Burping up Lots of Breastmilk - Why???

Honestly, it sounds like oversupply or overactive letdown to me (and no one else has mentioned that yet). Do you always switch sides during a feeding? It's possible that, especially after nursing 7 other babies, your body has started to really produce a lot of milk.

Check out this link, and you may want to only nurse on one breast per feeding and start block feeding. It should help your child get more hind milk (which may help him gain weight), and it should reduce the spitting. (I love www.kellymom.com for breastfeeding issues!)

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html

I nursed my oldest for 14 months, my middle child for 2 1/2 years, and I'm still nursing my 21-month-old. I had serious oversupply issues with my 2nd child, and she was a huge, projectile spitter. Once I finally got my supply regulated, she started to do much better. I was more proactive in preventing the oversupply with baby #3, and he did much better from the beginning.

Good luck to you, and congrats on your big family!

2 moms found this helpful

Unless he's colicky don't worry too much about it. You only have to worry about reflux if he's screaming all the time or if he doesn't gain weight. Breastmilk is thin and easy to spit up, especially the watery foremilk. Hindmilk is much thicker. So, don't switch sides unless he's TOTALLY drained one side and still wanting more. It's actually kind of weird that Americans switch sides every feeding, most other countries don't teach this.
Also, you know all those receiving blankets you never use for anything? They make great burp cloths! :)

1 mom found this helpful

Sounds like it may be acid reflux to me. My third one had the same issue. My DH used to freak out thinking that she was spitting up as much as she was taking in, even though that was not the case. Talk to your pediatrician about possibly treating him for reflux and see if that helps. You'll know within a couple of days of treatment if its helping or not.

And yes, there is a possibility of babies being lactose intollerant, but usually it is because of the lactose in YOUR diet. If you remove the dairy products from your diet you may find him to be more comfortable.

1 mom found this helpful

when he spits up with burping --is it like projectile vomiting-- coming out? If that is the case, sometimes they have a gastric inlet problem that your doctor can help you with.

I don't think babies CAN be lactose intolerant to breastmilk. If you think he is lactose intolerant to cow's milk, and you determine to supplement with formula, try a soy-based formula. I personally would hate to start supplementing at this young age..you may have to nurse more frequently so he gets smaller amounts more often.

He may have colic or excessive gas and that's making him feel full and need to burp. Maybe Mylicon (sp?) drops would help.

Try eliminating dairy in all forms from your diet. I have three children with multiple food allergies that had trouble with my breast milk. Check out the FAAN website for more info.

I would talk to a Lactation Consultant, maybe have them observe a feeding. For some reason, it sounds like he is sucking in a lot of air when he nurses. Maybe he isn't latching on correctly. A good LC should be able to help you figure this out. If it isn't a latch problem, then maybe they would have other ideas. I have read a lot about reflux in the other posts. I don't recall reflux occuring with a lot of burping, but I could be wrong. I work in a NICU, and we don't usually see a burping problem with the reflux.
Good luck to you. It can be frustrating when you're trying to figure things out for your child.
R.
PS I have a friend who had to take her child off of Breastmilk because she had so much gas and tummy problems. She switched to a lacto-free formula, and her baby was much happier. So according to her experience, babies can be intolerant to breastmilk.

I would say check for acid reflux or GERD. My youngest son did the exact same thing and it took us almost a year to figure out what was wrong with him. Once we put him on it(Prevacid), within a month he was a completely different baby and we have never looked back. It was the best thing for us (and him) to be persistent. We even had to change drs. because they didn't believe me and would not change their minds. Just a suggestion, but definitely something to look into.

Hi. I breastfed and botttle fed both of my sons, and although both kids gained weight well, one of them had a hard time with a burping problem like yours. I finally settled on taking frequent burping breaks, which made him mad, but it kept him from burping up the large quantities of milk/formula.

It sounds exactly like the problem I had with my second son. I was exclusively breastfeeding and had been monitoring my diet. He got the point that he would lose entire feedings. My pediatrician and I figured out that he had reflux. We tried a couple different medicines for it and he ended up taking liquid Zantac a couple times a day. It smelled and tasted like a liquid altoid mint, but surprisingly my little guy took it like a champ...the first few times he made an yucky face, but after a couple days he sucked it down great. With in couple days his spiting up went away except for the very occasion small amount and he started doing GREAT. When he was 6 months we tried taking him off of it, but the problem returned with in a couple days, so he went back on it. We tried again taking him off when he was 9mons and has been doing great since. He eats everything in site with no problems.

