mummies with babies with GERD (reflux)

[uddermummy]

I had the scare of my life yesterday when dd choked on regurgitated milk twice and was gasping for air in the middle of last night.

I was practically screaming at my mum to hold dd upright cos she was holding dd at an angle, and the milk went down again and made dd gasp for air.

i was so freaked out that I didn't dare to let dd sleep on the bed for the next 2 hours and carried her in my arms. I only put her to bed when i couldn't tahan anymore.

Do i have to mention this to Dr Au for our appt next mth? Or should I go see another pd in the meantime if this is serious enuf? Yeah, now i feel that i should have another pd on standby.

Know of any places where i can learn CPR or Heimlich for bbs?

 

[epicurean]

I had the scare of my life yesterday when dear daughter choked on regurgitated milk twice and was gasping for air in the middle of last night.

I was practically screaming at my mum to hold dear daughter upright cos she was holding dear daughter at an angle, and the milk went down again and made dear daughter gasp for air.

i was so freaked out that I didn't dare to let dear daughter sleep on the bed for the next 2 hours and carried her in my arms. I only put her to bed when i couldn't tahan anymore.

Do i have to mention this to Dr Au for our appt next month? Or should I go see another pediatrician in the meantime if this is serious enuf? Yeah, now i feel that i should have another pediatrician on standby.

Know of any places where i can learn CPR or Heimlich for bbs?

You poor thing ... that must have been a terrible fright. I went thru that with Seb before and it still happens to him from time to time.

Most important thing is to help Eva clear her regurg safely & quickly to avoid choking, gagging and aspiration ...

1. When you see her choking on her regurg, quickly & calmly put her on the side & pat her back. This position helps her to clear vom safely compared to being upright coz of gravity plus depends on whether her cough reflex is strong enough to clear it against gravity. I line one part of the sofa with a piece of incontinence pad plus a nappy cloth for him to vom on safely while resting on his side.

2. Watch her face at all times. Her lips may turn colour coz she's gasping for breath ... may turn dark'sh. Once she clears her vom and takes in air and cries, colour will go back to normal. Seb's worst episode happened in his feeding chair ... he choked on his regurg & face turned grey. My mum yelled for me, got him out of the chair super fast and put him on his side ... his vom flowed out of his mouth, he coughed out some more and started crying, breathing .. got his colour back.

I'm not trying to scare you but signs of possible aspiration include face turning colour (blue'sh or gray'sh), laboured breathing (can see baby sucking in tummy really hard to take in air - likewise can see area around collarbones being sucked in deep coz of laboured breathing), fever started around 2 hours after choking episode.

3. If you're worried about it affecting her sleep, let her sleep on her side by propping her back with bolsters or pillows and letting her hug a bolster. That's a safer position for gerdlings compared on being on their backs if they've a tendency to regurg anytime, anywhere.

Yes, please update Dr Aw at your next appt about such choking episodes - frequency, what triggers them, severity. It's up to you if you want to get another paed on standby. For me, what has worked for us is our quick, calm response whenever such choking episodes happen. If got follow-up problems, I bring Seb to NUH Children's A&E for immediate attention.

Seb's seizure doc got the head nurse of NUH PICU to teach us Infant CPR coz of his high risk of aspiration. You can check with Dr Aw about whether NUH conducts such courses regularly for interested parents.

The first time is the scariest ... but our kids got very strong survival instincts so we work to help them to get thru such episodes safely with minimal trauma *hugs*

 

[uddermummy]

thanks epicurean! Thank goodness for your earlier tip on placing dear daughter on her side to pat her back when she gags and chokes. That was what i did after i snatched dd from my mum and dear daughter managed to breathe normally after that.

Yesterday's incident is by far the worst cos I could really see that dear daughter was struggling to breathe, and wasn't just spluttering.

I normally let dear daughter sleep on her left side, cos that's supposed to be good position for gerdlings, but dont't know why that didn't work yesterday.

Yup, agree that our darlings are hardy, cos right after that dear daughter was smiling as if nothing had happened while mummy was still shell-shocked.

And once again, thank God for your tip!!!ancing_wub:

 

[epicurean]

thanks epicurean! Thank goodness for your earlier tip on placing dear daughter on her side to pat her back when she gags and chokes. That was what i did after i snatched dear daughter from my mum and dear daughter managed to breathe normally after that.

