1 1/2 Month Old Son Spits up and Agitated After Eating Seeking Advice

I had a similar problem when my boys were smaller and as a pharmacist and herbalist I had to come up with a solution. The solution was a tea that helps with their digestion it is 2 tea bags chamomile tea, 1 slice ginger root, and 1/2 tsp fennel seeds to 4 cups water made into a tea and cooled. I would give it to them in a bottle and also made their formula with it. Works great for digestion. My sister in law who is breast feeding also uses the Gripe Water that I have sent her that helps in a similar way.

What bottles are you using? Avent and Dr. Browns should keep him from swallowing air. You also may need to go up a nipple grade: one with more or bigger holes so he can get his milk a little faster.

Changing the nipple flow, possibly the bottle type. I have had good luck with Dr. Brown's bottles and nipples or Airvent. Burp more often like after every oz. If he seems like it hurts, check with the dr for reflux. Good luck and congrats on a new baby!

I have two sons, ages 3 and 8 weeks, I had this problem with the older one and now my newest is doing it. I have found a miracle called Gripe Water, it's herbal drops you can get at any health store and it works for stomache aches and hiccups and is all natural. I think the main ingredient is peppermint to settle the stomache and it has worked wonders. He is one of those babies who has a really hard time burping and spits up even if he does burp so right after he is done eating I put him over my shoulder so his stomache is pushed against me and try to burp him as best as I can and then if he gets fussy I give him a little gripe water and it settles him right down without him spitting up. It's fairly cheap and it's all natural so it won't hurt him and it can be used for older children when they have stomache aches as well. Also try laying him on his left side after eating, my Dr. said that is the best position to lay them on if they have reflux. Hope this helps, good luck.

Have you considered the possibility that the baby is vomiting for a different reason other than drinking too fast? All three of my daughters vomitted after eating every meal until I pulled dairy from my diet. When my breast milk was free of dairy the girls would have no pain, discomfort or vomitting. They would eat quickly and burp without even spitting up at all. It's just a thought but not hard to test. You will know after pulling all dairy from your diet for a full 24 hours before you pump. It can't hurt to try but I do mean every drop of dairy : milk cheese, even non dairy creamer, ice cream, sour cream.
I hope you and your baby are free of spitting up soon :)

There are lots of different types of bottles that address the issue of air. Go to Babies R Us and checkthem out. Also you can get slower flow nipples, this may help.

It sounds like he may have some type of reflux. You may want to take him to the doctor to see if this is the case as well as rule out an allergy. He could be allergic to milk.

I would try a different bottle and slower flow nipple first and then go from there.

Good luck!

My son was very similar and had very bad reflux until he was about 15 months old. Everything he had came right up. He was on Zantac until about 16 months which definetly helped a ton. We had to physically pull the bottle out of his mouth frequently while he was eating until he got a little older and could slow down eating by himself. Dr. Brown's bottles also helped alot. It was a very frustrating time, but be assured it will get better. Good Luck!

My sister had this exact same problem. She took her son now 11 months old to the Dr. several times for the same thing. They checked him for acid reflux and other causes. It really came down to burping him often, making sure you are using a #0 or #1 size nipple on your bottle, and being patient until he grows out of it. At three months her son finally quit spitting up on a regular basis and is now a terrific eater. Good Luck!

My twins did that and it was GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease). The Dr. gave them medicine to take before eating that would cause them not to spit up so much. Also you need to keep your baby upright longer before burping him and after burping him. Another thing that works is to put his crib at a 45 degree angle so that he sleeps with his head more upright. This will help him to not spit up so much and allow his esophagus to heal from all the spitting up.

I would agree that the slower nipple will help, but I had a spitty baby boy that we would burp more often. I know that when you are breastfeeding-from the breast-you don't burp (at least I don't) but in between breasts and then after the feeding. With my son we would burp him every couple of ounces because he would suck alot of air and spit up alot. But I would suggest talking to your doc about it too, there might be an underlying condition that would cause this---talk to the doc just to make sure.

