Most parents have never heard of silent reflux in babies, and infants might not get the help they need. This mom’s story of discovering silent reflux in her baby and overcoming it will inspire and encourage you!
Sarah from Frugal Fun for Boys is here to share her powerful story about silent reflux in babies. She is a homeschooling mom to five and a violin teacher. Two of her little guys experienced acid reflux as babies. She is sharing their journey in discovering silent reflux, diagnosis, and treatment of the symptoms. Reflux affects many babies and children, which can have a huge impact on how and what they eat. Sarah has more posts about reflux over on her blog.
In the spring of 2009, I was expecting my third son, Owen. As a veteran mom, I figured that I pretty much knew what to expect. My first two boys were terrible at nursing at first, but we worked through those challenges, and they both went on to be chubby babies who were good eaters and grew well. I expected that my third son would follow the same path.
Well, that wasn’t what happened.
Discovering the Big Secret: Acid Reflux in Babies!
I first suspected that something was wrong at about six weeks of age when Owen would begin nursing only to pull off, arch his back, and scream just a few minutes into the feeding. If I stopped the feeding and put him down, he was content and happy. If I tried to get him to finish nursing, he became very upset. I had no idea what could be wrong with Owen, and I assumed it must be a problem with nursing. We put off going to the pediatrician because my husband was out of work and we were uninsured at the time.
When Owen was 3 months old, my husband had a great new job and insurance coverage. We went to the doctor the first week that we had insurance! By this point, I was exclusively pumping and bottle feeding because it was very difficult to manage Owen’s “snacking” approach to eating with two other boys to care for as well. With the bottle, I could see better what was going on. I explained to our pediatrician that Owen would drink 1-2 oz. and then begin arching and crying. The pediatrician suspected silent reflux (meaning that the refluxed material does not come all the way up as spit-up), and sent us home with a prescription for Axid. He said that we should see a difference after a few days on the medicine if reflux was truly the cause of Owen’s feeding troubles.
We tried Axid, and it initially seemed to work, but a couple days later, Owen was back to arching and refusing his bottle. The doctor had us try Prevacid. It was very difficult to give, and Owen came down with a cold as soon as we started it, so that made us wonder if the Axid really had been helping and the poor eating was simply the result of the cold coming on. At four months, Owen began teething, and his eating was really affected. He rarely drank more than 1.5- 2 oz. at a time. At five months, Owen had an upper GI test done (normal results – did not show any reflux) and he spent a month on Axid with inconclusive results. At 6 months, we stopped the Axid, because according to our doctor, Owen was probably close to outgrowing his reflux.
Actually, he wasn’t close to outgrowing it at all!
When will the Silent Reflux in my baby End?
At 7 months, Owen was crying when we approached the chair where we fed him. Teething seemed to make his eating much worse, and he was constantly teething! Much of the time, he would not allow us to hold him while we fed him his bottle – he preferred to be in his bouncy seat. If anything remotely more interesting was going on, he would not eat. He would not eat solid foods, and honestly, getting him started on solids was the least of our concerns! Also, most of his milk intake was in a sleepy state before his naps. If either of his brothers interrupted us, the feeding was over! He stopped nursing completely at 4 months, so I was pumping full time while also teaching part-time at a private school, and homeschooling a 6-year-old and a 3-year-old. When I look back at the stress of that time in our lives, I realize that it was only God’s grace that got us through! Even now, I am amazed at the strong feelings of stress that wash over me when I think about that stage. There’s nothing quite like wondering if your child is starving himself.
One night, I posted my desperation on facebook, and a friend put us in touch with a feeding specialist that she knew. (Read more about how to begin feeding therapy.) She was an incredible source of encouragement and information! First of all, she assured us that this sounded like classic reflux. She gave us some tips for dealing with the reflux, such as elevating the end of his crib mattress and moving him out of his infant car seat and into a convertible seat. Because we could not “see” any of Owen’s symptoms, it was helpful to have someone assure us that reflux was his problem and that simple positioning tricks would help reduce the reflux. Owen was hoarse from the acid by this time, so we started him on Axid again at a higher dose, and Owen seemed more comfortable drinking his bottles within 48 hours! The feeding specialist also recommended that Owen see a dietician, and we eventually saw a GI specialist as well.
Owen’s reflux was ugly. And he didn’t outgrow it at 6 months, or a year, or even 18 months. But he DID outgrow it!
Where are we now? Well, Owen is 3.5 years old and enjoys eating and snacking! Because of the feeding aversions that he developed, he did not begin to eat solid foods in any sort of reasonable quantity until he was 18 months old. He drank high calorie formula for most of his nutrition until 18 months, and didn’t give up formula completely until 2 and a half. But we made it! The formula and bottles are finally a thing of the past, and Owen loves to eat fruits, veggies (he loves carrots and broccoli), most meats, peanut butter on crackers or apples, and cheese. He had a dairy sensitivity, which he has outgrown. He has been off his medicine since age 2.
Sanity Saving Tips For Acid Reflux in Babies
- Silent reflux is hard to diagnose because the baby is not spitting up! We did not know for sure that Owen had reflux until he had a pH probe test at 10 months old. Some signs to watch for are crying and arching during feedings, screaming after feedings, frequent sour burps, and hoarseness from the acid.
- Choking during feedings can also be a sign of silent reflux. When our fourth son was born in January 2012, I noticed that he was sure choking a lot during his feedings! I called our feeding specialist, and she said that getting choked up more than once a day is not normal. We had a swallow study done at 6 weeks of age, and Jonathan’s swallowing was just fine. But guess what the test revealed… reflux! He was having a “traffic jam” in his esophagus. Milk was trying to come back up while he was still eating. (However, Jonathan’s reflux journey was much less severe! He is 10 months old, and has always been a good eater.) Find more silent reflux symptoms here.
- Reflux medicine does not stop the reflux. It does, however, make the reflux less acidic so that it will not burn and cause damage. If you’re interested in other holistic alternatives click here for more info.
- Many breastfed babies with reflux also have a food sensitivity to dairy or soy, so it may be worth it to eliminate those from your diet. Owen responded really well to a hypoallergenic formula (Alimentum) at 10 months of age. I wish that I had tried a dairy elimination diet for me when he was still nursing because it obviously would have helped.
- If you feel that something is wrong, don’t be afraid to keep pursuing it, even if your pediatrician thinks there is not a problem! Our pediatrician was not concerned because Owen’s weight was in the 10th percentile at birth, and he hovered between the 3rd and 10th after that. He was growing along on his own growth curve. However, I saw what was happening at home – the refusing bottles, the never crying for a bottle, and the refusing to eat solid food. We saw a GI specialist on our own, and Owen had an EGD test done. The scope of his esophagus and stomach revealed gastritis – an inflammation of the stomach lining. A 6 week course of Nexium helped Owen quite a bit, and we would never have found that if we hadn’t gone to the GI doctor!
- On the other hand, do your best to resolve any pain issues so that they aren’t afraid to eat, but then relax about your child’s growth. We were concerned about Owen’s slow growth, but he now eats relatively well, and is still very small for his age! Our fourth son, Jonathan, grew like a weed despite his reflux. He choked during feedings until he was 5 months old, and yet managed to hold his own at the 50-60th percentile for weight. I think that genetic differences, not reflux, has been the bigger factor in the different growth patterns of my two sons with reflux.
Infant reflux can really affect life for both baby and parents! If you need more help, consider contacting a feeding therapist that specializes is silent reflux in babies. You can find one through early intervention, free if you live in the states, or privately.
Have something that helped your baby with silent reflux? Share it in the comments below!
Sarah Dees is a homeschooling mom to four boys ages 9, 6, 3, and 10 months. She blogs about inexpensive and easy activities to keep boys busy and learning new things at Frugal Fun for Boys.
