Infant Formula Contact Information

Next week I will be taking time off from writing my blog so that I can concentrate on my follow-up with formula companies.   (See my earlier post concerning DHA if you are new to my blog, titled "Something Fishy: Two Sides to DHA.")  In speaking with other GERD mothers, some of them have expressed interest in writing to formula companies as well, so I am including the primary contact information I could find for each of the three major US companies: Enfamil, Nestle, and Similac.

In writing, remember to stay positive.  My primary concern in writing is not to get the companies to eliminate DHA/ARA from formulas: instead, it is to ask that they offer a GERD-friendly alternative that either contains no DHA/ARA or that contains natural DHA/ARA.  If you wish to do the same, keep in mind that Enfamil already has begun to produce a toddler formula with tuna oil DHA, Nestle has a toddler fruit juice with tuna oil DHA, and Similac produces a hypoallergenic DHA/ARA-free Neocate formula for infants.  In addition, Enfamil still produces DHA/ARA-free formulas for Canada and other countries: it is only in America that these Enfamil formulas are no longer available.

1.  Enfamil:  Enfamil provides an online customer support with limited space to write.  They do respond rather quickly, however.  They also provide a snail mail address where you can write to follow up your online message or add more information.  The snail mail address goes directly to a division of Mead Johnson that deals with the nutritional components of their products.

Online Customer Support:

https://www.enfamil.com/app/iwp/B2CLoadContactFormInfo.do?BV_UseBVCookie=yes&csred=1&r=3442108093

Regular address:

Nutritional Medical Services

Mead Johnson Nutrition

2400 W Lloyd Expressway

Evansville, IN 47712-9920

2.  Nestle: The primary address I found for Nestle was traditional snail mail.

Nestle Good Start

Start Healthy, Stay Healthy Resource Center

445 State St.

Fremont, MI 49413-0001

3. Similac: Similac provides online customer support; however,  again the space to write is limited.  They also provide an email address where you can send a longer, more detailed message.

Similac Online Customer Support

https://similac.com/contact-us?utm_content=similacprime

Similac Email Address

rosswebmaster@abbott.com 

My best wishes to you, if you choose to write.  I will report back later on the responses I receive, to keep you informed.

Colic and GERD

When my daughters were first diagnosed with GERD, many people--both professionals and nonprofessionals alike--would roll their eyes and say, "GERD is just another word for colic.  Babies cry.  What's the big deal?  Get used to it!"

Our pediatrician was hardly in agreement.  Colic, he informed me, may have once been an "umbrella term" for a variety of conditions yet unknown and undiagnosed.  Acid reflux may have indeed been a condition caught under the umbrella of colic before doctors and researchers knew what it was.  Still, in his own words, "Acid reflux is ten times worse than colic."

What does that mean?

Colic is often diagnosed using the "Rule of 3's."  I have seen different variations of the Rule of 3's, but the following is pretty standard:

The baby cries for more than 3 hours a week
for more than 3 days a week
for more than 3 weeks in a row
or up to 3 months.

Using simple math and applying it to the cries associated with GERD would create the following "Rule of 30's:"

The baby cries for more than 30 hours a week
for more than 30 days a month
for more than 30 weeks in a row.


I realize this sounds ridiculously extreme, but from my own experience, the "Rule of 30's (or 10 x worse than colic)" had some surprising accuracies.  In their first few months, there were days when each of my girls cried for 8-10 hours in a row.  Although this incessant crying decreased after a few months, it returned at 18-20 months,  when my girls both clocked 9-10 hours of straight crying (usually during the night) brought about by reflux triggered by teething anxiety.

Of course, the first 3-4 months are always the worst, for GERD babies and colicky babies.  But whereas colicky babies grow out of their troubles, GERD babies sometimes do not.  Acid reflux can stay with an individual throughout life, flaring up and causing pain due to a variety of triggers, from food to anxiety, illness to teething.

Now, my purpose in this post is not to argue whether GERD or colic is worse: the truth is, they are both difficult to handle, they are both medical issues, and they share some similarities both in symptoms and treatments.  Because my girls' reflux is currently controlled through diet and natural remedies, and because reflux is most likely genetic, I am always on the lookout for new products that are natural, safe, and effective for infants.

