Silent reflux in DGD

DD2 gained weight extremely slowly, I was relieved if she put on 2-3 ozs a week ( in the days when we took them to the clinic weekly). She was breastfed until 13 months because she would not have a bottle (not even water). The health visitor assured me she was fine and was obviously going to be a tiny little person -"look at her tiny little hands and feet". She is now 5ft 6.5ins and slim but not skinny, but has never had a large appetite.

My son was a dreadful refluxer. At 3 months he weighed the same as at 3 weeks! He's now a strapping 6'2 and in the army.

After a week of observation in hospital, I was advised to keep him in a recliner chair all the time - even to sleep at night! I was worried about his back etc so with the Health visitor's support I introduced solids at 16 weeks. (Consultant wanted me to do it sooner).That helped a lot and he began to gain weight.

He was breastfed for 6 months, but because of all the refluxing he was feeding constantly and never getting the "hind milk" which has more fat in at the end of a feed when the breast is nearly empty. So he had constant yellow squits too which didn't help.

Once I weaned him, I fed him diluted carnation milk. You could get unsweetened carnation milk with added vitamin D when he was little. I don't think anyone else of my generation fed their children evaporated milk. I must have been bonkers (or desperate) but it seemed to help. I switched to fresh milk when he was a year.

When he was 4 he was diagnosed with allergies to chemicals and e numbers - in the days before organics he refused to eat meat so he was vegetarian until he was 7, when the bse scare made organic meat more readily available.

It may be that my breast milk wasn't as perfect for him as I thought, having traces of the things he couldn't digest. He grew out of the allergies and now I send him haribo care packages in Afghanistan.

I found Sister Lauras on wikipedia ( cannot do the link on this tab), it is a casein inhibitor which makes cow' milk more beneficial to those having trouble digesting it.
So perhaps I had reflux.
Also had a very well-thumbed copy of Dr Spock when DD1 & DS were babies, threw it out before DD2 arrived but she seemed to be OK without it (no time for reading then)

Somewhere, Margaret74 I have a book on infant feeding written pre war and there is a long list of products that were available for feeding to babies - some with odder ingredients than others. There was obviously a much wider selection of products - some of them quite alarming. "Artificial feeding " I think was seen as something rather risky and problematic and any failure to thrive or failure to be settled resulted in trying a different product. I guess National Dried saw off many of them.
Since then "formula" milk - i.e. cows milk modified to make it more similar to human has taken over.

Yep, gaga, I do! Couldn't stand the carnation milk though. I worked in a bank and, when it was our turn to work Saturday morning, we used to treat ourselves to a Businessman's Lunch before we hit the shops and the Co-op record department where we would stand in the booths jigging away to records we had no intention of buying!

My son had pyloric stenosis and after he came out of hospital at five months I fed him carnation milk to help him gain some weight. He is now a fit forty year old who runs coast to coast for fun!

My DB's three were all fed on carnation milk from day 1 and are all big, healthy adults now with children of their own.

Anyone remember the businessman's special lunches in Chinese restaurants which always seemed to feature tinned fruit and carnation milk as the dessert? (3/6 from 3 courses!)

Loved the video.

I want a baby to feed carnation milk to

I think it was more widespread for longer in America. My Doctor Spock book had full instructions for doing it.

I remember it, too. Hope this YouTube clip works - it's an advert for feeding babies evap milk.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=4Qn7fCikPsA&autoplay=1&desktop_uri=%252Fwatch%253Fv%253D4Qn7fCikPsA%2526autoplay%253D1

I had problems with digestion, wasn't breastfed as DM was in hospital for 4 months after I was born and DA looked after me. Apparently they used to give me something called 'sister Laura's' in with my milk, which was described to me later as a 'pre-digested wheat food for babies'.

I remember the instructions on the Carnation tins for feeding babies, in fact I think DN1 had it, he was very difficult to feed as well. He is in his 50s now.

Wow thanks Jinglbells and Margaret at last someone believes me!! I must add my son cant stand carnation as ether an older child or an adult

MySIL suggested carnation because I had such problems with DD1; I didn't try it but tried SMA which she gagged at, and in the end she was happy and contented on National Dried! Don't think you can get that any more.

Yes! I remember the instructions on the Carnation tins for infant feeding.

funny my first baby had constant colic (well it was called that then no mention of acid in them thar days) for 5-6 months if was terrible she seemed in pain all the time and was small but as an adult cant tolerate much cows milk. My second started to show signs and I was advised to use diluted Carnation I know everyone thinks I m making it up but in those days there was a chart on the side of the tin telling you how much to use at each age. I was told it was more gentle on the stomach and was used in some countries for prem babies anyway he thrived on it is a great sportsman and now at 44 has been measured as having the organs of 28 year old Third child went straight onto it

Please let us know how things go.

Wow, I've been out doing a review for Mum with her SW (sandwich generation anyone?) and I have come back to such a lot of helpful suggestions. Thank you all so much.

Latest update: DD is going to start weaning at the weekend but also going to the GP in the meantime and asking for a referral. Phew!! As her younger sister had the same problem with her eldest, DD2 is more inclined to listen to her. So, DD1 and I have been 'talking' to DD3 who is then mentoring DD2. It appears to work.

Again, thank you all for your input!!

Not daft at all nellie these are things consultant suggested ages ago for DGS it did help a little. Even now he has a wedge under the head end of his mattress.

This may sound daft but would letting her sleep more upright after a feed help? Carry her around upright in a sling.

DGS may be on Omeprazole or similar for the rest of his life despite the operation.
Yes the child may well 'grow out of it' but that's not always the case. DGS will be 2yrs next month. He is said to be thriving, but DD can't help but worry when he is screaming and arching his back in pain. Also the acid has caused scaring and damage to the oesophagus so surely best to sort it before this happens.
I do know I'm talking worst case here.

I thought it interesting what it said on the NHS site - that one of the indicators might be that they were happy to suck a dummy but not happy to feed. Babies sometimes get thrush in the mouth don't they, in which case they would not want to suck at all.

That immanent there should read Mumsnet

My granddaughter (breastfed) suffered terribly with this and was given Zantac in liquid form until she was nine months old. It helped her a lot. In hindsight, I think her mum (DD2) suffered from the same thing. She was breast fed but would scream blue murder after every feed. It was absolute hell while it lasted so I sympathise with your DD

Are they going to keep that French baby(immanent) on Omeprazole for the rest of her life? Because once she comes off of it she will probably make more acid. Best to only go on a ppi if you accept you will be staying on it.

Very distressing, it can make you feel so helpless. I would get a referral to a paediatrician asap. It may be something she grows out of soon, but best to get checked.

To reassure you, friend's DGS was a fussy, crotchety baby who did not feed well, but is now a happy 14 month old