Stressed About Vomiting!

bc

The only type of vomiting you should be concerned about over a period of time is the projectile ones. Those will cause dehydration and is usually a sign of something underlying. Once he is eating fine now and only doing the gagging type vomit, I wouldn't be concerned. I think because of his past with vomiting you are scared, but remember each day he is getting older and tummy becoming more tolerant. Feed him small amounts and cut back on the quantity of milk and that might help. All the best!

I would have him ruled out for GERD (there is medication he can take for that) and food allergies. Also, is he moving around a lot after eating? My son had GERD, so he spit up a lot, but it would be so much worse when after eating he was crawling. the pressure of being on his tummy would cause him to spit up or vomit even more.

2 of my children had GERD and it sounded different from this. First of all, when you give the doctor the history, are they aware of the type of food? Gagging is somewhat normal but that small amount of puree should be well tolerated by an 8 month old. If he were 5 or 6 months old, it would be more likely to cause gagging. By 8 months, he should tolerate pieces of veggies, fruit, cheese, crackers, Cheerios, finger foods, etc.
I would go back to the pedi and tell them that Mother's instinct wants a second opinion. he could have trouble coordinating a swallow reflex and need some OT. It could be a food allergy. Is the throwing up happening after crawling? That is more of a reflux. Lastly, is it true "throwup" with all of the food or is it a small amount of spit up.
Good luck and pursue it if it feels wrong to you.

I agree that gagging and vomiting are normal when they are trying solids. It is something new for them and the taste and texture is not what they are used to.

He had a stomach virus and you don't usually run a fever with one of those. You can, but it is not the norm.

Also if he has too much milk during the day, that can cause them to throw up. Milk on top of solids could be too much for him, maybe. Or maybe you need to cut back his milk intake and see how that works.

I suggest just keep a close eye on him. I say give it a few weeks, since he is just started solids. If it doesn't clear up, take him back to the doctor.

First of all, I must recommend that you take your child to a pediatric gastro doctor to rule out other causes. I am not a doctor, but I can tell you that both of my children have acid reflux - aka GERD- (they are now 8 and 11) and they had completely different symptoms when they were young. My oldest daughter was the classic symptoms - she would projectile vomit - no mere spit up for this baby. It had such force it would come out of her nose. So she was diagnosed quite young. My youngest child had different symptoms. While she spit up A LOT, it was not projectile. She also would throw up - but not projectile. She didn't have the same painful crying episodes (although she had her moments). But she always had an EXTREMELY sensitive gag reflex. Extreme. Just a piece of food being a little too big would do it, and then she'd throw up. Finally when she was 2 years old and could talk a little better, I mentioned some of her symptoms to my oldest daughters pedi gastro doctor - he said absolutely all her strange symptoms were acid reflux things too. I felt horrible that I hadn't figured out earlier that she had acid reflux - but her symptoms weren't the classic ones. So - I am not saying your child has acid reflux - but maybe he has that or something else - a pedi gastro doctor could help you.

A friend of mine has a child who was FINALLY diagnosed with something called cyclic vomiting syndrome. She spent a fortune in doctor visits and hospital stays, endless diagnostic tests, and got nowhere for years. She's a registered pharmacist and knew about all the drugs, their uses, their side effects. Like you, she got bounced around by doctors being told it was a bug, lactose issues, reflux, you name it. Stress stress stress for her and her daughter. She eliminated all kinds of foods, asked all the questions you are asking. She got nothing from the medical establishment except confusion and expense - and as a pharmacist, she was certainly never anti-medical! Through it all, she herself got very ill. She finally got her daughter on a particular balanced nutritional supplement, and everyone is completely healthy and has been for years. It couldn't hurt you, could very likely help. What if....?

I urge ;you to stop stressing about this. Your baby is picking up on your stress and his own stress may be part of the problem. I suggest that he may have GERD which seems to be common at this age. It just means his esophageal flap isn't mature yet. I also suggest that it's common for babies to gag when they first start eating solids. The tissue that comes down in front of the throat, I can't think of it's name, is sensitive. He'll get used to solids touching it and not gag. Gagging can also cause vomiting.

Because he's been to the doctor and serious causes have been ruled out, I suggest that your baby is normal and doing normal things. Gagging and vomiting are just part of learning to eat solid foods.