Excessive Spit Up - Normal,IL

Hi, We went thru this with my oldest daughter. They had us put a little cereal in the formula to thicken it just a little and then we used nutramagin(sp?) formula (which is broken down more for their systems). It is expensive stuff. We also had her sleep either in her carseat or the swing at all times to keep her from choking. Good luck, T. J.

hi D.. my second daughter did this too. it never seemed to bother her which was good and she defintely had no issues gaining weight so i didnt want to risk giving her any medication to treat it. although, if she was in pain i wouldve considered it. it continued until she was about 6.5 months old then she was fine. it was like she outgrew it. good luck.

Several years ago, one of my daycare kids went through this. After much persistance on the part of the parents (and I)the docs discoverec that it was more that reflux. Look up Pyloric Stenosis on the web. It is much more prevalent in males and first born males even more so.

Good Luck

If you trust his doctor, give him the Zantac. I would trust what my doctor suggests more than a naturalist who does not know my son and is probably not licensed to treat anyone, let alone babies. Not trying to sound snotty, just logical. Nora P. is correct, better the Zantac than a torn up esophagus - the Zantac will help the situation and reduce the acid, providing relief from pain and discomfort that I'm sure your son is experiencing. Often herbs could exacerbate the problem - I find herbal remedies often go down harshly and taste terrible. (If you question his doctor or really don't want to give him the prescription, get a second opinion.)

If you are breastfeeding exclusively, try changing your diet. I've heard cutting dairy may help. But keep doing everything else the way you already are.

My son spit up and vomited a lot (though not as bad as what you're going through) until he started on solids, then it just went away. I can only imagine how frustrating (and gross) it must be. I wish you luck!

I didn't read all the responese, but before you do meds or cut out dairy you might want to try some breastfeeding managment techniques. Sometimes babies who spit up alot are getting alot of milk at one time. You can try just nursing on one side per feeding or one side per block of time. So if you nurse on the left side at 7 every time he is hungry nurse him on the left side until 10. Then switch sides. It's called block nursing. Many babies who seem to have reflux have mothers with an overactive letdown or over supply. You can read more about it here.
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html
If that doesn't help then you might look at a dairy allergy. Although as long as your baby doesn't seem too uncomfortable and is gaining weight well it is more of a laudry problem than a health problem. Don't let anyone tell you that formula is the answer. Most babies spit up more with formula and it's way stinkier and harder on the babies tummy.

Hello D.. I have only one suggestion and that is the drinking of cow's milk or eating dairy products. I have three children and with all of them I could not drink or eat dairy when breastfeeding because they would projectile vomit everytime. It is usually a sensitivity that is outgrown eventually. Hopefully this helps you!

T.

My son was on Zantac at 2 weeks old. It is wonderful! Your predatrician would not recommend it if it was a problems for infants. I definitely would give the Zantac to your son. Why make him suffer.

It is very normal to have projectile spit-up with reflux. You are doing things right by burping him often during feeding but also do not lay him down within an hour of his feeding (whenever possible). You can also buy a wedge to place under his mattress when he sleeps to keep his bed lifted on one end. I used an extra blanket under the mattress to achieve the same effect without having to buy anything else. I hope this helps.

You both need to be taking probiotics, if you don't bottle feed him (which is fine, I support b-feeding), then take some for yourself. Florajen 3 is a good brand found at Whole Foods or Amazon, Florastor and PB8 found at www.vitacost.com

He doesn't have the good bacteria in his body to help ease his vomitting.

It should help!

Good Luck.
J. W. MPH

Hi. Are you sure its not pyloric stenosis??? My son had problems after coming home from the hospital. I would walk around with bath towels for burp cloths ao I wouldn't have to keep changing. Anyway, I tried to breastfeed, didn't work and then proceeded to try a number of different formulas. Well He had surgery when he was a month old at Childrens memorial and he was fine within 2 days! Not to scare you but it might be a possibility. Have your doctor do an ultrasound to be sure. Good luck.

