Help, Why Is Baby Spitting up So Much

Talk to his Dr. --- but my son would spit up every time I gave him the vitamin suplaments, as soon as I quit giving them to him he stopped (but he was much younger) My Dr. had acid reflux, but that started when she was about 2 weeks old. Some baby's are sencitive to things that do not effect others, so it could be the pill, or maybe something else you have been eating a lot of as well.

It sounds like he has a touch of acid reflux. My preemie had it terribly. We'd go thru several bibs and outfits every day, for both of us! lol Try keeping him in a more upright position after feedings, like in a slightly inclined bouncy seat, the car seat, a swing, etc. For at night you can prop the crib mattress up or actually buy a special pillow for reflux babies (that's what we did). Make sure baby is burping well, sometimes that might mean taking him from breast mid-feeding to burp, too. For cleanups, the easiest thing we found was using receiving blankets. They are a wider area so they protect YOUR clothing better when burping baby, and you get longer use out of them than small burp cloths. We now have probably 30-40 receiving blankets stockpiled.
I know it might seem like it will never end, but once they start sitting up more and walking around, it usually starts to correct itself. My son, like I said was preemie, so his was until he was 16 months, and even now, at 21 months, still has occasional issues with it. Good luck!!

My son spit up a lot since birth. People would say their babies spit up too until they saw my boy. They realized it was nothing compared to the spew that came out of him. So much so the doctor ordered an upper gi, a lower gi, and an ultrasound. We saw surgeons and specialists. He screamed 12 hours per day non stop, no naps and would pass out from exhastion for 12 hours. He loooked ill and wasn't gaining weight well. He didn't poop. I took out dairy, soy and peanuts from my diet. I tried Nutramagen. I kept nursing. He spewed about 30 to 40 times per day. Nothing worked. I finally fed him food at 3 months. He ate like I had been starving him. He gobbled everything up. Everytime he got a bit worse again, I would feed him another meal per day.

Finally at 9 months he usually doesn't spit up, although it still happens a bit. It seemed every month people would tell me next month would be better. It was always 1 month away.

It seems odd it would be the mini pill. I think that you starting it just coinsided with a peak in spit up. For me, while I was on the mini pill, nursing or fomula made little difference.

It seems odd that the doctor is having him on a vitamin since you nurse. Breastmilk is the most perfect food for your child. There should be no need for a vitamin unless he is showing specific deficency symptoms.

Zantac (for the baby), solid food, and lots of bibs and burp cloths have been the only way I have gotten through. I kept wondering when it would end. It will, you just have to hang in there.

I would say it could be related to the vitimin. Most of them have some amount of iron in them, which is what makes the stool smell so badly. Iron is hard to digest, even in adults. (Hence the reason those prenatal vitimins give some people MAJOR neausea problems!) Try giving the vitimin to the baby at a different time if possible. Like if your giving it first thing in the morning, try after a feeding.

Hi, C. --

I'd definitely suspect the vitamins before even any changes related to your mini pill, though I am no doctor. I, myself, have had reactions to different vitamins, depending on whether I had them on an empty stomach or with food -- or in different combinations. Maybe the vitamins are just more advanced than his digestive system can manage.

My daughter had reflux from birth, and she had a terrible time with it. Even now, if she gets worked up, she will reflux, and she's 3. We used an Amby Baby hammock instead of a crib from the time she was 1 month old, and it was the best thing we EVER invested in. It's such a wonderful device - to cradle, rock, comfort and support the baby, and it holds them with their head gently elevated so reflux becomes a non-issue, at least while sleeping. Check out www.ambybaby.com. I would have sold everything else I had for my daughter to have been able to buy this - it was THAT significant for us, and it abides by the latest guidelines re: SIDS.

My daughter's pediatrician prescribed reflux medication for her, and that helped. I think Soy or milk products could also be culprits, but it would seem strange for them to manifest now vs. earlier, I'd think. Again, I'm no pro -- just a mom with a refluxing kid.

Good luck!
H.