More on Acid Reflux in Babies
What to Do When Baby Won’t Eat Solids: 7 Simple Steps
5 Reasons Kids (and Babies) Refuse to Eat
A Hidden Cause of Picky Eating: Acid Reflux
The Ultimate Guide to Feeding Milestones for Babies and Toddlers
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Alisha Grogan is a licensed occupational therapist and founder of Your Kid’s Table. She has over 15 years experience with expertise in sensory processing and feeding development in babies, toddlers, and children. Alisha also has 3 boys of her own at home. Learn more about her here.
Mu daughter had reflux fron 4 weeks until about 2.5 Years old. We found out at about a year or a year and half old that she had a dairy allergy.
She is 3 in about 3 months and is starting to show sign of reflux again. Im not sure if it is just a cough/cold but it just seem alot worse at night when she is laying down and it seems alot like reflux days. Days I really dont want to revisit. No sleep, ever. Having to hold her up right all the time, screaming in pain whenever I put her down, and crying alot of the time even when I held her. She very rarely slept and still doesnt sleep through the night now.
I just want to know if I am just being paranoid or something? Or if silent reflux can come back in a nearly 3 year old. X x
Hey Jamie,
Oh reflux can be so challenging for families. We’d suggest reaching out to your daughter’s doctor about your concerns. While it doesn’t always, reflux definitely is something that can pop up again after infant years.
Best,
Andrea
Thank you so much for sharing this. I have twins and one of them I couldn’t figure out what the problem was. As I read this article, I felt like I was reading about one of my sons. Thank you… thank you.. thank you!
You are sooo welcome Camille, We are glad we can help direct you to find some answers 🙂
Best,
Desiree
My baby is 7 months old up until now he was spitting up a lot, after meds he has done better but still can only take 4 oz at a time every few hours and if he gets to.much it is as if he chokes on his spit up but it doesnt come up like it use to it seems to get stuck im so scared he is not going to be able to clear it one day and choke and i am on edge all the time! GI doc doesnt seem to worry about it but i believe it is serious!
My son who is now 1 year old had a terrible acid reflux. The first 2 months were terrible because he cried all the time. While feeding him he would be fuzzy and after feeding him he would arch his back and cry and cry !! We tried everything under the sun. Gave him mylanta before every feeding, famotidine, feed him in an upright position only, elevated his mattress, burped him, pumped before and after every feeding so I could keep feeding him just because he would only eat 2 oz at a time. He associated feeding with pain. He went from the 25% to 2% tile! I saw 3 pediatricians, multiple lactation consultants, 2 gastroenterologist and a feeding specialist throughout our journey and nothing really changed that much until he turned 6 months and was able to sit up straight! The acid went away but not the reflux! meaning that eating was no longer painful but now our struggles were different. His body couldn’t take more than 3 oz at a time, he would eat maybe a tbsp of solids per feeding, we had to be super patient and try different foods and textures and have fun during every single feeding to get him to eat more. He had a very sensitive gagging reflux so he would project throw up with the smallest piece of food or if he ever eat more than 5 ounces. At 9 months I stopped breastfeeding completely because we needed to know how much was he eating exactly and realized he was getting 18-22 oz in good days. I started pumping only and lost my milk so we started formula which was great ! Slowly and slowly we got him to eat a little more every day. He now would take 28-30 oz of milk a day but barely ate any solids. He would throw up 3-4 times a week, always after dinner time and he wasn’t really chewing much and before seeing the gastroenterologist again he finally turned the corner !!! OMG it happened over night at 1 year old and one week old and now he eats so much better. Eats full pieces of raspberries, blackberries (with the skin 🙌🏽), cheese, almost a full yogurt, pasta…. and so on.
I didnt have time to read through everyone else so comments but we found our babies problem. It was her hyoid cartilage was pulled up in her throat and making her feel as if she was choking. She had Most of these sameness symptoms. We noticed the eating issues when she was 2-4 weeks. She would scream and flail at breast and bottle. Sometimes she would bite the nipple and shake back and forth(bonus). Often times once she was starving she’d drink ‘just enough’ and then scream again. All of our online research led us to stomach issues like reflux so we went down that path with no relief. We would actually have to get her to fall asleep so that her suck reflux would take over. We saw chiropractors, physical therapists, a whole slew of lactation consultants and we were finally referred to a more holistic occupational therapist. She figured out this was the issue within 3 mins with a physical examination. She said it’s commin for babies that have gone through a fast vaginal delivery or a c-section because they don’t get the stimulation need for the nervous system to do what it needs to do. She said it puts these babies in a fight or flight state so they seem hyper alert and they tense up their muscles which causes them to pull their hyoid cartilage/bone into their throat. With therapy in her office and mild therapies at home she was 95% better within two months. We didn’t get to this point until she was 9 months or so. Hope this helps someone.
The therapists name is Mary Hooper in Madison WI.
Wow Christine, thank you so much for sharing! THIS will help somebody else, I’m so grateful you took the time to share.
my wife and i are going through episodes where my son would latch and unlatch and cry. sometimes he does choke after latching for less than 15 seconds and coughs and cries. we’re trying to teach him the bottle but he gets fussy and won’t take it after 20 minutes of trying. our pediatrician believes he has colic and we have to just plow through it. however he does sometimes arch his back as well when he cries and we have a feeling it could be silent reflux but our doctor keeps asking us if he throws up and he checks his percentile and he’s within range of course. due to his slow growth.. he doesn’t gain the standard weight that’s recommended and so my wife and I (primarily her) are worried if this is the case. his normal feeding time is usually between 6-9 minutes on one breast. we try to feed him longer but he pushes away. just not sure if it really is silent reflux because there are moments when he does cry after feeding… maybe twice a day and all our doctor is teling us is that he’s just gassy. we used the windie to help expel air out from his rectum and it mightve helped a little but we feel like there’s more to it than gas.
Yikes, okay, he definitely sounds like silent reflux is affecting him. I’d strongly suggest a second opinion. I know this can be a lot, hang in there!
My son shows the same symptoms.. And he is just turning 3 months this september. Can someone help me?
So sorry your little one is having trouble. If you are suspecting silent reflux based on this article, I’d reach out to get a referral for a GI doctor so that they can help look at your symptoms and help with suggestions as well!
Best,
Desiree
Yes, my granddaughter had these same symptoms ….however there is new evidence from multiple professors that glyphosate may be the number one cause to multiple ailments seen in infants. Here is a video explaining how to combat some of these ailments
https://youtu.be/CmAsTrsUjBc
Hi Christine,
This sounds like my baby. Is Mary Hooper still practicing? We are so desperate to get our sweet baby to eat peacefully and reflux only meets some of the qualifications. I would love any insights you might have.
Thank you for sharing this story. My daughter experiences the exact same issues, and is now 6 months and being labeled “failure to thrive.” We have had everything checked. I’m curious with your comment because we can’t figure out what could be wrong, but she WAS born EXTREMELY fast – I went into labor extremely fast and within an hour she was born – and as a result formed a big lump on her head for the first several months of life that was due to fluid buildup/blood under her skin. She is fine with that now, but I always wonder if there was some kind of connection. What kind of therapy does this entail?
Hey Anna,
Thanks for reaching out, so sorry you are having trouble figuring out what is wrong. Typically in looking with feeding/food related it is occupational or speech therapy (depending on where you live). Since she is 6 months old you can look into Early intervention if you are in the US! You can read more about that and other feeding therapies HERE
Best,
Desiree
Hi I am a first time mom, our baby boy is 31/2 months old; he did not latch and would refuse to take the breast for milk, on consultation with pediatrtion she said it was ok for baby to feed on bottle and so we completely shifted to formula, baby was colic and had trouble to digest so we did the usal gripe water and excecise, everything seemed to be fine until he started to roll over a week ago, he started to scream when put down, grunts but no Farts/ Poop ( sorry for the TMI), last few days have been worse as he has stopped drinking complete 3 oz and arches his back and Grunts and is in so much discomfort that he hardly sleeps during the day, there is no Spit up or any vomit, all he does it painful burps after a hour of drinking milk, after reading all comments I am worried and confused, as most mom’s hear rightly said that Doc always say its normal, how can it be? when I can see the baby suffer, please help me, any suggestions would be really helpuful. to add to it our doctor has suggested FAMotidine 0.4ml twice, hope this helps, also we give our baby Similac Pro advance. do you think its silent reflux/ any other. please help.
we understand how hard this can be. Yes, I’d continue to talk to your doctor about it. You can try to get a referral for a GI doctor as they may be able to recognize signs better and help you navigate through what is happening more!
