Looking for the best formula to give a 4 month old with bad reflux.?

Question

He's 4 months old, tried almost every formula except Nutramigen, which the doctor just put him on. Tried Previcid, problem worse. Only had 1 other child out of our 4 that had mild case. Good Start and Zantac worked for her till she outgrew it.

Answer 1

My son is 5 months and also has severe reflux. The Nutramigen made him vomit (projectile!). But, Nutramigen is a predigested formula used for severe allergies to milk, not real helpful for reflux (in my case anyway). Unfortunately, I do not think that there is any certain formula to help with reflux.

I have my son on Similac Lactose Free now and use 1 ounce of rice cereal in a 4 ounce bottle of formula. The thicker and heavier liquid helps him keep the food in the bottom of his stomach. I also feed him in a sitting position, and keep him upright for atleast 15 minutes after feeding him. It will give the food time to settle. Try not to let him bounce around a lot after he eats. I have to have my son sleep in his swing or his bouncer chair to keep him semi-upright. This helps tremendously! When he lays on his back, all that food that you just gave him is laying along the back of his esophogus and throat so when he sits up or rolls over it all comes back up.

I have learned lots of tricks over the last few months. He still spits up, but a whole lot less!! I understand what you are going through and you have all my sympathy. It can get extremely frustrating at times. My son actually spits up UNDER the bib, not on the bib! You can imagine how many good clothes get ruined that way, especially since he is on baby food now and they come in such staining colors!!lol!

Well, I hope all works well for you, and if you need anymore tricks or someone to talk about it with, you can email me or im me. I will be glad to talk with you! Good luck!

Answer 2

My son now 14 mths has had this every since he was born.I used good start soy.My doc said it does'nt matter what formula u use,it will not help w/spitting up.What she suggested and what i did was mix cereal in his bottle to thicken it up.Taht was the only thing that seemed to work a little bit.They say at 12 mths they will out grow it.He has'nt yet.He still has it a little.At least now he only spits up once a day.When he was little until about 6-7 mths i had to change his out fit every 30mins to an hour.The cereal does help.I used oatmeal baby cereal because it gets thicker than rice.I fed him 4oz of milk w/6 teaspoons of cereal in every bottle.When he got older & was drinking more i did 6oz to 8 teaspoons of cereal.He drank every bottle like this from 1mon-12mon.My doc also so the zantac only works for the burning sensation,it does'nt help w/the spitting.She also put him on a medicine that helps strengthen his tummy muscle.It did'nt do much good either.The best thing to do is keep her sitting up.Let her sleep in swing or put something under the crib mattress to prop it up,and try the cereal.Good Luck!!!He also had to have a cat-scan of his stomach to make sure reflux was the only going on.Thank goodness nothing else was wrong.As long is she is gaining weight than she will be ok.

Answer 3

I feel for you because I went through this too. Tried every formula out there with no luck. I actually ended up giving him goat's milk that I supplemented with brown rice syrup and another vitamin (I can't think of the name) that I ground up. You would have to find a doctor who is open to alternative things to guide you in this (not easy to find. My pediatrician had a fit about the goat's milk). Good news though - my baby outgrew the reflux at at age one. The relactation is a good idea - I breastfed my second child with much better results.

Answer 4

I don't have personal experience, but have many friends with babies/children whom have dealt with reflux. It's my understanding that Reglan actually treats the reflux, while meds like Zantac and Prevacid only relieve symptoms. You may already know that, but I wanted to pass it along just in case.

I really feel for you and your sweet little boy. I know my friends had such a difficult time with the projectile vomitting. I hope you find something that works for your son and he outgrows it soon. I'm sorry I didn't have any info on the formula for you.

Answer 5

Good Start was the only formula my daughter could keep down! Not even Nutramigen worked. After about 8 weeks, she wasnt vomiting anymore!

Answer 6

Enfamil AR (acid reflux). That's what we used with our son, and he had semi- bad reflux. It seemed to work the best for him, because it was already thickened with rice cereal. Unfortunately it was a little more expensive than the others, but we found it to be priced the best at Walmart. After about 6 months of age, he wasn't spitting up so bad anymore... hang in there!

Answer 7

I don't know if it's even available anymore but soy etc. didn't work on my daughter. We did not want to use medication so the doctor prescribed a meat-based formula. It was strange (brown) and old busybodies actually made nasty comments about me giving my child chocolate milk but it did the trick. After a few months she went to regular milk and had no problems.

Answer 8

Have you tried alimentum (similac)? My son ended up on that and with the added dose of zantac, he was able to have relief. And then when he was about 6 months he didn't even need the zantac anymore. Good luck

Answer 9

Enfamil AR
click here, Good Luck

http://www.meadjohnson.com/professional/products/enfamilarlipil.html

Answer 10

My son was born in November, and for the first 3 months we tired everything. My husband and myself lost so much sleep we are still trying to make up for it. We used
Enfamil Gentilease I worked wonders!!!