Cure for Excessive Spit-up in Infant

Hi H.!
I am a first time mother as well, my daughter is now 10 1/2 mo. old. Where did the time go? She had the same problem as you son, from the time she was born. She was breast fed for the first 3 1/2 mo., then on formula. Up until about 3 wks. ago, or so, she was still spitting up. Sometimes once, sometimes a few times, within minutes of the feeding - or up to 3 hrs. after. We had been going to a Family Practitioner, he claimed "it'll get better," switched to another doctor, same response basically. Finally after about 6 mo. I switched to a pediatric practice, and again saw two different doctors, both of which, couldn't say that it was a problem because my daughter was gaining weight, and eating well. So I went through 5 doctors all together, mylecon, acid reflux meds, 4 different kinds of bottles/nipples, and 3 different formulas. Not one thing helped the problem. I do not have an answer, I am just sharing my experience to let you know, that in my case, I received no answers, but it has gone away. She is very healthy and I finally have stopped having to clean spit up a thousand times a day, from the carpeting, clothes, etc. Hang in there! I hope you find a solution or that he can grow out of it as well.

My son is three months old and had the same issue. We put him on Similac Sensitive RS and add a bit of cereal to the bottle. So far he has not had any problems with having cereal early. I also use the Dr. Brown bottles. He spits up less now.

My son excessively spit up when he was first born. He is exclusively breastfed, so his Dr suggested I cut out dairy AND soy. Dairy is the most common infant allergy and babies who are allergic to dairy are also often allergic to soy. Since cutting them both out his spitting up has nearly disappeared. Given this the Dr. gave me samples of Similac Ailumentum and Enfamil Nutramegen. I would discountinue the soy formula and go for one of these others.

when my son was little like your little one I had the same problem, I took him to an older baby dr who had a lot of years with babys come to find out he had constant heartburn the muscle at the opening of the tummy was weak and did not close right, ask your dr if a little drop of gaviscon will help it did for me

try goats milk. this is recommanded by alot of old time country folks that have had kids with problems and this has helped, you can get it in the can at most stores.

Have you tried propping him up when he sleeps? It could be acid reflux. Putting a pillow under the crib mattress might help.

Have you tried Soy Formula, My oldest was allergic to everything except the soy brand from simaliac. Stuff smells nasty when he burps but it worked.

It sounds like your baby has reflux. My 7 month old had reflux up until the age of 6 months. If your infant is not in pain and the doctor doesn't consider it acid reflux I highly recommend Colic Calm. It is a homeopathic, natural supplement and it greatly reduced the amount of spit up as well as giving my son the ability to sleep for longer periods. You can buy it online - just google it for the direct website - it's expensive - but for us it was soooo worth it (I still use it on occasion if I think he's gassy or has an upset stomach). Also, if it is not acid reflux (you know if it is because when they are spitting up they arch their back in pain and are crying, etc - they are in visible pain. My son is what you would consider a "happy spitter-upper" - he used to smile as he spit up!) - you should consider taking your baby off soy - soy has so many issues in itself - just get a formula that is easier to digest. I nursed exclusively for the first 6 months, but now I am supplementing on occasion with Gentlease by Infamil - my doctor recommended it because of my son's reflux. Good luck - reflux is not easy to deal with so I empathize with you, but remember that it does end - for a lot of babies it's just a developmental thing - and it goes away anywhere from 6-9 months usually.

He may have a protein intolerance. I personally recommend Alimentum formula though you could try Nutramigen. Talk to your pediatrician and suggest the alternative formulas. This was an IMMEDIATE relief for my daughter who experienced the same thing.

It will all be fine... it's not the formula... it's likely an immature sphincter in his asophogas (sp?)... my little one spit up ALL the time--breastmilk, all types of formula (after 5 months) from all types of bottles but never seemed to be terribly unhappy about it. She was sometimes gassy or burpy but never writhing in pain (a sure sign of acid reflux and a need for medicaiton). Our doctor said it was a laundry problem (I actually got a new washer out or it!), which is true.

As he gets older, he'll start keeping it down and I'd certainly hold off on solids as it just makes the spit up smell worse (fyi, squash and yogurt were particularly icky). My lovely little girl spit up till she was 10 1/2 months old and then, one day, it ended... imagine that!

Know you're not alone in this and always have a change of clothes for both of you!

Check to see if his stomach is large or larger than normal. If so, request an X-ray. Our son had that problem, and I was the one that noticed it, I insisted that we take him in and I'm glad we did. He had a bowel obstruction which was a residual complication from an earlier operation. The spitting up was due to the obstruction.

Your baby is probably sensitive to both cow's milk-based and soy-based formula. This is difficult to deal with, but so many babies are like this.
The curdling means that the formula is partially digested, which is good. He's absorbing some of the nutrients that he's been taking in, even tho it's not going out the other end like you want it to!
I am a happy customer of homeopathy, which is a great alternative medicine. We see Dr. Josephine Polich in Naperville and she treats babies all the time. my DD (9mos) was a lot like your baby when she was first born but homeopathic remedies helped her body be able to handle breastmilk better than she was when she was smaller. Our dr's website is here: www.dupagehomeopathic.com. It explains how homeopathy works. The remedies have no side effects and are perfectly safe for babies to take, safer than any prescription or even OTC med. Email me offlist if you want to talk more about it!
Best wishes.

Hello how are you? I completely understand what you are go through. My daughter who is 3yrs old now,had that same problem. My doctor give her a test and we found out she had acid reflux really bad. The doctor gave her some medicine and it worked for her. She stop throwing up as long as i used the medicine. My doctor also changed her formula to Enfamil A.R Lipid for baby who frequently split up. That formula and medicine made a world of differents. Good Luck !!!

he is obviously allergic to milk and most kids about 80 are allergic to soy so I am mad at teh pedatrician for telling you to try soy. Please get him on Alimentum or Nutramagin and see if that helps, it will take 10 days to notice a difference and get him to a GI dr to see if he needs reflux meds or an even more serious formula like neocate. some spit up is normal but with the gas no and not for this long. make sure when you go to the GI they test his stool or they do a quick and painless finger check in his rectum barely go in and see if there is blood. if there is his allergy has now made colitis.
good luck
J.