Best,
Desiree
Hi did they think she had colic too and did you notice symptoms right away Like days after being born? This maybe what my daughter is experiencing…
Hi! Was this condition called laryngomalacia ?
Christine, I know this is an old post but I’m having a similar issue w my 7 month old. What was the name of the diagnosis for your baby? Im looking for a holistic OT, any suggestions on who to ask for a referral?
I am sorry for your nursing struggles. Something else to keep in mind is that lip & tongue tie also cause similar symptoms (& can cause reflux for sure) to what you have experienced. Most doctors, peds, ents, dentists, etc are CLUELESS when it comes to what ties look like, the symptoms of them, etc. I had to keep seeking help to find relief for my kiddos. From my extensive research I found that I needed to have evaluations done by specially qualified practitioners who were specifically trained in lip & tongue ties. I already knew that my kiddos had them from looking at pix online but when they were evaluated the ties were even more severe that I realized because they had posterior ties that are very easily missed.
I see a lot of comments here from people & want to tell them to look into lip & tongue ties because they CAUSE reflux. Taking meds & using bottles may help, but they don’t take care of the actual CAUSE. I know my struggles with breastfeeding caused me & my baby a lot of stress and could have been taken care of with simple laser revisions by a qualified practitioner like my other kiddos had. You would be AMAZED at how many people are told ignorant things about ties by DOCTORS.. they tell parents that the ties will “loosen” which is CRAZY.. they may elongate later in life but will still be tight & there are no guarantees they will do that. They tell parents that the tie is mild in spite of the symptoms the babies are having. So much suffering & stress could be eliminated if parents knew what was the CAUSE of the issues & where to go for help. Not all babies have ties & clearly mama’s diet can cause reflux, but just wanted to share what my experience has been in the hopes it could help someone else & their baby.
Thanks so much for sharing your experience, it’s so helpful!
Hello, my baby has reflux and also her upper lip is a bit tied and our pediatrician said same thing that it can loosen when she will be a toddler and will fall or whatever and we are struggling with eating and trying medicine and chiropractor and nothing seems to help, after seeing your post it makes me wonder if her problem could be to her upper lip being tied, how does that make reflux though? I want to ask my pediatrician if we can fix it but you said there are specialist in that? I live in Clearwater FL, where do you live? My baby is 2 months old. Thank you
Hi. If the upper lip is tied it won’t let the baby latch on fully & correctly, so the baby gets a lot of air which causes reflux, gas, fussing, digestive issues, etc. Also, if there is a lip tie, quite often there is a tongue tie as well.. & some are posterior, which are kind of hidden unless you know how to look for one specifically & even then, they can be tricky.
Beware that most pediatricians are CLUELESS about lip and/or tongue and lip ties. My kids had OBVIOUS ties & it took ME telling our ped that I KNEW my kids had them, & not taking NO for an answer. I took them to a specialist who is trained specifically in ties & who revises ties with laser (the best way to do them). The provider I used charges a flat fee no matter how many ties they revise & they do NOT charge for any touch ups in the future if one is needed. Most providers by us charge PER tie, so if they say your child has 2 ties, you pay extra… so I had nothing to lose by trusting the provider we saw because they charged ONE price for BOTH ties. We drove 3 hours EACH way to bring babies/kids to them & have a few more kids (& my own tie) we plan to get revised. I am in IL.
If you go to this group they have a lot of info & I think they might be able to tell you how to find a LASER provider by you. Laser is MUCH safer & better than scissors or scalpel.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1882241482016556/
Lip & tongue ties will NOT loosen! The areas AROUND the ties may get longer as they get older/bigger, but a tie will always be a tie.
More info:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=26&v=5opSbXvL7yQ
https://vimeo.com/86784777
https://www.drghaheri.com/blog/2014/3/22/rethinking-tongue-tie-anatomy-anterior-vs-posterior-is-irrelevant
https://www.drghaheri.com/blog/2016/1/2/how-the-system-can-fail-breastfeeding-families
Here is a dentist in FL that does laser treatments. I don’t know anything about her, but here is a link:
https://www.drmaggiedavis.com/services/tongue-lip-tie/
A Google search for providers in your area:
https://www.google.com/search?client=opera&hl=en&authuser=0&biw=1344&bih=684&ei=kaNKXNLHLYzHjgTSzJ_oCQ&q=lip+tie+specialist+near+me+clearwater+Florida&oq=lip+tie+specialist+near+me+clearwater+Florida&gs_l=psy-ab.3..33i299l3.5434.8808..9267…0.0..0.108.1223.18j1……0….1..gws-wiz…….0i71j0i22i30j33i22i29i30j33i160.hRddpEbEa6o
I hope you find help ASAP! Do NOT give up! Keep pushing for ANSWERS for your child… do NOT just give meds, etc because they will NOT fix the issue if there is a lip and/or tongue tie.
Thanks for sharing your story. What type of doctor do we look into for the tongue tie? I keep hearing all the things you mention below about my little ones tongue tie. And she is for sure experiencing silent reflux. 🙁 If be happy to find a specialist. Would it be an infant GI specialist? Thx!!
Hey Karen,
I’d try to make sure you are looking for a professional with experience so make sure to call and ask specifically. I’d look into pediatric dentists and pediatric ENTs. Each of those have the qualifications 🙂
Best of Luck!
Desiree
My son, 3 months old, does the arching back, screaming, only taking a couple oz maybe once or twice a day for the past couple weeks. Does that sound like reflux to you? He didn’t always do that.
It does, I’d check with your doctor:)
Hi Alisha,
Since birth my lo does not feed properly. I consulted many lactation specialists thinking it was latch problem but nothing worked. My lo completed 3 months now. He does not drink milk while awake. I breastfeed him when he is sleeping hardly 6 times in 24 hrs and that too he will take only for 5mins or so in sleep. He doesn’t take bottle too. After trying for 1hr he would take 1/2 or 1 ounce only that too once in a day. He is in general active, plays well and has just started rolling since yesterday. He used to sleep well at night but since past 1 week starts crying in sleep and then wakes up crying. And from couple of days he is arching his back when I try to breastfeed him while awake. He does not vomit and passes urine around 7-9 times a day. Does it seem like reflux? Is there any formula I can try apart from Nan 1 pro which he might like? Please suggest. Paed is not giving any satisfactory answers and my family is scolding me when I suggest seeing a new paed. They say he is happy and not crying then he must be getting enough. Don’t know what to do. My lo was 3.13 kg at birth and now at 3 months he is around 5.4 kg. Is this normal? Can I start solids for him atleast? Are there symptoms of reflux?
This does sound like classic refulx Sandy. Do you have the option to get a second or third opinion? Maybe see a Gastroenterologiat directly?
I’m really concerned about my 7month old son. Breastfeeding him has been a big challenge, he feeds properly only when he’s asleep. I have a 6 year old son too, and I breastfed him for 2 years, & I never had a problem with that. So I always believed that’s the easiest way to feed a baby. But now I would say, it isn’t always. My little one won’t even take a bottle or a pacifier, he just prefers to chew them.
