Schedule for a child with reflux

[andulak]

Hello,
I would like to ask a question about creating the schedule. We have read the book carefully, we are planning to start the cure and we are thinking about the schedule now. Is it very important that the meals are this apart - 3 to 3 and half hours? I have a 6 month old boy with a very severe reflux (he has a seizure associated with reflux too) and according to my doctor, he should be eating more often and less amounts. Do you have any experience with children with reflux? The schedule I would like to introduce is:
7:00 wake up
7:30 breakfast
8:30-10:00 nap
10:30 feeding
12:00-14:00 nap
14:00 feeding
16:15-16:45 nap
17:00 feeding
18:30 bath
19:00 feeding
19:30 go to sleep

But I dont know if I shouldn´t make the intervals between the meals shorter, because of the reflux. What do you think? My child has had problems with eating from the beginning, he loves to eat and eats a lot, but during eating, he is in such discomfort. It´s better with vegetable puree, but it still continues. He was sleeping very well from the beginning, but cca a month ago he started to wake up during the night from 2 to 5 times. I know it can be much worse, but I am still worried, he looks so tired in the morning, I want him to sleep better. I think, that follow the cure won´t be that much of a problem, I am very motivated and my husband too, but I am a little worried about how we will manage to follow the schedule during the day. We travel a lot. But we will try our best.
Thank you for your advice,
Anna from the Czech Republic

[TorsMamma]

Hi and welcome!

We have had quite a few cure their child with reflux.

A few things to consider is… If you wish you can have food every 3 hours. However we recommend 3,5-4 hours except for the last meal that can come as close as 1 hour from the dinner.

Severe reflux children get medicated; do you have antacids for your child? Many get medicated with this. Many children get better as soon as real solid food gets into the picture. So give 2 meals and 2 oatmeals/porridge to help with reflux. However, he will need LOTS OF FOOD to sleep through the night.

I think your schedule looks just great for a start.

Also with reflux I recommend the child sleeping on his tummy, WITH and apnea alarm, with the head end of the bed raised by 7 cm. This to reduce the irritation in his belly and throat during sleeping.

He needs a room of his own that is pitch black.

Please try and stay home for the next 10 days so that you really have the cure in place. If you travel you will need to bring garbage bags or black sheets to make the room you are in pitch black and not be afraid to jingle HIGH in the middle of the night.

You can do it, you sound very motivated. Please read the book over and over again to ensure a successful cure.

Good luck!

[andulak]

Thank you for your quick answer!
No, my son doesn´t have a medication yet, we are trying to manage without so far, he has been sleeping on his tummy, with his bed elevated, it´s better I think, except for he moves a lot during the night and he gets stuck in the bottom of his bed and it wakes him up I think
I have one more question about the meals... I have just started to introduce real food (in the Czech Republic it´s recommended to breastfeed fully untill the age of six months), we eat only vegetables so far. I breastfeed him at 5 and then at 7 before he goes to bed, but last couple nights he refused to eat at 7. I think he had a stomachache, but I don´t know how to make him eat at night. I tried to make him more hungry, but he is very very cranky if he doesn´t get his meal at 5. I am not sure how to solve this problem, I know he will need a lot of food to sleep all night, but what to do when he doesn´t want to eat?
And about the travelling - of course we will stay home during the cure, I meant that I am worried how we will be able to keep the schedule after, in our normal rythme... but we will try.
Thank you again for all the information, your web site is very helpful!
Greeting from Prague,
Anna

[andulak]

I am sorry, I have one more question ... we use a baby watcher, because we have a big appartement and can´t hear him. There is a little blinking light. Can we still use it when he is supposed to have a complete black room? How are we supposed to do it otherwise?
Thank you again for your advice!:)
Good night (hopefully:)
Anna

[TorsMamma]

Hi,

With the cure in place he will have his appetite at all meals in the future. There is no food given at night when you do the cure. It is WHO how has the recommendations not to give solids before 6 months, but this is mainly for third world countries. So the stomach can most definitely take solids after 4 months. This is not a development thing but a political issue for WHO. So with that. Try to introduce a bit more food. Here in Sweden you can buy porridge to give for breakfast and dinner. And if you breast feed you do so after each meal or instead of a meal if you want to.

Example

Breastfeed and then porridge
Solid foods and BM (breast milk)
BM
Porrige and BM
BM and or a bottle.

One meal should have vegetables and a fruit dessert.

Even people who travel a lot are most of the time able to keep the schedule times except for certain travel days. You will make it I’m sure.

Regards to the baby watch the blinking lite will be no problem.

