7 Week Old Spit Ups

My baby girl was like what you are describing. I talked with my pediatrician and he prescribed Zantac syrup for her. He diagnosed her with reflux. The Zantac really helped but remember to get Grape flavoring added if you get this medicine. My daughter made the worst faces and kept spitting it out until I finally added the flavoring. Now she takes it with no problems.

Victoria,

My 2 1/2 year old little girl had the same problem when she was little. She was diagnosed with acid reflux. We tried elevating her head in bed but it seem to work better for her in the carseat and the swing. It finally stopped at about 9 months for her. The medicine does help but it does stain the clothes if they happen to spit up after taking it.

Good Luck
E.

Victoria,
My 9-week-old had the same problems a few weeks ago. The dr diagnosed her with acid-reflux (something that is very common) and the perscription she is on seems to have combatted the problem well.

Hi Victoria,

I am no Dr. but my best guess would be he has some reflux issues. Another idea would be he is not tolerating something you are eatting that is coming through your breastmilk. If I were you I'd take him in to have them check for the reflux problem. In the mean time you can check out this website www.kellymom.com . It has everything you could ever want to know about breastfeeding. Goodluck!!

Hi Victoria: You are lucky you are recogoning this problem now. Your baby may have Acid Reflux. I have a 6 mo old who spit up my breat milk (as well as any formula) and still spits up at this age. These are all the tips I've learned over the past few months:

First off, instead of feeding him lying down on a boppy pillow (or anything else) try to sit him up as much as possible while nursing. It's hard to digest if he's lying down or parrallel. Next, only feed him for a few minutes, then try to burp him. I know this is hard b/c he will probably start crying but you have to get him to burp before giving him more. As, you probalby know, there are a few different ways to try and burp him. If you do ever give him a bottle, keep him down to a minimal amount and then burp him. Sometimes massaging his belly after he's done eating will help it digest.
And last but very important, do not lie him down to sleep, even if he falls asleep while he's nursing. He will eventully burp while he's sleeping and spit up. Even if you have to hold him while he's sleeping, try holding him in an upright position so the food can digest, or try putting him to sleep in a swing that is upright. Do not lie him down and play with him, giggle him, anything for at least 30-45 minutes after he eats. This is probably hard as well, b/c he might want to eat again in an hour or so, but it might help.
If you keep having problems, talk to your doctor and they might suggest Zantac or a different formula if you supplement.

Spit up is normal, but if it's excessive or your baby isn't gaining as much weight as he should, it could be reflux. I would call your pediatrician about it or be sure to ask at your next visit (if it's soon). There's medicine that can treat the problem until he outgrows it (usually by 6 months to a year).
Some things you can do to help limit the spit up are to burp often, and keep him upright for 45 minutes after he eats.

Also, make sure nothing in your diet could be upsetting his stomach. Dairy products are a common culprit.

You might also avoid allergens like peanuts and strawberries (nursing moms should avoid these things anyway since it's been known to sensitize children and cause food allergies).

Keep in mind that any time you remove something from your diet, try add something else in that's "safe" so you're not cutting too many calories. Nursing moms need an additional 500 calories a day.

Victoria,

CONGRATULATIONS on breastfeeding your son! That is probably the BEST thing you can do for him!

I did not have a spitter (fortunately), but my best friend's baby had acid reflux (GER or GERD)and though she hated to, she ended up getting her on medicine. That was the only relief she got. Or maybe he is just eating a lot more than you think. Have you looked on breastfeeding.com for answers?

Keep up the great work!

Sherri

OK..there are several things that could be causing this... a) he just eats too much and there's no room in his little tummy for all that he takes in b) he has an immature sphincter muscle in his esphagus that doesn't know to stay closed when it's full (my son had this) and c) some babies just spit up a lot! :)

If your ped has done an exam and found everything to be okay... he's growing fine and alert... not jaundiced... I wouldn't worry about it at all.. just have lots of changes of clothes around and lots of extra cloth diapers (they're more absorbant than regular burp cloths)

Good luck w/your little prince!

Have you had him checked to find out if he's lactose intolerant? My sister's baby was (and had the same issues you're having) and they changed her to soy milk. She hasn't had any problems since.