I started giving him solids at the age of 4 & 1/2 months. Initially he ate well & we were so happy about it. But then after 2 weeks, he stopped swallowing his food. I was worried. And again after 3 weeks, he ate for 4 days, followed by the same no-swallowing-problem. So this problem has been on & off. Now he’s 7months old & for the past few days, he is back to no swallowing at all. He starts getting angry when I put him in the high chair or, even when he looks at the spoon. I talked to his pediatrician about the problem at his 6month appointment, but he said it’s not a problem at all & that he will learn how to eat very soon. I tried so many different kinds of food, puréed, whole, foods with different texture. But none worked. He’s been gagging too. He also has been having refluxes. I’m extremely worried. I have an appointment with his pediatrician tomorrow. Let’s hope he comes up with a solution. If you could please advise on this, it would be really helpful. I could feel how hard it must’ve been for you.
This sounds unusual to me Priya, I would keep pressing the doctor. If you didn’t get the answer you wanted then I’d get a second opinion or go right to a pediatric GI doctor. Wishing you the best. Let us know how it goes!
Hey Alisha, thanx for the reply. I went to his pediatrician the next day, and he says it’s not a problem at all! He says that, since my baby is gaining weight normally, there’s nothing to be worried about, and that my baby is just going through a food aversion. I don’t know what to do! Should I just wait and have patience, or should I consult a different pediatrician, I’m confused!
Since I can’t see your child Priya my best advice, which almost always right, is to trust your gut instinct! I know this is hard, but if it were me I’d keep getting another opinion or go to the GI directly until I felt like my questions were answered.
Hi Priya , have had success with your little ones feeding. I am going through exactly the same problem. I would really like to here from someone going through the same experience.
Thank you so much for sharing this. Your story matches my experience with both my children. I cried while reading it because I often feel so alone and helpless and it’s so comforting to know others have the same struggle and I’m not imagining these symptoms. Thank you so much for your story!
Thanks so much for sharing that Alexis!
Hi,
My Son is 4 and a half months old and he doesnt drink formula at all..He hardly drinks 10-12 ounces of milk evryday .He has reflux and milk allergy . He is on his reflux medicine too..The only time i can make him drink is when He is sleeping .,,That too while sleeping he larches 1-1.5 ounces ..I have showed him to my ped and he said he is having food aversion …He asked us either to continue on What We are doing or Dont sleep feed until He ask for it..We tried not to feed him for 2 days and He ddnt ask or cry for milk.,those days He must have had 6 ounces of milk..I Dont know What to do and I feel so worried about his growth..Can you Please advice on What We can do for this ???
Hi Vrinda, I know this is such a tricky spot to be in. I’d consider seeing a pediatric GI, I’d actually strongly suggest that. It sounds like classic reflux and the meds might not be working. I’m assuming that you’re holding him in an upright position as possible, also that you have a wedge under his mattress… those can help a little. In most cases you can bypass the pediatrician and call the GI directly. I hope that helps and push to get an appointment ASAP!
Reading this post and others comments has given me some comfort knowing that I’m not alone!! My little guy is almost 5 months and has been suffering from reflux since about 6 weeks. Every day is a struggle to get him to eat and I can’t ever get more than 14-15oz per day into him. He’s been growing along the third percentile but has started to even fall below that a bit. He’s on Prevacid and biogaia drops but honestly I don’t even know how well the Prevacid works!! He sees the paediatrician a lot but she’s only concerned that he’s gaining weight, even if it’s just a bit…he had heart surgery at 11 days old and I’m told that silent reflux is common in cardiac babies but man oh man it’s tough to deal with- I feel like he’s starving himself and I hate watching him scream in pain and push the bottle away. He has been through enough and I just want him to enjoy eating!! We are back at the ped on Friday and I think I’m going to ask again for him to see a GI specialist…I want to make sure nothing else is going on with him…anyways younpost makes me feel like I’m not alone I really enjoyed reading it 🙂
I’m so glad Jackie- I’d definitely push for the GI, that can be so helpful! Hang in there, this will get better!
I feel your pain. I’m sorry to hear that. It’s definitely difficult when you have to struggle to feed your child. At least you were able to figure out your child has reflux while he’s still a baby. I didn’t know and didn’t start meds until she was over a year old. Always wondered why she hated eating and threw up a lot. My daughter is on Pepcid. Maybe ask the ped about Pepcid? I can’t say it works great as my daughter still complains about her tummy hurting which I’m assuming is reflux but maybe Pepcid will work for your son. I heard it tastes better than some of the other meds. If it continues to be really bad, I hear there’s some surgery that can be done for severe reflux. I’m seriously considering it as nothing is improving.
My 5 yo has spd and can’t eat any solids. I purée all her foods but she doesn’t easily eat them as she has severe acid reflux. She’s on max dose of medication but she complains after every bite that her tummy hurts. She has projectile vomits if she eats too fast or too much or if there’s a slightly solid piece of food that wasn’t puréed properly. Basically anything can trigger vomiting. She’s limited to 8oz meals every 3 hours. I still spoon feed her as her motor skills are poor. We are slowly working on her feeding herself but an 8oz meal will take her 1 1/2 hour to eat. She goes to KG and it’s difficult cuz while all the other kids eat lunch, she eats yogurt everyday. Her immune system is pretty weak so she catches all sorts of sicknesses from school and will have to stay home until she gets better. She’s already missed many school days this year. I’m very worried for her cuz I feel I haven’t met anyone or found anyone online that has had the same issue and now became an adult. I just want hope that things will get better. We’ve gone to several OTs and have had little to no improvement. She’s unable to go down the stairs herself without assistance. She can’t participate in many activities in her class as her anxiety stops her. I don’t know what to do anymore. This isn’t easy. Getting her ready for school in the morning is a hassle as getting her to eat puréed eggs is very difficult in the morning. I’ve masked the eggs with a strawberry sundae syrup but she doesn’t like it. Brushing her hair is also a problem as she says it hurts when I brush her hair. Her hair is right at her ears, not long at all. I have two other kids, ages 3 and 6 months old so giving my 5yo all my attention is very difficult. Has anyone been in a similar situation?
Wow, you are managing so much right now! I can’t imagine what its like managing all of this. I have a couple ideas for addtional resources for you:
1. Would you be open to exploring OT again? Maybe at school? I’m sorry OT hasn’t been helpful in the past, but there are some really incredible OT’s out there that could make a huge difference in her life. It will be free at school and she should qualify.
2. I offer a few free webinars during the year that I think would be really helpful, if you sign up for my mailing list you’ll get access to them and other freebies. You can do that here: http://madmimi.com/signups/188128/join
3. You can find a lot more on my start here page: http://www.yourkidstable.com/start-here
I hope this helps a little and if you have some specific questions let me know. I will tell you though that you aren’t alone at all, you’re doing a wonderful job!!!
Hi! I know this is old, but hoping to get in touch if you could help me with your insight! My (one week away from) 4 month old girl has every horrid symptom of silent reflux and has lately been refusing all food beyond 5 ounces total per day. She is on Day 2 of Nexium currently.
Her weight gain is not enough to be considered ‘thriving’, our pediatrician said, and i had to wait 3 weeks to see the GI for an appointment. In the meantime, while her weight dropped from 25th percentile to 3rd, she also stopped sleeping! Our previously wonderful sleeper who has been known to pull 12 hour nights or close to it is only napping 30 mins about 2-3 times per day and waking up ALL NIGHT long, for about 2 HOURS at a time! She screams and wakes up the second we place her exhausted little body in the crib, elevated with a wedge and all. We are desperately tired (Or rather, I am because my husband refuses to help!) Anyone else go thru this hunger strike and lack of sleep?? No matter how overtired she is, she just wont sleep longer than 30 minutes during the day or 30 minutes-2 hours at a time at night. I’m dying and worried she is too. Thoughts? How do you get them to eat/sleep? Will we ever get reprieve or will sleep training once we get a grip on this help??
Oh Melissa, I haven’t gone through this myself, but this will end. Hopefully the nexium is working now- is it any better?
