Spitting Up - Pittsburg, IL

It looks like you have had some good advise. My little girl is now 9 1/2 months old. I had problems with her spitting up too. I switched my bottles to the Dr. Brown bottles. I LOVE THEM! They have the vent in them so they do not suck as much air. There are more parts to clean, but they are worth every penny. It really cut down on her spitting up. Good Luck.

I swear my younger son spit up every five minutes the first year of his life! My doctor told me that he would grow out of it, too. He said, "He should stop about the time he starts walking." And he did! I know it's a long time to wait, but he did grow out of it and now's he's 25 and doing just fine! (We did have to take up the living room carpet!)
Mother of 2--all grown up now

Hi V.,

It sounds like you are doing all the right things. My 5 m/o daughter is sometimes the same way. Though it is frustrating I don't think there is much that can be done outside of what you are doing. Hang in there!!
A.

I had the same problem with my son when he was little (he's now 22 yrs old!) and I was told that there is a flap that closes off when you swallow and that it is very common in boys especially that it takes it longer to develop for some reason and it is usually fully developed after 6 months. I remember it seemed like the day he hit 6 months old that he stopped spitting up. His was more like a forced projectile than just spitting up. Not sure if that is the same problem you are having or not but at that time his pediatrician suggested putting a little rice cereal in his formula to make it a little heavier and that did help some. We were always told as long as he was still gaining weight and developing then we shouldn't worry so much.
Hope this helps some.
R. B.

As long as he is gaining weight well, and not too irritable, trust your doctor. He will outgrow it. I have 4 children, my boys were big spitters. My youngest, now 5, used to throw up the cereal I gave him. He was a spitter until he was about13 mos old. He eventually outgrew it. Just carry around a receiving blanket to act as a spit up rag, and pack extra clothes. It's usually more of a laundry problem than anything else. There is medicine that can be given, but these haven't been fully studied in kids, and why give meds unless absolutely necessary?

My daughter does this all the time. She is 6 months old and still spits up after most feedings. As long has your son his gaining weight and eating, and it don't seem to bother him, then I wouldn't worry to much.

Valarie,

I just had my third 8 weeks ago. I tried two different formulas.
Both did not work. The one made her fussy, the other gave her diareaha. I had to switch to alimentum. She could not break down the protein in the milk. Things have been great since! Look in his stool for blood in it.That indicates a allergy.

I have a daughter who will be 5 this month. When she was a baby she spit up ALL the time! The dr said everything was fine and she could just have a strong gag relex. Now that she's older she throws up pretty easily (when coughing alot, rough housing too long, etc.) Now she's old enough to know when she is going to throw upand can make it to the bathroom. If doc says he's fine just try to wait it out... Good luck

My son spits up every day. He has done this since he was born. I had to start giving him formula to help with his weight (he was breastfed). I first tried soy formula and that was awful!! He threw it all up. Then I tried Enfamil A.R. Lipil and he does really well on that. It has rice starch in it to make it thicker and that seems to help keep it down better. He still does spit up but only a little bit. I just make sure he sits upright quietly for a few minutes right after he eats. Tummy time seems to make him spit up because it pushes on his tummy. Hope this helps.

I hate to simplify it because I understand what you're going through. The reality is that your son will grow out of it.

My youngest had projectile vomit for at least 3 months. It was horrible! I changed her formula to soy which did help subside the projectile but she still vomited often. She calmed down around 6 mos. old. All I can say is keep plenty of clothes and wipes handy. Good Luck!!