I would ask the doc if it could be the pill. My daughter started spitting up a lot more at about 3 mo. I tried cutting out dairy also because my lactation consultant said that is the most likely thing kids are allergic to. For my little girl cutting out dairy didnt seem to make a difference. However I would try if if thats what they suggested. Also, in my research I found out that babies spit up most at about 4 mo. & then it should start to decline. Are you lo's bowel movements bothering him? I would discuss the drops as well. I know some people cannot tolerate much iron. goodluck. let us know how it goes.

I would try cutting out the vitamins first. The iron in them often causes upset tummies. Breastfed babies don't need the those vitamins. The only reason your doctor gives them is because there was an obscure study showing that breastfed babies do not get as much vitamin D, but if your child gets a short amount of time in the sun each week he will be perfectly fine. (He can get enough just walking from the parking lot to a store twice a week, for example.) Only very dark skinned ethnicities really have an issue with lack of vitamin D, since their bodies are designed for heavy sun that we don't have in the US. Breast milk is a complete source of all other vitamins and nutrients! Check out this information:
http://www.kellymom.com/nutrition/vitamins/vitamins.html

For what it's worth, my breastfed baby spit up tons all the time, but she never fussed and she gained weight just fine. She was classified as a healthy spitter! The change in stools for your baby however is a sign something is off, so you're wise to investigate it. I bet it's those vitamins...

When we had our second son I thought I was going to loose my mind with th consent spitting up... my husband would leave for 2 hours or so and when he came home I was covered head to toe in spit up! NO JOKE!

I was at my witts end. No sleep, a 2 1/2 yr old craving attention and no help from friends or family...
we had taken him to the doctor, changed to soy formula, changed back, added cereal, taken him back to the doctor, so on and so forth.

Well we had an appointment with our friendly neighborhood chiropractor one day and he adjusted both of us and we asked him to check the kids. Well come to find out our youngest had a hilashal(sp) hernia. Which in so many words mean that his stomach was being cut off by his diaphram... a few adjustments later n no more puking problem!

Good luck!

Definitely follow up with your pediatrician. My daughter had both a milk protein allergy and reflux.

A sure-fire sign of a milk allergy is blood in the stool. Our pediatricians did not do allergy testing at such a young age, so this is what they went on. I cut all dairy out of my diet, the bloody stools stopped, and I continued to breastfeed successfully until she was 13 months old.

Reflux can be very tricky to properly diagnose and treat. Our daughter had an upper GI x-ray study, which finally diagnosed it (after 10 months of screaming, spitting up, and failure to thrive). Zantac did not work for us, but Prilosec was the magic cure. She is now 19 months old and has grown out of the milk allergy (around 8 months) and the reflux (around 15-18 months). Most kids grow out of both of these conditions around one year of age (give or take).

My best advice is that you know your child best. If you feel there is a problem, keep up communication with your doctors until you see a change. Good luck to you!

Just for your reference. I am a mom of three and nursed them all. My first born was tricky to understand. So, I understand your concern.

Dairy, Soy, and the pill could be irritating the digestion process. However, I would look into the pill first. Why? Because you have not been taking it for very long and the pill might not have many study cases as to the affects or the stats to prove wrong or right any of the risks. A babies belly is very sensitive to milk and what is in it. Also, your group leader is right. Cut the soy not only for your babies health but for your health. It causes much female related problems.
And dairy, that might also cause dry skin, constipation (in your baby), breathing problems, or just bad bms.

I do not recall a stinky odor in the bms unless they were sick. It could be all the changes at once. A good idea might be to take away everything and slowly add what you want and watch his reactions.

I hope that all goes well. Being a mommy is great. May the Lord give you wisdom as you seek to take care of your little one.

Hi C.!

My son starting spitting up more frequently around 3 months and didn't stop until he was about 8 or 9 months old. We started him on Soy formula from day one because his father is lactose intolerant, which is supposed to be best for spit up and gas. It didn't really help!

Around 6 months we switched to just lactose free formula and the spit up lessened, but he definitely was still spitting up. He really truly stopped spitting up when he started eating solids and table food. My doctor just explained it as a stage. At 4 months old, his doctor told me to put a little cereal in the bottle to help settle stomach acid. It did help, but didn't completely stop it.

