Baby Spitting up More than Usual

sounds like the daughter of a friend of mine who has a reflux problem and has medication for it.Ask doc.

J.-

My son did this as well. He was diagnosed
with Acid Reflux. 2 months later, we were
giving him 4 doses of Prilosec every day!

Unlike other children with Acid Reflux, he
did not seem upset when he spit up and he
seemed just as happy as before.

I did a lot of online research and found that
there was a more holistic way to treating my
son. I chose chiropractic care and my son
has been off of the medications since his
second adjustment.

If you are located near the Des Moines, IA
area, feel free to e-mail me, as I know of
a wonderful chiropractic clinic.

A.
www.mygreenhealth.com

are you nursing or do you feed formula? If it's formula, check your water, used bottled if have to. My daughter did that and we found that she couldn't handle the water from the tap, so we used bottled water and she was fine. Good luck!

Hi J.,
Babies should not be given foods other than breastmilk or formula until they are at least 4 months old. Even then only if they can sit up on their own. If you really feel the need to give her solids please consult with her pediatrician first. good luck!

Hi there J.! I'm also a first time mom and my daughter is 9 months old. She has been a spit up baby since the first week. I tried everything!Ceral etc...THe doctor told me even to have her head elevated when she sleeps at night. This is what I found out that a lot of babies have what is called now Acid reflux. The flap inside is not fully developed and will grow to be developed and that the spitting up will get better. I had the option of putting her on baby Zantac if I wanted. I chose not to and she still spits up but its not as bad. She eventually will grow out of it!Now I do have a friend whos son is a month older than Grace and his was really bad. He started to turn blue one night from it. An Ambulance came. They put him on the baby Zantac and she also gave him "Gripe Water" its for the gas bubbles. That all seem to do the trick. Good luck! D.

It sounds like you've been working with your pediatrician already, so I guess I was really surprised when you mentioned you "experimented" with starting solids (cereal/fruit)at 3 months. While you say you stopped, you don't say whether you are thickening her bottles or giving her any other food items like purees, or mashed foods besides formula/breastmilk. Considering if you are indeed doing this, and the fact that your ped says your dd doesn't appear to have reflux, I'd second your guess that the added to solids to her diet are the cause of her increased spit-up.

Also another thing to consider is the amounts she's taking in. If she's eating more, maybe a little more than her tummy can handle she may just be spitting up the excess. Also, some kids need to be propped up after eating to help with digestion. If you lay her down after a feeding, she maybe getting indigestion.

Just in case you aren't already aware...most pediatricians don't recommend solids until a baby is at least 6 months and able to sit up. Medically speaking, baby's digestive system is not developed enough to be able to digest solids, not to mention the baby runs a very great risk of choking/apsiring because their ability to swallow properly is just not there at this point. Also, there are studies that show feeding infants solids too early can contribute to juvenile obesity and other related issues. Short of an "okay" from your pediatrician, I'd go back to straight formula or breast milk...and extra feedings if she's growing and really hungry.

If you've been giving her cereal to calm her hunger, she might be one of those babies peds call a "grazer". Instead of big feedings at a time, space feedings out by giving her smaller amounts but more often throughout the day. As someone recommended, get Dr. Sears' books on the topic.

Hi J.,

I have four children three girls and one boy. My oldest daughter is twelve and when she was a baby the spitting up never stopped. I actually referred to it as launching because that is what she would do. Sometimes she would seem to spit up more than she took in. As long as she seems happy and it doesn't seem to bother her too much, I wouldn't stress over it. Some babies just spit up a lot. You may want to watch though, if her voice begins to sound lower than it should, or gravely then you may want to have her seen for reflux. If it is reflux she would bring up a lot of stomach acid, but that would likely make her uncomfortable and cranky, which you would notice. Cereal is okay too, particularly rice cereal as a starter, but I would hold off a bit on the fruit.

J., check with your ped and make sure they want you feeding solids at 3 months old. Most recommend at least 5 mths old. Both of my girls had bad reflux from 1mth to 6mths of age. One of them would spit up entire feedings. Check with your ped, they can determine if it's reflux and give you options.

