HOW I FOUND OUT MY BABY HAD REFLUX

How I found out my baby had reflux

My baby was born with laryngomalacia.

He was in the NICU for 7 days n then in the hospital with me 7 d and he was sent home.

For the next week he was normal. Except for laryngomalacia and the resulting stridor which used to fill up our room

One night he started crying n had to be held in my arms even then he was crying hard

Then his burps changed. From what was normal n cute burp, at times, it sounded like an old man after a meal after which he cried even harder. When he pooped he passed lots of gas.

I showed him to a pediatrician with the hope that he could help my baby. The only thing he told me was to hold baby close while feeding and burping and basically everything which you are told before you leave the hospital.

I think he believed me to be overwhelmed being a new mother and I was but it was only because I hadn’t slept in three days. And at this point I was afraid I might fall asleep holding the baby and drop him.

Then after a week which I had help from family to look after him so I cud get some rest I took him to another doctor.

He told me that the baby could be having colic. That was the first helpful thing I had heard. At last I knew I wasn’t completely ignorant because with a baby that small you don’t know if you r doing something wrong and u always think that you are.

He gave me some digestive drops which helped a little baby was able to pass gases easier. But he still cried lots.

Me and my husband used to take turns and stay up at night n hold him. He used to spit up lots.

Then we showed him to another pediatrician this time abroad who after listening to symptoms suggested that he might have GERD. (gastro esophageal reflux disease)

He was put on colic aid i.e. Infacol in US to remove gas and zantac. She suggested that the tone of is sphincter muscle at junction of stomach and esophagus maybe weak allowing stomach contents to come up and cause burning which explained all the crying. That night I saw improvement.

She also told us which symptoms r typical.

He was spitting up whatever he was eating. Once he has a feeding the milk goes into tummy which is acidic. And then the spit up comes which irritates him.

I was given some more useful tips just as useful as the medication.

First was doing put him down immediately after feeding. Hold him in a sitting position for time well supported, or keep him in the car seat for a few mins.

The other tip was to elevate the bed by 30 degrees which help improved his sleeping time considerably. I had been having him sleep in the cot with all the  things removed except the sheet which was well fitted and as pillows were a big huge no no I hadn’t even been putting a pillow under his head. Now I learnt that having him lie down so flat may have aggravated his condition because then the contents of the stomach would have been able to travel up through his esophagus more easily making it more painful for his thus the crying whenever we put him down.

Also we were asked to increase the tummy time and that helped lots too.

We started having his all day time sleeping naps in tummy position, of course completely supervised. I can’t emphasize how important it is never leave the baby even for a bathroom break on tummy if u have to go then put him on his back before you leave.

Tummy time was supposed to help him pass gas

His feeding increased after we put him on meds. He started gaining weight more steadily and sleeping longer.

So if ur new born baby is crying uncontrollably then here r some things you can see for yourself I wish someone had told me.

Does your child sit more comfortably in the car seat ? Then this can be because his reflux doesnt give him issues in this position.

If he is doing chewing motions with him mouth like he is trying to eat after u has burped him or he has spit up in his mouth.

If he starts to cry when you keep him down then try elevating his head not with a pillow which isn’t advisable but by raising the head end of the crib or special sleeping wedge.

If he takes longer naps in his car seat or rocker this could also be a sign.

My baby had all this signs.

Some people told me I was coddling him that’s why he wasn’t laying on his bed. But he had no problems with his cot after the head end was elevated. So now I know this wasn’t the case.

I was also told that if I left in his crib long enough he will stop crying now I’m glad I didn’t do this because if I found out later that’s he was crying because it hurt him to lay down I would have been able to forgive myself for making him suffer.

Something I also heard was that some children just cry a lot and they will grow out of it. And maybe some do but try to rule out everything before you go there. The baby doesn’t have a voice its ur job to let it be heard. He could be just trying to let you know something. After a while after I knew the symptoms I learnt that the hungry cry the pain cry was very different.