Zantac sounds like a terriable idea for a 4 month old. How do you know you're not overfeeding him? You can't see how much baby is getting when you're nursing. They suck at different intensities which releases larger gulps at different times. I would try nursing for shorter times and give him a pacifier afterward. It doesn't hurt to try. Try burping him on your knees with your spread slightly so his little tummy is being laid on while burping. Head and shoulders on one of your legs and thighs on your other leg so his tummy is in the opening. No pressure while burping. My husband use to do that with our kids when they were giving baack their milk. It worked. Good luck.

I don't know how long this has been going on, but my daughter had an issue where she did projectile vomiting sometimes a couple times a day for awhile. I don't remember how long, but it wasn't for just a week or two. We never took her to the doctor, and eventually she just stopped. Her doctor wasn't too worried about it (we did call him). I think she may have been around the same age. I was BFing too. She's 28 mths now and totally healthy. It just all went away as quickly as it started.

My daughter was a super puker too (now 2.5). I remember constantly having to change because I was covered in it. We thought it would be one of the things that miraculously dissapeared at 12 weeks but it actually lated until she was about a year. We introduced solids around 6 months and it got a little better and got progressively better until one day we noticed that she wasn't doing it anymore.
Our pediatrician said it happens to some kids and not to worry so we didn't even consider putting her on any medication.
I remember feeling like it would never get better, but I guess my advice, as long as it doesn't bother your son, realize that it will get better.

My daughter spit up so frequently as an infant (till about 10.5 months) that we actually got a new washing machine! I told my husband that if I had to do a load of laundry a day that I was going to be "greener" about it!

The real question is: does your son seem to be in pain when he spits up? That is the key ingredient of reflux. Does he writhe around, arch his back, cry inconsolably? My little one would spit up and just go on with her day... as she got older she used to play with it on the hardwood :) We typically went through 12-16 bibs, more burp cloths than I can remember, several outfits. Our doctor called it a "laundry problem" and much to her credit didn't want us to medicate her since she didn't seem to care about it at all.

Good luck and be patient!

Poor baby.... I know you've received a lot of advices already but if I were you I would get a second opinion... go to another doctor. Frequent projectile vomiting is NOT normal and it isn't reflux. Reflux causes mild spit ups and some discomfort, that's all. My baby also has reflux and I got a ton of info from his ped, who also told me to watch out for frequent projectile vomiting as it is a sign of something other than reflux. Before trying any other medication (being natural or man-made), please, go see another pediatrician, for the sake of your baby. Good luck.

My son, who's now 6 years old, took zantac for reflux when he was a baby. My doctor said is was perfectly safe and nothing bad ever came out of him taking it. I was so relieved to finally realize why he was so fussy. He wasn't spitting up, so he had a milder version, but the zantac worked like a charm. I would give it to him if I were you. He'll be a much happier baby and you'll be a happier Mom. Don't feel guilty, it will help him!

B.

I had this problem when I was breastfeeding one of daughters and it ended up being that she could not tolerate my breastmilk. It may be something that you are eating that is disagreeing with his stomach. For my daughter it was that she was allergic to dairy and since I was drinking milk and eating dairy products it effected her little tummy. I stopped all dairy intake and I also supplimented her with a bottle of soy formula once in awhile.

Hope this helps and good luck!

D.: You are going through the same thing I did with my son. As I shared your concern, I also realized there are a lot of other things that can happen if you do not utilize the Zantac and get the acid reflux under control. My son had an episode so bad that the Phallgeum (hope I am spelling it right), basically the flap that goes over your wind pipe when you swallow food clamped up and he stopped breathing. Granted it was probably for about 30 seconds but I can safely say it felt like hours. Additionally, as acid backs up and comes back up (the projectile vomiting), its hitting his vocal cords. Side effects from this are nodules can form on your vocal chords. I know because I had horrible acid reflux while pregnant with my son and developed these nodules on my vocal chords. Also, I knew how it felt the burning of the acid coming back up so I knew my son was in discomfort. Weighing all this I went with the Zantac and I thank God everyday I did. My son turned into a completely different baby. Now at five, he is healthy as can be, active, reading (he started reading at four, loves fruits and vegetables, and has no issues right now with acid reflux (knock on wood). Like I said completely see your concern with putting something in your son however I would just weigh all the other side effects that can happen if you let it acid reflux continue. Wish you all the best! N.