I went through a similar situation. My now 14 month old, spit up from the time he was born until about 11 months. There were days were he spit up anywhere from 20-30 times so I can understand your frustration. We tried 3 different formulas, adding cereal to his bottle, sitting upright for 30 min after each feeding....we tried it all. Our Dr. also told us the same thing, he will grow out of it. I'm going to give you the advice of "you know your child, and you know if there is something wrong or if it is normal". I am a first time mom, and for some reason, I just knew there was something more. He was spitting up tablespoons at a time and his weight was extremely low. Our Dr. sent us to a GI specialist, and sure enough, he had malrotation. Now this isn't common, and I don't want to scare, but I said this because it's a mother's intuition. He ended up having major surgery when he was 4 months. He still continued to spit up after it, but it was more tolerable. It did ease up as he got older. One other helpful item we used is a powder called "Thick it". I only found it at Walgreen's, but it thickened his formula to help stay down....it worked wonders for us! I believe it is for people who have digestive issues. Anyways, my son is 14 months old, and I couldn't tell you the last time he spit up. Good luck and happy washing : )

i have a 5mo. old little girl and up until about a week ago, i was changing her clothes a minimum of 6 x's a day, i tried cereal in the bottle, changing formula, not burping, buping more often , nothing helped. i decided to try changing the type of bottle she had, PRESTO...it's the PARENTS' CHOICE SOOTHIE, it's curved at the neck so the baby does't swallow as much air. since then i can keep an outfit on her all day..i love it!! good luck.

I had the same problem with my son and found out some troubling things about the formulas that they recommend that you feed your child. The formulas have 5x the amount of iron that is needed for an adult. Babies cannot digest that amount of iron. So, I got a recipe for homemade formula out of an old Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. I made it and after 1 feeding I noticed a huge difference. Here is the recipe for a 4 month old (the amounts change with each month):
12 oz. evaporated milk
21 oz water (I used nursery water so that I didn't have to boil it)
1 Tbsp. Karo or Corn syrup (this is optional, for bowel movement purposes)
Poli-Vi-Sol Liquid Vitamins for Infants, according to the packaging directions.

Hope this helps you, it did me!

J.

Hi V.,
I have 3 kids, the youngest is 5 1/2 years old now. His baby nickname was little spitter. I breast feed him until we could switch to whole milk (around 11 months). I was like you with the burping and the positioning (I honestly think he just ate "too much," but that is really hard to gauge especially when breast feeding). Anyways, I felt as long as he was happy and healthy it would be OK, my pediatrician felt he was OK like yours. I forget when he outgrew it, but it never was a real problem other than lots of burp cloths and lots of laundry.

Listen to the doctor. My son was the same way. He seems to spit up as much as he took in. I began to see improvements at around six months. Eating cereals and baby veggies did help. My son in 2 now and completely fine. Buy lots of burp clothes and hang in there!

My daughter does the same thing. She's 5 months. We are still waiting for her to "grow out of it." She's gaining weight like she should and is the right length. This isn't stunting her growth and she's perfectly healthy otherwise so I just have plenty of burp wrags/cloths on hand and let her spit up. It's never a ton. Just enough to be obnoxious. LOL! Good luck V.!

Unfortunately...your Doc is right. I have twin girls and one of my girls was a horrible spitter-upper. We changed formulas multiple times, we tried every technique in the book...it didn't help. Now, at 9 1/2 months old, the spit-up is completely gone. It was a nightmare for a while and a huge laundry issue - we went through 4 or five bibs and 2 or 3 burp cloths a day. We didn't want her on reflux meds b/c I think it is way overprescribed and she was never in pain or anything when she spit-up. She was what I read to be a "happy spitter." She would just smile and spit up! Anyway, hang in there. It does get better. I think by 6 months we only had an occasional spit up, and then when they started crawling at 7 1/2 months it got a little worse again, but then it just went away. Halleluiah! The Dr did put them on Enfamil AR (it has rice starch in it to make it a little thicker). It worked better than the other formulas we tried, but it wasn't the magical cure. Her system just needed to mature. Good luck and happy laundry!! ;)

My daughter is 9 months old and is just now growing out of her reflux. Enfamil makes a formula for babys who spit up it is called A.R. We use that and it helps. She was also put on a prescription medication called liquid zantac, that really helped. And last but not least there is a wonder product callled "The Tucker Wedge" look it up, it is awsome. The baby sleeps on it. It is a large foam wedge with a type of sling on it to hold the baby in an elevated postion without slumping to the bottom of the crib. I bought one online, and it was the best thing I could have done and worth every penny. I know what you are going through and I hope I could be of some help.