And so I am posting the links to two tummy bands designed with colic in mind.  If used correctly on a GERD baby, keeping the tummy elongated rather than scrunched up tight, I imagine they will also prove beneficial.  My thoughts here circle back to the encouragement of homeopaths and therapists who recommend the gentle pressure of massage on the tummy and the vagus nerve.  Again, I have no personal experience here: only keen interest.

The first band, the Lull-a-Band, was designed by a mother and an International Relief worker, both looking for a simple and effective way to comfort babies with the pain of colic.  It works by applying gentle pressure to tummies that are bloated with gas and constipation, both of which can be also present with GERD babies.

Lull-a-Band
http://www.nocolic.com/



The second band, the Happi Tummi, includes a microwaveable pouch that can be inserted into the band.  The pouch serves two purposes: first, the warmth helps to soothe and relax the baby's abdominal muscles, and second, the warmth helps to release the aromatic oils designed to soothe and comfort.  Because warm baths and aromatic oils have at times had a positive effect on my girls, I am intrigued by the Happi Tummi's design.  My only caution, of course, would be to make sure you do not "over-microwave" the pouch, and always, always, always check its warmth before strapping it onto the baby!!  If it is too warm to your touch, don't put it anywhere near the baby!!  (You can also use the Happi Tummi band without the microwaveable pouch.)

Happi Tummi Natural Relief
http://www.happitummi.com/

Night-Time Woes and Sleep Positioners

My girls are finally sleeping through the night.  At least, they were prior to this past weekend when they picked up colds.  But for the past month, the nights they slept outnumber the nights they didn't, so that is good news indeed.

Mind you, my girls are 2 and 3 years old.  If you are a GERD mama, you understand the importance of this milestone.  Six months ago I thought there was no end in sight to the nightly drama that occurred in our home.  I pored over all the books recommended by pediatrician and librarian alike, and defended myself to well-meaning friends and strangers who insisted my children would sleep if I just ignored them and let them "cry it out" at night.  The trouble is, the "cry it out" method doesn't work for children with acid reflux.

Think about it.  In a perfect world, the "crying periods" are supposed to gradually decrease from 15-20 minutes at a time to no crying at all, assuming the child is happy, healthy, dry, fed and comfortable.  This method is completely at a loss for what to do with children who have a disease, who are hurting and can't breathe, who cry for 8-10 hours at a time because their pain and fear are so significant.

My first daughter's silent GERD was so severe we couldn't lay her down for even short periods of time because she would aspirate her reflux, choke, stop breathing, and turn purple.  Several times a day and through the night this would happen for her first few months of life.  It got to a point where I was scared to go to the bathroom when I was home alone with her during the day.

Night-times were especially hard.  Our pediatrician was sympathetic to our dilemma.  Because of the Back-to-Sleep campaign as well as legal reasons, he could not recommend that we put her to sleep on her tummy.  But because of her history of choking and her increased risk of SIDS due to her reflux, we couldn't put her on her back, either.

So we held her over our shoulder at night, taking shifts sitting in a recliner so everyone could catch some sleep.  It wasn't ideal, but it worked.  It was the only thing that worked.  Car seats and motion swings scrunched her tummy up tight and contributed to her reflux.  Propping her mattress inevitably resulted in her turning around so her legs were elevated instead of her head.  And so we took shifts until we felt she was old enough to go to sleep on her tummy.

My second daughter had an easier time finding her position at night.  Since she began lifting her head and rolling over when she was less than two weeks old, I had no problem at all putting her on her tummy to sleep.  I even let her sleep in bed with me at an early age, and she would snuggle into my arm and prop herself up, as if she knew that were the best position for her to sleep.

Of course, getting GERD babies to an age where they can sleep comfortably and safely on a pillow doesn't automatically guarantee they will sleep through the night.  GERD babies often have a higher incidence of enlarged tonsils and adenoids, sleep apnea, asthma, and night terrors, as my household knows all too well through experience as well as reading.  Most of the literature I've read regarding these issues pinpoint four years as the target age for children with these issues to sleep through the night.  In perspective, then, my girls must be early learners, rather than late bloomers!

I used to tell my husband I was going to "invent" a GERD baby sleep positioner: one that would elevate the baby or enable the baby to be harnessed into an upright tummy position to reduce their pain and their risk of aspiration and SIDS.  Of course, someone beat me to it!  (In all probability, the Tucker Sling may have already been in production, but I was unaware of it at the time and no one recommended it to me--one of those situations where ignorance is probably not bliss!)

