New Here but Need Help- Reflux/Alimentum Help

Hello Ladies (& fellas lol)

Im new here so hello everyone! A friend told me about the forums and how helpful all you ladies have been so I figured Id give it a shot. I'm sorry but this is a long post. I want to provide all info.

I just had my 2nd whose 6 weeks old. At 1st she was great, she ate, she slept she would get swaddled and put down with ease in her rock n play. I even started napping her in her room in the rock n play with a baby monitor at 4 weeks old. She would nap great and overnight was great I got 3 hour stretches and sometimes a 4 hour stretch. I can function on that and that is manageable.

Around 2-3 weeks old she still would go down with ease but I started to notice at times she was getting gassy, she was grunting, making A LOT of noise when sleeping, had a hard time sleeping even for naps. Some days were better than others. She was on Similac Pro Advance.
Then it started to get worse. She became gassy, constipated, grunting, turning red, pushing, squirming, interrupted sleep, grunted really bad in her sleep and prevented her from sleeping. or woke her from sleep. She was so loud she would wake us up. Each day got a bit worse. Turning her into a fussy mess sometimes. I immediately changed formula to Alimentum. She got way better no more symptoms of the above.

She was not a spitter but I did notice some small signs of silent reflux wet burps, white in her mouth but she would swallow it, BUT she was happy. NEVER showed signs of pain. so i left that alone.

1 week after being on alimentum she would turn into a fussy mess from 7-11pm I mean crying, fussing, wouldnt go to sleep, had a hard time drinking her bottle, crying on the bottle, wouldnt let us put her down. Crying like she was in pain. Her burps sounded so wet, then she would cry out.
Then like magic she would finally fall asleep and sleep fine overnight. And would be fine all day until anywhere from 5-7pm.
by day 3 she was crying inconsolable. Wouldnt stop for 3 hours on and off.

Went to dr next day, gave me zantac. Told me that since Alimentum is thinner it must have made the reflux worse. She seemed better by 2nd day on Zantac. Again back to my happy baby.

Then about 4 days to a week later she started to sound congested mostly in the evening. Then 2 days later again she was getting fussy. She wouldnt stay in her rock n play. She would only sleep on us. I noticed her congestion sounded worse and when she sneezed sometimes wetness came out of her nose. Dr said keep her comfortable use saline and clean out her nose. Sounds like a mild cold. no fever so no need to worry. After 2 days of this and seeing boogies in her nose I brought her in. Lungs are clear again dr said mild cold. Even my older daughter started to sound congested (and still is as well a week later).

Well its been a week of sleeping on us, and only napping on her stomach. Im starting to wonder is this a cold or is this all due to Alimentum exacerbating her reflux which wasnt an issue until she was on Alimentum.

How would I know if its a cold causing congestion vs reflux causing congestion??

Maybe I jumped too quick to Alimentum due to my own paranoia of trying to avoid what I went through with my 1st.

Here are my issues:
1. She doesnt sound any better. She sounds worse after she drinks bottle and yes I get why that is. BUT mostly she sounds worse at night and in the middle of the night when she wakes for a bottle.
2. We cant do anything in the evening I cannot even cook dinner because now from anywhere between 3-5 she is so fussy she barely naps, wont let me put her down. I just ordered a baby carrier to help with this. BUT still I am losing my mind!
Even on her stomach the most I get is 45 min sometimes during the late evening. Then wakes up crying which she never does but shes clearly still tired but wont sleep. Will eventually pass out on 1 of us and just wont be put down on her back anymore.
3. We have no life in the evening. We are miserable. And its affecting my older daughter which is making me even sadder and even more frustrated.
4. Im starting to wonder if changing her to Alimentum was a mistake. Maybe I should have tried Similac Sensitive or Gerber Good Start.

Do I call the dr back to ask about the congestion? A nurse friend of mine said colds can last 10-14 days, not just 7 days. Even my older daughter is still congested.

Do I try getting her on her back now (elevated of course to help with congestion) and start during the day for naps before killing myself overnight. (i am alone all day without help) OR do I wait for all the congestion to go away? Again nurse friend of mine said start now during the day and just be consistent she will get it. And then suffer for a few nights overnight with her on her back, until she gets used to it again. Cause its a bad habit to get her into and the longer it goes on the harder to break.

