Reflux and milk allergies definitely impact the way your baby feeds. As you may be able to imagine an irritated throat and esophagus make for painful swallowing. When your baby is in pain it does not feel like eating and it will grimace and push the bottle or the nipple away. The baby then remembers it is hungry and tries again. This cycle repeats itself for half an hour to an hour until either the parent or the child becomes so frustrated that they give up.

As the child’s intake of food is impaired the parents try to compensate by feeding the baby sooner than is normal. However the feeding pattern of trying and grimacing and pushing away followed by long bouts of crying just continues.

Colic caused by reflux is actually quite likely if you notice an improvement in your baby’s feeding habits at nighttime. When babies with sever reflux esophagits are half asleep they feed better because they are all out of fight and they are more relaxed.

Strange as it may seem voracious feeding, which means the baby feeds in a fast and furious manner is also a symptom of infant reflux. These babies will act as if they haven’t been fed in days and make squeaking and slurping noises as they suckle.

You will also probably notice that babies with reflux have a lot of gas. Gas comes from the baby swallowing too much air when they are suckling. When a baby with GERD fusses too much around a human or bottle nipple the air creates a gas filled belly. This in turn leads to the pain irritability and crying that is associated with colic.

As gas makes it way through the intestinal tract bowel movements may seem difficult for the baby. Simethicone drops such as Mylicon which typically break up tiny air bubbles can help break up the air bubbles that cause pain.

Chronic irritability is a common symptom in the baby with reflux and milk allergies. As acid washes up into esophagus and throat repeatedly the lining of the esophagus can become inflamed. This is called esogphagitis. With each subsequent reflux even the baby will experience chest and throat pain that makes the cry and cry

the colic is due to colitis then your baby will not like to be on its back.

There is a good anatomical reason for this. The esophagus connects to the stomach closer to the back than the front. When a child is on her back this allows for fluid and stomach contents to flow backward and collect over the LES.

As that LES valve opens milk and stomach acid can pass freely into the esophagus causing discomfort and other symptoms.

As a general rule the irritability that comes with colic caused by esophagi is worse after meals, accompanied by regurgitation and when lying down. The baby may also arch its back, stiffen its legs and turn its head to express that it is in agony. If your baby is doing this convince your doctor to check it for an acid reflux problem.

All babies spit up as part of their normal pattern of feeding but how do you tell when a baby is really sick with a colic or in great pain from an acid reflex problem? Actually, all babies have reflux to some degree. On one end of the reflux spectrum are normal babies who just spit up a little bit. On the other hand are babies who are absolutely sick with reflux – that are losing weight, pale and listless.

One of the telltale signs of reflux-induced colic is a baby who vomits. This is different than a baby who is just spitting up. Vomiting works more muscles and is harder on the baby’s stomach.

Seventy percent of babies spit up and it is normal. However what is considered normal and how do you tell the difference between spitting and vomiting?

The technical term for spitting up is regurgitation and it represents the passive flow of stomach contents up through the esophagus and out the mouth. It occurs when the valve above the stomach relaxes at the same time pressure is produced around the stomach.

There are several types of spit up and all of them are normal and are NOT indications of GERD or colic.

Spit up that looks like clabbered is normal. This spit up looks like white cheesy material and is no cause for concern. It is partially digested milk curds. It is acrid smelling but normal.

It is also normal for babies to spit up through their noses. It is part of the normal GER process and just means that the regurgitating material decided to back up into the sinuses to discharge instead of flowing thought he mouth.

It is also quite typical for spit up form babies to contain mucus. The stomach contains mucus that helps lubricate and move the intestinal contents along. Mucus can also comes from sinus drainage.

Many parents also become concerned if a baby spits up two or three hours after eating. This too is normal.

Vomiting is a little different than spitting up because from a physiological perspective it is a lot harder on the body then just spitting up. Vomiting involves retching, gagging and choking for the baby. This is why vomiting is a little more serious.

Some babies just vomit in the weeks after being born and it does not necessarily indicate any kind of problems.

There is something wrong with your baby if it is unable to feed and gain wait, if the vomit contains yellow bile or if the baby has distension of the tummy or poor skin color. If these symptoms are persistent you should take the baby immediately to a doctor.

Despite the fact that all babies experience hiccups from time to time, babies with colic caused by reflux tend to experience them moor frequently.

It is important to add that infants don’t necessarily have to regurgitate or vomit to have. However if your baby is vomiting or burping it is likely caused by reflux.

Before you can understand GERD you need to comprehend what GER is.

GER is describes a continuous every day normal function. Very simply, gastro esophageal reflux (GER) describes the physiologic condition in which stomach contents come back up from the stomach into the esophagus. It is a physiologic process, which means it is normal. In fact all babies have reflux and so do you. It is normal for the stomach to occasionally push its contents up into the esophagus briefly every now and then. It is how often that the stomach does this that makes it a painful thing.

In a healthy baby GER doesn’t cause problems. The acid that makes up the refluxed material can irritate the esophagus and upper airway so much that symptoms develop.

When symptoms interfere with a baby’s day-to- day activity reflux is referred to s gastroesoophageal reflux disease (GERD). Doctors may refer to it as pathologic reflux.

The difference between GER and GERD is key. It helps us discriminate between a normal function and an abnormal one. Babies with GER spit up but don’t suffer any consequences. This is your average happy, healthy growing baby with wet burps.

On the other hand babies with GERD typically face problems relating to feeding, growth or breathing as a consequence of their reflux. These are typically identified, as sick babies ho need medical attention. So while all babies have some degree of GER fewer suffer from GERD.

Everyone including you and your baby experiences reflux during the day. However as an adult you do not need a burping cloth.