Sheri

J., Doctors don't usually start infants on solid food until 6mo(I know..it doesn't look solid). A baby's stomach can't really fully digest solid food until then; it just passes through. Some parents (and it's okay) start infants on rice cereal at 4mo. starting with the evening feeding in hopes that baby will sleep a little longer. Rice is least likely to cause allergic reactions. I don't think anything is wrong with you baby that a little maturity won't take care of. There is a sphinter (narrowing) at the bottom of the esophagus (food tube) right before it goes into the stomach. Some baby's sphinter hasn't fully developed so feedings just come up more easily and they spit up more frequently. Sometimes it just seems to roll out of their mouth. Hopefully your baby will grow out of it soon. Some things you can do..keep baby's head higher than stomach, so when you hold her keep head on incline. Some parents have also elevated the crib on one end 2-3" creating an incline. Mention the spitting up to baby's doctor on your next regular visit but always call the doctor if spitting up becomes forceful or projectile (shoots out of the mouth). Sounds as though you have been blessed with a happy baby girl - enjoy her! from a retired mother/baby nurse and mother ...L.

We went through the same thing with our little boy. He started spitting up at about 3 mos. and didn't stop until about 5 1/2 mos. I'm not sure if it is normal or not, but our doctor kept reassuring us that some babies spit up more than usual.
I sympatize with you. We only have one child and it's so hard not knowing what could be normal or if something is really wrong. The only thing that has saved us is taling to lots of other moms and keeping in constant connection with our pediatrician.
Good luck!

If you're breastfeeding your baby (which I'm not judging if you do or don't), maybe you're eating too many spices or acidic foods and it could be giving the baby acid reflux or the baby could be developing an allergy to something you are eating. I'm just saying this because my son was diagnosed with reflux at 2 months old. So I did put him on the "heartburn" medicine for a week and realized that if I pumped before he nursed and held him in an upright position for at least 20 minutes after feeding then he wouldn't overload his stomach. I personally didn't want to keep him on medications his whole life. And since I was nursing and thought it was something I was eating, I first eliminated "acidic' foods for a week to see if anything changed, then dairy, then wheat before I called the doctor. Because when I went in that was the first thing she had recommended!!

If your bottlefeeding, have you switched formulas? It could still be reflux with a bottlefed baby and the holding upright afterwards will still work as it doesn't allow the stomach acids to travel back up as easy.

Hope this helps and hang in there!!

is she breast or formula? I would say it is normal some babies spit up more that normal as long as she is not crying more that normal. Also APA is now saying no solids at all until 6 mo plus.

I have a four month old who is the same way. I asked my Ped and he says "some babies just pit up more then others..." Lots of help hey? I am nursing, and find if I drink milk, chai tea, and eat tomato items,including pizza, she spits up even more. Hope this helps a little, I guess if you are nursing, monitor what you eat/drink for a few days.

Both my children had acid reflux and they spit-up a lot and my son did the projectile vomiting. They both were put on meds and it really solved the problem. Some Dr won't use meds unless the reflux is causes the child pain, trouble sleeping and lack of weight gain. My child had pain and trouble sleeping. My son had it until he was almost three but my daughter was off meds my 9 mos. Go see your Dr and good luck. Oh I was recommended to stay away from solids until my children were 6 mos.

Did you breastfeed? I did, and with my 2nd daughter she spit up a little with breastmilk and when I switched her to formula she did a lot more. We ended up switching her to soy and sheis now 11 months and I switched her back from that to regular formula which she is handling well. They call it GERD and it's normal, talk to your pediatriction (I think I spelled that wrong!)I also gave my daughter cereal in her bottle that young cause she never acted full. I also tried Enfamil AR (for spit uppy babies) which worked a little before I switched to soy. Good luck.

I agree with the one person that it's normal for babies to spit up and my pediatrician and many books say to never give babies solids until they are at least 4 months of age. Also, when you start solids, you can only do one at a time to rule out allergies, which means, you would feed her the rice cereal without the fruit and see how she would tolerate it. If she takes that good for three days, then you would try another. If she takes that good for three days, then you would try another cereal or maybe a veggie or a fruit.

