Re: Reflux in babies
My son battled with reflux (GERD) for the first 5 or 6 years of his life. His case was not typical as he didnt display the classic symptoms (crying, back-arching etc) His only symptom was that he didnt eat, it made him hurt so he started avoiding it.
His docs didnt diagnose it until he was a bit over 2. At first we tried zantac. It can take up to 6 weeks to see the full results of the medicine. Thats because reflux makes the esophagus sore from stomach acid coming up and back down. It really burns. So that soreness takes a while to heal.
If the symptoms are still there after 6 weeks you may want to try a different medication. Zantac didnt work well for my son so we tried Nexium. That was even worse so we next switched to Prilosec and it worked like a charm.
Many infants with reflux outgrow it around age 1 year. The stomach valve (LES) gets stronger, stays closed better and the acid stops refluxing up into the esophagus.
Something that can help is to have the baby sleep on a little bit of a slope. Raise the head of their mattress by putting a pillow or folded up blanket underneath. A semi-raised position can help keep the acid down in the stomach.
Good luck! I know its a worrisome thing to go thru - Inshallah, baby will outgrow it soon!