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Reflux?

My 6 week old spits up/throws up almost after every feeding ( I breastfeeding exclusively). It looks like a lot, so we went to the dr. After ruling out pyloric stenosis, he says he has reflux, and wants to put him on an acid reducer. Is it me? Isn't he a little young to be on that kind of medicine, or any meds at all?  I don't like putting anything in mine or my kids' bodies unless absolutely necessary.  Anyone else dealt with this?

Yep, I addressed it in the BF Q&A thread but I'll answer here as well....

Gavin had the same issue.  I started only feeding him on the left (slow) side and pumping the right (fast) side.  At about 3 months I started reintroducing the right (fast) side again and broke him off every 3-4mins to burp him and give him a chance to recognize his fullness.  He is now 4-1/2 months old and we have no problems whatsoever.  He didn't have to take any of the acid reflux medicine he was prescribed.  That said; there are some instance where a baby really does need the medicine.  Hopefully, you can try some of the things that worked for me (and other things) to rule out unecessary medications.

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I was just curious as to how the dr. diagnosed reflux?  Was it by ruling out everything else or did s/he do an actual test?  I am asking because, as an active member of Le Leche League, those symptoms sound an awful lot like over-supply.  The milk starts flowing like a fire hose and the baby gulps down so much so quickly that they get too much and spit up the excess.

I had mild oversupply issues when my baby was around that age, so I would feed him a couple of times on the same side before switching and I never fed him with both breasts during one feeding.  He's seven months old now and well able to keep up with the flow.

Since my issues were only mild and it sounds like your oversupply issue is much more serious, I would HIGHLY recommend you find a local LLL group and go to one of their meetings.  They follow a cycle of topics that are addressed during each meeting, but they always ask for questions whether they have to do with the topic or not.  I think there is at least one new mother with oversupply issues at every meeting I attend and the leaders always have tons of advice.  There are also lots of other mothers at meetings that have worked through the same problem, so you can get lots of ideas (like lauren's idea of pumping one side, or pumping just during the initial let-down then letting the baby latch on, etc.).

Even if it really is reflux and not just oversupply, lots of women at the meetings have dealt with that as well, so I would still recommend that you check them out.  I don't think I could have gotten through those first few months without their support and advice.

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Krs- he ruled everything out.
I'm wondering if it's over supply as well. I think he uses boobs as a comfort, not just as food.
I'm going to the next LLL meeting, I've emailed one of the members a bunch of times and asked her opinion- waiting to hear from her too.

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Any improvement with this issue?

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