I did fruits last because the reading I had done suggested that starting children on fruit too soon gives them a taste for sugar and that leads to unhealthy eating habits later on. I followed their advice and my daughter is not a big sugar eater like I see other children. She's 2. I think your daughter's stomach was too immature for the solids and so the spit-up is her way of cleansing herself. It will eventually go back to normal. I would wait a month or two and then try again with the rice cereal. Good luck!

hello. what are you feeding her? is it breastmilk or formula? anything else? and is this basically just on-going spit-up? Our daughter had baby reflux (the good news is this gets better with time!). We did everything we could to treat it as naturally as possible. If this is what's going on, I'm happy to share some ideas with you. If not, then good luck! :) Also, what Angela says is right on with what I think as well with the solids! :)

J.,

My fourth baby did this and it happened when I started exercising again. I found out I was exercising so hard I got lactic acid in my milk that was giving my baby a hard time. I cut back the intensity of my workout and she stopped. I don't think this is common. It didn't happen with my first three, but I thought I would mention it because most people don't think about it. I didn't at first.

S.

I have 1 year old twin girls. One of my girls spit up all of the time. It didn't matter how much we fed her or what we fed her, she would spit up. Our doctor said that some babies are just spitters and some aren't (point proven since I have twins and one was a spitter and one wasn't). She lived in a bib until she was about 9 months old. Our doctor said they normally stop between 9 months and 15 months (when they start getting more mobile and off of their bellies and sitting/standing to help keep the food down). All I can tell you is that it will get better. In the meantime, stock up on Shout Advanced and Spray N Wash Dual Power. Oh, one last question-do you breast feed or bottle feed? If you bottle feed do you make the bottles right before you give it to her? If so, try making the bottles at least 45 minutes before giving it to her. That allows the bubbles to settle and helps prevent extra gas. Good luck!

For our daughter, more spit-up (even chunkier) meant teeth. She got her first at 13 weeks and a second at 14 weeks. The spit-up change was the only symptom. But, if you are concerned, give your doctor's office a call.

Our doctor had told us that as long as our daughter didn't cry when she spit-up it wasn't reflux.

Good luck!

For my daughter, she spits up more if she is having an increase in saliva due to teething. It can come and go. My daughter does not always have a change in temperment when this happens.

Dear J.,

Dr. Sears writes an article on exactly this topic. I think you would appreciate reading it because it will give you the answers you are seeking. Some of the helpful advice included in it I have pasted below, as well as the link to the article (Starting Solid Foods: When? What? and How?, by Dr. Sears)~ I urge you to read it, I think you and your baby will find it very helpful.

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/T032000.asp

" 2. Young babies have a tongue-thrust reflex . In the first four months the tongue thrust reflex protects the infant against choking. When any unusual substance is placed on the tongue, it automatically protrudes outward rather than back. Between four and six months this reflex gradually diminishes, giving the glob of cereal a fighting chance of making it from the tongue to the tummy. Not only is the mouth-end of baby's digestive tract not ready for early solids, neither is the lower end.

3. Baby's swallowing mechanism is immature. Another reason not to rush solids is that the tongue and the swallowing mechanisms may not yet be ready to work together. Give a spoonful of food to an infant less than four months, and she will move it around randomly in her mouth, pushing some of it back into the pharynx where it is swallowed, some of it into the large spaces between the cheeks and gums, and some forward between the lips and out onto her chin. Between four and six months of age, most infants develop the ability to move the food from the front of the mouth to the back instead of letting it wallow around in the mouth and get spit out. Prior to four months of age, a baby's swallowing mechanism is designed to work with sucking, but not with chewing."

My son used to spit up A LOT and I took him to the doctor, they did some testing and found out that he had a level 2 reflux. They gave me a prescription for liquid Pepcid and it solved the problem.

It is normal. Is she eating more than she used to? My daughter did the same thing. Keep her upright for about 30 minutes after she eats. Do not put her in a swing. That could make her vomit. Put her in her car seat or hold her.

It's very possible that she is allergic to her formula.

As a mom of two with acid reflux, I can honestly say that the only thing they did different than most others was have excessive spitting up. Ask your pediatrician, but Zantac and Prevacid won't hurt them if they are given it and it isn't needed. the tests for acid reflux (a pH probe) are uncomfortable for everyone, and with my second child they were willing to do a trial prescription of Zantac rather than put her through the testing. Most kids grow out of it by the time they are a year or two old, mine have not, but it's not a big deal to give them either liquid or a chewable everyday. Good luck.

Consult with your doctor. Your baby may have reflux.