Despite anything and everything we tried, my son almost constantly spit up until he was 6 months old. We're talking needed a new outfit almost every hour because it was soaked through. Then he just all of a sudden stopped around the time he started sitting on his own - which my dr. said would probably happen. He didn't have a problem with weight gain, so my dr. assured me he would be ok.

Hi I would suggest going with Carnation Good Start. My daughter did that on Similac until I switched her and now she does wonderful with her formula. It is easier on their tummys cause it breaks down easier and dosen't create as much gas in them. Also I use Dr Brown's bottles. My dr told me that Similac is not easy on babies tummies but that is what alot get started on at the hospital because that is what they get free. Also I figured it up and if you are willing to try the ready to feed it is maybe 1 cent more per ounce but in the long run it is worth it. I have also found that giving my daughter the formula straight from the fridge and not warmed upit settles better and she doesn't spit it up as much.

Hope something helps cause it is no fun and very time consuming (more than a normal feeding).

sounds like reflux. as long as he's gaining weight, don't worry too much, but the pediatrician should be giving you options. hopefully, he's not damaging his esophagus by spitting up so often. our daughter is on soy, and does okay..just gets constipated.

good luck.

my son,now32,had a similar problem as a baby,he could not tolerate any formula,what we had excellent luck with is goats milk! check your local health food store,fresh is best of coarse but they should carry canned or maybe even powdered;hope this helps
H.

H. - I have to agree with TRISH and to verify with your pediatrician if it's reflux. The bottom line, is your child gaining weight? If not, I would SERIOUSLY look at getting him tested for the Poloric Stenosis. I never heard of this before my son (who's now 8 months) was 6 weeks old. He spit up after every feeding, sometimes 3 hours after the feeding. The doctor kept saying "all kids spit up to some degree". Well, this luckily was my 2nd son and I knew something wasn't 100% right. The mycolin drops DO NOT WORK. All doctors have told me that and I've come to realize they don't. We took my son into the doctor repeatedly for spit up problems. It was just a little spit up - it was LOTS! Finally at 6 weeks, they noticed a drop in weight - he wasn't where he should have been. So, the doctor gave us a Rx for some reflux medicine. Then he said, let's be on the safe side and get an x-ray to rule out poloric stenosis. The was very leary that he did not have this. Well, we went immediately to the hospital to get the x-ray. My son was operated on that evening! If you want more info on this condition - please email me and I'll be happy to explain it.
My son now eats really really well. I call him my little chubby michilan man. But, he is very healthy and had no problems with surgery or anything. Seeing your 6 week old go into surgery was very nerveracking! But, he did so well, infact he was home less than 24 hours after surgery!
We tried the different formulas too and nothing seemed to help.
By the way, we added cereal to my first sons bottles and didn't have any issues with that. With anything, you'll get good/bad reviews on that one. With my 2nd son, we didn't do the cereal in the bottle, we started him with a spoon earlier on.
Good Luck and hang in there. I know what you're going thru and it's not fun and gets very frustrating. I bet you're doing LOADS of Laundry and going thru towels like crazy.
J.

Is he fussy? Does he arch his back a lot? Does he seem like he's in pain? My daughter spit up like a maniac and it turned out to be acid reflux. She had a bad case of it though and she was in A LOT of pain (what a nightmare). I refused to put cereal in her bottle too, until her GI Dr told me to. I suggest leaving it up to the Dr. It did help reduce the "projectile" vomitting but she gained a ton of weight (poor baby)from the cereal! She looked like a baby budha!LOL
If it's just a nuisance and you don't feel it's a health issue, just keep plenty of bibs and spit up towels handy and find comfort in knowing he'll grow out of it between 6-12months. But if it appears he may be suffering from pain (like the wondeful heartburn we experienced during pregnancy), then ask your Ped to send you to a specialist to ensure there isn't any damage being done to his esophogus.
Also some tips they gave me were feed in an upright position and try to keep him upright for at least 30mins after feedings. The motto is, "gravity is your friend". I know...kinda dorky but true!

Have you tried hypo-allergenic formula (Similac's Alimentum, purple can, or Enfamil's Nutramigen, orange can)? My son was sensitive to dairy and soy - these fixed helped! He was also given some medication for acid reflux - ask your pediatrician about it. The meds, and the formula change, helped! Good luck - hang in there! Those little tummies are mysteries and straighten themselves out with time!

Hi H.,
Have you tired feeding him less ounces at a time and more ofter during the day? I breastfed all of my kids but one of my sons weened early and I tried all the diffrent formulas and he had the same reaction, he just did not agree with the formula. I ended up too just giving him milk with vitamin drops, I used soy milk too because it has other vitamins and stuff in it. The drops were easy just to put in the bottle and he didn't seem to notice.
Trust your instinct and don't let anyone push you to do something you are uncomfortable with. Also if you think there is something wrong pursue it, don't let your doctor poo poo it, if they even do.
W.

i'd recommend seeing an alternative/wholistic medicine doctor/chiropractic physician. often homeopathy is great for infants/kids. you can try natural formula recipes such as from goat milk combined w/other things. i think nourishing traditions, the book, has one, and mercola.com has one.

I never dealt with formula, but my son happened to spit up a lot too. Some kids just do. You may want to try putting a thick magazine under the head part of his mattress, as it may be a kind of reflux, and sleeping elevated sometimes helps.

Two Suggestons: Could your baby be lactose intolerent? I had a baby a few years back, that spit up constantly just like yours,and eventually they came out with lactose problems. We never knew about lactose things when he was younger, but he always got sick when he drank milf and ate any dairy product. He is older now and can control things with lactaid and keeping away from any type of dairy product. Wish I knew about these things when I had my babies it sure would hae made my life simpler. Also, there is a pyloric valve between the stomach and esophogus, that possibly has not developed entirely. If your baby is thriving not to worry it will develop on its own. Hope all goes well for you and your little guy.