Babies’ reflux is due to elements of infant physiology and anatomy, which may lead some credence to Dr. Harvey Karp’s theory that there is a “fourth trimester” that a baby experiences outside the womb. (Karp is a very famous contemporary pediatrician whose advice is dutifully followed by many parents.)

The theory is that usually a faulty stomach valve causes GERD. It is faulty in a baby because it has yet to develop.

This valve in question is at the bottom of the esophagus. It is a ring of muscles called the lower esophageal sphincter (LES) that helps keep stomach contents where they belong.

In babies the LES does not stay squeezed closed. When this happens stomach contents are allowed to flow back into the esophagus. By the time a baby is six weeks old these muscles grow stronger and less regurgitation is likely.

The fact that reflux can go on more than one or two months o face tells us that reflux is due to more than just a LES issue.

On of the major factors contributing to reflux in infants is the delayed emptying of the stomach. Under normal circumstance a liquid meal should be gone from a baby’s stomaching approximately a half an hour to an hour. During the first months of a baby’s life the stomach can be inefficient at emptying and milk has a tendency to sit in the stomach longer than it should. This is because the baby just has slower intestinal motility and there is nothing anyone can really do about it except cope with it and be tolerant until the baby’s digestive system is more mature.

You’ve heard about this but you never thought it would happen to you. You are the proud brand new parents of a miserable, inconsolable newborn who does not stop screaming and who can’t sleep and can barely feed! So much for the joys of parenthood

Sleepless nights are spent in complete sacrifice to try and remedy your child’s numerous complaints and problems but those few moments of peace that you long for just never seem to come. Days run into weeks and you wonder how you could possible be such a rotten parent what you did to cause this.

Then you get the diagnosis from your pediatrician and uh oh – it’s colic. Most parents have the right to dread this diagnosis simply because the word “colic” is one of those throwaway diagnosis like fibromylagia or personality disorder. It has no meaning and a multifarious number of meanings at the same time. It is also a diagnosis that means “it’s nothing” while at the same time being a big deal that could keep you up at night and worried at night for as long as two years.

The first thing you need to realize is that colic is not your fault. It is one of those random acts of Mother Nature rigged to make you feel guilty but it its occurrence has nothing to do with you.

Colic is a condition that can sometimes only be managed rather than cured. Sometimes your doctor is reluctant to tell you this at first. After weeks of dealing with a cranky kid you might still be hoping that somehow that the next visit to your pediatrician can help you fix the colic. After three or four visits you are definitely going to get the impression that you are getting the bum’s rush out of the doctor’s office. You might even hear the line “We’ve done all we can do.”

The best thing you can do for you and your baby is drop any kind of self –blame or negative self talk and realize that your child is in crisis and that you need to weather it through with him or her. Colic is the result of bad parenting, a lack of love or bad karma. It “just happens” just like that other four letter word that starts with an S.

You need to keep in mind that for decades down that any time a kid screamed it was called colic. In fact all colic really means is a baby that is fussy because it is irritable.

Keep in mind that colic was never really defined. It was just a catchall phrase that was coined in an era when doctors did attribute cranky baby behavior to irresponsible parenting, spoiling the baby and all types of causes.

In a way it is an exciting time to have a baby who has colic because it is actually an area of infant care that is being revolutionized. The old theories are no longer being subscribed to and your problem is being considered more seriously not only by allopathic doctors but also by and alternative practictioners.

Colic is a fifty-year-old term for an irritable baby and there is not even a real scientific way of diagnosing it. Some doctors will diagnose it if the baby will not be put down to go to sleep, which is ludicrous if you consider the entire medical, psychological, and other factors that could be causing a baby to be sleepless.

Other doctors will employ what is called the White Noise Rule. The diagnosis is confirmed if the baby settles down after listening to some kind of loud droning sound such as a vacuum cleaner or hair dryer. The diagnosis in effect comes after the cure has been established.

It is only lately that both the medical community and the general public understand colic a little better.

Recently, with the creation of pediatric gastroenterology as a specialty in children’s medicine, the causes and cures for colic have been better understood. Believe it or not this is a specialty of gastroenterology that only became recognized by the American Board of Medical Specialties in 1988. Since then smaller endoscopes that can help diagnose what goes on inside a colicky baby’s belly has been developed and so have pediatric versions of common medicines to treat some of the physical symptoms of colic including nausea, gas and diarrhea.

In the last decade or so many cases of colic are thought to be caused by acid reflex. This is the backflow of stomach acid into he esophagus. This is the muscular tube that carries food and drink to the stomach. Using fiber optic endoscopes doctors have been able to detect that acid reflux does exist in colicky babies.

Advancements in infant nutrition have also led to the development of hypoallergenic formulas that became available for common use in the early 1990s. This has revolutionized the care and feeding of the infant with severe allergic disease. Endoscopic technology has also now allowed doctors to “see” an intestinal allergy on a television screen.

When breastfeeding causes colic, manufacturers are learning to make a formula that benefits babies who can’t breast feed. Formulas that were once nothing more than a vehicle for protein, fat and carbohydrate now sometimes contain long-chain fatty acids that have been show to improve visual and cognitive function in infancy and beyond. In essence they become super formulas that are more than a substitute for mother’s milk.

Pediatric over-the-counter drugs have also evolved for use in children. There are now safe, effective antacids for children and all kinds of gas drops and gripe waters on the market that are safe, effective and can provide your child with great relief.

The bottom line is that you need to realize that a cranky colicky baby is just that. There is no real definition for colic and even the medical community is not sure what it is. All you can do is try every avenue that you can to try and solve the problem.