advice on how to help my 5 month old?

To make a very long story short - DS was born with severe GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). My poor little man was put through the ringer at about 2 months of age. He was admitted to Children's Hospital for dehydration and lack of weight gain because of all the vomiting, (and the night I took him in he was choking on his vomit) hooked up to an IV and a catheter. They thought maybe he had pyloric stenosis, but after two ultrasounds they ruled that out (thank god). They placed him on Prevacid and Zantac and the Dr. suggested both DH and I take infant CPR classes (both of us already carry medical grade Infant/toddler/adult CPR licenses for our jobs). We were also directed to put him on Enfamil AR with added rice starch , it's heavier formula designed to stay in the babies stomach better. It has helped, he still loses about 2 ounces of every bottle (at 5 months old) but was losing more than half the bottle when we were using regular formula.
The problem we face now - he is extremely constipated. So much so, that I have to "help" him when it gets stuck. We called the Dr. and he said to give him some karo syrup in his bottle....it worked a little, but not nearly enough, and I really don't feel comfortable continuing to give my 5 month old that much sugar. We tried prune juice (an ounce of prune juice with an ounce of water) it has seemed to do the trick, although we've only tried it once. I'd like to continue the prune juice, but I know it still has sugar - natural sugar, but sugar none the less. What are your thoughts on that? Do you think it's safe to be giving him a couple ounces of prune juice every day? We're also considering putting him on a regular (thin) formula and adding either Oatmeal or Barley rather than rice.
I understand that none of these options are ideal, but sadly we don't have a whole lot of choice in the matter....he has to be healthy, and obviously that won't happen if he can't keep his food down.

I say this to every mama with a reflux baby, but Have you looked into taking him to a chiropractor? Google infant reflux and chiropractor help. It works miracles !!!!! A misalignment at the neck causes a valve that holds back the acid to stay open. A gentle adjustment can give immediate relief.

Quoting A is Me:" I say this to every mama with a reflux baby, but Have you looked into taking him to a chiropractor? Google ... [snip!] ... A misalignment at the neck causes a valve that holds back the acid to stay open. A gentle adjustment can give immediate relief."

I'll have to look into that for sure!

heya   My sisters little boy had the same issue (except it didn't get as far as a hospital stay) they gave him the rice in the bottle along with a small amount of prune juice every other day and it really helped him stay regular. it took a few days to get it all going but it really worked and he was sooo much happier after.

Hope your little man feels better soon!   Xx

Quoting Dexter's Mummy!:" heya   My sisters little boy had the same issue (except it didn't get as far as a hospital stay) they ... [snip!] ... to get it all going but it really worked and he was sooo much happier after. Hope your little man feels better soon!   Xx"

Thank you ! I think I'll do that. Poor little guy is so miserable, he's not a normally unhappy baby, but you can tell when it's bothering him , and it's been A LOT lately.

Quoting Katie[Cheeks Momma]:" Thank you ! I think I'll do that. Poor little guy is so miserable, he's not a normally unhappy baby, but you can tell when it's bothering him , and it's been A LOT lately. "

awww poor little man! Must feel horrible for him. xxx

<blockquote><b>Quoting Dexter's Mummy!:</b>" awww poor little man! Must feel horrible for him. xxx"</blockquote>



I love your avi!! Every time I are you in a thread I'm like "aww how cute is he?" Lol.

I am actually going through a lot of what you are going through!! We've been to the childrens' hospital with possible pyloris stenosis. a few doctors and the nurses were questioning if we were the ones causing him to not gain weight. They called cps on us and I just about freaked! Almost being labeled failure to thrive due to no weight gain at 2 months. My dr still doesn't know what's wrong with him but as of yesterday we've been admitted into the hospital for RSV (lil man can never catch a break) When they decided to change LO's formula to A.R. he did really good for about a week except he didn't poop. After that he spit up 10x more and it was curdled formula. We switched him ourselves to regular Emfamil and add 1 scoop of rice cereal for every 2 ozs of water. and that is a miracle for him at least it was. he's back to spitting up a bunch again and before the RSV came about he had a persistent cough for almost 2 months and the dr's just don't know what's causing it. The rice cereal in LO's bottle still helps him poop everyday which I"m very thankful for but now it's coming up like I just feed him regular thin formula.

The prune juice is alright for him. Also in the baby aisle they have pear juice that helps get things going for them too. I think gerber makes it!! I would see if giving it to him every other day will help getting things going. I know that if I give DS too much prune juice he gtes a diaper rash!

I think as long as it doesn't contain added sugar, the prune juice is perfectly fine. Certain circumstances call for certain exceptions. I'm an avid "no juice" mom but if any of my kids had that problem, I would have relaxed on the juice part.

Yes. pear juice works wonderfully.

It's what I take instead of laxatives.  

Quoting A is Me:" <blockquote><b>Quoting Dexter's Mummy!:</b>" awww poor little man! Must feel horrible ... [snip!] ... for him. xxx"</blockquote> I love your avi!! Every time I are you in a thread I'm like "aww how cute is he?" Lol."

hehe! aw thank you   xx

My daughter is lactose intolerant and my breast milk was constipating her. I just gave her 3oz of grape juice every day and it helped. Also at 5 months old he can start solids. When we started doing solids with her the added fiber from the fruits and vegetables really cleaned out her system and the constipation ended almost immediately

<blockquote><b>Quoting Katie[Cheeks Momma]:</b>" To make a very long story short - DS was born with severe GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). My ... [snip!] ... a whole lot of choice in the matter....he has to be healthy, and obviously that won't happen if he can't keep his food down. "</blockquote>




I didn't have a baby with GERD but I did have two babies who violently puked up every formula except the AR. It worked wonders but like you said, it does constipate them. I would think the prune juice would be okay to give to him in moderation but be careful because it can also lead to the Hersey squirts. Lol. Pear juice works well or even apple juice. My older two also have IBS issues so they don't get juice at all now unless they absolutely need it to straighten up their bowels from constipation. But when they were all babies, I found a little bit of juice would usually straighten their bowels out from the formula. I would personally just stick with the AR unless your little one can handle the regular now. I know how frustrating it can be when your baby non stop pukes and doesn't gain weight because of it. I just don't see a reason to go back to that if it can be avoided. But that's just MHO. Hope you get it worked out somehow.

I agree with you completely, I don't think switching formula is a good idea either. I've been adding an ounce of prune juice to one bottle a day and it seems to have done the trick, he just seems happier in general....thank goodness!