Living With A GERD/GER Baby

I wanted to write about GER/GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disorder) to help raise awareness of the condition. For some babies, what was once written off as colic is being found to be acid reflux. It’s not that easy to diagnose because there are not tests that can be done, to my knowledge, and parents have to be attentive to behaviours of the child to see it.

GER/GERD is when the gastric contents of the stomach return into the esophagus. Most people know it as indigestion or heartburn. It happens to babies because the ring of muscles that separate the esophagus from the stomach hasn’t fully developed. With the contents of the stomach leaking back into the throat (or sometimes even as high as the sinuses), the infant experiences a burning sensation.

When I brought home out little bundle in August, I thought it was odd that she had a cough and sneezed a lot. When she slept she would often cry out and arch her back suddenly, her nose was constantly dirty, and if she got too upset she would do something between a cough and a sneeze and it was very hard to get her to stop. These were my first clues something wasn’t right. When I spoke to her physician about these symptoms, he wasn’t worried. She was a month old at the time.

That same day as the doctor visit, I read an article about possible stomach problems babies can have sent to me on-line by the Parent Centre newsletter I subscribe to. When I read the part on GER/GERD things started to make sense. They had the symptoms of arching the back or drawing the legs up and crying while or after eating, all which my little one did.

I spoke with a wonderful public health nurse at the Health Unit whose grandchildren also suffered from GERD and she provided me with some insightful information. After reading the information, I realized that my little one indeed suffered from reflux. I took the information to the doctor that same week and he said she would out grow it.

The symptoms started becoming worse as time went on. By two months, she was crying for at least and hour in the morning and in the evening and she was throwing up more frequently. Her sleep was becoming severely disrupted because she was uncomfortable and even holding her couldn’t keep her asleep for more than half an hour. When she did sleep, she had trouble breathing through her nose because it was so stuffed up. It was even getting to the point where she would be nursing, pull off and give a little cry. This time the doctor prescribed some medication (ranitidine), which has been helpful but hasn’t stopped many of the symptoms.

As is typical with GER/GERD, her symptoms peaked around four months. My husband and I were at a loss. It was so frustrating to know what was wrong but not be able to help. My time was consumed by feeding her every two hours then holding her upright for half an hour or more if it was a really bad day for her. The reason for the two hour feeding is because GERD babies are supposed to eat smaller and more frequent meals, while the holding them upright helps limit the reflux while they digest the food.

I would also end up holding her for many of her naps, which could range from half an hour to an hour. Usually people say, “Sleep when the baby sleeps,” but when you are holding an infant it’s hard to get in a nap. I have learned various ways to sleep while sitting up on the couch or rocking chair in her room. It hasn’t been good for my neck and I don’t get a restful sleep, but it’s better than nothing.

It was upsetting to hold her upright against my chest when she was asleep, then lay her down and watch her little face crinkle up as she got the bad taste of acid in her mouth and often shake her head back and forth. If she falls asleep upright, against our chest, we have to slowly transition her to a cradle position in our arms, and then gently lay her down so she doesn’t get that spurt of acid.

We can’t lay her down flat, which made it hard to put her down at all in the beginning because she was too little for an exersaucer or jolly jumper. This meant a lot of holding and use of an infant carrier. I have a five-year old to care for as well and get ready for school, so there have been many difficult times when I just couldn’t hold the baby while she was having reflux issues. I’m thankful, now that she’s bigger, she can go in her exersaucer or jolly jumper, which keep her upright and allows me to get a few things done.

The mattresses in her bassinets downstairs and upstairs, along with one end of the bassinets, were propped up to keep her more upright while she was lying down. At night, I had to be careful she didn’t slide down into the blankets, so I also dealt with a fear of suffocation. Now I have a special bed my mom made to keep her from sliding down in her crib, which is also propped up.

Even at six-months she is still struggling with the reflux. Just yesterday, she was sitting in her high chair and got a burst of acid, which made her eyes water and she cried out. She was also screaming off and on between one and two in the morning. All I could do was hold her as upright as she would let me and try to comfort her until the bout passed.