Hi V.!

Unfortunately, it is something your baby boy will grow out of. My son spit up after every feeding from about 2 months on. It stopped around 6 months. His father is lactose intolerant. So my son was on the soy formula from birth, which is supposed to help with spit up, fussiness, and gas. Well, it didn't really help much at all.

I worked retail at the time, and since my sister is a teacher, she was my babysitter for the summer. She bought the wrong formula one day (lactose free instead of soy) and gave him a bottle of it before she realized it was the wrong stuff. The lactose free formula actually reduced the frequency and amount of spit up.

My pediatrician also told me to put a little cereal in his bottle to help absorb the acid in his stomach. I put in just enough to make it a tad thicker. That also helped with the frequency and amount of spit up. Good luck!

You know your child best--if you feel that he is spitting up more than infants normally do, please press your doctor for more information.

I knew something was wrong with my daughter when she was two weeks old. She just spit up too much. It wasn't until she was ten months old and stopped growing that she was properly diagnosed and treated for reflux. She just wasn't keeping enough nutrients down to grow as she should. Most babies do grow out of reflux (my daughter did around age 1.5), but some need to be medicated. My daughter was on Zantac and then Prilosec daily (Prilosec was a lifesaver for us). My advice is to listen to your motherly instinct and keep asking questions if you feel that something is not right. Good luck!

Hi V.. I feel your pain. My son had it so bad that he did not gain a pound for the 1st 2 months. We put him on alimentum formula and thickened with Beechnut rice cereal. Beechnut is more like a sand texture so it makes it more like a malt. It has been my lifesaver. Also talk to your dr about acid reflux medicine. That has worked for me. My son is 9 months and still has it.

Hi V.,
I have a now 3 year old who spit up everyday, all day. My friends joked because I always traveled with a "drop cloth" for him. It was horrible. Anyway, I tried everything too and the dr. said as long as it wasn't bothering him (crying, fussiness)he would grow out of it. And he did. He did spit up until he was almost 1 year old. Have you tried feeding him less amounts more frequently? My son would nurse for a long time. With my second, I nursed her for shorter periods at a time and that seemed to help a little because she spit up too.
Good luck.

If you haven't tried this already, buy Carnation's Good Start formula. This formula is already broken down for the baby's digestive system. Also Goat's milk will help in the same way. I believe you can get that at Meijer's. When your child is old enough have the doctor check to see if he's lactose intolerant. Good Luck,
T. P.

You may want to have your son tested for allergies.He may be allergic to the formula. My son started to have problems keeping his food and milk down when he was about 14 mos. and he tested positive for several food allergies.

My child has acid reflux and has been on meds since she was two weeks old. They tell you that they'll grow out of it, but as with any issue, all kids are different. My daughter will be two in a few weeks and still has it. She does not spit up anymore, but she chokes up a lot for no reason. One thing her Ped always says is it's best to have good control with the meds and it will go away sooner. I know some Dr's don't like to put small children on medication, but when your child gets to the point to where they don't want to eat because of it or can't keep things down, it's necessary. I guess it just depends on your child and the severity of the issue.

Hi V.,
Maybe see if your doctor says it's ok to put rice cereal in his bottle. It helped us a TON! Our doctor had us start putting in 1 Tbsp of rice cereal for every 2 ounces of formula. You might not even need to make it that thick to have it help. Keep in mind you might have to try different nipple sizes/flow due to the added thickness. My son is 10 months old now and rarely spits up... he used to vomit almost his entire bottle up after he ate! And for some reason he started doing better when we stopped burping him altogether. He started burping naturally when he was done. Our burping him just forced everything back up. Hope this helps!