Yesterday's incident is by far the worst cos I could really see that dear daughter was struggling to breathe, and wasn't just spluttering.

I normally let dear daughter sleep on her left side, cos that's supposed to be good position for gerdlings, but dont't know why that didn't work yesterday.

Yup, agree that our darlings are hardy, cos right after that dear daughter was smiling as if nothing had happened while mummy was still shell-shocked.

And once again, thank God for your tip!!!ancing_wub:

uddermummy,
You're most welcome Most important thing is that your dd is fine, healthy ... safely clears her regurg. It's really good that she's her usual smiley self post-episode. Seb is always upset after that and needs sayang'ng.

Do you want to try letting your dd sleep on alternate side? Like sometimes on her left, sometimes on her right. I do that with Seb to avoid too much pressure on a particular side/hip.

 

[uddermummy]

uddermummy,
You're most welcome Most important thing is that your dear daughter is fine, healthy ... safely clears her regurg. It's really good that she's her usual smiley self post-episode. Seb is always upset after that and needs sayang'ng.

Do you want to try letting your dear daughter sleep on alternate side? Like sometimes on her left, sometimes on her right. I do that with Seb to avoid too much pressure on a particular side/hip.

DD just looked v stunned for a while when she was catching her breath. After that she was smiling at me cos she probably thought that i was playing with her!

I usually let dd sleep on her left side in the begining of the night. Later during the night, I will change her to the right side cos I will be feeding from the right. I alternate again at the next feed.

How's Seb doing? Did you manage to rest and have some fun with the hubby and Seb?

 

[epicurean]

hi uddermummy,
I kena flu so have been down & out it happened so fast. Suspect I caught it from my students coz the bug is going around the class. Being extra careful at home coz don't want Seb to catch anything from me. When he falls sick, it's darned stressful.

Seb has been ok except past fews days he doesn't want to do his exercises. So going to get his physio to check him tomorrow in case his hips are hurting him and making him resist his exercises.

Have you seen Dr Aw yet for follow-up? Hope she's able to adjust dose of ome to better suit your dd.

 

[uddermummy]

*hugs* I wish I could pass you some chicken soup, but I'm such a lousy cook that you're prob better off without my soup. .

Wah, it's really quite the peak of the flu season now, isn't it?

Does Seb eat kiwi? Maybe load him with kiwis?

Hope Seb's hips are okay.

dd's appt with Dr Au is next Friday. I think she'll ask me to stick to the original dose cos dd seems to be fine with it.

 

[epicurean]

uddermummy,
Thanks for the thought :001_302: I'm sure your cooking aint that bad!

Med is working so I'm better now. Been monitoring Seb coz worry he might catch something from me. Stepped up temp-taking ... wah lao sounds like border screening, right??

Yep, the flu season is peaking ... my students are falling sick, one by one, like bowling pins. Seb does take fruit puree so thanks, kiwis are a good idea!

Seb's physio session went ok today ancing_wub: his hips are ok. We concluded that Seb's trying to manja his way out of exercising! So physio gave us some tips on how to manage him, get him into conducive mood for his exercises.

Yeah, if can find the right, suitable dosage of med for our gerdlings, med would be really effective and everyone is happier, less stressed. Here's to many many happy, vom-free days with our gerdlings!

 

[uddermummy]

Is that a new pic of Seb? He's chubbier, isn't he? And I really, really love his thick head of hair!

Thank goodness I'm temporarily out of the system! Or I would also have peng san! Haha, yeah, the constant temp monitoring is really like border-screening!

Hee, so how do you counter Seb's manjaness? Bet he didn't manage to manja his way of his exercises today.

 

[epicurean]

Yeah, that's his cheeky face look hahaha. He has put on some weight which we're happy about. And his hair .... it grows profusely like it's on some kinda fertiliser!

Seb's super manja with my mum ... as though he senses she's got a very soft spot for him. He has perfected this whiney cry that sounds like "I'm very poor thing ... nobody loves me ... " that he uses to get attention hahah. Physio is teaching us to distinguish between his cries of discomfort or distress if exercises are really making him uncomfortable and his whiney cries to see if he can wiggle his way out of it. If whiney, we stop for a while, check that his positioning & posture are ok, sayang him and then continue and he would be ok with it. Like you said before, babies are smart creatures, eh??