Hii melissa, I’m in same bout where ur daughter was before … My baby boy is not sleeping properly.. he goes into deep sleep for 30 min to 1 hr then immediately start wheezing and snoring .. suddenly his nose get blocked . He always demand for hunger, my whole night goes in feeding him. He always feel hungry.symptoms i personally feel like something (reflux) is coming to his throat and goes back .and it block his airways ..he is a reflux baby since born but it becomes worst when we started solid from 6 month .now he is 7 month old ..he must get sleep else his brain exhaust. Plz help me .. if you could answer.. anyone has any experience about me plz mail me .im waiting for ur kind/ helping reply .. (sry for my English language,m not good in it)
Hi my son is now 19 months old he had reflux since he was a baby
He was on gentle formula but he never liked his milk.he always refused his bottles & gave us hard time
Doctor never gave him any medicine
He still has reflux
I always hear something is coming up all the way to his throat & he looks really uncomfortable
I tired to give him whole milk he did fine for two weeks
But now again he’s Refusing to take milk
He never took milk more than 3 or 4 ounces
Please help which milk should I give him
He doesn’t eat any solid
Really depressing
Hi Annie, I would highly recommend getting a new doctor, and most insurance companies will allow you to schedule right with a GI doctor. I would call around to see who can get you in the soonest. This really sounds like reflux and making any progress when he is in pain from it will be very difficult. I’d also go to the start here button in the menu bar, that will give you a good guide for how to get started as well.
I will mention this possibility to my pediatrician. My daughter is 2 months today, cries and arches her back when eating, breast milk, gentle formula, or soy formula. She doesn’t ever spit up though. AShe cries all the time from hunger, but won’t eat more than about half an ounce every two hours. She lost seven ounces in two days, and is starting to sleep more. I’m terrified and my pediatrician is running all kinds of tests.
I definitely would!!! Those are all classic signs of reflux! Hoping you get some answers soon!
I am dealing with this same problem with my six month old. Is there anyway that I could possibly talk to you other than. This site? I could really use the help.
Hi Cassie, I’m not a doctor and this was a guest post her on my site… I understand how upset you are, truly. I would call and schedule an appointment with a pediatric GI specialist ASAP, tell them your situation and insist on being seen soon. I would also see other doctors in your practice and tell them what you said here. It sounds like reflux to me. I am available for consults- see the menu bar.
Thank you for this great post. How to know is milk allergy or just silent reflux？
Thank you for this great post. I have a 1.5 yr old daughter. She was eating almost fine till she grew one year old. But then she had a mucus problem in throat because of which she would often vomit. I am wondering if the constant throwing up could trigger or strengthen reflux. Because after turning 1 yr old, she has been mostly a fussy eater. She doesn’t feel hungry, doesn’t demand food or milk ever. If she is not fed by the clock, she gets bloated with gas and her hunger dies. And she chokes and throws up a lot, even on tiny bytes of food. On top of that, we persistently try to feed her because of the worry that she might lag behind if she doesn’t have enough solid food, which is in turn increasing her resistance. It has become like a vicious cycle for us, I am too stressed right now. Sometimes, I just feel fade up due to the constant futile efforts to make her eat. I guess I will now stop forcing or persuading her to eat, discuss it with her ped and visit a GI specialist on my own even if the ped doesn’t suggest for it.
The negative experience of throwing up can cause food aversions. However, it does sound like reflux could be at play here too. I would definitely see a GI, and see the eating basics tab in the menu bar, start to follow those tips. I know it is hard to watch her not eat, but I would not force feed under any circumstances, it will only make matters worse in the long run. If you have questions let me know, I understand how overwhelming and stressful this must be.
Hi thank u so much for sharing your story.I have 26 months old daughter.She just like to drink milk.She doesnt like to eat anything.we went to c Dr so many time but dr said its common.I think its not common.i am really worried about my daughter.pls pls help me what should I do.
Hi Renu,
I think that you are right. There is a ton of information here. I would first recommend starting her on a schedule and having her sit at the table regularly. Look in my menu bar and read “eating basics” follow all of those steps to start laying a good foundation. Let me know if you need more help after reading that.
i don’t know how to say this except to say that i am so comforted to read this. my daughter (now 2.5 yrs) was diagnosed with reflux. but not until i finally recorded video of her arching and screaming during a feeding. until seeing the video, the pediatrician didn’t seem concerned and said she didn’t know what to tell me. she was on prevacid until 7 months, we took her off, and she relapsed. but it wasn’t until 10 months that we figured that out and got her back on prevacid. and i feel like both times we had to FIGHT and CONVINCE the doctors to treat her. we were watching our baby girl suffer and they would just shrug. ARGH!!
btw if anyone is prescribed liquid zantac for their little one, get it from a compound pharmacy and make sure you call them first. they, and only they, can make it flavorless. otherwise, if you get it from CVS or Walgreens (or any other regular pharmacy) it will come premixed with peppermint, is very strong, tastes terrible, and adding flavorings will only make it worse! then keep it in the fridge (don’t worry if it freezes over, just thaw, it’s still good) which will help with taste as well.
Thank you so much for sharing your story! I know it will help other parents!
Thank u! My 1month old is on this liquid Zantac peppermint mess & it is sooo hard to get her to take it. She spits it out every time! I’ve been spiking her bottle with it when she’s right at the last few mls of formula. I am on this awful roller coaster ride again. My other daughter had acid reflux also.. it’s such a frustrating process! I will definitely seek out a compound pharmacy though! Thanks so much for the post!!
T.W.
Hi,
NEED ADVICE,!!! I have the same problem with my 11 month old now, refusing to eat, gags and vomits on solids. Dropped from 50% tile to barely hanging on to 5% tile. He was diagnosed with reflux at around 4 months when I started noticing his refusal to eat around 2 months. He would only take 2-2.5 oz of formula at the time, then he began turning away from the bottle. Started him on Pepcid when he was 4 month and started to see slight improvement. At 6 six months, we changed his formula to alimentum and thought that was the answer to his problem. He would take 6 oz bottle without a problem. Right after a month, he started teething, everything went out the window. Refused to eat again but he eventually came back eating a month later. Then again, teething started at 9 months and this time was worse. He refused the bottle completely. It went for 2 months, got his top 4 teeth. We ended up doing an endoscopy at 9 months, found he had gastritis correlating to chronic reflux, we changed med to omeprazole 2.5ml twice a day. Gave it a good 2 weeks and no sign of improvement. Currently my baby is 11 months, had to give him high calorie formula with rice cereal and can only offer purée 2x a day but he still cant get enoug food in him to gain weight. He has very sensitive gag reflex that I can’t seem to find anything right to feed him without him vomiting the milk I fed hours again. Help! Very disappointed with nothing seems to work! Can only spoon feed him the milk. Please I need any advice!
My 1 month old is currently on ranitidine (1ml 2 times a day) for reflux. At about 2 weeks old, she was spitting up formula when it was supplemented. Since being on it, she rarely spits up. However, she is crying throughout her bottle and only able to take 1/2 to 1 oz at a time. I can get her to drink 2 oz within an hour If we take breaks. She took breastmilk great for the first 4 weeks, but then started to struggle through her bottles. I had major issues with clogged ducts and the. Got mastitis, so I stopped pumping (she didn’t latch well and the pain was unbearable so we didn’t nurse long at all). Anyway, we tried to wean her off breastmilk by only doing 1 oz formula and 2 oz breastmilk, but things started going south. Went back to just breastmilk, but didn’t seem to help much at all. As of Thursday, the doctor had us try soy, but by Saturday, the screaming fits through her feedings became unbearable for the whole family, so we switched to allimentum. She seems to be able to pass gas better and poop easier and more, but feedings at still horrible. I can hear her tummy gurgling, which is when she starts screaming. I’m concerned it may be silent reflux since she doesn’t actually spit up. She will suck and swallow and then scream. I feed her at an angle so her head is elevated. I have been through reflux with my last child, but her’s was much worse. My 1 month old is gaining weight well (50%) but went from a solid 3 oz at each feeding to 1-1 1/2 oz. I’m not sure what to do from here except asking for a barium swallow study….any suggestions?
