Breastmilk and Spitting up Problems

www.kellymom.com is a fantastic resource for breastfeeding mamas.

Also, try contacting one of your local La Leche League chapter leaders. They can be very helpful and supportive. If you live in Towson, here is the link to your local leaders: http://www.lllofnc.org/OLD/towsonlutherville.shtml It looks like it's been a while since that page was updated, but I know that Carol and Esther are still quite involved.

If you'd like more links to helpful info, you are welcome to send me a PM and I can send them along to you.

Good luck to you!!

Perhaps it's something you are eating.

Right from the start whenever I ate anything with peanut butter my son was miserable - gas, spitting up and constipation. We were both still in the hospital while I recovered from a c-section and I had been eating peanut butter crackers to take away the tickle in my throat. On about the 3rd day there, one of the nurses said that he had had a terrible night (he was in infant ICU due to an infection) and she asked if I had eaten peanut butter. She said it is a common culprit for digestive distress in breastfed babies. Had that not had happened I might have chalked it down to colic or fussiness and never realized it was the peanut butter. I can't imagine the digestive problems it could have caused had I kept eating peanut butter.

You can bet I gave up peanut butter (and I LOVE peanut butter) to have a content, healthy baby.

I don't know personally if any other foods are known to cause distress - but it would not surprise me if there were.

I hope this helps.

Hi Kristin- I understand your frustration. With my daughter I felt that they were just throwing theories against a wall and seeing what stuck. I was happy to switch peds.
you should insist on getting an upper GI for your son to make sure that he really does have reflux. It is a painless test--your son drinks some contrast and you lay him down and you can watch the formula come back up. Second, one doc explained to me that zantac will not help with the spitting up, it will just heal the ulcers. all babies spit up, some more than others. my kids both drenched me every meal. try to vary the position that you feed them in and keep them upright after meals and no pressure on their bellies. Watch your diet and what you are eating. You may want to cut back on your dairy intake. Lastly, there are other drugs out there for reflux. My daughter was on prevacid for almost a year, and my son was briefly on Axid. Both were more helpful than Zantac.

Kristin,
I would love for you to try and get an appt earlier with another pediatrician! Keep breastfeeding! Even an ounce of formula can mess these little guys up. I can connect you with a lactation consult if you are interested. I don't know what area you live in. Our number is ###-###-####- Mothering Mommies, LLC
The other thing that came to mind is something called pyloric stenosis. This can be diagnosed by a pediatrician. Very easily fixed!
I hope it is just a feeding issue. Our LC has many tricks up her sleeve for you to try. I kmow you had tried some already.
As far as the pooping goes....over the counter infant glycerin suppositories will get him moving. Your Dr probably won't want you to use them all the time. Try and find out what the problem is!

Hi Kristin,

I can totally relate to how frustrated you are. My daughter Lilly is now almost 6 months and we have gone through the same thing. Everyone always says the spit up looks like more than it really is but then when they actually saw my baby spit up, they are like " WOW". Sometimes it feels like they are a faucet right? I breastfead from day one as well and in the beginning, Lilly had weight gain that was on the low side of the normal range. The doc didnt recommend supplementing with formula so I just continued to breastfeed and do a lot of laundry. I hated that bibs covered up every cute outfit but more importantly, I was worried that something else was wrong. I used to be on the internet every night trying to find out some magic cure or info on some rare condition I was sure she had. Well, almost 6 months later, I never did find out the reason but I am happy to say the spit up has decreased dramatically since Lilly has recently started on solids. (Only the past few weeks)
Who is your pediatrician? Ours is Dr. Bouge at Pavillion Pediatrics. She never seemed concerned at all and didnt recommend Zantac or any other meds. But Lilly never had discomfort like you are describing.
I'm sure you are already doing this but try to keep the baby very still and in a semi-upright position for a half hour after each feeding. In a swing or car seat would be fine.
Also, have you considered a hind/fore milk imbalance? Give the lactation consultants at GBMC a call, they are extremely helpful. The number is: ###-###-####. Just leave a voicemail and someone will get back to you within a day.
I hope this helps, good luck and hang in there!