My son has reflux. They told me to have him sleep upright but how can I position him like that at home? The nurse said no pillows. So what are other ways to have him sleep like that?
2007-06-28 08:29:00 · 14 answers · asked by yolie857 3 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Parenting
THank you all for your responses God Bless you
2007-06-28 09:22:34 · update #1
My baby had very bad GERD (Reflux). They actually put him on Prevacid when he was only 8 weeks old because he couldn't eat or sleep. He screamed in pain and hunger all day and most of the night. As a paranoid mom, I put him to sleep every night on his back, and every night he was restless and in pain. Finally my husband, to my horror, flipped my son over onto his tummy in exasperation. He fell right to sleep. I was floored. He slept on his tummy from then on. He is now a healthy almost two year old and has mostly outgrown the reflux. And he still sleeps on his tummy. Some doctors will tell you that tummy-sleeping doesn't just reduce the chance of aspirating vomit in GERD babies, but it is also vastly more comfortable for them. Just my personal experience; no recommendations being made here.
2007-06-28 08:34:00 · answer #1 · answered by ? 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a good idea to keep your babies head elevated when they are congested or have digestion problems as reflux. You can easily do this by placing a folded blanket or two under either the bassinet mattress or the crib mattress. If this does not work well, it might not, then try a VERY FIRM think pillow. During the day, elevate your babies head on a boppy. Have you heard of a boppy? It's like a pillow in which your baby is comfortable in all sort's of ways, as they are cradled. I advise this only during the day because after a while on the boppys, they tend to kind of slide down them, it seems they would get a crick in their neck if you didn't reposition them. My babies love their boppys and sleep more often then not elevated in their crib to prevent them from spitting up. Also.........during the day or only when you're awake, if your baby is spitting up frequently, I would lay him on his stomach, if he does spit up it is less dangerous. Of course, you probably do know that he should be getting plenty of tummy time, while being placed on his back to sleep at night when you are sleeping, in which case you need to make sure his head is to the side.... in case he spits up.
2007-06-28 08:42:01 · answer #2 · answered by lirpa41757 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My husband propped himself up on pillows on the couch and held my son on his chest while he slept. He did this for 3mos. I know this isn't the greatest solution, but my hub cherished those nights and often says how he misses them. During the day I let him sleep in the swing. I left the music/motion turned off because they exacerbated the acid, but if your son tolerates it, then you can leave them on. This will work at night, also. When my son got too big for the swing we propped his bed up on patio blocks (1 under ea back leg.) This created a 45 degree angle. The first time we did this he kept sliding down near the foot of the bed, so we started putting him in those infant "blocks" that you can find at Babies R Us. I know that this is an EXTREMELY difficult time right now. The good news is that it doesn't go on forever. Once your little one can sit up the symptoms should slow down, and once he can walk they'll probably disappear. My son's still on Zantac, but now that he can sleep on his belly safely, he has almost no trouble with reflux. Keep your chin up!
2007-06-28 08:52:19 · answer #3 · answered by mamasonny 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My daughter had reflux and we used extra blankets under her mattress in her crib to elevate the end she would sleep on. The doctor said we could also put her in her 5point harness car seat, but we were a little nervous about that. Good luck I know it is a scary thing, but they do grow out of it.
2007-06-28 08:35:00 · answer #4 · answered by Madmas 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
For a short time, when my daughters reflux was at its worst we let her sleep in her "bouncy chair". You know those small chairs that are slightly reclined, for feeding or for just hanging out. Some vibrate and some don't.
Another thing we did was stuff foam under the head of her matress.
2007-06-28 08:44:33 · answer #5 · answered by buggerhead 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you can rock him to sleep with his head on your shoulder and if you have a little boppy pillow thing(I'm sure u know what I'm talking about), it will leave some reflux "down" and help a little bit, so his head will be propped up a little. Also try giving him water before he goes to sleep, it relieves indigestion.
2007-06-28 08:32:27 · answer #6 · answered by Lorelei's Mommy ( & prego) 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
While trying to get my daughter to adjust to formula after breast milk she would throw up a lot, to help her to sleep at night I used the baby swing next to my bed. It had an adjustable seat with a safety belt. I would place it next to my bed so that I could check on her throughout the night. It kept her elevated while sleeping without too much elevation and the worry that she would slide down her mattress during the night.
2007-06-28 08:35:34 · answer #7 · answered by xendria18 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Put a pillow UNDERNEATH the crib mattress. The mattress with stay propped up and you don't have to worry about your baby suffocating in the middle of the night.
2007-06-28 08:35:25 · answer #8 · answered by Angel 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Well really if you hold him for an hour after he eats you shouldnt worry about after that. It is really more important that first hour after eating. But, other than the pillows in the crib you can put them under the mattress to raise the head of the mattress. Its what we have done with our son.
2007-06-28 08:38:25 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Pillows or a wedge underneath the mattress, to elevate him without the chance of smothering. My son also slept quite comfortably in his pumpkin seat.
2007-06-28 08:32:30 · answer #10 · answered by Amy 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