Reflux Rant ~ Wondering If I Should Terminate?

[Nisaryn]

Hello all,

First this is more of a rant and an update. This is in regards to the same baby I have posted about previously.

DCG has seen the doctor and was cleared of any medical issues but she still has reflux...some days are better than others and I hope she grows out of it soon. I'm trying not to use this "against" caring for the baby since my own son had reflux when he was little and he grew out of it as well. But on the days the reflux is bad it is REALLY bad...as in, every time she burps I have it dripping all the way down my arm and off my elbow and there are puddles of it on the floor. I've had to take up portions of my floor mats to wash clean while children are running around. Since I only have her three days and two days on alternating weeks I'm trying to just deal with it but some days it really feels like a sanitation issue. The other DCMs know about the issue and are grossed out about it (one walked in just as puke was dripping onto the floor off my elbow) but haven't made any major complaints yet.

Just not sure if I should continue waiting it out or suggest finding a one on one care taker that could deal with this without worrying about other kids running through the mess. :/

[Play Care]

I can't remember if the baby is okay or unhappy?

If the baby is otherwise okay (ie: happy) I would make sure that she always wore a bib while awake, keeping plenty on hand to change them out. I would use thick blankets for floor time (I've even seen some meant for picnics where the one side is plasticy which would keep it from seeping through) again swapping them out as needed.
My own child was a "happy spitter" and it was pretty gross until about 10 months old. Every baby picture we have she was wearing a bib::

If the baby was unhappy and I was having a hard time meeting their needs/comforting them, the other kids were getting upset due to constant crying, etc Then I would have to really think about letting the child go.

[cheerfuldom]

I personally have termed over this but it always included an unhappy baby and feeding issues.

If the baby is a happy baby, I would just make some changes to accommodate the extra mess.

[Crazy8]

How old is the baby? My dd had reflux really bad and outgrew it at about 9 months old. I probably wouldn't term over the spitting up itself but if the child is really miserable I would consider it. Like another poster said, most of my refluxers have been "happy spitters".

[Blackcat31]

Personally I have a limit to how much "ick" I can manage mentally and emotionally.

I have termed due to severe reflux before.

Baby was happy and family was great but there is only so many dripping elbows and carpet scrubbing moments I can deal with for $3.75 (give or take) an hour.

[Nisaryn]

That is why I worry about her, she isn't happy at all! After she spits up she will cry and fuss till her little face turns red and no amount of holding or rocking makes her happy. No granted, some of this could be because she is hungry. I mean, I would be hungry too if I spit up my entire meal right after eating it! The original issue was that DCM wasn't bringing in more formula than she felt she needed (on a schedule) so by the time DCM picked baby up she was crying and hungry. But sometimes it is just a little spit up and she screams bloody murder over it! She said that the Dr. cleared her of anything so I've asked to see the papers but she "forgot" to bring them with her this morning (along with this weeks payment :/) and the poor baby spit up literally 10 minutes after DCM had left. I feel so badly for this sweet baby, she and her family are wonderful otherwise but its getting hard to clean up after her AND take care of all my other babies at the same time! Especially now that one of them is beginning to walk.

I think I might have to term just to keep from having to clean so much but I feel bad doing it since she KNOWS that my son used to have reflux...but his only lasted till he was 3months old

[Blackcat31]

That is why I worry about her, she isn't happy at all! After she spits up she will cry and fuss till her little face turns red and no amount of holding or rocking makes her happy. No granted, some of this could be because she is hungry. I mean, I would be hungry too if I spit up my entire meal right after eating it! The original issue was that DCM wasn't bringing in more formula than she felt she needed (on a schedule) so by the time DCM picked baby up she was crying and hungry. But sometimes it is just a little spit up and she screams bloody murder over it! She said that the Dr. cleared her of anything so I've asked to see the papers but she "forgot" to bring them with her this morning (along with this weeks payment :/) and the poor baby spit up literally 10 minutes after DCM had left. I feel so badly for this sweet baby, she and her family are wonderful otherwise but its getting hard to clean up after her AND take care of all my other babies at the same time! Especially now that one of them is beginning to walk.

I think I might have to term just to keep from having to clean so much but I feel bad doing it since she KNOWS that my son used to have reflux...but his only lasted till he was 3months old

The ick factor is ALOT less when it's your own offspring

...and just because your child had reflux too doesn't mean you liked it...you just couldn't term him :: AND you weren't caring for multiple children while dealing with your child's issue.

....and it sounds like its a bit more than the reflux...it's baby's unhappiness that lingers that makes it tough too.

[Jbarosso]

I had a premature baby last year with a similar problem. Your baby sounds like a worse case but I did have a hard time keeping things clean. On my suggestion we removed the child from Milk based formula which helped her greatly!! ( Use a Soy Base) Second we tilted the babies bed by placing a rolled blanket under the head of the playpen to keep her on a tilt when sleeping. When she was awake we used the bouncy seat with permission from her doctor to keep the baby on a downward angle. by the time she turned 1 years old we had almost completely seen the reflux disappear. Keep a bib on all the time! Hope this helps - Good Luck!