Anyway if ur baby is crying try elevating his head.

Give more tummy time.

Supervised tummy naps

Try swaddling him usually if there is no problem most babies calm down.

There are many great videoes on swaddling on youtube.

I hope i helped your crying baby a little.

This is just my opinion and in no way medical advice.

MY BABY

MY BEAUTIFUL BABY 

The reason I am not able to blog is basically time. Even though I feel like I’m done with it I always come back to it.

So my baby is autistic. And he was diagnosed at 18 months. Which makes it an early diagnosis and I’m lucky.

He is very special to me. He is my life.

If I’m going to talk about it I guess I’ll start at the beginning. He was born premature.

34 weeks. He had laryngomalasia at birth which is a whole different story and also his gastric reflux which he hasn’t completely recovered from as well as his lactose intolerance and gluten sensitivity.

So his mile stones were late. His peads mentioned that this might be due to the prematurity

He was able to hold his neck at 3 months

He oohed n stuff but not a single word till now. But I know him now n we don’t need words. And I don’t know how I know. But fact remains I can’t wait to hear him say mommy.

Before I start I would mention I’m getting the best possible treatment I can from a developmental specialist, an occupational therapist n a child psychiatrist.

So basically what I want to say here is if you think your child might have a problem then go n have a check up with a developmental specialist.

There will be lots of people who tell u oh he is just late in developing and he will talk soon. He is high strung. Or even that some children just don’t listen.

I’m not saying that a child is never late in reaching his mile stones and some are so that’s why they all have a range.

What I’m saying is don’t ignore what your gut is telling you.

I took him to the pediatrician at nine months because he didn’t talk. I let myself be convinced that he was just late.

But deep down I wasn’t and I had that uncertainty so if u do just go see a specialist. An early diagnosis will set u free either way. If your child is jus lagging a lit behind good for u n your uncertainty is gone n if not n there is an issue it gives u the opportunity to tackle it ahead.

Most children I read were diagnosed when they applied for school etc. at about age 4.

If you think your child is having developmental issues, I’m sure this is not the first thing you have read and if u r reading this my advice is go and see a specialist. Don’t do what I did. Don’t look at questionaries’ online and try to answer cause although they might be helpful to some extent your feeling won’t change. Find the best developmental specialist, not the pediatrician and have a consultation. You don’t have to tell anyone. This is your child. And you are doing this for you as much as you are doing this for him.

THESE ARE JUST MY OPINIONS AND IN NO WAY MEDICAL ADVICE.

well long long time
i think i myself  has even started to believe ha i had stopped blogging
not that i was a serious blogger to begin with.
i want to do this because i love to share what i do
well my baby is born n i named him nooh
its like noah.. only nooh is how musims say it.
so here is a pic

and hes wearin somethin i made yayy

baby tunic tutorial

Baby tunic tutorial
Its probably gonna be a little loose when the baby is born but babies tend to grow at unexpected rates you cant really pinpoint an exact size
Some babies don't even need new born clothes they just skip to 3 month clothes
So now I'm making some baby tunics
its very simple to make once u get the pattern made
So here is how i made the pattern
 

Pattern making
Take an A4 paper again and draw a rectangle measuring 9in x 8 in on it

 
On the 9 inch line mark these point starting from one end measure 2 inch next to it measure 1 and half inch again two inch and then one and half inch

 
From the middle of the second two inch mark draw a line 4 inch long downwards

 
From the beginning of this two inch mark draw 2 and half inch straight down and then curve to meet at the end of the 4 inch line

 
On the 8 inch line to the left of where you started u can mark a one inch mark

 
This 8 inch line is going to be your folding edge
On the opposite 8 inch line mark a 3 inch point starting from the top

 
Now from the edge of ur second one n half inch mark to the 3 inch mark draw a curving line
Draw a little curve at the bottom too
 
Now cut the pattern
cut only along the outer red lines as shown and the orange neck line and the corrosponding base curve