I had 2 children that were violent projectile vomiters. I don't remember how many times I had to change the carseats, clean the carpets and loads of laundry I did. It is a tough situation. I breast fed and still had issues. I tried everything from a mild diet to no dairy etc. I did the holding up for 30 minutes or more as well. Eventually around 9 months they both started getting better and by 10 months it was gone. They had reflux which could be bad if it the child is not gaining weight, but even when I thought they weren't keeping anything down, they were gaining weight. It is a messy time, but they will grow out of it. Invest in lots of bibs.

My 4 year old has Acid Reflux,asthma,and a few other issues.My doctor told us to start her on rice cereal early and it didn't stop it but it helped.However there are medications to help and are safe.Allena has been on 3 different ones since 2 months of age with no side effects. Hope this helps

My youngest did this too. I thought sure she was gonna have problems. But, eventually, she did quit and is fine now. Just carry extra clothes and burp cloths! LOL

When my son was an infant he spit up ALL the time. There was nothing physically wrong with him, which was great, but we had a lot of laundry! He was breastfed for several months and then switched to formula and neither seemed to make it better or worse. When he hit around 1 year it just stopped. That might be the case with your son, as well. As long as he is gaining weight and is otherwise healthy, hopefully he'll grow out of it.

I am so sorry! My son who is now 2 was a puker. He was breastfed and I did all the same things (burping more, cutting him off earlier, keeping him upright). And unfortunately nothing worked to help it. He just eventually outgrew it my about 10 months. I invested in LOTS of bibs and burp cloths and was just prepared everywhere I went with extra bibs, clothes and napkins to clean up. I know it is a pain, but hang in there it will eventually go away. Hope it gets better for you!!

We moms always worrie. My som spit up alot when he was small. He will out grow it. Just make sure you are prepared for anything and always give him love.

I have a 7 month old son as well and we had the same problem with him spitting up a lot. We tried everything that you have already mentioned. His Dr. said the same thing to us, that he will out grow it. Now that he is 7 months the spitting up has become less frequent. He still does it but it is usally only one or two times(big amounts) a day instead of everytime, mulitple times a feeding. We have come to the point were we can actually take a bib off him after a few hours of feeding him is bottle. It is a BIG pain and we have stains all over our carpet and furniture but nothing was able to help but time and maturity.

Sorry!

A.

Our daughter spit up all the time. I thought it was a reflux or something because it was every feeding sometimes multiple times in one feeding. Our doctor suggested that we minimize burbing during the first part of her feeding. She said that if we are removing her from the bottle while she is eating 'quickly' she could be getting extra air when she is taken off or is she gets upset because she is taken off to burb. It wasn't a huge improvement, but it did help and she did grow out of it.

Both of my sons did the samething. My oldest I actually fixed double of everything because for some reason it stayed down the second time.He threw up in a projectil stream every single time. My doc said it was a common occurence in boys, and it is a under developed eshpogus. So it didn't really matter in what position or how often I burped him it still happened. it took about 6 to 8 months for them to outgrow it. There is medicine for it but it can cause seizures, so I decided to live with it. I hope this helps a bit, sorry I wasn't much help. Good luck hon!

My son had the same issue while on formula. We found out that he was having an "allergic" reaction to it. We switch him to a soy based formula and was fine with that. He's now 7 years old and is not lactose intolerant or anything like that. I'm guessing what ever was in the regular formula was too much for his little stomach at the time.

He may be having a reaction to the formula. If you are using a milk based formula try switching over to a soy based formula. None of my kids could tolerate milk based formula and had to use a soy based formula. I see that you switched formula but I dont know what type you are using now. I gave my kids isomil and they did good with that.
D.

I am a 31 yr. old, married mom of almost 12 yrs. Our kids ages are 10,7 and 4.

All 3 of my kids spit up a great deal. This lasted until they were starting to walk. I wouldn't worry about it.

My oldest son was like this and as he was my first I just accepted it. One day he threw up all over the doctor who instantly said Cow's milk allergy. We went onto a soy formula and by the time he was 4 he was OK. He is not a great milk/cheese person but at 17 he is 6foot 3 and strongly built, so the soy did not harm him. Always check with your doctor before changing off cow's milk. Good luck

My daughter also spit up frequently when she was an infant. In fact, she continually wore a bib for the first year of her life. The doctor also told me not to be concerned. However, she is now five and we discovered through trial and error that she has a milk intolerance. When she began to talk, she frequently had an upset stomach. She now drinks soy milk and is doing fine. You might try switching to a soy based formula.