HI kristi,
well to stop youe son from drinking air you have to hold his bottle a certain way so he don't get those uncomfortable air bubbles. next time when you feed him try holding his bottle up a little more and see if that help. and the spiting up is normal. He might just have a sensitive tummy so feed a little at a time.burp him after every couple ounces and see if that helps.

My second baby had quite the issue with spitting up. In fact, he actually spit up until he was nearly 2. The problem was nothing to do with diet or speed of eating. The problem was that the valve at the top of the stomach, which forms after birth and not before, was quite slow to form in his case. But he was like the Exorcist child - he'd spit up a shocking volume. We consulted the pediatrician about it when he was about nine months old, who referred him to a surgeon. The surgeon looked him over, didn't want to operate on one so young unless it was absolutely necessary, and advised us to wait until age 2 and return then if it was still a problem. It had resolved itself by then and we got through it all without having to put the baby through abdominal surgery.

Hi, K..

It sounds like your little one is swallowing too much air & spitting up to get rid of the air. You may want to try burping him a couple times while he's taking his bottle. By not allowing him to fill his tummy all the way before burping him, it should make him easier to burp & he may not spit up everything he has eaten just to get that air out.

Also, if you're pumping...remember he eats what you eat & some foods may make him gassy. Foods I noticed I couldn't eat during the 1st few months (for my son) was onions, chocolate, full fat cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, broccoli, baked beans.

Good luck. Let us know what helps or doesn't. =)

Hey K.,

My name is D.. I too am also married to my best friend and I have a 11 month old son. I breastfeed until my son was 7 months so I have been there. My son had the same problem...he spit sometimes so much after he ate I wondered if he had gotten any of the milk at all. :) I asked my Dr about it and she said his valve at the top of his stomach muscle was not closing all the way after he ate allowing extra milk to come back up. She said it also could be do to extra air coming in and when your son goes to burp all the milk on top of the trapped air comes back up.The only thing she recommended was to sit him up more when he drank.(which does help) What she told me unfornuately is that the problem will solve itself. She said as he got bigger the valve would shut... and she was right within a few weeks to a couple months it became less and less... So I hope this helps..I also use these bottles that I can not remember what they are called but they are winnie the pooh and they have a round thing in the bottom with a tube that goes up to the nipple that is attached to a plastic wheel..sounds weird but they help with the air. I wish I could tell you the name of them... So hang in there it will change in a short time as your son grows and gets stronger.

D.

Hi K.,
Congratulations to you on your newest addition! Our baby had a similar issue, and after a lot of trial and error, we never found the cause. He would get fussy with both the breast and the bottle. We checked for reflux, but that wasn't it. I kept a food journal, but never found a common link. Eventually though, he just grew out of it. I think it lasted from about 1 month old to about 3 months old. I see that you have received a lot of very good advice already, so if none of it seems to work, just know that he will probably grow out of it.

Sounds like reflux. My two (really three, just didn't know) with reflux had a very hard time latching on. I guess that's pretty normal. I'd check with the doctor. There's several meds you can use. We've used two different ones with good success and no side effects that we've noticed, although our son does have sour smelling breath. The dentist said his mouth pH is a bit off from the meds, but should return to normal shortly after going off the meds. It is improving as the meds are reduced. You might also try changing the nipples to a faster flow. I just thought of the reflux since you said he had troubles latching on. There is a very distinct latch that a feeding specialist can identify if it is reflux. GL! Congratulations on the new little addition!

I started getting my son used to the bottle at 6 weeks, and he would take in too much milk because he was used to sucking harder on my breast than on the bottle. So we switched from Level 1 to Preemie-sized nipples to reduce the intake.

We used Dr. Brown's, which I found the best for reducing air intake and spit-up, but other brands also have Preemie-sized nipples. The only problem was that they aren't always easy to find at the regular store. But I did find Dr. Brown's Preemie nipples at Babies 'r' Us, and you can also order online.