Hi H., my son had the same problem and we changed his formula like 3 times. We finally ended up with the Enfamil A R, it has rice starch in it and that is what worked for him.
He was also diagnosed with reflux and was put on medication from when he was 3 months old up untill 6 months and he outgrew it by then. He had reflux by the symtems he was having and mainly the spitup was a big one, he would almost spit up half of his milk.
We still give him the enfamil ar formula cuz that is what works for him. THe only downfall to that is that it has constipated him but we give him a tablespoon of Karo syrup in one of his bottles once a day and that does the trick.
We first started with a probiotic but that didnt work, then the prune juice but he hated it. So the ped told us what she did with her daughter and it worked so she suggested we try the Karo dark syrup mixed in the bottle.
Ask your ped about the possiblilty of her having maybe reflux and about giving her the enfamil with the rice starch in it.
Good luck and i know it is frustrating but hang in there it will all work out. Let us know what happens.

Well my son had that issue. He ended up having GERD. We were told to feed him cereal. I see you don't want to put it in the bottle, not sure why, but we couldn't get him to eat it through the bottle anyway. We put it in a medicine suringe and fed him that every so often. But really seem to help was when our doctor gave us a sample of Enfamil Gentlease. What a differnece that formula made in his life. If you don't mind changing formulas again, I would try that. Our doctor had us on soy, the hypoallergenic, etc. and nothing worked....that was a save all with us!!

My 9.5 month old has been spitting up his entire life. We had him on acid reflux medication, have tried feeding less, bottled water vs. tap water, cereal, everything. Now his pediatrician calls him a 'happy spitter.' I think as long as your son is gaing weight okay, you may just have to deal with it until he outgrows it. I'm hoping that will be soon...but so far for us, it's still going on!

Have you tried Nutramigen? It is supposed to be easier to digest than typical formulas; however, it is more expensive. I understand being leery about putting cereal in your baby's bottle. I tried it with my second baby with a bottle I got at Wal-mart. It had a bottom that you pushed up to help push the cereal through. It helped her sleep a bit longer between feedings, but that's about it.

Hope this helps.

Hi H., by any chance has your doctor checked your child for acid reflux (GERD)? Hopefully, this will not be the case for your child, but try to look into this just in case. I have had the same problem with my grandson, and he has to drink special milk. Your child could be lactose intolerant, it's a hard thing to figure because babies can't tell us what's wrong. Let us know how everything works out.

My daughter was breastfeed and we did everything for 4 months and continued to live with constant spit-up. After going so far as to try a different doctor, they ran an upper GI test and discovered she had acid reflux. Within a couple doses of medicine she was a new child. At almost 3 years old she still suffers with problems and requires medicine, but at least with medicine I know she is getting some relief from the pain and I don't worried that she is going to vomit after eating something I don't know is a trigger for her. Please check out the possibility of acid reflux...it changed everything for my daughter once we knew what was wrong. I don't know how this website works (I'm still new to all this), but if possible let me know if I can help answer any questions!!

Talk to your pediatritian about GERD, gastro reflux. My twin grandbabies had it. Also each doctor feels different about cereal. The babies are getting it in their bottles but talk to your doctor first

your baby may be allergic to dairy, if you're not breastfeeding, try Isomil which is a soy formula

also for the reflux, try keeping your baby upright as much as possible

I had 3 kids who were allergic to formula, and the pediatrician put them on soy. That was 22 years ago, and I'm sorry I did that considering all we know about soy formula and the effects it has on infants. My daughter who was on soy formula the longest, has alot of behavioral problems, and all my kids went through early puberty, which was likely the cause of the high amounts of estrogen in the soy formula.
There's a really good article online at http://www.mercola.com/2005/jan/12/soy_formula.htm
regarding soy formula. He also has articles on immunizations and baby food, pretty much anything you need to know. Dr. Mercola is a dr. and has the internet's most visited health site in the world. He recommends raw milk, but I would be afraid to do that. You should ask your doctor about goat milk, because that is the closest thing to mother's milk. Baby's who are allergic to regular formula usually do well on goats milk. My kids are 22 18 and 11 and are still allergic to milk, and they all drink lowfat goat's milk. You can get it at whole foods.
I hope this helps. Good luck to you and your baby.

We went down the same road with our first child. Our pediatrician caught the signs early, and went straight for an ultrasound. Is your baby at all projectile vomiting? Our son had pyloric stenosis, which means the opening to his intestines was nearly closed off - thus making his formula come back up (it had no where to go!). It's common in first born males, for some reason. He had to undergo minor surgery - but was instantly better. I would inquire with your ped, just to be safe. It got really "messy" and stressful until he had his surgery. It's worth a shot - b/c the condition doesn't heal on its own - surgery is the only option. Let me know if you have furthur concerns...and good luck!!!!

I know you said you were not comfortable with the cereal, but I just thought you might want to hear from someone who did use it. When my daughter was born, she wouldn't keep anything down. I had never seen anything like it. I myself was against the cereal too, so I only used about half of what the doctor recommended. It worked like a charm. After a few months, we were able to wean it out of her bottle and she was fine. I do understand why mothers would be cautious about using it, but I think in some cases it might be the best choice. I did not know about mamasource when she was born, so maybe you will get some good advice from some other moms that I was not privileged to. Keep us posted!

My son spit up just like yours for almost nine months. We should have bought stock in burp cloths as we always had to have one with us. We had the gas problem too and used drops in his bottle for a few months, we feel they helped. We also used the Dr. Brown's bottles (before we got freaked out by BPAs and switched to glass). I know a lot of babies that have been diagnosed with reflux with the same symptoms however the only difference is that it appears to hurt them on the way back up causing them to cry. In these cases they are given a medication such as Prevacid or Zantac. My little guy never cried and almost thought it was funny when he spit up. UGH! Therefore, my doctor didn't want to medicate, and honestly, I would rather deal with the spit up than have to pump meds into my baby as long as he wasn't uncomfortable. The good news is that it did stop, apparently at around nine months their digestive system is better developed and the problem fixes itself. The bad news is that you have 4-5 months to go before that happens. Good luck!