Would you be able to pump some of your breast milk once a day? Sometimes a little thickening with single grain rice baby cereal mixed in with the milk will settle their stomachs. I don't know if the doctor would agree...but I've seen it work many times over the years. You might find he would need thickening at each feeding. Not sure if feeding him the cereal with a spoon would do the trick. He's not going to eat as much of it that way...

Is he over eating? Or eating too fast? Look at your own diet to see if there's anything there that might be upsetting his stomach. Has the milk been clabbered or is it just like fresh milk. Is it slimey like nasal drainage is in it?

I've been a child care provider for over 20 years and have raised my own two daughters and now have 4 grandchildren. So, I've had plenty of experience with newborns.

Good luck and God Bless.

Hi Victoria,

I am sure you have already received a million emails by now, but I had to give my 2 cents.

I have an 11 month old that was the same way. I changed my shirt 3-5 times per day, and could not go anywhere without be covered in spit-up. Eventually I realized it was part of my charm. :) My son stopped at 6 months & 1 day ... I hope yours does not last as long, but it can last up to 1 year, and is TOTALLY NORMAL. Just hang in there & the best is to be prepared!

It might be acid relux, My son had it at 7 wks as well until about 11 months, just as long as your baby is gaining weight he should be okay but you should have your pediatrician take a look and run test. He will have to take a barium and have an xray which will show if there is acid reflux but be careful, my son was dehydrated cause of the barium gave him diarreah which cause him to get dehydrated so i had to take him to ER and they put an IV on him which was so hard emotionally for me cause it was so hard getting a vein cause he was so thin. My son was on Reglan it helped a little but not much and also took Zantac for the burning. it wasn't just spitting up it was actually throwing up like 6 feet, it freaked me up the 1st time he did that but then i got used to it. Everytime he throw up i would go and change him and back again and again. Keeping him elevated helped for about 1-2 hrs. It was rough especailly being a single mom. The thing that really did the trick for me was soy formula. You might try staying away from dairy or try soy. It might be a allergy as well.
I would talk to his pediatrician. I am not trying to scare you, I just want you to be prepared for anything and every child is different.

Good Luck!
Let me know if you have any questions

My baby did this ALL the time, and he is breastfed too! He is 5 1/2 months old now, and still does it (not as frequently though). He is my first, so needless to say my husband and I were a little freaked out by the amount of spit-up that came out of him. The doctor said that as long as he was gaining weight, then we didn't need to worry. And believe me, he was gaining just fine. But I still worried at first. Now it's just part of our routine. He wears a bib with everything, and we bought a bajillion burp cloths that we have with us at all times. I hear they grow out of it between 6 months to a year. I am just waiting! Like I said, it has gotten a little better. He did have acid reflux though with the spitting-up. It was diagosed as such b/c he would arch his back and scream whenever he spit-up. The doc put him on Prevacid, and that seemed to really help with the pain of it. Anyways. I hope this helps. Try not to worry if your baby is gaining weight, and just spray-n-wash all of your clothes after he/she spits up b/c it does stain.

It sounds like your little one has acid reflux. My 5 month old has it. I can control it b/c I bottle feed and I can control the amount of formula intake. The best way for you is to prop your baby up while breat feeding and then keep him still for 30 mins. after each feeding. Tell your ped. about it at his 2 month appointment and hopefully he can suggest more to help. Good luck.

Hey Victoria,

My son did the same thing. He is now 10 months old and we are still breastfeeding. He would spit up so hard it would almost hit the walls!!! He was sensitive to dairy in my diet. I eliminated all dairy when he was 9 weeks old and within 2 weeks he stopped projectile vomitting. I then reintroduced dairy and he started up again. He still spits up a little (normal spitup) but not like he used to. I drink rice milk and that seems to satisfy me. There are so many things that babies can be sensitive to. My son also was sensitive to tomatoes (bad gas.) I couldn't even eat BBQ sauce. It is hard work to nurse, but it is well worth it in the end. Just keep nursing and with trial and error you can find out what works and what doesn't.