 

[uddermummy]

we're still trying to distinguish btw dd's whiney cries and cries of discomfort.

Sometimes I'll think that she's just trying to manja me into carrying her, so I will just leave her on the bouncy chair to see what happens next. Turns out that a lot of the times, she's really crying out of discomfort cos the thing I know, she'll have spit out quite a bit of milk. Bad mummy!

But some times, i really do get tired out from having to carry her constantly cos when the reflux is acting up, dd doesn't want her chair or sling, she only wants mummy's arms.

 

[epicurean]

we're still trying to distinguish btw dear daughter's whiney cries and cries of discomfort.

Sometimes I'll think that she's just trying to manja me into carrying her, so I will just leave her on the bouncy chair to see what happens next. Turns out that a lot of the times, she's really crying out of discomfort cos the thing I know, she'll have spit out quite a bit of milk. Bad mummy!

But some times, i really do get tired out from having to carry her constantly cos when the reflux is acting up, dear daughter doesn't want her chair or sling, she only wants mummy's arms.

uddermummy,
Don't blame yourself ... it's always a lot of guesswork with our gerdlings coz we've got some many cues & signals from them to sift thru' to figure out what they need from us. Seb has so many patterns that my maid (after being with us for more than 4 months) still cannot decipher them sometimes.

Yeah I know what you mean ... some nights Seb just want to sleep on me ... nothing else settles him. He probably thinks that coz he's the smallest & cutest in the family, he can get away with anything ... and he's probably right!! ancing_tongue:

 

[uddermummy]

uddermummy,
Yeah I know what you mean ... some nights Seb just want to sleep on me ... nothing else settles him. He probably thinks that coz he's the smallest & cutest in the family, he can get away with anything ... and he's probably right!! ancing_tongue:

:tlaugh::tlaugh::tlaugh:

 

[Cool Cotton]

hi,
i am a new mummy with a 2mth old baby girl..
i suspect my girl is also having this reflux.

she tend to vomit most of her milk out - like merlion. her vomit can shoot out for a distance..
she will cry before she vomit but after vomit she juz stop crying..
she doesn't look like she's in pain, she just feel uncomfortable - i tink.

but she did not vomit all the time..only sometimes especially when she didnt manage to burp, at night and if she's in a car.

juz wondering, should i consult Dr or shld i jus leave it be?

pls advise.thks!

 

[uddermummy]

hi,
i am a new mummy with a 2mth old baby girl..
i suspect my girl is also having this reflux.

she tend to vomit most of her milk out - like merlion. her vomit can shoot out for a distance..
she will cry before she vomit but after vomit she just stop crying..
she doesn't look like she's in pain, she just feel uncomfortable - i tink.

but she did not vomit all the time..only sometimes especially when she didnt manage to burp, at night and if she's in a car.

just wondering, should i consult Dr or shld i just leave it be?

pls advise.thks!

How's her weight gain? If the pd is happy with her weight, and your baby is not in great discomfort, then it's up to you whether you want to consult a doc.

some parents are uncomfortable with giving young bbs meds and would prefer to tolerate their bbs' fussiness and crying.

I consulted a doc for dd's reflux cause her weight gain is usually v slight (about 700 to 800g a month, though the pd says it's okay) and she was in great discomfort most of the day.

She would fuss and cry the whole day and refuse to nap before she was on meds. When it was really bad, she would cry for a few hours in the night till the next day and refuse to eat anything for 6 hours! Yeah, and she sometimes spits out so much milk it gets really worrying.

 

[epicurean]

hi,
i am a new mummy with a 2mth old baby girl..
i suspect my girl is also having this reflux.

she tend to vomit most of her milk out - like merlion. her vomit can shoot out for a distance..
she will cry before she vomit but after vomit she just stop crying..
she doesn't look like she's in pain, she just feel uncomfortable - i tink.

but she did not vomit all the time..only sometimes especially when she didnt manage to burp, at night and if she's in a car.

just wondering, should i consult Dr or shld i just leave it be?

pls advise.thks!

Hi Cool Cotton,
Welcome to the thread! I agree with uddermummy ... main things to consider if your girl is having reflux would be weight gain and whether she's in pain during & post feed (signs of reflux pain include arching her back, stiffening of her body and limbs, crying in pain - higher pitched, shrill, agitated edge to her cries). The pain usually continues even after the vom coz of the pain from the acid burning the esophageus.