My one month old son had that same problem. Now at two months he rarely ever spits up. We switched to Good Start formula which I think helped but we switched bottles too which I think made a bigger difference. We were using Avent but tried Born Free and hasn't spit up since. When the bottles were dirty I used an Avent and he threw up all over!

Hello H.,
I am sorry for the worry that your going through. I have five kids of my own so I know what your going through. My son had the same problem when he was a newborn. We were giving regular formula at first and then we switched to the soy which wasn't any better so finally we had to go to another type of formula that was probably the most expensive formula out there but, it worked. The formula is called Nutramagine. It is a formula that is partially digested already so it makes it easier for the babies body to digest it and it stays down. At least I was lucky with it. You may want to talk to your Pediatricion about it and try it.I wish you the best. You may also want to talk to your Dr. to see if your baby may have acid reflux? I wish you and your baby the best.
Sincerly,
W. Mother of five

Try enfamil ar. It is formula with added rice to it so it is a little thicker. My daughter who is now 2 1/2 was the worst puker when she was a baby. We tried several different formulas, including soy....but found that the enfamil ar and dr. brown bottles helped the most. She was considered a happy puker since she was gaining weight and we were told she would outgrow it and she eventually did.

Hi H.,

You may want to talk to your doctor about acid reflux. My son was a premie, had reflux (read; REALLY uncomfortable after eating/spit up), and the doctor put him on baby zantac or zantax, just for two months or so. His digestive system just needed a little time to mature. At that time we also used Enfamil A/R formula for acid reflux, recommended by the dr.

We found the ready to feed formula was what our son tolerated the best, and we changed to the cheaper powdered version, as soon as we could get him to tolerate it.

Good luck...I know it is nerve wrecking when you baby isn't eating well.

K.

Hi there. I think that your baby might have acid reflux. Talk to your pediatrician and see if he/she will prescribe zantac. My daughter had a similar problem and a few days after being put on zantac she wasn't spitting up and wasn't fussy/gassy any longer. Good luck:)

Hi H.,

my advice is a combination of all the below. My son was a spitter, and sometimes a forceful puker, where it would completely bypass his clothing and burp cloth and end up on the floor or me - it was a while before I wore anything remotely nice. :)

First, definitely ask about the acid reflux. it typically shows up around 2-6 weeks, which sounds about the time frame you describe. My son had this and was on a prescription for it. however, my son was clearly in a lot of pain too... so you may just have a happy spitter :)

Also, I agree on the milk/lactose intolerance. ALL 4 of my kids had an intolerance to milk/lactose. They were all given soy formula and they are all fine :) my 12 yr old is on the honor roll, my 10 yr old is getting straight A's and both babies are right alongside their milk based formula and breastfed peers. My 15 mo. old still has an intolerance and is given Lactaid Whole or he's gassy, crabby and has diarrhea. Edit: I was told that the form of spit up, depends on where it came from. If it came from the stomach and has mixed with the stomach acids, it will be curdled. if it was just in the esophagus (sp?) it will look like liquid. A lot of babies also have an immature stomach sphincter where it doesn't close off to keep stomach contents down once swallowed. he may just grow out of it.

Lastly, my pediatrician said it was ok to start rice cereal at 4 months. plain rice cereal, not with apples, not with bananas, plain rice only. It is the least allergenic of the grains, and since it is fortified, there really shouldn't be a concern that it's nutritionally empty. But you dont want to give so much that he reduces his formula intake. I had been giving it to my son already when my ped said it was ok to start. My method was to take one of those medicine cups with the nipple attached to it, and mix some rice cereal in the cup with warm water, attach the nipple and give it to him at the end of his bottle. I must say, this really did help. I didn't have any fantasies of him sleeping thru the night, but it helped with the spitting up. But I think by 4 months I was giving it to him with a spoon... keep in mind, they need to be taught how to use a spoon, and their tongues will instinctively push food out... it's messy, but he'll get the hang of it.

Good luck to you - I know it's scary being a new mom, but you have all of us! God Bless Mamasource!

I am the stay at home dad of triplets (they're now 21 months) and when they came home they all had some serious Acid Reflux. It was horrible in the beginning until we switch from Similac to Enfamil. I don't know why that made a difference, but it did.

There were two other things we did that helped once we found a formula that worked. One was each baby got 5mg (I think) of Previcid which was a tremendous help and we used a special bottle called a podee.

Podees can be bought at Baby's R Us and they are a special bottle that has tubing that allows the baby to drink the bottle on their own before they can hold the bottle (a God send when you need to feed 3 hungry triplets). The tube goes from the bottom of the bottle to a nipple that cuts down on the air bubbles that a baby takes in during feeding with a regular bottle.

Talk to your ped about all three of those things and good luck!

Although I am not a doctor, I am a nurse. It sounds like your son might have reflux. The treatment is usually simple medication and sometimes only takes a few months until the infant outgrows it. 2 of our grandchildren have been through this. They are fine now.

some babies are just sensitive and spit up a lot- others there tiny tummies are to full. Often babies eat and then lay flat- you should leave baby in up right position up to 20 min after feedings. babies should also not need more then 40oz in a day but not less then 20oz as well. if its still a problem talk to your pediatrican- in realy bad cases they use a perscription. as for the gas I can guarantee you that is every moms concern. babies have gas. it can be painful but their tiny tummys are forever growing and chaning so its very normal. some babies cry out before passing gas- gas can be painful but its still normal. make sure to give your baby tummy time and pedal the feet and that should help. I do not recommend cereal in the bottle- there are more kids with allergies then ever. good luck!

My daughter had reflux really badly as an infant. I learned that it is quite common in the beginning, but they outgrow it quickly. Mine did not, so at 6 months she was medicated. It only took 1 month of the medication and she was fine after that. However, my understanding is that the doctors won't medicate a child (in most circumstances) until they are 6 months old and still having a problem, as that is the age by when most outgrow the problem.