Hello D.,
My now 22 year old spit up buckets --forever. Just like your little one he was happy and gained weight just fine. Eventually, I just got used to walking around with spit up on my shoulder! No meds, we just lived with it until he outgrew it. No worries, just lots of spit up!

zantac is better then a scarred esphogus... just saying...

Usually when they start eating lots of solids it works out on it's own. Other times you need to eliminate diary from your diet if you are nursing or switch to soy formula.

ohhh D..... Both my kids were this way. My daughter (who is now 3) and my son who is 3 1/2 months is going through the same thing. When I was reading your post I could have written it! It's kind of a joke in my family how much my kids spit up. Everyone in the extended family has been christened.

We use Dr. Brown's bottles b/c the "straw" inside moves the displaced air to the end of the bottle so the baby isn't reswallowing it. I'm not sure it's working though. We also try to sit him as upright as possible when feeding him. Although, if you are breastfeeding neither of those may work for you.

It gets better when they start on solid foods and can sit up on their own. Until then, stock up on laundry detergent and don't worry -- it will pass. In the mean time take some pictures of the spit up soaked baby - you'll laugh about it later. Cheers.

dietician (?) Bonnie Minsky http://www.nutritionalconcepts.com/ recommends an elimination diet (for you, since you are breastfeeding) for some situations like this to determine which foods cause the reflux. I used her guidance to ID foods my son was allergic to for eczema. It's not easy, but you may decide it's a good option.

hello i have a daughter who is about to turn one, and i went through the same thing. she spit up all the time i kept taking her to the doctor and finally took her to a specialst, and she was on zantac too. the specialist said that i was doing everything right and that she would just grow out of it, and she did....thank goodness! but just hold on im sure your little one will too!!!

Hi D. - My daughter had the same thing at 3 mos. We took the zantac and she was done with it by 6 mos. sometimes the valves inside their bodies are not strong enough. The reason I had her take zantac is because the burning from the reflux was painful for her. I wanted to spare her the pain of that - its like heartburn but more severe. So - she was fine with it. I dont want to tell you to do anything that goes against what you feel - so also take comfort in knowing that it most likely will get better at 6 mos - so if you can hold out for 3 mos - its worth a try. My daughter could not even sleep when this was going on, so it was a risk we took and it turned out fine. Another thought - If it is projectile vomit - have her looked at for Pyloric Stenosis. This is a little more involved and may seem like reflux at first. The doctors ran an ultrasound on my daughters abdomen and ruled it out. Pyloric Stenosis is when there is another valve lower in the abdomen that is weak I am not sure if this one gets stronger with time - once it was ruled out, I did not look into it further (I dont even know if I am spelling it correctly). Anyway - take comfort in knowing that reflux is usually something they grow out of very soon! By the way - does your child have hiccups - alot? My daughter did and still does & I am wondering if there is some sort of connection.... Just a hunch on my part. take care and dont hesitate to email if you want to talk further

My son was on Zantac from birth to 1 1/2 yrs.old.(Acid Reflux)and then started to have ear infections at 6-7 months. He had tubes put in both ears last year and that has helped him get off of Zantac completely,no ear infections and no more vomiting. (Loyola Hosp.)

Prior to surg. we were advised to inclined the head of his mattress to 30-35 per Peds. MD. That helped a little, but my son learned to move himself down and turn himself around to the lower part of the crib... many sleepless days and nights... My son is 2 1/2 yrs.old and is a happy toddler. What a true blessing.

