[keepthefaith]

Sheela,
well i am a mom to a 2 yr old born @ 24wk and am a pro at this reflux thing.
yes very common in preemies, most babes grow out of it by one yr. my daughter came home at 38wks(mid oct 06) had it in the nicu for most of the time, and was on reason she took so long to get off oxygen while in there. she was on prilosec while in the nicu but came off before coming home. after being home about 4wk i started to notice she was not taking as much( she drank pumped breast milk fortified with preemie formula to 24cal) then she started to show the true signs that it was reflux to the extreme, acid out the nose, hiccups,short scream like cries in the middle of sleeping. any ways long story short as possible, she was put back on prilosec, it help but not a lot,by January she was admitted and labeled failure to thrive , and with docs saying we don't know what is wrong or what you should do. well that got me in a up roar.
i brought her home and found all my own tricks to get food it her, i refused to get a g-tube placed, yes it was(is) a lot of work to get the food it but to keep it in was(is) a bigger problem,(to me the g-tube was a quick fix to only half a problem)
we have gone to lots of docs,specialist etc., we have been on prilosec, axid, and now prevacid, along with meds to help empty her tummy faster, and make her hungry.( at one yr she was doing better but the it came back worst then ever), she is now 2, we are pros at getting food in and keeping it in most the time, but it has affected so much including how we put her to bed and everything, she can not be aloud to cry hard because it will cause her to throw up even several hrs after eating etc.. she has a hard time with food texture and still need most things mushed up but thing get a little better everyday. she is up to25lbs and is finally at the 10% on a chart, we are oh so proud of her an all the things she as gone though in her short life she is a miracle to us.
my suggestions are: if you feel the meds don't work try different ones they all effect everyone a little different.
go to the specialist if they send you home with more ? than answers go to someone else.
keep fighting for your babies, no one knows them like you, you are their advocate and don't let anyone try to you that what you are seeing is different than what you see!
my tip if it gets harder to feed then, feed them when they are asleep, this was the only way we could ever get milk or any liquid in her till around 9m,then she would take it a wake some times, but after about a yr you can't do it as much because they lose the natural reflex.
hope i didn't over load you! let me know how the upper GI goes. and if things get worst i got plenty of tip and suggestions.
p.s. it does get a little better for them with solids. oh also do you use binkys? the constent suck swollow helps it to keep the acid down and will help them to clear it out of their noses and throats. my dd was a binkaholic as we like to say, it always helped, she had it 24/7 and we would not have made it though the first yr without it!