Newborn Advice (specifically colic and reflux) 2

Part 2 of an email I sent to a mom who was in desperate need of some help.
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Reflux:

- First, go to http://www.marci-kids.com/ right now. Read about how to administer Zegerid. Do the dosing calculator and read the research. Make sure your son is on the right dose. If your doc won't go with the MARCI recommended amount, switch doctors. Trust me. I didn't have MARCI information with my first. My second and third were on (and Emily is still on Zegerid) the correct amount and it really matters.
- To clear up the instructions, for Zegerid it's like this: you use the same amount of Zegerid and mylanta for each dose. I use the CVS brand (mylanta is almost obsolete anymore) of the antacid (no aluminum). So, for Emmy, she now gets 2.5 mL Zegerid and 2.5 mL mylanta in a syringe that I slowly squirt into an empty nipple and let her suck it out of. She gets this 3x a day. I make 4 days worth in a little baby food jar and store it in the fridge. You can keep it in anything you like. The MARCI site recommends using a large oral syringe and putting all of the Zegerid and mylanta you'll need for one day in there and dosing from it. You can go with whatever makes your life easier.
- Second, go to http://www.infantreflux.org/forum/.  You'll spend hours and days on there.
- Get Dr. Brown's bottles if you aren't nursing. If you have them, great. If not, trust me. They make a huge difference.
- Put the crib at an angle. UNDER the mattress, put some folded blankets or whatever to make it at a 30% angle. Use a sleep positioner to stop him from sliding down. (I have one from the NICU that makes into a horse shoe shape and is awesome. The babywise lady got one when she had her own NICU baby and has figured out how to duplicate them. I don't know the cost, but if you are going to have more kids, they are a super investment.)
- Put the changing table pad at an angle. I fold a bunch of receiving blankets and make two towers and put them under the big mattress/pad thingy. Way less mess.
- Use the bouncer for naps and the swing, too.
- Reflux babies sometimes need to sleep on their tummy. My GI specialist told me this. Of course, I was worried, but he said if you have a swaddled baby, on a clean and tight fitted sheet with no other pillows or blankets, odds are in your favor. I guess the original SIDS information came from a group of kids in New Zealand who slept on animals furs and would suffocate. Anyhow, you might have a tummy sleeper on your hands.
- You can give your son Mylanta (CVS generic, whatever) for additional guarding or flares. 1/4 tsp. up to 5x a day. Will make loose stools, but nothing you aren't dealing with already.
- This sounds awful, but sometimes those little ones have a hard time pooping. They don't have a lot of substance and their little bodies are just figuring it all out. We would give ours suppositories to help. Ours were on elemental formula, too, which had almost zero waste. They would struggle and get so frustrated they would stop eating. The suppository gives them something to bear down on. Use vaseline and only one at a time, but you can use up to 12 a day. We have had to use as many as 10 a day. One at each feed. They would eat better, and then poop and be happy. I know, you probably think I'm a freak. My GI specialist told me about this and he was right.