Keep doing what your doing at this time, and like the Dr. daid he will grow out of it in time, but if he doesn't when he is 10 months, then I would let his doctor know you want a specialists to look at him about it, or if he starts losing weight get him check out at once. But they have done this for years, and they do grow out of it. So Turn it over to God and Pray to help your child to get over this has fast as it can be done, for he knows whats best for all of this. So your not the onlyy mother whom has gone though this. I believe in my heart he is okay, it seems like to me it mostly boys whom have this problem, even thou some girls like myself when I was young, so don't worry, worring never help anyone;
L. A,

Hi V.,
I had the same problem with my son when he was an infant. He is now 13 and I have a 9 and 3 year old also.
We tried everything and there were no allergies. I was told by my ped. that it is common for male infants muscle between the esophagus and stomach to not be fully formed until older and they often have vomiting. We tried every formula under the sun at the time but the only thing that worked was putting a small amount of rice cereal into his bottle (every feeding) and this stopped it. It took a few tries until we got the right consistancy, but it worked. I had to buy the nipples that have the larger hole so it would go through. I remember that I had to always have a cloth diaper on hand and several change of clothes due to this problem. Keep your chin up, I know you may feel helpless when he's vomiting all the time, but he will get over it.

My daughter did the same thing and as frustrating as it sounds, they do grow out of it. The sphincter between the esophagus and the stomach just has to finish maturing.
I breast fed my daughter and she sit up constantly on top of being colicky. But she kept gaining weight and by 8 months the spitting was completely gone. You are doing all the right things.

V.-

I have 5 month old myself and was concerned with her spitting up. Have you tried to thicken his bottles with a little plain single grain rice cereal? I would try that for a while and see how it works out. Good luck!

D. Arnold-Hadley

P.S. only thicken with a couple of tsp.

I went through about 6 different formulas until I found one that worked for my now 19 month old girl.
The best thing was putting about 1 tablespoon of cereal in 6 oz. of formula.
Also, I would give her one dropper of anti-gas medicine for infants before feeding or mixed in the bottle.

My 2nd son did the same thing on breastmilk. Dr.s kept telling me he'd outgrow it 10-12 mos. and to burb, etc. I knew something wasn't right. He'd spit up 20-35 times a day. Had to sleep in car seat to keep from asperating. It improved when he went to whole milk and food, but then the diahrea started. We found out the whole time it was a corn allergy. I had been eating different corn derivatives (it's in EVERYTHING) and he was getting it through the breastmilk. He wasn't gaining much weight by the way and the dr.'s were really concerned and suggested I give him soy formula. We did this one time (he was 8 weeks old) and he dry heaved for 3 hours. Formulas (almost all) are mostly corn syrup. This is the first ingredient. Some of the organic formulas do not have corn. Good luck!

Hi, V.. I have no good advice, just sympathy! My son did just the same thing, spitting up (a lot!) after most feedings. I tried all the same things, too. He did outgrow it, though it took until he was about 14 months old. When he was old enough to switch to real milk, the spitting up continued until I switched him to skim milk. For some reason, the formulas that were the richest in terms of whole milk caused the worst spit up. In the same way, drinking whole milk once he turned one year caused the same thing.

Carry lots of burp cloths with you, and know that it will pass! My little one is now 5! :)

Hi,

My daughter had the same problem around that time too. We used Dr. Brown's bottles that reduce the gas intake. Also, make sure the nipple you use is the slowest flowing...on Dr. Brown's it is level 1. She was never able to "graduate" to level 2 because it always came back up. Also, my doc said to give her a few spoons of rice cereal before each bottle. That helped as well. Be sure to burp him every 1/2 ounce too.

Good luck!
L.