 
 
Now im showing u where the beack neck is

 
Here draw a curve from the one inch mark to the end of the two inch mark as shown

 
The pattern should look as shown by now


fold at the 4 inch line all the way down

 
Carefully cut the sleeve this is where the pattern is folded now. cut out the back neck

 
so since the babys shoulders r not gonna be straight u need to put a little bit of a diagonal cut at the shoulder
Heres the shoulder with out cutting

 
Using a pen just draw a small sloping line to the shoulder

 
Cut along this line

 
now ur pattern is complete

 

Things that you need
Pre washed and ironed fabric half a yard
Matching cotton bias binding
Velcro 1/2 inch wide 2 inch long
Scissors
 

Cutting
Fold the material in half lay down your pattern at the folded edge and cut
 

Stitching
First line both arm holes with bias binding
Next fix both shoulders right sides together
Next u r gonna line the whole tunic with bias binding so start at the middle of the back
Go all around and end at the same place i just fold the last part of the bias inwards and stitch.
And then u hav to attach the velcro

I tried it two ways by using two one inch long pieces and then using one two inch long piece i feel that the later is better

 
and now you r done with an adorable cute tunic for ur baby or a friends baby or as a baby shower gift
ps. the last one i have used a stretchy material and snaps as fastening.  

baby shorts tutorial

baby shorts tutorial

now i have about two months left for my due date well less than two anyway.
Now i'm seriously getting my baby clothes project going. I think if don't my baby wont have any cool stuff when he comes. And by cool i mean stuff that's airy and comfortable. Not rock star hip hop cool
Anyway i got this really Soft and comfortable baby cotton from naares (that's the name of the shop here in male' btw male' is full of fabric stores since half the ladies in this place know how to stitch and every house probably has a sewing machine but this is the only place i can find cute baby cottons with cute prints. I don't want my baby to end up in plain color clothes. And i also found very soft cotton bias binding from the same place and some adorable little buttons which i would use later but just couldn't resist buying)
Anyway i don't know how to make a pdf file and i don't have the software. I know you would say well get the software. Well i would if i had any idea how to use it.
Anyhow ill try to tell u step by step how i created the pattern
You can have a look at the picture below
Since its for a new born baby you can use an A4 sheet make the pattern i know once u draw it its going to look huge but remember the babys nappy has to fit in it and i have left space at the top to make a fold for the elastic to go through and there is a half inch seam allowance on the sides
And also there is an extra one inch at the bottom for hemming

making the pattern

If u can get from the picture what i have done you dont need to read below. Just go ahead and draw pattern

Draw a 9 inch line on one side of the A4 sheet this is ur folding edge
Draw a horizontal line which measures 5 inch from the top of this line towards the oppsite edge of the paper

Now draw a 4 and 1/2 inch line from the bottom of the nine inch line towards the opposite edge
Now measure 6 inch from the top of the 9 inch line mark this point (the blue line)
Draw a horizontal line measuring 6 inch from the point(the perforated line as shown)
You should now have one vertical line and 3 horizontal lines
Draw one line from the end of the top line to meet the 6 inch line(orange line)
Now draw another line from the end of the 4 and half inch line to meet the 6inch line(green line)
Now u have a top and a bottom part of the pattern top being above the 6 inch line and bottom being below the 6 inch line
Now at the top part draw a curve from the middle of the vertical line to meet the end of the 6inch line
At the bottom draw a curve from the end of the 4 and half inch line to the end of the 6 inch line
your pattern is done now
You can cut it along the outer lines

Things you need
Pre-washed and ironed fabric
matching thread
sewing machine
Scissors
the pattern
Nine inch piece of thin elastic

Cutting
Fold the cloth in half
Align the folding edge and cut two piece
you are done with cutting

Sewing

I like to do the hemming first my machine is very old (my mother got it before i was born and im 28 now ) and it doesn't have free arm sewing if it did i think this would be the last thing i do
So for hemming the bottom i fold about 1cm twice press it down with a hot iron and stitch along the edge
Do for both pieces

Put the two pieces with right sides together
Now stitch the top part on both sides
Zigzag or serge to prevent fraying. I don't have a serger so zigzag it is.