Question... does your son vomit in the car? My hair stylist shared her problem with her son having vomiting issues from birth due to(Acid Reflux)vomiting all the time even in the car. Was put on Zantac & then on Prevacid and nothing worked. Finally,saw a Peds. MD at Good Sam's hospital and had his adnoids removed in December 08. This boy is 7 yrs. old and has stopped vomiting completely. His mom is relieved to say the least.(7 yrs. of vomiting!) Hope you can clean this vomiting up for good & soon! Hang in there! Your son will be in my prayers.

The same thing happened with my son. His doctor prescribed Pepcid and explained that while he will still reflux. The medication will make it easier for him and it won't burn so badly. I had all of the same questions that you have. The good news is that he's 18mos now and the episodes have almost completely stopped. If he spits up anything it's maybe once every blue moon. I also have cut down on his medication. He only reiceves it once a day. And I will soon be asking his doctor about quiting altogether. I hope and pray that your son grows out of it too. I hope that this helps allevite your worries.

My grandson use to have the same spit ups when he was younger, he is 10 now. We too were concerned but thank God Daniel grew out of it. I believe befor he was 1 yr old. We never used anything except gave him more purified water to drink. Hope all goes well with your little one.

My son does this whenever he's agressively teething, which started when he was 2 1/2 months old (he's now 11 months old). He'll go for weeks without any burp-ups at all, and then all of a sudden there's a lot, all day and every day, for a few weeks as another tooth moves through the bone or cuts through the gum. It's occuring now, in fact.

I don't know that this is it for your son, but just thought I'd mention it. He's an exclusive nurser, and I see a nutritionist for natural supplements.

I am so sorry to hear that your son is spitting up so much. There are a couple of things you can do. You could use the tucker sling or just put a pillow UNDER the matteress in the crib to angle one end. Burping him throughout the feeding can help too. After eating hold him upright for 20 minutes and make sure that after eating he doesn't go flat on his back for an hour. My son also has acid reflux and he is on Prevacid and it works wonders. I noticed a difference in about two days.

Good look.

I used Zantac on my preemie for 3 months & it was a life-saver--it finally got her off of her supportive oxygen she came home on--seeing as I started her on it at around 2 months old, if she had been born on time, I didnt see any adverse affects, & she eats great now at 3 years old.....hopefully that could give you a little confidence with the meds--good luck with whatever you use, but dont take one article you read regarding a med, educate yourself completely--especially with stuff on the internet, it is not monitored enough to be scientific fact. I used Zantac with a very high risk infant who is not on any type of meds now & I would use it again.

My son was a buzzard too. He's a little over eight months old now and seems to have slowed down considerably.

Keep up with the vitamins. If he's big enough, maybe try a little cereal to get some solids in his belly.

I wore sweatshirts because they are thick and then a robe over that...kind like a shmak (how do you spell that) that nursery workers wear.

I carried around receiving blankets and cloth diapers as burp clothes....burp clothes were too little. I probably could have worn a blanket as much as he spit up.

Keep him in cheap jammies like Walmart zip up jammies that are two for nine dollars. Easy to change and wash.

Keep doing what you are doing....We tried zantac, but my little guy refused to swallow it. He would hold it in his mouth and then it would just roll out the sides because he wouldn't swallow. Even when we flavored it, he wouldn't swallow it.

As long as he's gaining weight and seems happy enough...I wouldn't worry about it too much. It is just annoying to have to change so much and clean up so much. I had to clean my carpets and the floor everyday. I still wear thick sweatshirts because now he's teething so he's snotting every where and drooling buckets! Something else to look forward to right?

All my kids kids were spitters. My first was by far the worst. I had to keep the washer 1/2 full of water and throw things in there as the day went on....we went through lots of clothes and puke rags! People that visited actually used to bring a change of clothes...she got almost everyone I know. We tried drugs...but she was growing...so we stopped all drugs, I was nursing too, nursed her for a year. She could not tolerate cereal til 9mo...we started on veggies and fruits at 7/8mo. She out grew it and is fine now...almost 5...just wait til he moves....ours crawled and would leave us present s all over the place...but it does get better!

