by Jessica Fayth

Created on: January 08, 2009

My daughter had infant acid reflux disease. I immediately knew something was wrong with her, yet her pediatricians brushed me off as an over-worried and nervous new mom. Well, it turns out I was right and they were wrong.

In the hospital, my daughter took very well to the formula. But as soon as she came home, she was a different baby. When we were in the hospital, she wasn't much of a sleeper. I remember family and friends were amazed that she was only a few hours old and very wide awake. But, we didn't think anything of it. Once we were home, she rarely slept and I started having trouble with the formula. I repeatedly called her pediatricians and switched formulas six times! I tried regular formula, soy formula, lactose free formula etc. Nothing seemed to help. She cried and cried and never slept. And then she started making the gagging face when I went to give her the bottle. After about a month of this, it became very bad. She was spitting up and gagging frequently, constantly hiccupping and arching her back. But, her pediatricians told me she didn't have acid reflux because she was gaining weight. They told me I didn't know what I was talking about because I was a new mom. However, new mom or not; a mother knows if something is wrong with their child. Maternal instincts are a blessing and are sometimes more efficient than any doctor.

The moment of truth. I went to feed my daughter one evening and she started uncontrollably screaming. She made the gagging face and wouldn't take the bottle. She screamed for over a hour straight. I immediately took her to PM Pediatrics. PM Pediatrics is an after hours emergency room in my area. It is for babies and children and is open when your doctor's office is closed. The pediatricians there are amazing and are specialists in their field. The doctor who saw my daughter listened to what I had to say. I never mentioned that I thought she had acid reflux. I simply described her symptoms for the past month. She examined my daughter and then gave my husband and I her diagnosis. It turns out she did have acid reflux. And the acid reflux had become so bad that it gave her an ear infection! The doctor explained to us that imagine your esophagus is brand new and is experiencing constant acid burning, after a month of this, it is going to become so bad that your daughter is going to scream uncontrollably.

The pediatrician at PM Pediatrics prescribed Zantac for my daughter's acid reflux. This helped a little, but not completely. For

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>