Now open the shorts so that it looks like one, keep it right sides together still

Now do the crotch seam and zigzag

Now fold down the top twice (first fold about half a cm next fold about half an inch) and press down i can do this with out using an iron but if u feel u cant its better to fold and iron and then stitch close to the edge
Leave an opening for elastic
attach elastic to a safety pin and run through the top

Stitch ends together
your shorts are done
heres what i made

 this next one is the first one i made i think the legs r too long what i have shared with you is the second one i made with more room for the nappy

i also made one from material left over after making my onesie. if you look at my onesie post you will see the matching one.http://laucreates.blogspot.com/2011/07/baby-onsie.html

sorry i coudnt provide step by step stitching instructions. i plan to make more shorts so ill try and do that next time if anyone wants it.

Panty tutorial

Until now i have been wearing my pre maternity briefs i just keep them under my belly
But now they are becoming a little bit of a snug fit and i don't think i can use them till end of October

So i decided to make my own panties. i have tried to provide as much pictures as i can.
of u dont understand or need more instructions pls tell me.
this is my first tutorial so be patient with me i know its not perfect. hehe

Maternity panty or larger panty tutorial 

things u need 

One old pair of panties that's fitting u make sure its old and u don't mind getting rid of it as this one is going to act as a template
half yard of Jersey material new or old tshirts work really well too
elastic ribbon about 2 yards
A sewing machine
Scissors
Matching thread both with elastic and material the thread matching material should be used in the bobbin

How to cut

Cut your old panties along the seam lines
U will end up with 3 pieces of fabric

Now remove the elastic at the top and at the leg
 
Cut the front and the back from your fabric remembering to add about one and a half inch or so depending on how big you want it to be to the sides (the fabric should be kept so that the material stretches from side to side)
Now cut two pieces of the crotch pattern
U r now done with cutting


Stitching 

This is the trickiest part

The front of the crotch is smaller then the back just remember this unless u r making a thong in which case it would be the opposite

Lay down one piece of crotch material line the front piece to the front edge fold the hanging piece of the material and pin it in place as shown

repeat with back piece

Place the other crotch piece on top pin it down

Stitch both ends
Zigzag the edges not to prevent it from fraying but to give it more strength

Remove all pins

Pull out the front and back pieces from inside the crotch

Now is the easy part as long as u can do a zigzag stitch u r good to go

place the elastic at the legs and using a zigzag stitch attach it to the legs on both sides

Use a normal straight stitch to sew one side of the panty with right sides together

Attach the elastic on top starting at one open end and finishing at the other but this time stretch the elastic as u go sewing

Now stitch the unstitched side using a straight stitch with right sides togetheras you can see i hav attached the eastic at the top. i dont have a picture of this step.

Turn ur panty inside out and you are done

 you can use different colours of elastic and fabric and go wild with ur panty collection
since i got around a yard of fabric i did a few others

I found this really useful as i could never find the material or size i was looking for
i hope people find this help ful
if u want make regular panties this will work too
Also if u found or know other ways to make maternity undies i would like to knw abt that too

baby boy tshirt

next i decided to make some modification to the onesie pattern i used from omicreates and make some tops for my baby http://omi-creates.blogspot.com/2010/02/baby-boy-onesie-with-binding-tutorial.html
all i did was i just cut off the pattern from where the leg opening starts on the front and back and i had a pattern for a t shirt. i just added half an inch for hemming at the base

so heres what  ended up making

i just used a different material so the binding and the tie applique. at the base i have just folded and hemmed as this is stretchy material its not going to fray.

here i used the same material as the shirt for sleeves but at the base instead f hemming as i did with the first one i cut a 1 and half inch strip and followed the same procedure as i would do binding