Good Luck

Don't stress!!! My daughter did the same thing. I was so frustarted with changing her all day (and myself). My doctor also said she had reflux but did not prescribe anything. Once she started eating cereal the excessive vomiting stopped. I did everything you did...burp multiple times while feeding, after feeding...and she still threw up hours after she ate. She grew out of it by herself and has become a great eater. Just hang in there and take stock in burp clothes! :)
Good luck!!

With my reflux baby, the only remedy which worked was Babies magic tea.

I dont know where you live, but I wonder if you would consider taking your child to a chiropractor. It isnt what you think...he isnt going to crack your babies neck. I have been seeing mine for years and he has helped me with all sorts of ailments. His name is Dr. Steven Andreano and he is in Lake Barrington. 847*713*2500 I am so happy you arent just giving your child Zantac without first trying the natural route! Also are you giving the baby any probiotics? O and one more thing Chiros are not all created equal so please email me directly if you are too far from here and I can try to find you someone closer to your area. Good luck!

D.-
I know what you are going through. Both of my kids were/are like that. My son did it his entire first year and my 8 mo. old daughter is still doing it. I would definitely not give him the meds. if he doesn't appear to be in any pain. I have asked numerous people (Dr., lactation consultants, etc) if its something I should worry about and I always heard that as long as they don't appear to be in pain than its just something they do. I never did anything to adjust my diet. It probably would have helped but I would have gone crazy trying to figure out anything that may have been causing it. I did/do everything that you have tried and I still have not found a solution. Some days are better than others. The one thing that I have found to be helpful is that I use those flannel receiving blankets as burp cloths instead of burp rags. You can open them up and cover yourself pretty well. I have a friend who's son was a spitter as well and she even sewed a few of the blankets together. That will at least help in hopefully reducing your outfit changes!! I know you were looking for a better answer than this but I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone. Good luck!!

K.

Hi D.-I don't really have much in the way of advice...just wanted to let you know that I have been there too! My daughter's spitting up was mind blowing and I was doing laundry on almost a daily basis to keep up with it all! It started slowing down a little by around 6 months and by 9 months was much less frequent. I think by a year she stopped entirely. She is now almost 3 and is healthy as can be. I read so much at the time about excessive spitting up and the one phrase that stuck out in my head is "it's not a medical problem, it's a laundry problem." So, from someone who has been there, just hang in and know that it will stop eventually. They grow so fast!

Hi D. - my daughter who is now a little over 2 went through the same exact thing for a little over 1 year. It was non-stop and very annoying. But, like you said, wasn't really bothering her or causing her not to gain weight. She was perfect. I did have her on zantac and took her off myself at 3 months. I didn't want her getting addicted to it. That could be why it lasted as long as it did. But, just hang tight...eventually it will stop. Sorry I didn't have a cure but at least you knwo you're not alone. Good luck!

My sister's son had something like this and it turns out his stomach muscles were weak and the food would just come back up because there was nothing working to keep the stomach closed, etc. He had to have physical therapy.

She would feed him using a towel over his outfit and that seemed to help.

My son spit up a lot too (not that much though) due to a milk allergy (as a result of what I was consuming). I gave up all dairy for the rest of the time that I nursed and he did much better. Might want to try for a week or two just to see if it works. It's difficult to do but so worth it for the little ones. :) Good luck.

I haven't read all the feedback you've gotten so this may be a duplicate. Have you considered changing YOUR diet? I'm a grandmother now, but when I had my first child, projectile vomiting happened when I had drunk a glass of orange juice the night before. If you haven't already, try eliminating foods that are common irritants for breastfeeding babies like acidic or gas producing foods.....orange juice, tomatoes, onions, etc. May you all rest a little easier in peace.