My daughter was exactly the same way. I breastfeed and I was concerned she was spitting up more than she should, but her weight increased normally, so the Dr. said don't worry about the spit up. She was in the 90% for her age.
She was an aggressive breastfeeder, so I guess she drank more than her stomach could hold. She only nursed for about 5 to 10 minutes, but she was getting a lot of milk during that short time. She continued spitting up for about 9 months, I always carried a burp cloth every time I nursed and I nursed for 1 year. Sorry, I don't have any good advice on how to stop the spit up, but I just wanted to let you know for us it was just a way of life. My second and third child never spit up like that, so it was just the way she nursed.
Congratulations and Good luck.

I would call your pediatrician on Monday just for peace of mind. Don't worry though, it usually looks like more coming up than it really is.

My, now 6 month old, son spits up a lot too. We had big time problems with spitting up when he was younger. We ended up getting him put on Zantac and also, Reglan. It helped tremendously. I suggest you talk to your doc about how much your baby is spitting up.

Find a local chiropractor.
We found one for our son and it help tremendously. It is very safe and gentle. We go to a Chiropractor in Plano. It was a tad daunting, but they explained things very well and we understood it and he got adjusted and he is fine now, we take him for regular checkups to keep him healthy.

My 7 month old son does the same thing! I am breastfeeding him as will. I mentioned this to my Doctor and he seem not to be concerned because he has consistently been gaining weight and is overall in a good mood (not crying) after he spits up. Sometimes the spit up seems allot because it is mixed with his salivia so it can be deceiving at times as to what is actually coming out. I try not to "jiggle" him to much after a feedign and try to sit him up when breastfeeding and of course allot of burp rags help.
If you are still concern seeking a second medical opinion is always the best way to go.
Good Luck!
From a Mom who feels she always smells like spit up.

Hi Victoria,
I breast fed my son and he spit up so much everyday that I could fill 6 burp rags. We found out that he had acid reflux and we put him on medication and it helped some. The pediatrician also told me to cut down on my consumption of dairy products. His spitting up (was a little less with medication) lasted until he was 9 months but really completely was gone about a year. I hope this helps.

Hi Victoria,
I have a 7wk old daughter who started doing the same 1 week ago and we took her to the pediatrician since she started to do it more frequently and then formula was coming out her nose and mouth. Turns out she has gastroesophageal reflux and she was put on Prevacid. The other medication would've been Zantac but our pediatrician didn't feel it worked as well as Zantac. She is doing better but still spits up a little. We decided to take her in since she was alot more irritable & I was so concerned with her bouts of choking. Hope that helps.
Regards,
K.

Victoria,
My son spit up ALOT for one solid year! I hope you do not have to go through that, but as long as he was gaining weight, the pediatrician was not concerned. I have heard of lots of mothers taking Zantac while they are breastfeeding and it has helped them, but only in severe cases. The only thing that seemed to help my son, was to let him sleep in a bouncy seat for the first few weeks. He did get better once we started him on cereal, but we were constantly changing clothes and washing burp cloths for months.
Sorry I am no help, just wanted to let you know that I feel your pain!

Good luck!

Have you told his pediatrician about this? He may have reflux. My son had it for awhile and had to take meds for it. Talk to your doc. Also, after he feeds, try to leave him in an angle. Gravity will help sometimes, but maybe not if he has reflux. Good luck!

My daughter did the same thing--we found out she is allergic to the proteins in cows milk(all dairy products). I was exclusively breastfeeding her, so to treat her the doctor suggested that I cut out all dairy in my diet(hard to do) because the proteins can pass through your breastmilk to the baby. She improved remarkably after about 4 weeks. I am still breastfeeding now at 8 months! Consider eliminating dairy from your diet to see if it helps...good luck!

talk to your doctor about infant acid reflux. If it is infant acid reflux, As babies get older they can grow out of it. Both my children had it as infants. In there case their doctor perscribed liquid Zantac. Also,Since I breastfed, while the kids had the refulx I had to watch what I ate. Sometimes keeping the kids upright for 30 minutes to an hour can help.(No reclining postion) I had one of those front carry things (tummyside to tummyside)I would put them in after feeding. We would go for slow paced walks around the house for awhile. Both kids out grew it by age one.

Victoria -

Contact your peditrician on Monday to make an appointment to discuss acid reflux. A lot of babies acid relux some grow out of it quickly and other require medication to help out.