Is it Gas or Reflux or both?

My DD is 8 weeks old.
She was born at 38 weeks but was small for gestational age at just 4 pounds 11 ounces. She is 8 pounds now.
She is eating Enfamil Gentlease and is a very hungry baby. She eats 18-21 ounces a day and sometimes grunts and squirms during bottle and doesnt refuse it. in between feedings she is most miserable. Sometimes I think it's silent reflux (arching back, smells like vomit) but she is definitely very very gassy. Farting constantly and crying in pain, legs always straight out.
My pediatrician suggested we change formula to Enfamil AR to see if it helps with reflux..
On day 2 and not seeing any difference yet
We are using Dr Brown bottles, trying Mylicon etc
Any other tips?
she is really such a good baby, I hate to see her in pain!
Thanks for reading

Re: Is it Gas or Reflux or both?

DD was a gassy baby too and honestly not much helped but time.
Their digestive systems are really just not ready for the outside world for the first 3 months of life is what my dr said.
It was hard to live through, but eventually they do outgrow it.

The gas drops, gripe water, different formula, different bottles, all didn't do much

Re: Is it Gas or Reflux or both?

my dd is a lil over 3 months and we had the same thing. the ped tested her stool and found out she had a milk allergy so shes on prescription formula now. we went through 6 diff formulas before settling on this. we see a gastro doc and even saw a feeding specialist a few times. I suggest buyig Gerber Soothe Drops. A very tiny bottle is $30 but helped calm our dd drastically! Its a probiotic. A lot of moms on here recommended it and so did our doctor. you can get it at some babies r us locations. might want to call and ask first if they have it. they keep it behind the counter in some locations in a locked box. ive had luck at BRU in Massapequa and Valley Stream

Re: Is it Gas or Reflux or both?

The only thing that helped my kids with reflux was meds and a formula change. DS was on Nutramigen and DD was on Gentlease. They both took reflux meds, though. DS was on it until 7mo and DD until 5mo.

Re: Is it Gas or Reflux or both?

Sounds like my son and he had silent reflux

He needed medS and a special formula

Re: Is it Gas or Reflux or both?

With DS we had the same issues. The first pediatrician told us it was colic and possibly gas and reflux so we gave the baby gas drops and gripe water and switched to newborn nipples.
At his next week appt the new ped tested him for a milk protein allergy and it came back negative. so he had me giving mylanta to him instead of prescribing anything
At the next appt nothing changed so they tested for a milk protein allergy and sure enough it came back positive this time. We switched to nutramigen - the difference was night and day.
They do say it takes some time for the old stuff to get out of their system, so you may not see any difference for 5 days or so (i dont recall exactly how long it took, but it wasnt instant). Give it a few more days and when you see the ped next ask for the milk protein allergy test and for any other options.

Message edited 12/4/2015 4:20:41 PM.

Is it Gas or Reflux or both?

Dd went through this... its going to take some trial and error and changing things and waiting it out...
I ended up changing from dr browns to playtex drop ins... immediate change my dd lips never closed properly around the dr browns rim it was too small... playtex mimicked the breast more and her latch was much better on the bottle...
I ended up with alimentum... huge difference... a
Hypoallengenic formula... we musy have changed 3 times before i just went with alimentum...
And zantac... again tried sooo many medications whicb werent helping..

Alimentum and zantac within 1 week i had a brand new baby who slept through the night...

Burp in the middle of the bottle then let baby finish...
When baby is done with bottle keep baby upright for 20 min before putting down...
Do not lay flat... my dd slept in the rock n play...
We tried the drops, we tried camimle tea, burping all the time... none of it helped until i changed formula and put her on meds... most important for us was the formula change... my dd was very sensitive to the dairy protein casein. It caused her soo much pain and gas. She was doing everything your child is. She would wake i. The middle of the night in so much pain and be up for hours miz... i used to cry cause i felt so helpless... this forum helped me so much and talking to friends...

Re: Is it Gas or Reflux or both?

my dd was like this too.

i did a lot of what i read..

burp frequently, small meals but more often, hold upright for 20-30 minutes after each feeding.

i also found that being on her stomach helped her a lot. i napped her on her stomach from about 7 weeks on.

she outgrew it already and she's 10 weeks.

Re: Is it Gas or Reflux or both?

I agree with many of the above posters. 3 out of my 4 had milk protein allergies. Enfamil AR worked great for the reflux, but a few weeks on, discovered milk allergy. Milk allergy can be seen in the poops. They will be mucousy and/or bloody. The doctor can test a dirty diaper right in the office. Nutramigen or Alimentum usually works for most babies. If its very severe, Elecare (Rx only). Hopefully, its just reflux and she can stay on a milk based formula. Zantac can also help with the reflux.

If you need a specialized formula, ask your Dr. For samples to get you through the trial period and then see if your insurance covers it. I paid less than the cost of one jar for a month's supply on my insurance.

Good luck!!!

Re: Is it Gas or Reflux or both?

My dd ultimately ended up on neocate, an rx formula for milk protein allergy.

We also had to add rice to her bottle to help with reflux.

Is it Gas or Reflux or both?

I'm dealing with this with my 3 month old. She's on gentlease right now but it has only helped with the spit up a little, not the gas and extreme fussiness. She has her 3m check up on Friday so I will be speaking with the dr to explore our options. They haven't been concerned bc she has been gaining weight well. We just started her on probiotics yesterday.