I am so confused. So anxious.

New Here but Need Help- Reflux/Alimentum Help

I would call the doctor about the congestion.

My DD was on alimentum because we found blood in her stool. The blood stopped once she started the alimentum but she was still cranky and would only sleep on us. I don’t think one had anything to do with the other in terms of her temperment. She spit up all the time because it’s so thin.

6 weeks is very young. Unless the doctor is concerned, I’d give it more time.

New Here but Need Help- Reflux/Alimentum Help

Thank you. Did your daughter ever go back to sleeping on her own and if so when?

I guess I am just feeling confused because she was doing so well sleeping on her own in rock n play. The fact that its elevated and she still isn't happy in it is making me question what the hell is going on.
She isn't even happy in her car seat. She cries when I strap her in. I have to put her in sleepy or asleep in order for her to not cry.

New Here but Need Help- Reflux/Alimentum Help

Yes. I don’t remember when exactly but it was before I went back to work when she was 12 weeks. She hated the car seat. I almost never took her out because she would scream bloody murder in it.

Does she have a swing? We had a mamaroo and she didn’t love it but once we got her a swing she calmed down a lot.

Re: New Here but Need Help- Reflux/Alimentum Help

Are you seeing a pediatric GI? If not I would make an appt with one. I know with both my nephews they eventually ended up on elecare.

New Here but Need Help- Reflux/Alimentum Help

I would call the doctor or take her to a pediatric GI. My son was BF/ on neosure as a supplement because he was premature. He was discharged from NICU on 90%BM and 10% formula- similac pro. He seemed good. Then as feeding demand increased with twins I couldn’t keep up because I have PCOS. He was then on about 50% formula. By 4-5 weeks old he had diapers that were just full of blood, we couldn’t even make out what was stool. He was out on alimentum. He did ok on the transition but we were advised by the GI to go to all alimentum because If I ate any dairy it was likely a trigger. Well he still had bloody stool with alimentum and he was a wrack. The GI put him on Elecare. He refused to take the bottles and we were mixing a cocktail of elecare and alimentum for about 3 months. Finally once we was 5-6 months old he was totally on elecare and doing amazing. Evenings were awful for my son he would scream from like 12pm to 4am every night for months! It wasn’t better during the day. He would projectile vomit all over my house to the point I was putting dog wee wee pads everywhere and we eventually had to replace our rug from all the puking... it’s so hard to see your little one go through this. I recommend going to a GI, ours did multiple stool testing

New Here but Need Help- Reflux/Alimentum Help

I suggest seeing a Ped GI also. It sounds to me like your baby has uncontrolled reflux. I can tell you what they willl suggest. First they will say to try and thicken your formula with oatmeal. This helps keep it down and decrease the episodes. If that doesnt work they will prescribe a PPI (Nexium, Prilosec, etc). This opens another can of worms as those meds need to be timed around feedings...and take up to 2 weeks to kick in --so during that time you will also need to administer zantac. In the meantime go to CVS and pick up Cherry Supreme. It is like mylanta. If you give 2.5ml's when the baby is really fussy it helps take the edge off. My GI described it to me like this -- after eating taco bell and you get heartburn if you take mylanta it fixes the problem. This will work for the baby too!
I wound up having to go another route overall to help my baby which involved thickening feeds, and a PPI. Feel free to PM me im happy to share what worked for us.

Re: New Here but Need Help- Reflux/Alimentum Help

I hate to say it but if the evening she is crying and fussy and then it just stops it might be her witching hour. You may just need to get through the rough phase. It is very common for babies to have this in the evening.
Hugs to you

Re: New Here but Need Help- Reflux/Alimentum Help

It’s hard to know whether it’s reflux, a sensitivity to the formula or just a long witching hour. Is she just fussy at night? One of my kids had a really long witching “hour” and nighttime was rough for a few months. Reflux and the witching hour tend to show up in full force by 6 weeks. Reflux medication is also weight based so while it may work initially, as the baby gains weight, the dosage needs to be increased. I’d talk to the pediatrician again about your concerns. I hope this passes quickly.

Re: New Here but Need Help- Reflux/Alimentum Help