Bottle Feeding a Reflux Baby

Breast-feeding, bottle feeding, and spoon feeding an infant suffering with reflux is often an unhappy and unpleasant experience for both parents and child. An infant may fuss, prolong feedings, spit-up numerous times, be very gassy, and sometimes vomit. There are a few things you can do during bottle feedings to make your baby more comfortable and reduce reflux episodes.

Dr. Brown's Bottles
Bottle feeding is one of the biggest hassles when dealing with reflux. Often the air bubbles produced by the sucking motion of a baby causes more problems for their reflux. Luckily, there are bottles available on the market that have been specially designed to help feed reflux babies. Dr. Craig Brown created an internal vent system designed to reduce air bubbles, colic, spit-up, gas, and burping. Dr. Brown's bottles are an absolute must have for reflux babies. The bottles are rather expensive and take a few extra minutes to clean, but well worth it all. You will notice a significant difference when using Dr. Brown's bottles compared to a generic bottle. The bottles are dishwasher and bottle warmer safe.

Rice Cereal
The best advice I was given by a doctor was to mix rice cereal in an infants bottle. The rice cereal will make the formula thicker and help with reflux. However, you do not just take rice cereal from the box and add it to the bottle. It will stop up the nipple and baby will not be able to eat. You need to take a cup of rice cereal and place it in a blender. Pulverize the rice cereal so it has the consistency of flour. Use 1 tablespoon for every 4-5 ounces. You will not have to upgrade to a bigger size nipple or cut it, because the pulverized rice cereal does not clog up the nipple hole. As an infant reaches an age where he/she can take rice cereal off a spoon, you will no longer have to mix it in the bottle.

Position
Investing in a bouncer is a great idea for help feeding a reflux baby. They will remain at an upright angle before, during, and after feedings. They won't be laying down too flat nor will their stomachs be scrunched up. Sometimes the position you feed your baby in will make a world of difference. Some parents dislike feeding a baby in a bouncer because they want to hold him/her, but sometimes you have sacrifice that for a little while until their reflux begins to subside. The bouncer is also great for when baby takes naps because the incline will help reduce the acid production. If you have ever had heartburn before, you should know how painful it can be to lay down. Just think about what a baby experiences laying completely flat without a pillow to prop them up a bit.

Patience
Reflux babies will often fuss and prolong feeding times because they hurt. Be patient! The worst thing you can do is try to rush them and make them spit-up or experience more pain. While you need to make sure they are eating enough as directed by your doctor, you also need to let them control how long it takes them to finish a bottle. Taking frequent breaks may be necessary in order for a reflux baby to keep their food down. Letting them rest after burps may also be beneficial to helping them calm their stomachs before eating some more. Just be patient with them, they will show you when they need to rest or stop.