GERD affects everything we do with her. She is quite an active child and I looked forward to floor time with her. That doesn’t happen much because she would be laying flat. I try to give her a little time every few days since she needs to develop her muscles and skills, such as rolling over.

She received many beautiful outfits for Christmas and has many passed down to her from her older sister, but she can’t wear them. When you put pants on her she becomes uncomfortable quite quickly from the band around her waist and the reflux bothers her for the rest of the day and sometimes into the next.

Going out is another issue. The incline and sometimes the straps on the car seat aggravate the reflux. This makes me reluctant to go out unless absolutely necessary, which means I am sitting at home most of the time. Mind you, it’s also winter so I’m not completely sad I don’t go out. If I take my little one out grocery shopping, which means about an hour in her seat, she usually suffers the rest of the day and into the night. I am looking forward to the spring so I can take her out for walks and get myself out of the house.

It’s actually recommended that babies with severe cases of GERD/GER be moved into the next stage of car seat earlier. Though these are forward facing seats, they are installed backwards because babies don’t have the strength to sustain an impact in a forward facing seat until they are at least a year old. By moving them into the next stage of car seat, they are sitting up straighter. If you have a baby with GERD/GER, I’m not necessarily recommending this and think you should consult a health care professional before trying.

Starting solid foods has also been a bit of an adventure. I don’t want to overfeed her because that’s one way to make her belly upset. I also have to watch for foods that would aggravate the reflux. She has only had a few foods, but so far, I have found that sweet potatoes bother her. Sometimes even sitting in the high chair gets her stomach going, on those days I put her in her saucer to eat, though that’s a little messier.

Sleeping is always an issue for babies, especially one with reflux. After my first child not sleeping, I thought for sure this one would. I was wrong. She often sleeps in hour chunks during the night and sometimes naps a little more than an hour, if I’m lucky. Sometimes she even needs to be held upright as she sleeps, at least until her bout passes, which could take up to an hour. As mentioned, her crib mattress is propped up and my mom made a little holder that keeps her from sliding to the bottom of the crib while she sleeps. If I mess with the angle at all it seems to throw her stomach off. I recently tried propping the crib up more, which caused her to be awake practically all night.

When I get up with her at night, she often wants to eat because it helps sooth her stomach temporarily. She will have a little snack, and then I have to try to stay awake while holding her as upright as I can for about half an hour. She doesn’t like to be held upright against your chest so I have to cradle her while holding her torso up in an almost sitting position. I often fall asleep in the chair and awake with my head on my chest and a very sore neck.

One thing I really miss with my baby is napping with her. Since she can’t lie flat, I can’t put her in bed with me. 

I'm glad the throwing up has subsided for the most part. She was being sick after every meal pretty much and you had to try to hold her as still as possible so she wouldn't be really sick. There were times, I swear, she brought back up her whole meal! This aspect of GERD/GER leads to a lot of laundry for both her and parents, as well as a lot of cleaning of furniture. I got to the point that, unless it was a really big sick, I wouldn't bother changing my clothes.

I had to go to my older daughter's school to talk to a teacher about a program I was going to participate in with the baby (Roots of Empathy). When I got home I realized that I had puke on the shoulders of my shirt. I was almost embarrassed, until I remembered that  I hadn't taken my coat off so no one would have seen it. Sleep deprivation makes you forget to do a lot of things. :)

These are just some of the experiences we have had with out little one. As she nears the seven-month mark, I’m hoping she will grow out of it soon. I’m not counting on it though as recently she has started throwing up more than in the last of couple months. She had improved a lot and I’m not sure what the cause of her setback is. It may be from having her sit up on her own more. She hasn’t quite developed all the muscles, so when she sits she slouches, which puts pressure on her stomach.

It’s been a long wait for this condition to pass and I am very thankful it is something she will grow out of and not something more serious she will have to live with forever. She is also a very happy child despite being uncomfortable frequently. I’m trying to look on the bright side as we wait.

I want to give a special thank you to Trudy Kidd from the Timiskaming Health Unit. She has shared her own stories and listened to mine. She has also been a wealth of information and support, which any mother needs.

In my next instalment, I will go over some of the things I have found out about GERD/GER to help other parents who may also struggle with the issue.