Btw, it sounds like positioning has something to do with your girl's vom. You might want to avoid putting her in positions that put pressure on her tummy too soon after a feed eg slouching in car seats.

Many babies regurgitate milk coz their muscles controlling their tummy opening aren't strong enough yet to fully close it. Most of them are happy pukers ... they vom and they're fine after that. Refluxy babies or gerdlings are those experiencing pain from the vom'ng, suffering from weight loss, very fussy & unsettled and having trouble sleeping coz of the pain.

 

[Cool Cotton]

Thanks for the info..
i think my baby is more of a happy spitters..
dont think she's in pain and she's gaining weight quite well.

yup, i think positioning is very important. i make sure she burps and stay upright for a while after her feeds..
and she haven't vomitted for a week.

thanks for the advise..
good luck with your babies.hopefully their conditions improve and they gain weight to become chubby babies!!:tlaugh:

 

[paigemummy]

hi epicurean and uddermummy,

its been so long since i last wrote! sorry for the absense.. loads happened and everynght, i'll be so tired that i'm even too lazy to turn on the computer.

uddermummy, i had the same experience as you when paige sometimes vomits in her sleep and would choke for a long time.. its really traumatic, for her and for us! i hope your girl is doing better these days?

hi epicurean, hope you are fully ok from the flu now? it's stressful for us cos the last thing we want is to spread it to the little one.. as they're really not good with flu!

this recent pix of seb is so adorable. he's so chubby!!! he really seem to be putting on well: )

i had a review with Dr Aw yest, paige didn't put on any weight since the last appt. but Dr Aw seem to be quite ok with it cos her vomiting frequency sort of reduced. she gave me another medication on top of zantac, its motilium. any of you feeding this? i read in the leaflet that i shouldn't feed it together with zantac but dr aw says its ok, so i'm confused. i think i should clarify with her again.

oh, i finally took 6 months unpaid leave which started this month. but staying home is definitely more tiring and taxing that work. but of course, i can see her much more, which makes it all worthwhile:wong19:.

 

[uddermummy]

hi paigemummy!

Thank God dd hasn't had another episode since the last one. I've asked Dr Au to help me enrol in a class that teaches infant CPR though. I guess knowing what to do in an emergency makes me feel useful and prepared. Hope Paige haven't been having these choking incidents cos it's really traumatic for us parents.

Yup, taking care of our darlings at home really takes more energy than going to work. . I guess it's because they are still so dependent on us and really need us. But I bet you'll have special moments that you'll really treasure with paige too.

Motilium is a motility drug that helps food move through the digestive system faster and can tighten the sphincter muscle. These drugs are usually prescribed for kids with delayed emptying of stomach and suspected aspiration and are effective only for some children.

These drugs can cause stomach cramps and diarrhoea so doses are usually started v low and increased slowly.

DD was prescribed motilium also (they called it domperidone) when we took her to kk. But she seemed to be fussier when we put her on it, and was even worse when we took her off after 2 days, so we decided to stop giving it to her.

You might want to see if Paige is okay with it? If not, maybe you can discuss with dr Au again?

Dd put on about 700g. Dr Au says that it's fine so we're breathing a sign of relief. I do still envy parents whose bbs put on 1 kg or more each month.

 

[epicurean]

Hi paigemummy!
So good to see you back on the forum Yep I'm all recovered from the flu but it's a horribly vicious bout. Came on very fast and I had the works. Was washing hands like crazy and wearing mask coz that's more bearable than if Seb falls ill which is extremely stressful.

Does Paige sleep on her side? That's a safer position if she voms in her sleep coz helps to keep airways clear.

Thanks for your compliment about Seb's cheeky face Yeah the manja king has put on some weight which everyone all round is happy with.

Seb was on motilium for a week sometime back when his seizure doc prescribed it for his constipation. Dr Aw wasn't around then ... so that med helped to move food along in his gut and got his bowels moving. So I didn't really pay attention as to whether it helped with his GERD. Sorry I can't remember if I fed it together with zantac.

IMHO I think it's a good decision to stay home with Paige for some time They grow up really quickly ... yep it's exhausting but I always find that the bonding more than makes up for it!