When Will My Baby's Reflux Pain Stop?
When will my baby's reflux end? This was a question I asked myself constantly.
*This blog was written by Áine in September 2017 when her youngest daughter was about to start school.
I must be the happiest mum at the school gate as I watch my child start school. For me, there is no sadness for me in saying goodbye to the early years. And I have zero guilt about it, either.
My experience of the early years
I didn't have the joy and happiness that was supposed to come with motherhood. I didn’t have the family life of dreamed of. I only had a family. I was living in the loosest sense of the word. I would not describe what I had as a “life”. It was very much more an existence.
Sunflower was about two weeks old when my husband first asked me, "Is it supposed to be this hard?"
Our firstborn had silent reflux, which went undiagnosed for over 6 months.
Our life changed. We knew it would change. But if you don't have reflux to cope with, then the change in your life is far easier to cope with. If you have a baby who cries when they’re hungry, want to see their mummy, or when they’re sleepy, you have been blessed because a baby with reflux cries all the time. Except maybe when there's a boob or a bottle in their mouth.
It's not the cry of a newborn baby, the type of cry that makes you go soft all over. It's harrowing. It's clearly a cry of pain, and what makes it worse is that you can do NOTHING about it. You feel so helpless.
And when you would do ANYTHING for your baby, this makes it so much harder.
A baby with reflux cannot stay asleep for more than 90 minutes, and this is considered a “great sleep”, and these are rare, really rare.
In most cases, the parents of a reflux baby are past the point of exhaustion, both of them. So far past that, PND might be there with them, without anyone knowing, because exhaustion alone can do that.
Starting School
For me, school brings with it 'me' time.
Time that can honestly say I have not had in over six years.
That is six years old with two Velcro babies.
My babies are finally “big girls”, and I welcome it with open arms.
I can say goodbye and good riddance to the past. I can look back at the most difficult years of my life and know that they are behind us.
So, from now on, I am looking forward to being a better mum.
I can take time for myself. Something that in the early years felt impossible. No matter what “help” someone offered, they didn’t understand my babies and therefore were ill-equipped to help.
On Monday morning, I will be skipping out the school gate.
Leaving my children behind me.
With this really comes purpose, passion and focus. Helping parents be free of the challenges I had much earlier than I was.
What I discovered through the Velcro years is that reflux is completely avoidable. If you are interested in enjoying your baby while they are little, get in touch.
Don't wait until your children start school for relief
I can help! After YEARS of reflux affecting my life and my family, I made it my mission to get answers.
In the 'Reflux Free Baby' Workshop, I walk you through all the symptoms you need to observe and record for your baby, what they mean, and how to use them as clues.
I tell you what the clues mean individually and when they occur with other groups of symptoms.
And this leads us to be able to say what is causing each baby's reflux with much more confidence.
Based on this, I tell you what specific action to take for them.
Áine x
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