[andulak]

Hello!
Thank you again for your answer ...
I have one more question, I am just curious, what do you think, when a baby cries from his sleep? I haven´t started the cure yet (waiting for more days in row when we are all at home), but last couple nights we have been dealing with following situation: My baby boy knows very well how to fall asleep himself, I put him to bed, if he starts crying I go there, comfort him in bed, then leave, he usually falls asleep within couple minutes, the same during the day. But he wakes up many time during the night anyway (he doesn´t even want to eat ... actually I have no idea why he wakes up - why do you think, since he is able to fall asleep by himself?)... anyway last couple nights he started crying from his sleep. He wasn´t even awake, nothing helped, he couldn´t stop.
Does this ever happen to children in the cure? Does the cure help even with this kind of problem? Because he doesn´t have a problem to fall asleep, he is asleep, something is just bothering him and he is crying...
Sorry if it´s not clear. Thank you for your answer!
Anna

[TorsMamma]

Hi Anna,

If you read the whole book “a good nights sleep” you get your questions answered there. Yes, the cure will take care of this because it will make him feel secure. Now he doesn’t. Read the allegory “safari” in the book. It is all in the “attitude” and in the message you send with your energy.

I’m sure once you read the book a few times you will get lots of answers.

[andulak]

Hello!
Thank you for your advice, we have been very succesful with night sleeping, it´s really amazing!
I have just few more worries ... before, my baby boy woke up every time smiling and happy. Now, after the last nap, he wakes up crying and very very unhappy, he is crying until I give him food, which was planned at 17:30 (the nap lasts from 16:30 to 17), but I have to give him food as soon as he wakes up, otherwise he cries hearthbreakingly. Do you have any tips about that? He is also very very tired after the last nap, even though before I put him to sleep, hi is in great mood. The time before he goes to bed at night is though very difficult and tiring for all of us, I don´t know what to do about that.
Maybe I should write down our schedule, so you have an idea ...
7:00 wake up and breakfast
9-10:30 nap
10:30 lunch
12:30-14 nap
14 snack
16:30-17 nap
17 dinner
18:45 bath
19:30 milk and bed

One more question I have is about eating. My boy has been eating badly since he was about 4 weeks, but I managed to feed him enough of breastmilk. I am still breastfeeding (he is 7 months now), about 1 month and half ago I started to give him real food. Now he is eating vegetables and fruits, but very little. At the beggining he was eating them fine, but now he doesn´t want to eat them. I tried to give him porridge too, but he doesn´t want it either. I don´t know, what to do, I tried everything, but he just closes his mouth and turns and crawls away, or he cries his had off ... I was hoping it would improve after he got his night´s sleep, but it´s still the same. Maybe you could have some tips about that too?
I am sorry I am bothering you with something else than sleeping, but i am hopeless, trying to find some good advice.
Thank you in advance!
Anna

[andulak]

And one more thing ... I got hold of the book For the love of children, it´s really amazing. I am just wondering, the "standard model" of feeding you recommend, do recommend it at older children to (like 7 months?) Do you think that the feeding and changing altogether should last about an hour and half with a refill at the end? I am just thinking how to improve my child´s apetite ... thank you!

[TorsMamma]

Hi Again,

So lets talk about the schedule first.

The last nap is only 30 min and that is not a natural sleeping pattern (which is 5min, 20min, 45min, 1.5 h, an 2h) So if you were to change the last nap to 45 min perhaps he will feel better about waking up? And of course there is no problem feeding him directly he wakes up.

Also the total amount sleep needed for 7+8 months is 14.5 hours. So perhaps adjusting the schedule a bit would help the sleep over all.

Some children likes to be breastfeed before the meal because they are too hungry for regular food. While others like to be breastfeed after eating. Find out what works for you.

Also he is reaching the “I can do it myself” age so providing him with something to eat with his own fingers might help the eating. He should sit in a chair of his own AT the table. Not being able to crawl away. Avocado, Corn, Sweet potato (jams) are popular foods for many. Do you cook your own or buy readymade? Some like home cooking others bought.
Banana is a great fruit for the stomach of some children. Either in tiny tiny pieces he picks himself or mashed with a spoon.
You can always fortify the food with organically grown rape oil or salt free butter. Let him try eating a bit on his own, then he feels in control and you can feed him with a spoon while he is busy with his thing.

In Sweden you can by porridge from corn, rice or oatmeal. Please try different brands. Some will like some foods, some needs to try the same for days while others need new food every meal. My son would never eat the same food twice, but with 2 weeks away it was new and good again. Also you could try to introduce fish, meat and chicken, perhaps the food don’t taste enough?

For the love of children, my favorite book in the whole wide world!!

The standard model is for infants and small children. By the time they reach 4 months you have 1 meal take no more than 45 min including the breastfeeding. So don’t breastfeed outside your schedule. But you can always breastfeed in the beginning of 45 mins and at the end if you need to breast feed twice a meal.

[andulak]

Hello again,
thank you, I tried some of your advice and my son is now eating much better! It depends on his mood, if I breastfeed first or give him food first, but it works either way. He even ate a bowl of porrige twice
About the evening nap, we have tried to wake him up after 20 minutes, after 45, let him wake up himself, everytime he is just cranky ... the only time he is in a good mood is when we are outside and he wakes up and sees that we are somewhere else than home and that there is stuff going on So I guess we will see how it goes.
Thanks again and have a good night,
Anna

[TorsMamma]

Thank you and nice job!