[spedmommy4]

My son had reflux as well. My family nick named him the spit up king. The gi doctor did a test and they determined that he was refluxing about 100 times an hour. The doctor put him on baby Prilosec until he transitioned to solids. That stuff worked great.

But . . . It took forever to get a doctor to believe there was a problem. His pediatrician told me, at multiple visits, that all babies spit up and he was fine. She finally referred him when he "spit up" an entire bottle on her. I remember saying something like, believe me now.

[Thriftylady]

My son had reflux as well. My family nick named him the spit up king. The gi doctor did a test and they determined that he was refluxing about 100 times an hour. The doctor put him on baby Prilosec until he transitioned to solids. That stuff worked great.

But . . . It took forever to get a doctor to believe there was a problem. His pediatrician told me, at multiple visits, that all babies spit up and he was fine. She finally referred him when he "spit up" an entire bottle on her. I remember saying something like, believe me now.

Why is this always so hard? Why don't doctors ever believe parents?

[spedmommy4]

Why is this always so hard? Why don't doctors ever believe parents?

I don't know. I was an early intervention specialist for years and sooo many parents had the exact same experience I did. From the number of times I heard it, I would guess it is a common problem. I had one parent with a little girl that was having seizures and the doctor didn't believe the mom. I had to video tape it and text the video to the mom so she could show the doctor. I get that there are parents who worry too much but, if a parent has a concern the doctor should address it. Okay . . . end rant.

[KidGrind]

That is why I worry about her, she isn't happy at all! After she spits up she will cry and fuss till her little face turns red and no amount of holding or rocking makes her happy. No granted, some of this could be because she is hungry. I mean, I would be hungry too if I spit up my entire meal right after eating it! The original issue was that DCM wasn't bringing in more formula than she felt she needed (on a schedule) so by the time DCM picked baby up she was crying and hungry. But sometimes it is just a little spit up and she screams bloody murder over it! She said that the Dr. cleared her of anything so I've asked to see the papers but she "forgot" to bring them with her this morning (along with this weeks payment :/) and the poor baby spit up literally 10 minutes after DCM had left. I feel so badly for this sweet baby, she and her family are wonderful otherwise but its getting hard to clean up after her AND take care of all my other babies at the same time! Especially now that one of them is beginning to walk.

I think I might have to term just to keep from having to clean so much but I feel bad doing it since she KNOWS that my son used to have reflux...but his only lasted till he was 3months old

I experience this for 5 months with a DCB. I was so icky. I smelled like the reflux lady.

One DCG said, “Oh Ms. ______ the baby throw up on your back again. You better go take a shower. That’s not nice baby.”

I giggled with tears running down my face. I had just changed my shirt 10 minutes prior due to his reflux.

[Nisaryn]

LOL yes it is very true that the "ick" isn't as bad when it's your own baby. Though I did find it pretty gross and was always waiting for the bomb to go off when we were out and about! I imagine this mommy feels the same why which is why I'm trying so hard to just push through it.

Thank you everyone! I suggested trying a new type of formula to DCM yesterday (after yet another shirt change) and she did bring in the papers from the Dr....so far it just seems like normal reflux but I did let her know that she cried a LOT during and afterwards here but DCM says she doesn't cry like that at home :/ maybe she just wants an extra cuddle? I try to give her an extra cuddle when I can, she is the youngest of my group and is only here part-time so I feel she needs it sometimes. DCM is going to see about having a new formula prescribed and if that doesn't work she is going to try to switch to something soy based.

[AuntTami]

Have you tried different bottles? I just switched my massive puker from the dr brown bottles to playtex vent aire bottles and his reflux reduced about 80% just from that!!!! I also make sure to keep him upright as long as possible after eating but he's only 11 weeks old so that's hard

[Blackcat31]

LOL yes it is very true that the "ick" isn't as bad when it's your own baby. Though I did find it pretty gross and was always waiting for the bomb to go off when we were out and about! I imagine this mommy feels the same why which is why I'm trying so hard to just push through it.

Thank you everyone! I suggested trying a new type of formula to DCM yesterday (after yet another shirt change) and she did bring in the papers from the Dr....so far it just seems like normal reflux but I did let her know that she cried a LOT during and afterwards here but DCM says she doesn't cry like that at home :/ maybe she just wants an extra cuddle? I try to give her an extra cuddle when I can, she is the youngest of my group and is only here part-time so I feel she needs it sometimes. DCM is going to see about having a new formula prescribed and if that doesn't work she is going to try to switch to something soy based.

10 to 1, she is lying. It's a VERY common phrase when parents KNOW their child has an issue that makes providing care tough on the provider....
They use that logic thinking that if it's only happening on your watch, it's your problem.

If the situation does not improve and you end up terminating care, that is your out. When mom says it doesn't happen at home, you tell her that since it only happens on your watch that it proves you are not the right fit for them because you obviously can't replicate home for the child.