My daughter had reflux so my two tips are for you to monitor your diet...in my daughter's case the reflux subsided after we switched from regular to soy-based formula. Are you eating a lot of dairy? The other is to keep him elevated for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes after eating. My nieces had severe reflux and this is what they did to combat it. Also keep in mind that reflux in babies usually reflux is said to go away after a year. My 2 nieces (4 & 2 y.o.) are drinking soy milk but otherwise fine, and my daughter (9 mo) is still doing good on the soy. Hope that helps and good luck!

In my experience... some kids are just barfy. You have already figured out that keeping him upright for an hour or so after feedings helps a lot. Most likely this will get much better around 6 months, and probably will be completely resolved around 12 months. If he seems happy and is gaining weight, I wouldn't personally worry about it. I'm generally not one to give my kid drugs unless he/she is clearly miserable, though.

Hi D.. Your son's spitting-up sounds exactly like what my son went through, although my son was on formula (so it had nothing to do with what I was eating!) My Pediatrician prescribed Axid instead of Zantac, but I think they are very similar drugs. This helped him tremendously, and after about 2 weeks, he stopped spitting-up. Since your Doctor has already diagnosed him with Reflux, I would strongly consider using the prescription. PLEASE be careful about withholding the medication he needs, as untreated acid reflux can permanently irritate the lining of the esophagus, and serious complications can occur. Many children outgrow reflux by the time they are 10-12 months old, so this may be temporary. Best wishes to you and your little one!

D.,

My oldest son had excessive reflux but this was in 1986, when doctors weren't so quick to prescribe medication or want to do needless testing. Like your son, he was thriving, so I lived with the constant changing of both he and I, and washing down everything from his crib, to the couch, to the carpeting, to the car. He had a milk allergy, and I didn't nurse but had him on a soy formula. When he started walking it got better, but he continued to have reflux issues off and on until he was almost 8. This never interrupted his growth or health, in fact, he's one of the healthiest of my 4 kids. At the age of 22 he has no adverse effects or lasting problems, and we can see the humor in some of it - like how the cat used to take off the moment I sat on the couch to feed him because he'd targeted her more than once.

Hang in there!!

We had the exact same problems with our son. We felt like we couldn't take him anywhere, not because he was a bad baby, but because he spit up everywhere. The spitting up really peaked around 4 months. We did put him on Prevacid for his reflux, but it didn't decrease the spitting up, but he no longer had really sour (acid-y) spit ups. Our Dr. had us start cereal at 4 months. The thicker food helped. Our boy is 7 months and he's so much better. He still spits up occasionally, but it's much more reasonable. We've even dared to take off the constant bibs! Good luck -- and I agree with the earlier comment that it's more of a laundry issue than a health issue :)

My son had reflux pretty bad (he wouldn't eat until he was on medicine) at birth, and they prescribed Prevacid. IT was a compound i gave him with a syringe or in a small bottle with a little breast milk. HE was on it for a year and outgrew it. It worked wonders!
Good Luck.

We had the same problem with our son. We did put him on Zantac and it made a HUGE difference. He was on it until 15 months (at 12 months we tried to stop, but he started spitting-up again within a day. He is almost 2 and doesn't seem to have any "complications or problems" from the zantac. I know there are concerns about putting young children on medications, but it was the best thing we did. He was a much happier baby since he wasn't spitting up all the time and I was a happier mom not having to do laundry or clean spit-up multiple times a day. :)

I have been there. My son spit up a ton until he was about 6 months old. If he isn't crying that it hurts and your baby is gaining weight then he is fine. It has to do with the muscle at the top of the stomach not being fully formed. It will get stronger with time and the spitting up will stop. We tried everything too including giving him the Zantac once and then threw it away (it bothered him more than the spitting up itself). There aren't any homeopathic things that will make it better, nor formula changes or burping or sitting him up after feedings. It's just going to happen. It seemed to get better as we started cereal around 4 months and then completely went away when we started baby food. It's more of a laundry problem then anything else.