Anyway, I did add cereal to her formula around 2 months at the suggestion of the doctor. That helped...the heavier their intake, the better the chances of keeping it down. I didn't notice any negatives of adding the cereal. Because of how thick it is though, I had to buy the Y cut nipples.

My daughter was also allergic to milk, so the soy formula did help too. At least the spitting up was not projectile after switching to soy. There is another formula, though it's milk based, that is called Nutrimagen (I may have spelled that slightly incorrectly). That is a bit more expensive, but is specifically for babies with touchy digestive systems.

Good luck!

I had an infant boy in my daycare with the same symptoms you described. After me telling his parents daily about his vomiting - not just spitting up a little, they really put the pressure on their pediatrician to delve into the problem deeper. What was discovered was Pyloric Stenosis. He underwent a surgical procedure around 6 months of age and immediately began keeping everything down and he grew like a weed. Here's a link with more info: http://www.kidshealth.org/parent/medical/digestive/pylori...

excessive spit up is NOT normal. There is a definite soy allergy and agree to get him off of soy based formula. Sounds like there may be a milk allergy too. Go to Nutragimen formula, the powder is broken down so fine that it is easily digested. It is also soy-free, gluten-free and dairy-free. I b/f, but also supplement with nutragimen b/c my baby is lactose intolerant. After 6 months consider getting him tested for infant allergies, but insist on it, otherwise, you may find out other issues later with the introduction of solid foods. Another good source is www.drrapp.com She talks a lot about the hidden allergies in infants, toddlers and adults! Good luck

Hi H.,
I don't want to scare you but my son did the same thing. Then at 3 weeks old, he was diagnosed with Piloric Stenosis. Basically, the piloric muscle was like the "hulk" and wouldn't let enough food get through. He had a mild surgery to snip the muscle and we didn't have any problems after that. Yo might want to check with doctor to rule that out.
ALSO, the ONLY bottle I could use with my son was Dr. Brown bottles. NEVER any spit up at all! These are like miracle bottles. You can get a set at Walmart for not to bad of a price. Or even look online at the Dr. Brown bottle website.

This sounds exactly like my son. It wasn't projectile though like GERD, just frequent spitting up. We went through at least 6 to 8 bibs per day, and countless outfits. My doctor diagnosed him as having an allergy to the protein in milk. He would spit up a lot and be gassy, sometimes runny poops, and when he got a little older, green poops. You should have your doctor check his stool. Sometimes there are traces of blood (not seen by the naked eye) and that can indicate the irritation in stomach lining from the milk. (DONT be alarmed though, it is fixable!) The problem with soy is that the protein compound is very similar to that of regular milk and that is why switching to soy often does not work. What we did was the following:
1 - Make sure to keep him upright 15-20 minutes after every feeding.
2- Switch to Nutramigen formula. It's really expensive, but if that's what it takes to help him feel better, then that it shall be!
3 - Feed him more often but less quantity. Sometimes too much in the stomach causes spitting.

Good luck! By the way, my son is now almost 8 mos old, and I have tried re-introducing milk based products now and again, and he is still allergic. The doc says that most kids do out-grow it, usually after one to two years.

Good luck!

Denise

My son spit up all the time from when he was born to he started eating baby food. We even had to try different formula, but nothing worked. So the doc. told me to put a little cereal in the bottle only about 1/2 to 1 table spoon.

Yes there is negative things about it
My son always got ear aches, but ater four-five months they put tubes in his ears.

so it is up to you and how comfortable you fell about it
it worked for me

the funny thing is my other 3 kids didn't spit up like he did

Jessica

I can honestly say, I had a similar issue with my now 11 year old son. I was a 1st time mommy, and it was like a scene out of The Exorsist every time he ate. He was 2 months old, going through 52 oz of formula A DAY!!! A DAY!!! The doctor all but called me a liar, because my son was gaining little if any weight. We tried soy, etc. and NOTHING worked. He never slept, (neither did I) he was always screaming (I don't blame him...he was HUNGRY!) and was inconsolable. My son's Grandmother, finally said, "I'm putting him on milk". At that point, I was too tired to even argue. The change in him was astounding! He began gaining weight, he was healthy looking, he quit screaming and actually let me sleep for more than an hour at a time. The doctor looked at me and said, "see? I told you there was nothing wrong!" I just bit my tongue, and didn't tell him what we had done. I know that it sounds terrible and I went against Doctors advice, but it worked for me. Now, three children later, I know that Doctors are not the end all be all. Yes, they go to medical school and know alot, but YOU are the one that knows your child, and after more children, you get a been there done that attitude. You will tend to know when something is wrong, etc. I can't say this is what you should do, but I can say for you to trust your instincts and do what you think is right for your child. And just for the record, all my subsequent children were on their formula for well over a year. All in all, nobody has his best interests at heart more than you do.

Have you tried the hypoallergenic formula?? It is really nasty and expensive but it sometimes does the trick! Oh, also ... if he can't tolerate milk-based formula, there is a good chance that soy won't work either. Many people with milk allergies or sensitivities have a cross-over to soy. Usually the spitting up stuff gets better around 4 months of age. Maybe wait a week and see what happens. ;) Good luck. That is NO FUN! Poor little guy!

Have your doctor check to see if he is lactose intolerant. my son was and he had to take a formula called alsoy or something like that. sorry it was 15 yrs ago so i'm sure they have something similar.

Is he in pain? Does he arch his back, does he cry a lot, is he gaining weight? Both of my 7 week old twin boys were put on Isomil soy in the NICU after reactions to Similac Advance. Once they came home at 2 1/2 weeks, they began to be in quite a bit of pain when eating and spitting up. They have been diag. with having acid reflux, and they are on zantac three times a day due to weight lose and extreme pain. From what the DR. told me, they only give meds when there is weight lose and pain. I would look for these signs to see if it could be it. We switched DR. because we felt our original wasn't being aggressive enough (we orignially just tried bottles, different nipples, propping them up at night and after eating, numerous burpings, etc....none worked). Now we are happy with the Dr. One twin is seeing a GI on Tuesday because the meds (and now a special hypoall. formula0 don't seem to be working either.

