Reflux seat/angle?

Unregistered · Jun 11, 2009

Hello! My very big 5 mo old (26" and 17 lbs) has terrible reflux. When we put him into car seat, he first turns into a human plank, refusing to bend into the seat, and then, once in, cries in misery. He takes reflux meds, but the curve of the seat (a Britax roundabout) seems to be crunching him a bit in the middle. (or so his cries suggest)

Two questions: first, how can I tell if the seat is at the right angle? Our graco had a little meter/gauge built in, but nothing like that on our roundabout.

Second: any suggestions on a narrow-ish seat (we're squeezing this into a subaru forrester next to a booster) that might be more comfortable?

many thanks!

Mama! · Jun 11, 2009

Ugh. I remember this problem with my severe refluxer.

Too upright and he was crunched and vomited, too reclined and he screamed anyway.

I really don't remember finding a perfect solution

If the reflux is bad enough it'll bug them no matter what.

If you can install the seat then post a picture of it, someone here can guesstimate the angle for you.

ajanes · Jun 12, 2009

We have this issue as well. Honestly, there is not a lot you can do. At least not that I have found. DS is doing better in his Blvd, than in the infant seat. The infant seat was not our friend. I don't really have any answer other than maybe having someone guess on the angle. I just always make sure that I put a bib on DS and but it on over his harness. This seems to help keep the constant spit-up off of the harness. Sorry I don't have anything more to help you.

ajanes · Jun 13, 2009

I forgot about this product I had seen. I'm sure it's a big no as it is an aftermarket but I'll post it in hopes one of the techs can chime in:
http://www.pollywogbaby.com/item--preemie-car-seats--HUGMEJOEY.html

mommycat · Jun 15, 2009

I don't really have any tested tips but good luck, and hopefully your baby will outgrow the reflux quickly!

I would think these might be things to try:
Try not to travel on a full tummy.
Use a pacifier in the seat, as swallowing might help?

Getting the seat in at the right angle: The seat you have can be installed anywhere between 45 degrees (necessary for young babies to keep airways open) to as upright as 30 degrees from the vertical. You could try to change the angle of the seat to see if he prefers it one way over another. If you fold a piece of paper diagonally you can gauge the 45 degree angle as shown here: http://www.carseatsite.com/reclineangle.htm To estimate 30 degrees, you want to be 1/3 closer to vertical than 45 - you could take a protractor and mark the angle on your paper and fold that part under.

ajanes said:
I forgot about this product I had seen. I'm sure it's a big no as it is an aftermarket but I'll post it in hopes one of the techs can chime in:
http://www.pollywogbaby.com/item--preemie-car-seats--HUGMEJOEY.html

I wouldn't use this. The baby in that picture without the product is just so poorly harnessed in its seat - the harness is so loose! A properly tightened harness will not let the baby sag sideways like that.

The roll going around the outside of the baby seems fine since it is outside of the harness like rolled receiving blankets would be. But the wedge no only adds potentially compressible material between the baby and the seat, causing a poor fit of the harness, I am also imagining that it would cause the baby to me more reclined than the 45 degree max, causing more stress on the spine as the vertebrae would compress into each other instead of being pushed back into the supporting seat back. (Not to say that for a reflux baby, it would put them more on their back causing more reflux?)

I would just make sure that you are always placing baby's back flush against the back of the carseat with the bum tucked way back to the curve. They tend to slouch down with a gap behind their bum, which curves their spine and squishes their belly. Sitting up straighter will help eliminate this.

ajanes · Jun 15, 2009

mommycat said:
I don't really have any tested tips but good luck, and hopefully your baby will outgrow the reflux quickly!

I would think these might be things to try:
Try not to travel on a full tummy.
Use a pacifier in the seat, as swallowing might help?

Getting the seat in at the right angle: The seat you have can be installed anywhere between 45 degrees (necessary for young babies to keep airways open) to as upright as 30 degrees from the vertical. You could try to change the angle of the seat to see if he prefers it one way over another. If you fold a piece of paper diagonally you can gauge the 45 degree angle as shown here: http://www.carseatsite.com/reclineangle.htm To estimate 30 degrees, you want to be 1/3 closer to vertical than 45 - you could take a protractor and mark the angle on your paper and fold that part under.

I wouldn't use this. The baby in that picture without the product is just so poorly harnessed in its seat - the harness is so loose! A properly tightened harness will not let the baby sag sideways like that.

The roll going around the outside of the baby seems fine since it is outside of the harness like rolled receiving blankets would be. But the wedge no only adds potentially compressible material between the baby and the seat, causing a poor fit of the harness, I am also imagining that it would cause the baby to me more reclined than the 45 degree max, causing more stress on the spine as the vertebrae would compress into each other instead of being pushed back into the supporting seat back. (Not to say that for a reflux baby, it would put them more on their back causing more reflux?)

I would just make sure that you are always placing baby's back flush against the back of the carseat with the bum tucked way back to the curve. They tend to slouch down with a gap behind their bum, which curves their spine and squishes their belly. Sitting up straighter will help eliminate this.

I asked in a different thread about this product and the general consensus was it was not a good idea.

mommycat · Jun 15, 2009

ajanes said:
I asked in a different thread about this product and the general consensus was it was not a good idea.

great, good to know I am on the right track.

Reflux seat/angle?

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