Thank you for this post I stumbled across today! My son, also Owen, is 10-months-old. We have battled reflux & constipation since about 6 weeks old. He no longer refluxes that I can tell but he is not a good eater. He typically won’t drink more than 2-4 oz at a time & frequently refuses baby food. The doctor hasn’t been concerned since he is growing steadily (25% weight & 95% height) but I feel like there is an underlying issue. He still wakes up typically twice in night to nurse which I’m afraid is due to his lack of intake during the day. He has also started some PT due to gross motor developmental delays that the therapist believes is due to a weak abdomen! Can you offer any suggestions or advice? Thank you!
Yes, I agree, he should be eating by now. Is he still on reflux medication?
Sarah,
Its so nice to read your post and know there is someone out there who understands you. My pediatrician is only focused on weight gain and does not understand the trouble a parent faces when babies stays hungry, refuses to eat and sucks their fingers all day long. I suspect my daughter has milk intolerance though my Dr thinks its reflux and he prescribed her Zantac. I don’t see any major improved after giving her Zantac 3 times a day for the past 3 month. She is 4.5 month old
My questions
1) Is there any test to determine milk intolerance? Does Milk intolerance develop from birth or babies gradually develop it?
2) I am trying to give my daughter alimentum but she hates the taste. Any advice on how to get your kid to drink it?
My 4 month old baby girl has just started showing signs of silent reflux it’s getting worse every day I have to rock her to sleep before I can feed her at all no matter what. Other than that she us a generally happy baby. WWhen she was 5 weeks old she did projectile vomit quite often but my midwife told me it was her increasing my milk supply so we gave her a dummy so she wouldn’t comfort such so much and drench our bed and clothes etc. She has always arched her back when waking in the morning but I’m pretty sure that is just her stretching. .. now she arches her back every time I try to feed her in waking hours. We are going to the doctor today but I was wondering if there is anyway to get her to forget feeding hurts and get back to breastfeeding before this gets worse!?!?! I think I ruined it by trying to force her when it started I feel so bad and am now paying for it 🙁 I don’t want her to develop an eating aversion… and it’s only been present 7 days now is it already too late?
It is not too late, look through the other comments here, as there is a lot of great advice from other parents. Also, she will likely need to be on medication which could change everything or you may need to change your diet as well. Good luck, the doc should have some answers for you!
Thank you very much for your information! You have given us hope in knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel, my wife and I are struggling with a 9 month old baby that has Acid Reflux, feeding aversion, low weight for his height, dairy intolerant, will not eat solids and then only to be told by the “professionals” that he does not have Acid Reflux but then later to be told that he does in fact have Acid Reflux! Thank you and best wishes from me and my family!
Thank you so much and best of luck! It will get better!
Thanks for the post! Our toddler 1 year 5 months, has been diagnosed with silent reflux:( he has lost some weight and he refuses to eat. I’m so worried about him. My questions are: will this slow growth due to reflux affect him in the long run? And, will he have more digestive problems in the future? I don’t want him to be a short guy because of reflux:(
Hopefully, the medications will kick in and start to be effective which will turn his eating around. I’m not sure if it will affect his growth in the long run, but it shouldn’t if he starts eating more. If his meds and diet are handled well then he shouldn’t have any other digestive complications. Keep meals positive and keep introducing foods. If you are in the states you qualify for a free in home nutrition and feeding eval. See the article index in the menu bar for: Help for infants and toddlers.
I am lost. I have been dream feeding for 6 months now, my son is 9 months old now. Nobody believes me.
He is on Omeprazole for reflux. It doesn`t make a difference.
We are seeing a feeding specialist, im sad to say that hasn`t helped either. There are no ped gi in our land of enchantment state either.. we live in Albuquerque, NM.
I am frequently told a baby who is hungry will eat, umm no.. he doesnt
Kathi, I am so sorry- I can only imagine how stressful this is. I would consider new doctors and a new therapist if that is an option. If you can’t change the press the feeding therapist for more, let her know exactly how stressed you are. Ask to talk to their boss if they aren’t being helpful. You are right that some kids won’t eat. You may need another combination of meds- see some of the comments above for examples. Please let me know if I can help in a more specific way!
Kathi, I believe you. My DC 1 was exactly the same. Went from 75th to 5th percentile. Zantac did not work. Lansoprazole 30 mg daily on an empty stomach helped a bit. What’s your dose of Omeprazole ? I am an MD and no-one believed me either. Dream feeding and food refusing went on till age 18 months. But at 1 year – 18 months eventually DC 1 started to eat a bit of solids. We gave the highest calorie stuff we could – cheese, hot dogs, egg yolks, toast laden in butter, avocado, Beechnut fruit purees that are high calorie and Greek Gods and Libertee Mediteranee Yoghurts which are also high calorie., ice cream, and clam chowder and other creamy soiups. Good news is, we regained the 50th percentile by age 18 months and stopped the Lansoprazole age 2. Now DC is 3.5 and 60th percentile height and weight. So you can claw it back. Mind you he is not a great eater still… but he does eat, and can READ. A great trick when feeding him solids was to let him watch “Your Baby Can Read”. Normally I do not show kids any TV whatsoever, but this distracted him and we could shovel gfood in. And because he watched it religiously for 6 months 2xa day (lunch and dinner) he learned all the words. Then we read simple books like “first Early Readers” and now he can read Beatrix Potter by himself. Unfortunately DC 2 is now here, she’s 3 months and just the same. I want to eat my head. But every day I say to myself – she will be OK, and thank God it is not leukemia. You can do it girl !! It WILL go away. I know it is hard to believe, and it does take 2 frickin years, but it will go away. Just make sure your Omeprazole dose is good enough – at least 20 mg total, or better, 40 mg, That’s equivalent to what we had.
And don’t worry. We have seen 4 different pediatric GIs in the best hospitals in New York City. They helped only marginally with the Lansoprazole ! And yes, they say a baby who is hungry will eat to gain weight….WRONG !! They totally starve themselves. Luckily, when they eat solids, which may be VERY delayed, but does happen eventually, they can be given high calorie food, and they can catch up. We should all form a support group !!
But yes, there is very little else to do. We could pump our kids full of even more medicine – Lansoprazole 60 mg, or adding Zantac, but I am too scared. I do not want tests either. I know this is what is going on. And yes, “no kid will starve themselves on purpose”…. WRONG !!! They do ! But the good news is, they can be tricked into making it back with high calorie solids. Don’t worry, you still need to keep feeding now, as much as possible, and often, and you may well watch the weight go down and down and down. But eventually they outgrow it. And don’t wean from the bottle. Often that is the only way they will eat later ! My kid was weaned from bottle at 3. So what. Who cares ? Good luck.
thank god i am able to see your post.. its just like reading things that i am undergoing everyday with my little one.. wanted to see if by any chance did he have any symptoms of milk allergy, my little one have silent reflux and do not show any symptoms of milk allergy like rashes or itching. so just want to know the reason why you have tried alimentum.
Sarah guest posted here and you can find her in the links in the post and message her directly if you like. But, most docs move to alimentum to try because constant throwing up can be allergy/food intolerance even without rashes or itching. For some kids it makes a big difference.
My boy is 3.5months old. When he was 1 month old he started vomiting after every feed. And after a month he was diagnosed with GER.We had a barium swallow test done and also a sonogram done. He was exclusively breastfed till then.
Now when he completed 3 months, my paed here suggested to start rice cereal in milk to thicken the milk, in liquid form so that he keeps it down. Initially I did it with breast milk..but as I could not do it any further I started it with normal cows milk..amul taza..this was done for 3 days..Later my paed suggested not to use cow milk instead I should use Nan Pro 1 which is more nutritious.
I have given my baby rice cereal in milk (breast+amul taza ) for a week and rice cereal with nan pro for a week. Now the baby is on nan pro more and less on breast milk. He takes breast milk only at night time.
The major concern is when I started rice cereal, immediately after 3 days the baby had blood spots in his vomit. For this we have been to a paed surgeon and he said if this continues we will have to operate.