Good news though....from all I have read...they do grow out of it. My daughter, who is 2, was a major spitter. We had to use the already made liquid because the powder formula made her spit up worse. She out grew spitting up by 5 months, and the only thing we tried with different bottles and formula.

Remember to be an advocate for your son!

My son had severe milk allergies and wound up in the hospital with severe respiratory problems because of it. They put him on soy and no improvement. They then put him goat's milk and he was fine. We had to keep him on the goat's milk until he was a year old. Sounds silly, but it worked.

The only thing I could add to what has been said is my daughter got better as she sat up and crawled. She was just as bad. We would be walking and hear a splat. Don't worry it will go away. Once he is on the move it will slow down. She was all done once she was walking. The best of luck it is hard to deal with, bibs are the only thing that kept me from changing her every few hours.
M.

When my son was 1 month old he was diagnosed with GERD or acid reflux.(he had an upper GI done)The doctor put him on reglan. I also had to put cereal in his formula which seemed to help. My son screamed day and night. I'm not sure if that's what your son has but it's worth mentioning it to your doctor.

Have they checked for acid reflux? My son was projectile vomiting (don't know if yours is that severe) being breast fed and with formula. Once they got him on the medication for the reflux he was fine. My son had it from the moment he was born, but I have heard that it can take time to develop in some babies. It is worth checking it out.

Ask your Ped about acid reflux. My girlfriends son had the same symptons(at the same age) and was diagnoised with it. I believe there is other meds for him and the certain formulas are going to make it worse.

My daughter had reflux, so I too went through lots of different formula. What worked for us was Allumentium her spitting up stopped considerably. We also used the Dr. Browns bottles, which worked awesome. I did though switch to a preemie flow nipple to assure me she would eat slower which gave her less gas and more of a controlled feeding, which I liked. Then when I was comfortable with her eating I would change her nipple according so. Good luck

Hi H., I'm T., single mother of two girls, 17 and 12. My cousin's baby went through what your baby is experiencing but she also noticed heavy and congested breathing. Because I am asthmatic I picked up on the symptoms and told her to have the doctor check the baby for asthma. Turns out the baby is asthmatic and that had a lot to do with him spitting up his formula. Something to think about. My cousin's son has to have breathing treatments twice a day. The vomiting is minimal now. If you have any questions about asthma, feel free to ask, I'll tell you all that I know. Good luck

Why don't you try a different brand of milk. Infarmeal. My daughter just had her first child and she had a problem with her baby spitting up also. she change from Infarmeal to Similac then back to te original infarmeal after a couple of days. She do not have that problem anymore.You can also go old school and do the milk that our mothers use to give us.

Hi,
there is one more Similac formula you could try. It's called Similac Sensitive R.S. (our pediatrician recommended it to us). It provides the nutrition and helps reduce spitting up (it's milk based formula).It's thicker so you will probably need to change the nipples. Take a look at www.similac.com. Check it out with your doctor first. Besides..maybe your baby should spend more time in a different position durig the day, maybe bouncer would help? Have you tried it yet? Burping is also very important. Try to always burp your baby (after feeding) before you lay him down. I know sometimes it takes time for babies to burp. If it's not something else (I mean more serious problem) the spitting up disappears when babies get older so then you can come back to the regular formula. Hope that was helpful.

My 3 1/2 month old eats about on the same schedule, and about the same amount. I ended up putting him on Gentlease by Enfamil. (its for fussy/ gassy babies) or you could even try Enfamil A.R. is a thicker formula that is proven to reduce spit up by 40%.

My twins spit up like crazy when they were babies(they are almost 7. Then we found DR. BROWNS bottles. They really worked for us. Good luck!

Hi...it's normal for a baby to spit up however, if your baby is spitting up excessively you might want to talk to your doctor about reflux. My baby at the age of 1 month he was spitting up and seemed to be in alot of baby and had lots of gas. It turned out that my baby had a combination of both colic and reflux. However, we went through the elimination process. We started with changing his formula from Enfamil Lipil to Enfamil Gentle Ease and that helped tremendously. You might want to try that formula. I've heard mother's who've switched many times until they find the best formula that fits their baby. Sometimes Similac is strong for the baby. My friend recently switched formula because of the same reason from Similac to Enfamil and it worked. I would honestly try Enfamil Gentle Ease and if that doesn't work talk to your doctor about reflux. I'm a first time mom and I know what you're going through, I hope you find a solution. Keep us updated.=)

My niece had this problem a couple of years ago when she was an infant. Because it wasn't my own child, I'm not sure about too much of the specifics so I don't know how helpful I can be (sorry). However, I do know the problem was acid reflux. I'm not sure what the actual course of treatment was, but I know that once they figured it out the problem calmed down a lot. Has your doctor brought up this possibility? If not, maybe you should suggest it as a possibility. ?? Good Luck!!!

I think others have mentioned this but does your little one have Gerd? Our's did.....we were given some medicine to help with the spitting up. It didnt take away the spit up so yes keep all of your burp cloths but it helped keep our daughters esophagus intact. She basically started growing out of it around 7 months. Also, maybe the other formula was better than the current and your child does have gerd. If your child was projectile vomiting the formula then you would want to be checked out for pyloric stenosis. It runs in our family so I am always concerned. It's also typical in first born males if itsbeen in your family before. I think our doctor gave us a formula called nutraminigen? to try if ours didnt work. I would see if your doctor has a sample seeing that this formula is pricey. Our daughter was nursed the first six months of her life so it has nothing to do with the milk or nursing milk. Gerd is Gerd.......

