infant acid reflux--cribs that allow baby to sleep head higher than feet

[Anonymous]

Hi, My newborn is having digestive issues that we are sorting out. The doctor thinks it might be acid reflux, and we are watching him closely the next few days, as well as trying home remedies (lots of burping, hold him upright after feeding.) Things are going better already, but he is still in some pain after feedings.

I read somewhere that having the baby sleep on an angled surface, with the head higher than the feet, might help. In fact, that is how the nurses at our hospital have babies sleep. However, I can't figure out how to get our co-sleeper and bassinet to do this. Any suggestions on DIY ways to get this sleeping angle for the baby, or bassinets that would provide such an angle? As always, thank you for the thoughtful and helpful responses I get from this group!

[Anonymous]

The problem is that the baby slides down when you angle the crib. Check out the Tucker Sling (http://www.tuckersling.com/). It worked very well for my refluxy baby. Good luck!

[Anonymous]

There are special sleep positioners for this (foam triangles, essentially, with little foam pillows on either side to keep db from rolling as well). You can get them online or at any major baby stores.

[efeldman]

We had the same problem. We just placed graded levels of towels under the mattress to angle it. Our son only slides down when he gets agitated and is about to wake up from sleep. He also went on medication and is so much better.

[Anonymous]

Don't know how practical this is for your particular situation, but we allowed our DD to sleep (for naps only) wedged in the boppy (gotta love this thing).
I was worried that she was going to get a crink her neck, but my DH convinced me that babies are fairly flexible and aren't nearly as rigid as adults and would be just fine. He was right - nap time was fantastic...for all 3 of us.

[Anonymous]

When baby is congested we put as pillow underneath one side of the mattress to elevate her head. She does generally slide down by the end of the night but that's okay -- she is still elevated a little towards the bottom and it takes hours before that happens. Once and awhile she slides slideways and then wakes up because she hits the side of the crib.