UDSKRIFT 🔗
WEBVTT
00:00:00.719 --> 00:00:13.039
Welcome to Positively Parenthood, the podcast, your one-stop shop for non-judgmental, kind, and knowledge-backed parenting advice to help you thrive rather than survive on your parenting journey.
00:00:13.359 --> 00:00:19.679
I do hope you enjoy listening and find it helpful on this crazy roller coaster that we call Parenthood.
00:00:19.839 --> 00:00:23.359
Remember, listen to your gut and do what sits right for you.
00:00:23.600 --> 00:00:25.440
Your family, your way.
00:00:26.800 --> 00:00:32.159
I want to talk to you today in this bonus episode about solving your baby's reflux.
00:00:32.479 --> 00:00:36.799
Now, shall we first of all talk about what reflux actually is?
00:00:36.960 --> 00:00:49.840
Because I think for a lot of parents still, we all know that family or that parent who had the baby who like projectile vomited all over the place five times a day and had a really rough ride with that.
00:00:49.920 --> 00:01:03.920
And therefore, a lot of our thinking on reflux is that well, if my baby's not sick or sick very often, or very sick in terms of amount and quantity, then I don't think that they have reflux.
00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:11.359
But the issue and the the kind of reality of baby reflux is that it so often can also be silent.
00:01:11.519 --> 00:01:13.519
So we almost have like two types of reflux.
00:01:13.599 --> 00:01:32.719
The reflux that you'll see, and you'll see a baby who is either projectile vomiting a lot, and that will be very, very obvious, or just spits up now and then, which we call positing, but like spits up now and then, and it's a bit annoying, but like it's it's it's very much normalized, I would say.
00:01:33.040 --> 00:01:36.879
So projectile vomits spits up or doesn't.
00:01:37.200 --> 00:01:49.760
And the issue with I think labeling reflux is when I talk to clients about reflux, they kind of go to that place of like, oh no, gosh, worst case scenario, we'll have to, you know, medicalize it and whatever else.
00:01:49.840 --> 00:01:57.680
But it can be just silent reflux that you can't see, and at the margin is just bothering them.
00:01:57.920 --> 00:02:07.200
But because they seem happy and they're a fairly calm baby and a fairly happy baby, there's no kind of really obvious signs of it, if you like.
00:02:07.359 --> 00:02:26.879
So silent reflux would be the regurgitation happening up through from the stomach to the esophagus, and it kind of sits in the back of their throat, and that's why you can get babies who are kind of congested and a bit raspy and a bit nasally, but you don't actually really see them do much sticking up, as it were.
00:02:27.280 --> 00:02:32.080
And the thing about silent reflux is it's much harder to get on top of for obvious reasons.
00:02:32.159 --> 00:02:46.080
It is silent, you don't really see it, and therefore, lots of parents either don't know about it or potentially even dismiss it because they believe that you know, if it was reflux, they'd they'd be seeing a baby who was vomiting a lot of the time.
00:02:46.800 --> 00:02:54.560
So, two kind of different types of reflux, and I almost like to reframe it as regurgitation rather than reflux for that reason.
00:02:54.879 --> 00:03:09.120
Because when we talk about it on client calls, like I said, sometimes telling a client, like maybe there's a sort of level of reflux there, it can sound like either you're giving a diagnosis or you're putting a label on the baby, but the reality is it's just a symptom.
00:03:09.199 --> 00:03:15.520
So we're looking at your baby is experiencing some regurgitation, whether silent or otherwise.
00:03:15.759 --> 00:03:20.319
And if baby is experiencing regurgitation, we want to look at why that is.
00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:32.800
Now, there is of course the theory that it's it's kind of normal and babies will grow out of it, and it's all to do with the development of the muscle, which is an absolutely valid theory.
00:03:32.960 --> 00:03:52.800
Okay, and this is why, up until I would say five years ago, I've been working with babies with reflux for over 10 years now, but up until five years ago, the the kind of normal route, if you like, would be to go to the doctor and get some medication, and that was almost for most clients, especially when I was a nanny and I wasn't consulting as such.
00:03:53.039 --> 00:03:59.039
I would just be told baby has reflux, here's the medication, and maybe they're on a special milk and a special formula.
00:03:59.759 --> 00:04:14.960
What we know to be true now, and I think wellness has changed so much, health, well-being, you know, holistic advice on medical issues, if you like, has changed so much and has become more prominent in our worlds.
00:04:15.280 --> 00:04:29.920
What we now know for baby readfucks, in terms of my client base, I would say that there are two main causes, two big things that could be going on for your baby that could be contributing to their spitting up, their projectile vomiting, or their silent discomfort.
00:04:30.000 --> 00:04:33.839
And I say discomfort lightly because I don't want you to think they're in lots of pain.
00:04:33.920 --> 00:04:39.439
It could just be a little bit annoying and a little bit uncomfortable, and that is why they can't sleep quite often.
00:04:39.680 --> 00:04:41.920
So we want to look at two possible causes.
00:04:42.079 --> 00:04:52.240
We want to look at the two main causes being air intake, which we know to be um formerly known as aerophasia, which is essentially taking in air whilst they're feeding.