H., I am a Pediatric RN and a mom of three. Many babies will spit up, sometimes as much as an hour or two after eating. If he seems worse with the soy, go back to the regular similac. You might even find the spitting up is less with the ready to feed or powder vs the concentrate. I have never found out that is better than the others, it's a baby specific thing. As long as he is gaining weight, dont sweat it too much. Their systems arent perfect machines, and frankly, sometimes they just always burp up. Not really much to worry about. The thing about putting cereal in a bottle is, cereal tends to make babies eat less formula, equalling less calories intaken. So, i would avoid cereal unless he is old enough to eat it from a spoon and start with rice. Some babies get over this as soon as the parents get really aggressive about it. Keep with one bottle you like that he seems to eat easily from, oh and make sure if he is an aggressive eater that the nipple has a hole in it appropriate for his age. Sometimes we forget to change the NB nipples out for a older baby's nipple sizes and babies will be gulping and struggling, getting a lot of air in their bellies. SOmetimes that causes lots of grief.

Let us know how it goes, and good luck!

C

My son used to spit up tons and they were going to put him on the alumentum formula, but we tried Gentlease first and that worked really good. It cut way down on the gas and the spitting. We also used the Dr. Brown's bottles.

Good luck, gas really stinks!

My granddaughter did the exact same thing for about the first 4 to 6 mos of her life. Her pediatrian recommended Simalac Infomil Advanced (pink can). (Sam's has the best price on cans of formula). It is soy & lactose-free. We also used the bottle with the bend in the neck (Walmart has the best price on them). She had lots of problem with gas. We didn't start her on cereal until she was about 6 to 7 months old. She was unable to go on milk until she was 1 yr old without violently throwing up. She now can drink milk. She will only drink it if its flavored with one scoop of formula. I see from her over night bag that she can drink anything now without any problem.

Hi H.,

Have you had your son checked for reflux. My baby, now 1 1/2 years old had reflux and had to take Zantac. It seemed to help. She was diagnosed at 5 weeks of age.

An interesting note my mother is also named H. and her maiden name starts with an "H" also. Just thought this was interesting. H. is not a very common name.

Good luck with your son! I hope he is doing better!

A.

If your infant is very fussy and spits up excessively, it may be a cow's milk protein sensitivity or allergy. About 60% of infants who are allergic to cow's milk are also allergic to soy. It is seen more in families that have an allergic tendency, ie hay fever, asthma and eczema. Alimentum is a formula which is cow's milk based, but the protein is broken down and easier to digest. Typically it is the protein that baby's are sensitive to not the lactose. The formula is more expensive, but if that is the problem it is worth it. Recommend the ready to feed initially, if you give it a shot. Give it a week at least to see if it help. Usually, the effect is seen within 24 hours.

If your infant is not fussy and does not seem bothered by the spit up, it is not usually a problem.

Another option is medication like zantac or prevecid if things get worse. Also keep in mind that gerd typically peaks or is at its worse between 4 to 6 month of age.

Gosh this sounds like just what we went through. The Soy was worse than the formula, and my son continued to vomit even with mylicon and a GERD medicine. Ask to be referred to a GI specialist and they will check your child's stool to determine whether there is a milk/soy protein allergy (different than lactose intolerance) which can show as blood in the stool that is invisible to the eye.

The GI doctor had us try Nutramigen and Alimentum, which are formulas where the protein is broken down to amino acids. We ended up on an even more broken down one called Neocate.

The GI doctor had us keep our son off milk / soy proteins until one year. She said if you completely remove the allergen (which the doc should educate you on, since milk and soy proteins hide in MANY processed foods like Gerber cereals, puffs, etc) then the body has a chance to heal and kids can usually tolerate them with no problems after a year off. Our son had no problems when we introduced cows milk at one year and everything else after that.

One piece of advice from my perspective - if you think something 'isn't right' - don't give up. It took us 2-3 months to cycle through all these formulas. The doc had told us to give each new formula several weeks to kick in... but my son just kept vomiting and I'd call again after those several weeks. But when he got on the 'right' formula for him, he stopped vomiting within 24 hours. It was my first child, I didn't know how much to push... but my advice is that if the new formula isn't helping, keep pushing. Trust yourself.

So hang in there! I've got a GI doc in Glenview that we liked if you want her name.

Good luck, let me know if you'd like to chat.
A.

I don't know of a cure, but my son did this until he was 18 months old and he is now 6'3 and 200lbs and 34, I know it's scary but nothing to worry about. Suppose to be a lazy trap door to the stomach and eventually learns to shut and stay shut?

My daughter was the same way until about 6 months. We invested in ALOT of bibs!!! We used Nestle Goodstart formula (regular not soy). She seemed to tolerate it better than any other. We also had her adjusted by my chiropractor (we initially went for her torticollis), and they said there is a vertabrae that can cause havoc if it's out of line. After they adjusted her, I would say she spit up about 25% less (still alot, but at least a little better). Good luck... this will eventually pass!!

I have three kids and all spit up excessively as infants. My pediatrician has always said as long as they are happy then it is nothing to worry about, just a nuisance. If your son seems to be in pain then that is a different story and I would pursue the issue with your doctor. However if he is otherwise a happy baby then I would rest assure that it will stop as his body matures more and more over the next few months. I have a 6 month old boy and I am so excited to get my carpets cleaned after he stops spitting up!!

I had exactly the same problem with my daughter, only I started putting cereal in her bottle when she was four weeks old. It actually didn't help much. Turns out she has very serious GERD (reflux discorder). The pediatrician paid no attention to it because she was still gaining weight. But she also had respiratory problems, which landed her in the hospital when she was five months old. Only then did the pediatrician think the reflux was worth paying attention to, thinking that perhaps the wheezing was caused by her aspirating on the reflux. She was sent for a milk scan, which is an hour-long upper GI where they view how the baby's stomach processes milk or formula. The milk scan showed an impressive level of reflux and she was put on two medications to control it. It made a huge difference.

If your baby has GERD, you'll want to know and treat it as soon as possible. All that acid isn't healthy for the stomach, not to mention uncomfortable. A simple upper GI really isn't enough to diagnose it since it covers such a short period of time and the baby's stomach is empty at the time. Don't let it get as serious as it did for us. Push for the testing.