But fortunately it dint. Again when I started nan pro he did it but very small spot of blood. After a few days, yesterday he did had many strands of blood in his vomit.
My point in contacting you is, I need ur advice. Is this because of the rice cereal. Or because of the nan pro.
What could be the reason for the blood spotted vomit ??
Please advice. After the incident yesterday he hasn’t had any blood spot in his vomit. He looks stable and active. All other things are normal.
Currently the doc has advised we get a EGD done. .is that really necessary ??
Please advise
Hello, this is Alisha here, see the above comment if you were looking for advice from Sarah. As an OT, I have seen many kids that have their bottles thickened with rice cereal, it often causes constipation. I have never heard of it causing blood in vomit. I’m not familiar with nan pro, but doubt it would be caused by that also. It is fairly serious that there is blood in his vomit, I would recommend following the doctors instructions and getting a second opinion if something doesn’t seem right to you. Hope this gets worked out soon for you!
Thanks for replying. I have found out that the medicine that he is been given lansoperazole when comes out with vomit looks like dark purple color. .I have stopped it and as suggested by the doc waiting for a week..
Sarah,
Your post was very informative and makes me feel much better knowing i’m not alone! I now know why they coined the phrase “worried sick”. My almost four month old daughter has a VERY hard time while feeding. I started out breast feeding her but she would either fall asleep after only a few minutes or pull off and not relatch, so I knew she wasn’t getting near the volume she was supposed to. I decided to exclusively pump (talk about exhausting) at 5 weeks in an attempt to gauge how much she was really taking and she started developing an aversion to the bottle. She gets 1.5-2 oz in and spits it out, arches her back and refuses to take the bottle back unless completely distracted. She will take a max of 3 oz so our pedi suggested fortifying the breastmilk with formula to boost the calories since she takes such a low volume. She is now on zantac, prevacid, and Mylanta…sometimes it seems to help and sometimes it doesn’t. She was in the 25th percentile for weight at her 2 weeks appt and has now dropped to the 3rd.
Do you have any suggestions of how to:
relieve her fears of the bottle?
Make her more comfortable during/after feedings besides the old “hold her more upright”?
And I am also afraid I cannot keep up with her by exclusively pumping and may need to switch to formula at some point, would you recommend the Alimentum to start?
Thanks in advance for your help.
Jamie
Hi Jamie, because Sarah isn’t regularly checking this post anymore. You can find her though on facebook through the links in the post and she would be more than happy to help. If you can’t get in touch let me know and I ‘ll give you some suggestions.
Hi Alisha,
The thing is my 7 months daughter is breastfeeding but she will drink for few minutes and pull out…that’s is and she won’t drink more…solid also she will eat few spoons and done…she will arch her back and push when I forcefully feed her…she will cry as if I am giving her poison…it’s so hard…I know she is not getting enough…poor girl is constipated too…we took her to GI specialist today and the doctor think she is not drinking because she is constipated but I feel she has silent reflux…she gags while feeding, she cough, wet burb….what do you think
Hey Jennie, so sorry for the hard time you’re having! It does sound like reflux, sometimes its really helpful to get another opinion. Constipation can cause reflux though, too. Have you tried eliminating dairy from your diet (I know, not desirable) but it could make a big difference… although it could take a couple of weeks to get out of your milk supply.
Sarah, i am Amrutha and i am in the same boat. IF you have any suggestions or any plans that helped you could you please share with me too.. my email id is amrutha.danda@gmail.com
Hi Amrutha- Sarah doesn’t regularly check this page anymore as she guest posted here a while ago. You can find links to her awesome blog in the post and reach out to her there- I’m sure she would be happy to answer any specific questions you have. However, read through all the comments and the post entirely because she has answered a lot here. Let me know if you need more help!
Hi Jamie – this is a follow up to your 2014 post. Can you tell me whether/how your child grew out of it? My baby sounds very similar and has an aversion to the bottle (and breast sometimes, but will take the breast after she wakes up). She only eats from the bottle when distracted and has dropped from 38th percentile at birth to 8th. Thank you!
Thank you so much for this. I’m on my second silent refluxer and feel so alone some times. This helps remind me that I’m not!! 🙂
This is pretty much my same exact story with my daughter. I ess wondering if it was Alimentum rtf or the powder weighed for you?
Was he ever on neocate or elecare? I’m getting ready to maybe do another formula switch and was just wondering what ur experience with formula was since my daughter’s and Owen’s situation sounds very similar. Thank you.
Owen was on Alimentum powder. We ended up using Nutramigen for our youngest son because it seemed to smell slightly better! We didn’t try Neocate or Elecare since he did well on the Alimentum.
This is a wonderful post! My daughter suffers from a milk protein allergy, sever colic and silent reflux. We tried all of the medications and nothing seemed to help. Later we found out that the medications can sometimes take away all the stomach acid and make things worse. At 6 months old she was hospitalized due to dehydration and diagnosed with bottle aversion. People around us, including family, still don’t realize what this is really about. The most common phrase people say to us is ‘she’ll eat when she’s really hungry’. They say this out of ignorance. Now at 8 months she still only eats for my husband, myself and the daycare teacher. Solids are a struggle and she’s still a petite little thing. Kudos to you for writing this. Wish I could help spread the word more.
Oh yes, the “she’ll eat when she’s hungry” comment! That one is so tough to hear when you have a child who won’t eat. It’s generally true that kids will eat when they’re hungry, but not when there is a pain issue involved! I truly hope that you are on the downhill side of this and that your daughter continues to improve!
I suspect my daughter has milk protein allergy and I am breast feeding her. Is this any test which would determine milk protein allergy or its simply elimination of dairy from my diet?
hiii…I live in India…my 2 month old has all the symptoms of silent reflux that you wrote about….She eats maximum (while half sleeping and sleeping) 2 ounce of formula…she chokes during almost every feeding..she spits up a lot also…She cries a lot, arching her back…she is in the below 5 percentile…my doctor is telling it is normal…I am very scared…
Hello Sara- I agree it does sound like reflux. Are you able to see a different doctor and get another opinion or even go to an emergency room when she starts screaming? Or go straight to a GI specialist? I don’t know if these are options in India? If any of them are I would start there. If they aren’t feed her in as much of an upright position as possible and give her small frequent meals. Let me know if I can be of any more help, good luck! Keep me posted.
I’m so glad that you wrote this Sarah and that it was reposted for others to share! Many people are still discovering reflux as the root to so many feeding difficulties and delays, but it is so common in the kids we feeding therapists see for evaluations and treatment! Thanks so much for writing this!!
I wish I had read this back last summer when my son was born and would not eat (though you didn’t even write it last summer!). Pretty much from day one, my son would take very little from the bottle (we had a lot of trouble breastfeeding him) and then scream and cry. He would act like he didn’t know what to do with the bottle. While his pedi was very understanding it took us a good 3 months before we found what worked, but that was the longest 3 months of my life. Granted we didn’t have to wait 10 months. Since he never spit up the doctor suggested it could be silent reflux, and we tried multiple formula switches and medications before finding one that worked. Hearing other peoples stories I know that my son’s case was mild compared to what others go through, but when you have this little baby that won’t eat, when that is one of the 3 things they are supposed to do, it’s frustrating and heart breaking. We were able to switch to a prescription formula (alimentum) which is broken down milk proteins that would help digest quicker, as well as prilosec. Luckily we found our solution relatively quick, and I am so glad that I was persistent with doctors and my family that something was not right and we needed to keep looking (everyone kept saying it could just be fussy baby, and he’ll outgrow it).
Katie thank you so much for sharing your story- you don’t know how many others you could be helping! I can only imagine how difficult it was- don’t minimize it, what you went through was really hard! Yay for listening to those mommy instincts!!!
Hello
Thank you for the information.