00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:57.120
Okay, so swallowing air whilst they're either breastfeeding or bottle feeding.
00:04:57.439 --> 00:05:00.959
Um, that's the first one we want to look at the first factor.
00:05:01.040 --> 00:05:08.079
The second factor being gut health, digestion, and/or allergies, and they are quite different.
00:05:08.160 --> 00:05:27.519
So a baby can have obvious allergies that could cause them to
Load full transcript
have reflux, and those could likely be for lots of the babies that we work with, they are delayed allergies, but they could also just have a really sensitive digestive system or a digestive system and a gut that was impacted by birth or antibiotics from mum or from baby.
00:05:27.759 --> 00:05:30.959
So we want to look at in your baby's history.
00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:32.399
First of all, we want to look at symptoms.
00:05:32.480 --> 00:05:33.120
So, what do we think?
00:05:33.199 --> 00:05:35.279
Does the baby have reflux or not?
00:05:35.680 --> 00:05:41.279
And if you're confused because you're like, well, they're not sick, but maybe because it just feels quite difficult.
00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:49.199
I would head to our website and download our free reflux symptoms checklist that has, I think, over 30 symptoms.
00:05:49.360 --> 00:05:53.279
They're also in my book, Your Positive Baby Sleep Book, which we'll find on Amazon.
00:05:53.439 --> 00:05:56.319
And what we want to look at is are they showing some of those signs?
00:05:56.399 --> 00:05:58.959
And they don't have to be showing all of them, it could just be five.
00:05:59.120 --> 00:06:06.399
Okay, but if you have an uncomfortable baby, you want to look at what are the symptoms, and then what are those symptoms pointing to.
00:06:06.639 --> 00:06:21.120
Okay, so for example, if you have a baby who has maybe mucus in their nappies, um, sometimes has green poos and has quite bad skin, I would likely be looking at the diet side of things first.
00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:26.879
So whether they're on formula or breast milk, is there anything that's bothering this baby?
00:06:27.040 --> 00:06:34.959
And therefore, that is in itself causing not only the gut symptoms of the mucus and the skin, but also the reflux that you think they're experiencing.
00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:42.720
So the symptoms around the obvious regurgitation help build a picture as to what's going on for that baby.
00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:59.199
If your baby is clicking on the bottle and having maybe very sort of frothy poo's or um struggling to burp, then maybe potentially we'd be looking at oral function and air intake.
00:06:59.360 --> 00:07:05.279
And when we look at air intake, we want to look at tongue tie, we want to look at tension, like body tension.
00:07:05.360 --> 00:07:10.879
So has baby been born with their shoulders up to their neck, and that kind of still is the case.
00:07:11.040 --> 00:07:26.639
And I used to see in my clinic when I had my office, I used to see babies come in, and I loved seeing them in person because the first thing I would notice is wow, like the shoulders are above the ears, they have no neckline, they have lots of creases, and they're still tense even at six, seven, eight months old.
00:07:26.800 --> 00:07:29.279
And it's working to release that tension.
00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:32.240
So air intake can be caused by lots of different things.
00:07:32.319 --> 00:07:52.079
Sometimes it's as simple as just a couple of visits to a cranial osteopath, other times it's a more complicated long-term program on looking at tongue function, maybe having a tongue tie release, possible lip tie, and going on a bit of a journey with exercises, which is not easy.
00:07:52.240 --> 00:08:01.920
Okay, so sometimes there is not necessarily, I think it's really difficult now not to think from all of the kind of commotion out there that there's not a magic fix to your baby's reflux.
00:08:02.240 --> 00:08:23.279
We often talk to clients who are coming to us for baby reflux about the idea of it being a journey and a journey within which sometimes it will improve quite quickly initially, but then there's like a longer-term outcome that we're working towards, especially with oral function, that's not going to happen really in the first six months and maybe even up to a year.
00:08:23.680 --> 00:08:38.080
So if we're looking at a baby who has, you know, even signs of colic, crying, arching their back, struggling in the evenings, what we want to check in on is what are the symptoms that we're seeing.
00:08:38.159 --> 00:08:59.840
So have a look at the symptom checklist, and also, therefore, you know, whilst making sure that there's nothing serious going on with a visit to your GP or your health visitor, at that point, then afterwards, if it's a sort of mild level of reflux, thinking about well, the two main causes are air intake and diet, and which one do I want to look at first?
00:09:00.000 --> 00:09:07.679
So I hope that's a really useful kind of quick but deep dive into the reasons for your baby's possible discomfort and reflux.
00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:14.960
And if you want to find out more, please do head to our online courses and also our consultations where we can help you in more detail.
00:09:15.840 --> 00:09:17.600
Thank you for listening to this episode.
00:09:17.679 --> 00:09:28.080
As a mummy of three and parenting coach, I really hope that you found the topics and advice shared in this episode useful and can pick out the information that feels and sits right for you.
00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:39.039
Don't forget to subscribe to be the first to hear about new episodes, and do head to our website positivelyparenthood.com to find out more about our online courses, consultations, and membership.
00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:40.639
See you next time.