As it turned out, my son is not allergic to milk nor is he lactose intolerant. He just went through a spit up stage. But I would definitely ask your doctor about your birth control, and mention it to your baby's pediatrician on your next visit.

Good luck!

Have you tasted those liquid vitamins? You should, then you may understand. If you are nursing, your son should be getting all that he needs. I would leave off those vitamins and if he doesn't improve, seek further medical attention. My son has reflux and there are lots of defferent treatments available if it turns out to be something like that. Best wishes.

Hi C.,
My 4th daughter is 8 months now and we nicknamed her "Macie Jean the Spit Up Queen". She still spits up a lot. And being my 4th child, I thought I had seen it all but she's definitely the worst at spitting up. I nursed for 6 months and tried all the things you said - cut out dairy from my diet, etc. She is on pepcid because the doctors call this reflux but it doesn't seem to hurt her. She is what my doctor calls a happy spitter. She'll be laughing and giggling and it just flies from her mouth. Let me tell you at 8 months how tired I am of smelling like spit up and washing spit rags and having her always in a bib!!!! And don't even ask me about the carpet now that she's rolling around and thinking about crawling.
What did help was when we switched to formula and I thickened the bottles with rice cereal. And if I miss a dose of the pepcid, she seems to spit a bit more.
I'm hoping she's not like my littlest brother who was 9 years younger than me and spit up a lot until he was 2 years old!!!
I guess my advice is this....if your son does not seem to be unhappy or in pain and is not losing weight, doing the stuff my doctor recommends is fine. It's just one of those things we have to deal with.
Hope this helps or at least gives you some moral support!

L. Mercer
Heritage Makers Independent Consultant and Director
____@____.com

Have it all.....Family. Success. Your own business in the new and exploding digital scrapbooking market. More details at www.PictureYourLife.com.

Don't let your babies grow up to be jpegs! The fastest, easiest system for digital scrapbooking. www.PictureYourLife.com

Mom of 4 with a full time job LOVING LIFE! See how I do it at......www.HowWeCanHaveItAll.com

Look into reflux. My daughter screamed and screamed for 8 months, and was spitting up so much that when she was 7 months she only weighed 12 lbs and the doctors would not listen. She had MRI's and many many blood tests Finally, after going to five dr's in the group, one listened and put her on Zantac, which didn't work then a few weeks later Axid. The first time my daughter smiled, was after the third dose when she was 8 months and all she needed was reflux medicine. She gradually stopped spitting up, and now she weighs 25 lbs. I never thought I would see my daughter happy. I used those Dr. Brown bottles too, and feed your baby upright with many burping sessions. This helps a lot.
Hope this helps.

My son did the same thing. It turned out he had reflux and was allergic to milk and eggs. As soon as I cut out dairy in my diet (I nursed) his bm's quit being so stinky. The pepcid for reflux helped with the spitting up and crying all night long. Hope this helps.

My baby was spitting up alot also and it was around 2-4 months when he started well it got worse he began throwing up and I had to take him to the doctors and it turned out he had acid reflex. I would call his doctor if you get to concern and he begins throwing up. The doctor told us usually around 2-4 months they show signs of acid reflex.
I don't know about cutting soy or dairy out until you talk to the doctor. I hope this can help you. If you have anymore questions you can message me (:

Look up 'happy spitter' on WebMd and see if this sounds like your son.

Our son started happy spitting around 3-4 months (we're talking 12-15 times a day) and it has just about cleared up at 11 months.

We fed our baby expressed breastmilk for the first 4 1/2 months. As soon as we switched to formula full-time, the spitting up improved (not to mention that the colic went away too). We also used Enfamil AR (thickened with rice starch) and it seemed to help a bit.

Please don't change your formula without consulting your pediatrician first; it might be completely unnecessary. In so many cases, babies spit up because their digestive systems are immature OR they've learned to roll over onto their bellies and pressure on the abdomen forces up the contents. If your baby spits up and doesn't seem to mind, then chances are he is just a happy spitter.

Things to try:
keep baby in upright position 30-60 minutes after feeding
avoid jiggling or vigorous activity after feeding
when he starts solids, feed the formula first then the solids