I have a now 7 months old that used to always cry, arch his back while feeding and did not have a very good appetite but never had spitting up or vomiting issues. He is now 7 months old and started to have several episodes of projective vomitng and does not really enjoy solid food. I have changed his formula to alimentum because i thought it was food allergy related but he is still having episode of projectile vomiting. We just went to see a GI specialist and he wants to do and EGD in 7/2013 which he will be 9 months old at that time. I am so worried about him having that procedure so young but it is also heartbreaking knowning your child is not getting enought in his stomach. I don’t know what to do.
Thanks for your posts. My son was crying alot, he would eat only a few ounces. I remember asking myself whats wrong with this baby. I talked with his doctor about the crying, vomiting, and not eating. He advised me this was normal. My son was not gaining weight as he got older he continued vomiting and i thought he was a picky eater. I changed doctors and informed her about his problems. So finally at 2 1/2 he has been diagnosed with gastritis with the help of a scope and biopsy. Im very happy to finally get some answers. He is on medicine and we have another check-up soon
Thanks so much for sharing your story- it will help someone else! I’m so sorry you had to go through all that! Hope some of the other posts here can be a resource for you as you progress forward!
I had the same problem with my now 16 month old daughter she was on Zantac as a baby and still has a dairy intolerance we are seeing a feeding specialist but she is on high calorie formula and purees it’s a fight to get her to eat any finger or table foods.
I just recently found out that my 3 month old son has silent reflux (thats what the doctors THINK anyway). He only has about 16-20 ounces of formula per day and only 1.5-2.5 ounces at a time then refuses to eat anymore!! We took him to the doctor and hes actually going DOWN on the growth scale so we have to keep an eye on him. The thing is, he isnt that fussy. He just wont eat! They havent prescribed any meds, just switched him to Enfamil AR to see if that helps first. Ive seen improvement that last few days bu today hes back to the same old thing. The most stressful part about it is my baby isnt eatting enough to gain weight! 🙁
This is my baby exactly! She doesn’t cry in between feedings but only eats small snacks and isn’t gaining weight properly. It is such a relief to find someone with a similar story! For your baby did it turn out to be reflux? What helped?
Been googling and came across your comment. I’m at wits end. I’ve been fighting so it seems to make my 4 month old eat since birth, she eats 1-3 ounces then after burping refuses the bottle and cries when I try to feed her more. She wont eat more, if at all until an hour later. She isn’t fussy any other time, smiles a lot.Shes choked while eating, coughs,hard to burp,projectile vomited probably 30 times or more since birth.. I just cant get her to eat..does it sound like reflux? I’ve tried taking her to outpatients but all they say is shes gaining weight so shes fine…but I know theres something wrong!
Yes, this sounds like reflux. My baby recently started Zantac to treat her acid reflux. She has also started to eat 1 oz at a time about every hour or so.
I am going through the exact same thing at the moment. This post was 5 years ago, so I’m wondering how did everything turn out. Has your child outgrown the reflux?
I wish this post was around when my son(age 7 today) had silent reflux! No one believed me and my son was misedable. Luckily at 6mo solida were pretty much all he wanted to eat because it didn’t cause acid. He was on reflux meds until he was almost 4. He still has a sensitive stomach he has to watch his acid intake and when he is stressed. We use tums and other ant acids when that happens. If I had this information I would have gotten him treatment sooner. We had more issues than reflux we had severe sleep issues with it. His baby years were miserable with no one sleeping due to reflux. Now at 7 he has caught up on weight actually going over and having high cholesterol despite a healthy diet. We now try to manage all his health issues with diet 🙂 his cholesterol is now normal and he uses tums maybe when he eats red sauce or lemonade.
I am so glad to hear that you guys are on the other end of it now! Thank you, also for sharing your story! Wonderful that you are managing with diet!
Good post. My 3 yr old had reflux and mspi milk protein intolerance. She was exclusively breastfed and would cry for up to 6 hours and arch her back. She all had trouble sleeping and needed help around the clock, so we took shifts. Now I have a 2 mth old and he has it too. Both were prescribed ranitidine/ zantac. I elimated ALL dairy from my diet, and onions, cabbage, and oj. My son was choking a lot too and gasping for air. It is heartbreaking to see them be uncomfortable. Good luck, and elevate the head of the crib. They will grow out of it. Although my daughter still to this day has never drank a glass of milk or soy milk. She finally will eat I cream and yogurt.
Thanks so much for sharing your story Jennifer. Like Sarah’s story I think it so helpful for those just starting this journey to hear that there is an end!
Thank you for posting this! My 2 month old daughter Norah was diagnosed with Silent Reflux a couple days ago. I kept going to the doctor, telling them that she was seemingly choking after eating (she was exclusively breastfed at this time), even an hour later after waking up from her naps. They kept telling me it was reflux and she would grow out of it, but to make sure I did these certain things to keep it under control. About a week ago we rushed her to the ER after several episodes in a row were she stopped breathing for 10-15 seconds at a time. The ER doctor told me “if this is reflux, it’s the worst I’ve ever seen.” She was then put through a slew of testings including a MRI, Spinal Tap, EKG, multiple blood tests, and a whole day in the ICU (they were almost convinced that she was having seizures.) After the Upper GI they made the diagnosis. The thing is, Norah never fussed while eating. It was after, sometimes hours after that she would begin to have “episodes” were she would arch her back, her face would turn red, her eyes would bulge and she would stop breathing as small amounts of spit up came out her nose while her hands flailed in front of her tiny little body. We would suction her and she would start breathing again. Screaming for 10-15 minutes afterwards. I didn’t sleep for days at a time. I am glad your son is doing well and it gives me hope for Norah. Sometimes you just have to know someone else has been there and gotten through it 🙂
Wow, how scary! My second son with reflux had some scary choking episodes, but thankfully none of them were as serious as that. I think that having trouble with reflux after eating is more “normal” than not wanting to eat. You might look into getting a Res-Q wedge to keep her in a good position. We bought one for Jonathan because he hated his bouncy seat – that position seemed to make his reflux worse. Babies can even sleep either on their backs or on their tummies in the Res-Q wedge. They’re pricey, but if you get an order for your doctor, insurance will often cover the cost!
Awesome! Thank You, I will look into it 🙂
This is such a great post. Thank you for sharing. I have a 3 month old with silent reflux. It took 8 weeks of him crying until he was exhausted all day to finally figure out that he has reflux and also has an intolerance to dairy. At the worst, he would cry for 9 hours a day. Melvin rarely spits up and I had registered nurses telling me that it was just “severe colic.” I was lucky enough that my pediatrician explained to me that there is a BIG difference between colic and reflux and after discussing it, Melvin was put on Zantac. He chokes when he eats still, but has now begun to eat many more ounces at each feeding. It was awful watching my baby be in so much pain for so long, but my instincts told me that something was wrong and that there HAD to be a solution. I just had to find it. So thank you for this post and hopefully it helps other Moms. Acid reflux does NOT mean that there is always spit-up.
I’m so glad that the medicine is making him more comfortable! Thanks for your comment!
Sarah thanks for shearing ur story please contact me I have a 2 month old with reflux and soy and Dary intolerance and have lot of qustions
Hi Trina, this is actually a really old post, I don’t think Sarah will see this message you can reach her at her site though which is linked up in this post. Make sure you read through the other comments, there are a lot of helpful tips in them from others!
Please let me know with more information too! My 6 month old baby was eating 4oz a day. And the past 2 days she started only taking in 1 oz every 3 hours. Or longer! I do see the signs. She spits up. Or sometimes throws up. And we told the pediatrician and she said it’s normal just make sure to burp her. We always burp her. I don’t know what to do Dehydrated. Or lose weight. She has been arching her back or get mad after she drinks 1 oz. she also seems gassy but I burp her right away and she doesn’t burp. She ends up spitting up. And I’m awake right now because she seems having trouble wanting to spit up in her sleep. Please help.
Hi Araceli, I know this is so hard, but I’d call the doctor again and if you don’t get the answers you need there, get another opinion. Let me know how it goes!