my baby's vomit problem
Step 4

While feeding your baby...

If you are breast feeding remember to burp your baby after each breast.
If bottle feeding burp your baby after he/she drinks 1-2 oz.

Remember to put a bib with a plastic back on your baby. If your baby vomits the plastic backing will keep your baby's clothes dry. I also draped a large towel over my shoulders, front and legs. When you burp your baby this is the time when he/she will vomit the most. The towel will keep you dry.
Step 5

After feeding your baby make sure you keep your baby sitting up for at least 30 minutes. You can use your arms for this or a child seat. This will help reduce the chances of your baby from choking on their vomit. I use a baby car seat because my baby can not sit up alone yet.
Step 6

Sleeping...

Sleeping can be a very difficult time for a baby with GERD. This is were patience and love come in handy. My doctor recommended that for the first 3 months of life my baby should sleep on her side or in a car seat. When your baby can move her head more it is recommended for your baby to sleep on his/her back.
Step 7

These steps helped to relive many of the symptoms of GERD for me and made my baby a lot more happy :)

Comments

kellieann2000 said

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on 6/22/2009 Great article on How to reduce symptoms of Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease (GERD) in infants.

gahazeleyes said

on 4/27/2009 I have a friend who has gastroesophageal reflux. Thanks for helping me to understand this more.

6string827 said

on 3/7/2009 Thanks for the message. What can we really say about GERD. It is a terrible, unconmfortable condition that children shouldn't be subjected to.All we can do is understand the disease and know how to make them comfortable and get them through it.If I can EVER be of help, please send me a message.