The Tucker Sling
The Tucker Sling comes in a variety of sizes from newborn up to 30 pounds, and it can also be custom-made to fit your child.  The sling itself is a safety harness that secures your child if you prop the mattress to the 30 degree angle recommended for acid reflux babies.  The sling is apparently versatile enough that you can position your baby on his or her back, tummy, or side.  You can also buy a wedge to secure the baby to instead of propping the mattress.  The sling-wedge combination fits into pack-and-plays rather than standard crib sizes, so make sure you order the correct size.  Many insurance companies also now cover the cost of the Tucker sling.
http://www.tuckersling.com/default.htm

The Nap Nanny
The Nap Nanny was designed by a mom.  (Yea, moms!)  It is a foam positioner that elevates the baby while nestling the baby into a comfortable position and securing him in place with a 3-point lap belt.  Although it is similar in style to a car seat or motion swing, the elevation is not as high, eliminating the pressure on the tummy that is so problematic for reflux babies.  Plus, it is easy to transport and can be used in cribs, pack-and-plays, or on a blanket on the floor.  In all honesty, this is quite similar to the design I had in my head, so I am happy to see another mother had the same idea that I did!  I do not know if insurance companies yet cover it, but it is always a good idea to check just to make sure.
http://napnanny.com/the_napnanny.html

What to do for a Cold?

"My nosy!  My nosy!  My little nosy hurts!"  So cries my two-year-old, now that we have all come down with a cold.  This is the first time since we began daily elderberry that the girls have been sick.  Normally, a cold would trigger a high fever in my older child and an even higher fever in my younger child.  Fortunately, they are fever-free.

But what to do about those stuffy, runny noses and the corresponding chapped faces?  How to help them breathe?

Traditionally, our medical advice has been to try children's cold medicines and antihistamines.  We have discovered, however, that with our younger daughter--the one with the acid-induced asthma--the use of antihistamines triggers stridor.  (This appears to be the case with both diphenhydramine, commonly known as Benadryl and loratadine, commonly known as Claritin.)  Plus, with the recent scandal of cold medicines and antihistamines not being suitable for children under the age of 4 or 6, I wanted to find something I could rely upon with confidence for children in their age group.  But having GERD is tricky, and several of the herbal remedies for cold and flu that are on the market specifically say avoid use in a child with acid reflux.

So what to do?

Today we switched from straight elderberry to Nature's Way Sambucus (Elderberry) for Kids.  In addition to the elderberry syrup, it also contains echinacea and propolis, products which boost the immune system and enable the body to fight viral infections more successfully.  While the straight elderberry is great for daily maintenance, the Sambucus for Kids is designed for more intense treatment during a period of illness.  So far, so good.  The girls like the flavor (of course) and are currently sleeping.  The ever-flowing fountains that were their noses seem to be slowing down.

Of course, I am also using beeswax chapstick and lavender/rosemary baby chest rub, and I would have been using a humidifier if it hadn't broken.  The truth of the matter is having a cold is miserable, particularly for small children whose sinuses are so tiny to begin with.  And my girls typically get knocked down with a cold for 8-14 days.  No fun for anyone!  Whatever I can do to help make them feel better is worth a try, and anything I can do to cut the duration of the cold in two is even better.  We'll see how the Sambucus for Kids works.  It may just turn out to be a Best Pick after all...

Gonna Spit on GERD

I met another GERD mama yesterday who also has two preschoolers with acid reflux.  Like mine, she has one with silent and one with traditional GERD.  I always find it encouraging when I meet other GERD mamas, because for so long I felt like I was wrestling through acid reflux issues with my children alone since all of the pediatric GERD support groups in my area had apparently gone MIA.

This is perhaps why I was so excited to discover PAGER and the "Spit on GERD Campaign."  Not only is PAGER a great online resource of information and encouragement, but their research is ongoing, particularly in relation to family history and the Chromosome 13 link.  Last week I contacted PAGER to ask for more information, and I received a timely and friendly response encouraging me to "enlist" my family in the "Spit on GERD Campaign," especially since there are at least 5 people in 2 generations in my family with the disease.  All that is required is a sample of saliva collected, labeled, and returned to the Allegheny research group conducting the study.