I feel your pain!! My son is now 3 months old. He spit up/vomited excessively and it turned out he had pyloric stenosis. SO, at 7 weeks, he had surgery for it. He did well for about 2 weeks (on the vomit front anyway...he wouldn't let me put him down for 1.5 months after the hospital ordeal though) and then started vomiting AGAIN. We had another ultrasound done to see if that muscle had grown thick again and all looked good. SO, we went from soy (already had him on soy for lactose intolerance) to Nutramigen. That made it worse. We then switched to Alimentum and the doc put him on reflux meds too. I felt like the meds made him worse! SO, I started to put 'Baby Bliss" in his formula and take him off reflux meds. It's a homeopathic remedy found at Walgreens, etc. It has helped a lot!! I tried a different brand and it didn't work. I found the one with only ginger and fennel root did the trick. The addition of any other herbs seemed to bother him just like the reflux meds did. SO, he still pukes more than most babies and I still go through quite a few bibs, outfits, etc. but it has noticeably decreased it. At this point, I guess the verdict is that we're to 'wait it out' and at 6 months things are supposed to magically change. Oh,I do put rice cereal in his evening bottle now and he sleep through the night and does NOT throw that up. (weird) Good luck!! ;)

My daugther also has reflux and we have been using Zantac since she was 5 weeks old. Can I tell you it saved our life and changed our world instantly! I prefer the natural approach as well but her being comfortable was of utmost importantance was a high priority in addition to seeing the chiropractor and using probiotics. I was told you can't really "overdose" on Zantac which made me feel better about using it. Hopefully it's only short lived and he will not need it too much past a year. Best wishes.

It does sound like Pyloric Stenosis. My son had it at around 2 months. Maybe you could ask your Dr. about it. It is very frustrating. He was able to get through with just medication , not surgery. It is usually with first born sons.GOOD LUCK.

My son did the exact same thing. It turns out that he was severely allergic to cows milk. I cut out cows milk and his spit up nearly stopped. It was dramatically less. He had the "normal" amount of spit up when I cut ALL dairy from my diet and had a soy based formula. I had a hard time giving up dairy, but it was worth it in the end. My son is still allergic to dairy but I am taking him to a NAET (natural) doctor. If you want more info on NAET, go to the website below. Devi Nambudripad has written a bunch of books. I plan on going to have some treatments once my sons are complete. Good LUCK!!
www.naet.com

Mine was spitting up a lot too. I read around 2-4 months they start. If you are breast feeding, make sure that he is propped up high enough and that your breasts are not overfull. Don't put on diapers too tight like me. I went through a week of spitting up with lots of mommy/baby changes but it seems to have subsided at least for now. Good luck.

I found these suggestions on webmd.com

Tips to reduce spitting up

The following tips may help your baby to spit up less often. If this advice does not reduce the frequency of spitting up, contact your doctor.

* Feed your baby smaller amounts at each feeding.
* Feed your baby slowly.
* Hold your baby during feedings.
o Don't prop your baby's bottle.
o Don't hold your baby in an extreme upright position or place your baby in an infant seat during feedings.
* Try a new type of bottle or use a nipple with a smaller opening to reduce air intake.
* Limit active and rough play after feedings.
* Try putting your baby in different positions during and after feeding.
* Burp your baby frequently during feedings.
* Do not add cereal to formula without first consulting your health professional.
* Do not smoke when you are feeding your baby.
* If you think a food allergy may be the cause of spitting up, talk to your health professional about starting your baby on hypoallergenic formula.

I have 4 children who are almost grown now and my 2nd child spit up all the time...not just spit up it was the projectile vomiting and I thought he had something wrong too. I breastfed him also. He probably doesn't have anything really wrong and as long as he's gaining weight then he is getting enough to thrive. I wouldn't worry about it. Eventually he will outgrow it.

I want to ditto the response about milk and dairy products. Have you tried cutting these out of your diet for now? My first son was a projectile vomiter. The first thing the doctor told me to do was cut out milk. This made a huge difference right away. He still spit up but not projectile. Hope this works and you don't have to use zantac.