Good luck!

My baby was born on 11/30 so sounds like they are about the same age. I'm exclusively breast feeding and even though she eats slowly, we have tummy issues and spit up also. My ped said she suspects GERD and recommends to burp baby every 5 minutes during feedings. I am also giving her Mylicon. Both help, but I'm also keeping a food journal to see if I can see any patterns. We have food allergies in our family and I'm wondering if something I'm eating is partially to blame. It's like everything else with parenting, trial and error.

My son does this. He has acid reflex and is on medicine that helps settle his stomach. He still spits up after feedings, but what I have found that helps him is after he eats to prop him up either in the bouncer or with a pillow and not to play with him to much. This helps him settle his stomach after eating. I also try to burp him once while he is eating to get the air out.

My son did the same thing. He ended up having acid reflux, and we gave him baby zantac to help with the discomfort. He still sip up a lot, even after the medication. Our doctor just told us that some babies are "spitters". I remember always thinking it was a lot, and he would always get the hiccups. At 4 months old our doctor suggested started him on some rice cereal (or even adding some to the bottle), and that helped tremendously. All of a sudden he was barely spitting up - instantly! So maybe check with your doctor about acid reflux to help with the discomfort, but don't worry so much about the amount he's spitting up. They always say that it looks like more than it really is. Also, I used Dr. Brown's bottles, and they are supposed to help with gas. Good luck!

Hi K.,
What a loving mom you are, pumping for your little one! It's a lot of work, but oh so worth it. Our little guy also had latching issues and finally caught on to breastfeeding at 3 months -- so there is still hope for that! He also spit up while on the bottle a lot too. As some of the other moms have suggested, do try the slowest-flow nipple you can. NUK nipples worked well for us. I found their slowest-flow at Babies 'R Us and plunked them onto glass bottles. Ditto on the burping. It gives little ones a chance to pause for a moment as well as get out extra air. Re: exclusively pumping, there is a message board at ivillage.com that I found really encouraging in those months. The ladies there were so dedicated, and had such great advice. The link is: http://messageboards.ivillage.com/iv-ppexcluspump. Hope things go much better, and keep it up! :)

I'm uncomfortable giving infants meds unless absolutely necessary.

My 1 yo spit up A LOT at first, and only breastfed, it was that projectile that comes with reflux. Plus she was getting a lot of milk fast... we did the weigh,feed,weigh thing... I found that if I sat her more upright while she nursed and burped her more often helped. She outgrew it quickly.

Spitting up is rarely a problem other than the mess. You may want to talk to your pediatrician about it.

I had my first child in 1997 and we use to give him a little bit of peppermint in some water and that would help a little. We had our second child in 2005 and talked to the doctor about it and he dianosed her with GERD gastroesophagial reflux disease and gave her a prescription medicine (I can't remember which kind) but it helped her tremendously. Once she started eating baby food and table food she didn't have to have the medicine anymore. So you may want to check with your doctor. I hope this helps.

Make sure the nipples on the bottle are the slowest they make for that brand. My daughter did the same thing. I would have to pull the bottle out and let her catch her breath and swallow slower, you can put the bottle near her, let her take a few swigs. Also it helps to do Mylicon drops BEFORE and helps the burping go easier too.
Hiccups are pretty typical and if he is swallowing air, just take the bottle out after a few gulps and let him relax before starting again.
I had the same issues as I had to pump and give a bottle to my daughter for the same reasons.
Look at the nipple though, get the slowest one and if you have to get another brand do so. They make them really to slow down the flow of fluid.
Hang in there, Good luck!
I also had to go to Neutramigin at 3 mos of age as my daughter was bothered by everything I ate, I was down to toast, water and bananas basically until I just got her the predigestive formula. She had a lot of tummy issues early on.
Keep tabs on how fast, change the nipples, burp often and it should be fine! :)