Poor Weight Gain and Acid Reflux

Most all parent know that a child looses some weight shortly after birth. This is totally normal and the weight will return before you know it.

When Matthew was born he weighed 6 pounds and 5 ounces. Remarkably even though he was having trouble feeding he only lost 3 ounces.

Since he was having trouble feeding my doctor scheduled him for a weight check when he was a little shy of 2 weeks old. Don't judge me, I'm a new mom, I forgot to bring his diaper bag. oops :-) I allowed them to weigh him anyway even though I think he had a dirty diaper. He weighed 6 pounds and 8 ounces. The doctor said that his weight was okay but she wanted him to be gaining faster.

2 weeks later he had another appointment and he weighed 6 pounds and 13 ounces. When I heard that I was a bit concerned. He hadn't gained much at all.

When I came home I read that some babies don't reach their birth weight until 2 weeks after birth. Maybe my baby is just a slow grower. And besides he is gaining some weight.

One reason I think he is gaining weight so slowly is because he tends to vomit after his feedings. His doctor said that this is probably Acid Reflux.

Here are some tips to help an infant that tends to vomit.

1. Feed the infant in an upright position
2. Burp the infant a few times during the feed.
3. Leave the infant sitting upright for 30 minutes after the feed.
4. Allow the infant to sleep with his or her head elevated above the stomach.

These tips have been really helpful for Matthew. They tend to work if he doesn't try to eat to fast. Burping him a few times help him to slow down and let his brain catch up with his stomach.

She also gave us 3 options to use along with the steps mentioned above.

1. Acid Reflux Medication
2. Change the formula to the one called "AR". It is thicker and sits in the stomach better.
3. Rice Cereal which will thicken the milk.

She told me that all three options work just the same and it just comes down to personal preference.

I chose to go with the Rice Cereal. I know that many of you will not agree with this choice but I don't see any thing wrong with it. She told me that it was safe and it works well for reflux. 

She told me to put one teaspoon of cereal per 1 ounce of formula.

I must tell you that this really helped him. He still vomits sometimes but I have seen a big improvement. I am surprised that I haven't seen a decrease in the amount or times he feeds.

Hopefully these things will continue to work and he will have gained weight the next time we have an appointment.