My 1st daughter was the same way (except her doctor didn't think she had reflux). It stopped just after she turned 6 months... thank goodness! Many friends told me at the 6 month mark, she would stop and they were right... so see if it settles down around that point! Good luck!

Hi D.. I too had the exact same problem with my son when he was very little. It was such a problem for all of us because my son was losing weight and he looked really skinny. After switching formulas constantly, we finally tried the zantac syrup and it worked miracles! He stopped throwing up and he finally started holding in his formula and also began packing on the much needed pounds. What the doctor told me was that a lot of babies are born without some tube leading into their esophegus closing properly. I guess it's like a flap or something that doesn't close all the way for some babies, which is why their "food" keeps coming back up. (Hope that makes some sort of sense:-) I can't remember it all right now since it was 3 years ago:-) anyhow, I never had any problems with the zantac syrup and it was such an answer to my months of prayers and agony. I hope you can find relief for you and your baby. I know how nerve racking it can be!

It could be reflux. Our daughter wasn't as bad as your child, but at 17 weeks she was put on Zantac and now she is 9 months and doing fantastic. Hardly any spitting at all. Ask your doctor. Good luck!

D.-actually you are very correct about the zantac and it only MASKS the symptoms, it is not a normal par for the course to put ANY child on medication like that--have you tried eliminating certain foods from your eating regimen?? Dairy, nuts, gluten, broccoli and garlic are the biggest triggers with dairy and gluten being the top two. You may have to eat bland foods-with alot of fruits and veggies. Also are you taking any over the counter meds or prescriptions??

Trader Joes has a whole list of gluten free foods and they have a list online or you can pick up in a store. Also get the baby on DHA's (omega 3 and 6)!! They are so very good for him--they easiest way is to do a liquid but you can use coconut oil (organic and cold pressed). When you buy it it looks like a solid but becomes a liquid at 76 degrees. He is having problems with the acid levels. You can also give him pH drops. You can mix the two in pure clean filtered water (NOT nursery water!!)

Many times young babies already have leaky gut syndrome which is triggering the reflux and will cause life long issues. So just be aware of it now--do some reading on leaky gut and the acid alkaline balance let me know if you have any questions.

Good luck!!
T.
Detox Coach

My son is now 1 and started Zantac at about 4 mos. He was colicy, was refusing to take more than 1 0r 2 oz of bottle at a time, and would spit up incessantly, but he was gaining at a healthy rate. He just was having small frequent feedings. We used to go through burb rags by the dozens. And I had piles of laundry on a daily basis. We have tried going with off the Zantac on a couple different occassions over the past year, but he just goes back to being cranky and vomitting. If you've never suffered from acid reflux, trust me it is a truely miserable experience, no wonder the poor little guy cried all night long. At any rate we tried an herbal supplement and it didn't work at all. Within a couple days the Zantac really made a difference. My poor, upset, hurting (but still oh so handsome) baby boy became a happy, carefree little guy. According to a couple different pediatricians that I spoke to no one knows the long term effects of Zantac use on infants. From personal experience the short term has been beneficial. As one doctor told me, "It may cause absolutely no problems, no one knows for sure. Once in a while we'll try taking him off of it. If it goes good, well keep him off, if not we'll put him back on it and try again later." So that's what we're doing, good luck to you. I was colicy as an infant and am on Prevacid now, so maybe some of us just don't have the right acid balance in our stomache from the get go. I hope your son does well.

i have a 4 1/2 mo old daughter that has reflux also. We tried zantac and it made her scream for the 1/2 hr she had to wait to eat. I was weiry about putting her on adult med and in an infant dosage. so we only use mylanta, 2ml, prn when needed and then we dont overfeed. Biggest mistake with reflux kids is to overfeed. I will NEVER feed her an 8oz bottle due to her reflux, since now we are eating food. It just helps her no have to go thru vomitting it up and the burning. hope this helps and wish you luck. It is hard to deal with, and hopefully they grow out of it
D.