How did you know LO needed reflux meds? (long...)

kjsmith9

So my LO has her 2 month appt on Tuesday and I fully intend on having a discussion about this, but I wanted to get the opinions of other mamas that have LOs with reflux.  Here's the story:

LO has been spitting A LOT basically since birth.  I brought it up at her one month appointment, and the pedi said that as long as it isn't projectile and "hitting the wall across the room," that I shouldn't worry about it.  She was mostly a happy spitter at that time, and I couldn't believe she was actually gaining a good amount of weight because I thought she was throwing up everything that went down!  The past week or two it seems like she isn't so "happy" about the spitting anymore.  She cries probably about 50% of the time she spits, and has started doing this thing where I think she's throwing up (and I think it comes up to her throat/mouth) and then she swallows it back down.  That always makes her cry.  She spits up out her nose probably once every few days, and when that's about to happen she holds her breath and her face turns red (like she's trying to stop if from happening).  We try gas drops and gripe water at times, sometimes it helps, but mostly I don't think it does anything.  I think I have a fast letdown, but she rarely chokes anymore.  She is definitely a gulper, but if I pull her off time after time to burp, she screams her head off (which makes her spit up, so that defeats the purpose).  Elevating her head doesn't seem to make much of a difference, and she usually spits within 10 seconds of me moving her from horizontal (after BFing).

I feel like the crying is more associated with eating lately and I don't know if that signals reflux... how do I know if she needs a medication?  I don't want the pedi to blow it off again, because I just don't feel like this normal anymore... so I want to walk into the office with a little knowledge under my belt.  I've read kellymom but I still don't know... please help!!  Her crying makes me sad, and I'm sick of going through tons of clothes and 10+ burp cloths a day!