Is This More than Colic? GERD: What it is and How to Cope

“That little boy is not enjoying life!”

Not exactly encouraging words to hear as a first time mom, but the ER doctor was right.

My son was the fussiest kid ANYONE had ever seen.

Growing up, my mom told horror stories of both my brother’s and my colic troubles. I

knew we were super fussy kids and I knew it had something to do with stomach

discomfort. We’d cry at certain times every evening, and we seemed to be soothed by

vibration.

When both my boys were younger, their amount of crying was certainly a cause for

alarm. In my quest to figure out what could be wrong, I asked my pediatrician what colic

was. She basically said it’s digestive discomfort. Thankfully, some of my boys’

crankiness could be explained.

They were diagnosed with Gastroesophageal reflux disease or GERD. This causes the

acid in the stomach to seep up into the esophagus, essentially causing heartburn.

 

Many of the Tell-Tale Signs were There…

● Fussiness: CHECK

● Arching the Back: CHECK

● Vomiting and Spit Up: Double CHECK

Many children struggle to gain weight or even lose weight. Thankfully, that wasn’t a

concern for my boys.

Having a cranky kid is rough, and watching your child in pain is even worse.

A Couple of Tricks Helped Us Cope…

● Keep the child upright. We used many carriers and equipment that would elevate

the head and work with gravity to keep those acid juices down

● Consider their diet. In our children’s case, wheat, dairy, soy and other possible

allergens may have been making the situation worse

● Along those same lines, offer smaller feedings more frequently. This avoids filling

the stomach to capacity and giving things time to digest

● Talk to your pediatrician if you think your child may have an acid-related disorder

 

These lifestyle changes helped calm my boys’ symptoms down a lot. We saw their

pediatrician and they prescribed a treatment option that helped make things more

bearable.

For more information about this condition and treatment options that are

available, please visit http://clvr.li/1LJTSGM.

I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.