For more information about the study and how you can be involved, check out the following link:
http://centerforgenomicsciences.org/research/flyer.html

Gingerbread Cookies

My goal is to add one blog post every day during the work week; however, today is one of those days when I am tired and feel I don't "have it in me" to tackle a lengthy subject.  Plus, spring feels like it is just around the corner, and I know my girls and I can use some play time together.  So in lieu of "information," I am going to suggest an activity that is both fun and practical for GERD toddlers: baking gingerbread cookies.

Gingerbread cookies may sound like a Christmas treat or an old-fashioned old wives' tale, but they really are a fantastic food considering the random vomiting that sometimes occurs with GERD children.  I've been baking gingerbread with the girls since they were old enough to eat solid foods.  Not only do we have fun spending time and baking together, but when we're done the girls have a snack they enjoy eating and helps to settle their sensitive tummies in between meals.  (Gingerbread and apples--or applesauce--makes a great snack for GERD toddlers.)

You don't even have to be a Betty Crocker and make the cookies from scratch.  Just use a gingerbread cookie mix from the baking aisle, or use a box of gingerbread with a cookie recipe conversion on the package.  Of course, regular gingerbread works just as well as gingerbread cookies, but my girls prefer the cookies.  After all, it's so much more fun to roll and cut than simply mix and pour!

So bake a box of gingerbread cookies and spend some time having fun with your GERD baby!!!

Physical Causes of GERD

 Some people think I am obsessed with GERD.  Maybe I am.  My husband and I always said we wanted 3-4 children.  Right now we have two, and both of them have "moderately severe" GERD.  We are fortunate that they never had to be hospitalized or be given feeding tubes, but that didn't mean we didn't face challenges.  We had challenges--lots of challenges--and the GERD is still there; it's just under control--for now.  And since I couldn't find any support groups in my area or any other GERD parents to connect with at the time we were dealing with the "crisis" symptoms, I had to do a lot of reading on my own--especially when it became clear that the Prevacid was doing more harm than good.

Of course, one of my first questions was "Why do they have GERD in the first place?  What caused it?"  Believe it or not, some people told me they thought God was  punishing me for something I had done by giving me two children with moderately severe GERD.  To those people, I could only respond by saying my daughters were blessings--and that God had given them to me because He apparently trusted me to be able to handle their specific needs, even if I didn't trust myself!

Others told me that since my girls had every outward appearance of being healthy, I must be imagining their symptoms or (even worse) inflicting the symptoms upon them by my care of them.  To those people, I could only watch my cries of "You're wrong!  You're wrong!  You're wrong!" fall upon deaf ears.

Because I was dealing with my own physical pain from pregnancy complications and follow-up surgeries as well as post-partum depression, there were times when I indeed wrestled with self-doubt, but that is another story.

For today's post, suffice it to say that GERD is a real disease.  Some babies will outgrow their symptoms after 1-2 years; others will have to manage theirs throughout their lives.  To keep GERD in balanced perspective, here are the current theories as to its cause in infants:

1.  Genetics: One study links it to autoimmunity; another links it to a defect in Chromosome 13.  Studies in both camps are ongoing.  GERD with a genetic cause is most likely a chronic (long-term or lifelong) condition.  For more information on the study relating GERD to Chromosome 13, please refer to the following link:
http://www.post-gazette.com/healthscience/20000719gerdstudy1.asp

2.  Hiatal hernias: The presence of a hernia can be established through medical imaging and treated accordingly.  This type of GERD may or may not be chronic.

3.  Presence of labor-inducing drugs during birth: The natural health professionals I have consulted agree that the use of labor-inducing drugs seem to have a correlation with infant GERD.  They believe the stronger contractions associated with labor-inducing drugs can cause injury to the baby such as hiatal hernias or vagus nerve damage.  I have not found medical research to support this, and neither have the doctors whom I have consulted, whether pediatricians or OB/GYNs.  That doesn't mean it can't be true, though, since homeopathic and medical research hardly ever cross.  It certainly makes sense to me, so I offer it simply as something to consider.  Genetics can't be changed: methods of childbirth can, so if you feel your child is already at risk of having GERD, an induced labor may be something you wish to avoid if at all possible.