Spitting Up - Norwich,CT

My daughter started spitting up around 4 1/2 months and it was often and seemed like a LOT. I asked the dr. and he told me that some babies are just spitters (I was too according to my mom). The Dr. told me that as long as she was a "happy spitter" (no obvious pain or discomfort) then not to worry about it. A lot of people told me that she had severe reflux, but I trusted my dr and decided to wait it out ... she is an extremely happy baby and her disposition never changed. Anyway, she ate well, gained weight and was happy so we just resigned ourselves to dealing with it...lots of burp rags, etc. around everywhere. The formula stained like nothing I've dealt with before and I was frustrated. But, then it just stopped as suddenly as it started....I'd say about 6 months old. I honestly think that her muscles were still developing and that was what the problem was.
Well, good luck and I hope your little one is feeling better soon!

All babies have reflux. Thats why all babies spit up. Just some more than others. As long as your baby doesn't arch her back or scream after she spits up (acid reflux) & she's not loosing weight as a result, she's fine. There's a valve called the lower esophagus sphincter, or LES, at the top of the stomach that is connected to the esophagus. Reflux causes contents to backflow from the stomach into the esophagus. This valve (LES), opens when you swallow to let food and liquids into your stomach, and then closes again to keep stomach contents in their place. This valve is weak in all babies & will strengthen as they get older. My daughter is 3.5 months old and spits up 3 to 5 times after each feeding & several times after. My doctor recommended putting a TBSP of rice cereal to every ounce of breast milk or formula. The rice cereal will weigh down the liquids so she won't spit up so much, breastmilk or formula alone is so light making it extremely easy to backflow. My doctor recommended doing it twice a day. Once right before she goes to bed for the night and the other, anytime during the day thats most convenient for you. My daughter hardly spits up now, its great!!

I babysit for a 10 mo. old baby that spits up all day especially after her 4 o'clock feeding. And I mean, at least couple of times in one hour and 4 times after a feeding. It is usually about a a teaspoon to a couple of tablespoons. The doctor said that her muscles just haven't developed enough and she will outgrow it, when she matures. I usually try to keep her upright after feedings and especially after her bottle. I think it also helps to have her not eat too much at once and have her drink her milk bottle and hour after she eats her food so that she doesn't have too much in her tummy and to make sure she burbs. The spitting up doesn't seem to bother her, so I think she is okay. I put her on a blanket that I can easily put in the wash and chase her around with a spit up cloth all day. After she eats, I try to have her to sit in a chair for a while so that she digests her food. But there isn't much else I can do. She wears a bib all day. If I have her all day she will go through about 4 bibs and two or three burp cloths. If your baby is spitting up all her food then there may be a more serious problem, but sounds like this is pretty normal for some babies.

Hi C.,

My older daughter had reflux--and it was pretty bad. Does your daughter seem uncomfortable at all, especially during these spit-up episodes or feeding? Is she gaining weight appropriately? If she seems fine and is gaining weight, I wouldn't worry. My daughter was screaming and crying for hours on end, spitting up, cramping during feeding, and not gaining weight properly. She also was not projectile, just lots of spit-up (over and over again).

Personally, I would check into reflux. It may be a somewhat mild case that she will grow out of, but if she seems to be in any kind of discomfort or pain, there are meds out there that can help with that. Good luck to you.

I would say a tbsp looks as if she would have burped it up more than if she were to throw up. I don't know if I read this or if someone told me, but if it happens right after the feeding it is spit up and if it happens later then it is vomit. Is there any curdling or smell, or is it just regular smelling/looking milk? I have heard of babies having acid reflux, but I've never known any personally.
A friend of mine took her son to the pediatrician when he was maybe about 3 months old because he was spitting up/throwing up quite often. They ran tests to make sure he didn't have anything wrong internally that was causing this to happen. Luckily he didn't, but they couldn't say for sure why it kept coming back up (maybe it was acid reflux and I don't remember).
Another friend of mine had what she called a digestion chair for her daughter. After she ate, she would just have her sit and play for a while to make sure she had time to digest before she would play on the floor. You could try sitting her in a bumbo with a tray of toys or other things she can reach for maybe 20 minutes after she's eaten to make sure everything makes it to her stomach.
My suggestion to you would be to keep careful track of how often it happens and if you can't judge the amount that is coming up, maybe you could try taking a picture. I know it sounds gross, but it would show the pediatrician what's happening. Take notice of any other things that might happen, like a change is sleep patterns or maybe your changing fewer or more diapers than usual.
Something else you might want to think about is if you're nursing, what you're eating. It might be possible for you to be eating something your daughter could be allergic to. I know there are some nursing mothers that have to cut dairy out because their child is lactose intolerant.

Good luck to you and your daughter!