The Baby Reflux Lady
Long post... Strap in! We booked to have a private call with Aine when we as a family, were at our absolute lowest point and we are so glad we did. Our son Cooper developed reflux very shortly after he was born and quickly became the most unsettled, unhappy baby you could imagine. My (mum) mental health took a huge nosedive, scarily so & I found it all very hard to cope with. We had exhausted the NHS, they told us: ⁃ All babies are sick ⁃ It’s colic, should pass by 4 months, then 6 months, then 12 months ⁃ He’s not got reflux because he sleeps at night ⁃ Lets try gaviscon, omeprazole etc ⁃ That’s just baby acne ⁃ You’re a first time mum, all mums find it hard ⁃ It must be breastfeeding, why don’t you switch to formula ⁃ All babies cry ⁃ Mum needs antidepressants You get the point, totally uninformed and dismissive and not addressing the root cause. I even had one osteopath tell me that my son likely has ADHD at around 8 weeks old... Really?!?! He didn’t have ADHD, he couldn’t stop squirming because his reflux was so bad. Anie was the very first person to ever take us seriously. She actually listened to us, unlike the NHS doctors who already had a narrative of what they thought we would say, and often incorrectly finished our sentences for us. Anie is so knowledgeable about reflux, shes kind beyond measure, she’s empathetic and in all honesty she wasn’t even just there for Cooper. Over the many calls we had I felt like she was also there for me. As someone who has lived through it, she could promise from experience that she could help make it better. She knew all the right things to say and did also help me through my very, very lowest points. Cooper’s reflux turned out to be a mix of a few things, tongue tie, cmpa & a lotttttt of body tension from a traumatic birth that we still see another cranial osteopath for, every now and then, this made the biggest difference for us. With a clear plan & proper understanding of what reflux is (thanks to Aine) we were able to start making progress with tackling the reflux. For us it was a long journey, but Aine was absolutely right with everything she picked up on and we are eternally grateful as she has changed our parenthood experience completely. I just want to say a note to anyone who has reflux children, you’re not “unable to cope” reflux is flipping hard and even the strongest of mums can wobble. It does get better. My son is the most loving, gentle & happy boy now. My motherhood journey didn’t look like what I pictured for the first 8 months, but now it is exactly what I had imagined… Better actually!