My 3rd child, now 16 mos. old had reflux. He would have terrible tummy aches to the point we put the gas drops in several bottles throughout the day. He vomited, a LOT. And he would arch his back. And he cried like something hurt. At the hospital we were given Enfamil, but he like his older sisters started getting a rash and I switched him to Isomil. The doctor gave us AXID for reflux. He said it tastes better than Zantac. Then he would spit that out, the pharmacist said it was ok to give it to him in a bottle, but to be sure it was a small bottle he was likely to be hungry enough to finish and get it all.

He was gaining weight, but if your child is not than that issue needs to be addressed right away. If it is reflux, try to prop up after feedings for at least 20 minutes. Our son slept in the spare carseat, in his bouncy seat, etc for 5 months.

And something that was helpful was to put the thick changing pads under him, or a towel, but the medication did help and he stopped throwing up so much. The laundry is enough to drive you batty!

Now we have found out he is allergic to cow's milk, as was my husband as a child so he is on soymilk. He still occasionally throws up, but thank goodness not so much in the carseat anymore!

If you would like, send me a private message, I found a wonderful website and message board, i am not sure if I can post it here?? but I learned a lot from there.

I have a three month old who spits up like crazy too! I actually took him to the doctor because everyone was telling me it was acid reflux. The doctor said he didn't think it was but said I could try Zantac if I wanted. (I think that's what it was)I tried it for a day and his tummy was making all sorts of crazy sounds and the spit up wasn't any different so I stopped. He was also really gassy and fussy for the first month. He was a C-section baby, so in our 4 days at the hospital he tried 3 different formulas and ended up on the Similac soy. We must mention the spit up at every drs visit and he always tell us the same thing....it's normal for some babies and as long as he's gaining weight, he's ok. They just need time to develop. Since our baby does spit up so much we usually keep a bib on him when he's awake. Sleeping him in his bouncy, so he's more upright, helps too. It also seems that the more we move him around the worse it gets. So....it may not be acid reflux and it just might take time! Good luck!

H.,

Allimentum, Dr. Brown bottles and keep those gas drops available. Our family (including 20 something nieces and nephews) have had this problem. Similac is great, but not for children with milk allergies or sensitivities. Not even soy helped. Try Allimentum or Neutramigen. Expensive, but WELL WORTH IT! If you have a family member that works for Abbott, they can also get some money back. Seriously, switch the formula. You will hopefully see a difference in a couple of days. Also, wait a little longer to take your baby off of it. I wait until closer to 2, rather than pushing it at 1. Give that baby's digestive system time to develop. Good luck and let me know what happens.

M.
P.S. Don't be too scared to be a first time mommy. Follow your instincts and don't reject advice from other mothers. Some may act as though they "know it all", but there is something said for experience:)

talk to your prediatrician about GERD gastroesophageal reflux disorder. it is usually managed with medication. also try Dr Brown's bottles. they are excellent for reducung air that may get into your child tummy.

Please note that if your son does have a milk allergy, goat's milk may not be safe! Not all milk-allergic children can tolerate it. Also, any animal milk (cow or goat) does not have the range of nutrients found in formula or breastmilk and is not an appropriate source of food for babies under 1 year. The other posters recommending Nutramigen or Alimentum have the right idea.

All 3 of my children were spitter uppers! My 1st the worst! She projectile puked all day and night long, no matter how long ago she had eaten. It was the worst when she could crawl and then you'd find puke where ever she had roamed.

I find it concerning that so many people use allergies and other diagnoses to explain baby behaviors. My kids are growing fine and there are no allergies. We used no drugs, even though the doctor thought our first had reflux. I feel as though people want their babies to be these neat quiet things that sleep through the night on tidy schedules.

Hang in there...I promise it will get better. My 3 were all breast fed so I can't speak on switching formula or which is best. Talk with your doctor again and use your mommy intuition. Every doctor has their own opinion, so for those that feel like your doctor was worng in making the formula switch is ridiculous. All doctors have their own opinion and way of doing things. Work with your trusted doctor and again use your mommy intuition to make the decision that is best for your baby.

I've read negative studies about having infant boys on soy based formulas, but it has been awhile so maybe the thought has changed. At any rate, you may need to switch brands. Try Enfamil or Good Start. My sister-in-law just had twins and had to switch from Similac to Good Start because her daughter couldn't keep enough down to gain weight.

Is your son still gaining weight? If so, then I would just change the brand. If not, then I would talk to your doctor about acid reflux and remedies for that.

Definitely talk to your Doctor. We has some similar symptoms and after trying many things we ended up with medicine for acid reflux and a hypoallergenic formula. The medicine is not very palatable and it was the Drs last choice and she only prescribed it when my son started losing weight. One of the other things she had us try was keeping the baby upright for 20 minutes after feeding.

Good luck

Hi H.,
This sounds like what we had to deal with when our son was that age. He had, well has, acid reflux and has been on two meds. He is now 9 1\2 months and on prevacid. That seems to work wonders. I'm actually surprised your doc never mentioned because it sounds like a classic case. Try looking on the web for the symptoms for GERD and acid reflux and see if it sounds like your issues. Good luck, I know it's hard to see your son that way. :(

Has your baby's spitup increased more recently? Has he started rolling over yet? Rolling over and pressing on the contents in the belly could make the spitup more frequent.

Go to webmd or babycenter and look up 'happy spitter' and see if the symptoms are the same.

Our baby spit up for 9-10 months. It was disgusting, messy, and annoying - to mom and dad. He could have cared less about it! He'd spit up and then happily rub his hands or face in it.

You can try to burp him until you hear a burp (which I am sure you do), but also try keeping him upright for 30-60 minutes after a feeding and not jiggle or jostle him around.

The spitting up stopped once we were in stage 2-3 foods and disappeared completely once we started actual solids.

Hi H.,
Sounds just like me baby, not only did she throw up but she screamed in pain a lot! It was GERD and what helped was zantac. I hated to give her medicine when she was so little but it really helped. We kept her on the the special formula (cant remember the name noe but really expensive stuff!) and gave gas drops too. It was difficult but the medicine really helped(flavored grape) and she came off medicine at 10 months and now she is fine! Feel free to e-mail me if ya need someone to talk to about it.

A.