Married With Twins

Kaitlyn and Ava were diagnosed with  GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease) in January. Here’s the continuation of our tale. Check out Part 1 if you missed it.

3 Months Old. Our GI finally placed our girls on Levisin drops.  He said there was only a 50% chance that it would work to alleviate stomach muscle spasms. I also informed him that Kaitlyn and Ava would stretch their toes and legs while grunting. He told me they were trying to prevent themselves from going to the bathroom. Aha! That told us there was constipation going on as well. So we were dealing with 3 issues, stomach acid, spasms, and constipation. Now our battle plan was this:

1. Acid reducer:  Prevacid
2. Stomach spasms:  Levisin drops  (hyoscyamine sulfate)
3. Constipation: Miralax

Lo and behold, this strategy worked! We gave the Levisin drops 30 minutes before every feeding. If they were crying it was already too late for the drops, so we gave gripe water or simethecone drops. One tablespoon of Miralax mixed in with their formula twice a day kept their bowels moving.  Good-bye 6 to 8 hours of crying a day!

• Meds: Prevacid 2/day, Levisin drops before every feeding, Miralax 2/day, simethicone drops as needed, gripe water as needed.
• Milk: Similac Sensitive (I stopped nursing this month)
• Tips:

1. Add 1 tablespoon of rice to 1 ounce of formula.  Cut holes in nipples to allow milk to flow
2. Feed upright, short frequent feedings, frequent burping, hold upright for 20 minutes after eating
3. A great resource is this  Infant Reflux Support forum. That’s where I read about the Rock ‘N Play.

6 Months Old. With the pain managed by meds, our colic bouts subsided.  Kaitlyn’s colic finally subsided, and she was pain free with just Prevacid.  Ava still needed all 3 meds daily. but pain- free days.

7 Months Old.  Kaitlyn’s GERD went away, Praise the Lord!  Ava was just down to Prevacid every day and no longer experienced stomach spasms.

9 Months Old. Kaitlyn continues to be GERD free. Ava still needs her Prevacid twice a day. We tried to wean her off, but the acid came back with a vengeance.  Her breath was acidic after meals and her vomiting increased. I’ll take the spit-ups so long as there’s no crying.

Conclusion. It was a long bout with colic, crying, acid-reflux, GERD, or whatever you choose to call it.  The first 4 months were horrendous until we found our battle plan of meds. Let’s just say I forgot my 34 birthday that month fell in the middle of this craziness.  If your family is struggling with colic, hold strong my dear, this too shall pass.  But it’s hard!  Get help to hold a crying baby while you rest.  My GI said, they will eventually grow out of it.  One of out my 2 babies have already. Praise the Lord.

Related Posts: There’s Nothing Worse Than Twins with Acid Reflux, Part 1, There’s Nothing Worse Than Twins with Acid Reflux, Part 2, Ava’s Acid, Together We Can: 10 Tips to Survive Your Baby’s Colic