What is reflux exactly

My boys are 7.5 mos old. One has had reflux since the beginning. It never seemed to cause him pain, he just would spit up large amounts of his bottles. He continues to do it, but I'm not wondering if it really is reflux. I do know it's annoying! I spend the better part of my days cleaning up after him. He's such a mess! The only place he doesn't spit-up is the swing. But you lay him on his belly, sit him up on the floor or stand him in the Exersaucer and he's covered in spit-up. Can you tell I'm exhausted? lol Just wondering if it sounds like reflux to you and if maybe I should try a different formula (on Similac Advance)? My pedi doesn't seem all that concerned about it. Thanks, y'all!

 

It sounds like reflux to me. I don't think I would mess with his formula if he's not in pain and if he's growing. My aunt had a baby who was extremely refluxy...and she eventually had him on alimentum which is for super sensitive babies. She told me that the only difference it made was that his puke was ten times nastier as far as smell, and it stained everything orange. So when my own twin ds was very refluxy, she pretty much told me that unless he was in excessive amounts of pain, not growing, or showing other signs of having issues with his formula/breastmilk that it wasn't worth it to go to a different formula. (There is research that soy formula doesn't make much of a difference either.) My twin ds wound up being bf because it was easier on him than the formula, but by 7 months he was a lot like your child sounds... still spitting up tons,but not really bothered by it. I used to take 5 or 6 spit rags with me everywhere I went because he would soak at least one each feeding! I still remember one time handing him over to a friend with a spit rag and having her say, 'Oh this spit rag is wet.' And I took it, felt it, and replied...'Oh that's not wet...it's just slightly damp...I've got to use it a bit more!' LOL!

 

To me what I have been told is reflux is where the stomach acid is sent back up toward the esophagus after eating. It can be very painful to not so much.

In my experience I had one spitter and one not spit much. They both were in pain on the bottle, arching their backs, grunting all the time, and refused to eat at times. I started with keeping them upright after each feed for 30 mins but it didn't really help until they got on meds and went on the Alimentum. Turns out that D had a suspected milk protein allergy and the formula change for him helped immensely. It did not turn his spit up a funny color either.

At 7.5 months I am not sure its a formula thing. I would bet that he is just getting more active and that is aggravating his reflux and causing him to spit up more. I think the fact that he doesn't spit in the swing tells you that. Mine went through a super spitty phase at about 8 months and that is what I attributed it too. GL with the reflux.

 

Hi im new to this website so hello to all the twin mammys , all my 3 boys have reflux my first son had regular projectile vomiting and my twins have a worse form called silent reflux where they dont spit up (cleaner type) but the acid just keeps going up and down burning all the time ,my twins are on zantac for it and its working brilliant my first son had spit up type and i put him on sma staydown (i live in ireland) and it basically thickens in the tummy and dosnt come back up that worked for him .
Reflux is where the valves that are at the bottom and top of the food pipe havnt formed properly yet and the contents of the stomach can come back up including the acid .the valves do normally form and most kids grow out of it @ 8/9 months.

 

Has anyone ever mentioned "Happy Spitter/Happy Refluxer" to you? It is where they have the physical part of reflux (spitting up) without the pain associated with the burn of the stomach acid.

SInce he's 7 months old already he should be growing out of it the more he can sit up and strengthen his stomach muscles.

Of course, the only thing to really do for a young happy spitter is try to keep some food in them by elevating their heads, not bending their bodies, not putting clothes or diapers on too tight, thickening the formula. Behavioral modifications, not medicines.

Alice was my champion refluxer. She made Reagan from the exorcist look like a chump. We finally got her to stop being in pain when we changed her to prevacid, but she didn't stop refluxing until she was a year and exclusively on table foods.

 

My DS had/has reflux, he was diagnosed by upper GI (barium x-ray) at 2 months when he was constantly projectile vomiting, they wanted to make sure it wasn't stenosis. Reflux is a weakness in the valve between the stomach and esophagus so stomach contents reflux back into the esophagus. It can be painful and it might not be. My son spit up until recently and he is 4. But when he got on table foods it really was reduced. My babysitters used to bring several changes of clothes when they came to our house... I don't think a different formula will make much difference (it didnt for us!).