Two things I would recommend. Digestive Enzymes and Aloe.

You can order them online at www.marketamerica.com/W. and feel free to e-mail for dosage instructions. ____@____.com

I have helped many mothers with this exact issue. No need to worry, it is an easy fix.

Cheers, T..

First off have to give you thumbs up for taking care of 8 KIDS WOW I can barely keep up with my 2. lol I would say acid reflux is it. My 2 had the same thing and they out grew it around 3 mo it is just a lot of messes lol. The med they put them on worked for like 1 wk and that was it... Hope things get better for you...

my second was a gulper, and had this problem too.

don't give him formula... just my opinion.

you should try going without dairy products for a few days and see if it makes a difference. keep a food log and notice when it's worse.

you could get a chiropractor to help adjust the valve to the stomach, sometimes it's not as developed as it should be.

Hi C.,

This is a pretty good sign that something isn't quite right with your son's digestive tract. Babies are NOT supposed to have problems with breast milk (that is what they are designed to eat and what breast milk is for!). GI upset/spitting up/nursing difficulties are key signs that the nerves going to that part of your son's body are irritated and not functioning well. If your chiropractor is comfortable adjusting infants, take him in for a check up. Also, look into working with a massage therapist that does infant massage or CranialSacral Therapy. They are great at helping to resolve GI upset and often times will teach you areas to massage that you can do at home to help as well.
Good luck!

It sounds like he's got a lot of gas to be burping that much. Does he have acid reflux? My daughter is 7 months now but when she was that age she used to gulp when I was nursing her, then would burp and spit up. The lactation consultant told me to lean back in a recliner or put my feet up to slow the flow of my breastmilk. This seemed to work. She didn't burp and spit up as much. Good luck!

My first time around was a breeze the second which was a boy he wasn't as easy. The first one ate slowly, he gobbled. So he spit up, Doc said to let him feed a little & stop, wait then go again. Mom's usually know when they are going the baby is ready to eat try starting a little earlier, that way the baby isn't so hungry and won't eat so fast. It is the same as when we are starved & gobble fast it doesn't settle well. I don't know how you produce milk, I couldn't pump, because I was an on demand mom. When the baby cried I immediately filled up. They said I had more than plenty milk to feed 2 baby's but only by hearing them cry, I filled up & both ran out the whole time the baby ate. I also would switch breast sooner than I did on my first baby, giving him a minute to take a breath, because he would gobble & not come up for a breath until I was ready to burp, and then spit up, because he was eating to fast & my milk was running out quickly. Hope something I said helps.

I would also suggest chiropractic care... my third baby would suddenly projectile spit up for seemingly no reason and after two chiropractic adjustments she was just fine. It would seem that she had a vertebrae out of alignment that was pinching a nerve that affects the stomach area. It never ceases to amaze me how intricate our bodies are!

GL!

I would suggest lots of burping even if he gets upset. Also, if you think it's a milk intolerance, cut the all milk/lactose out of your diet. Sometimes this will help the baby.
It could also be a reflux issue. Do not lay him flat after a feed. Keep him sitting up as straight and still as possible for 30 minutes to see if it helps any.

My son (17 months) was the same...sometimes almost projectile. He had reflux and was on a medication for it. He took it once a day and immediately he stopped spitting up. It is also possible he has an intollerance to cow's milk, espcially if you eat a lot of dairy products. My dr. suggested that I limited the amount of dairy I eat & drink in a day and I took a calcium supplement (viactive chew). I would definitly check with the peditrician about the reflux, this could help him keep his food dow and reduce the gassiness too.

C., have any of your children had pyloric stenosis? Normally it occurs in first born boys but that wasn't the case with my younger two children. They both had it and had to have surgery. After reading your story it reminded me of what I went through with them. They would bring up so much milk that they looked like fountains at times! When they weren't thriving like they should have the doctor suggested doing some tests. After it was confirmed, they did surgery to correct the problem. Don't wait if you think that something may not be right. When my second son was having the same symptoms I remembered what I had went through with my other son and went into the doctor's office and told him that I thought that he had pyloric stenosis and we went through the testing again and sure enough, I was correct. Mom's feelings usually are correct.

I started to write you the other day but did not have time to finish.
Congratulations on your 8th!
I had one son who did spit up a lot but never had weight problems, and I did not supplement him or wean him.
The only thing I can think is that perhaps if YOU are eating dairy products and he is lactose intolerant, that could be his problem.
Anything that he might be sensitive to could cause problems if YOU are eating or drinking those things.
It is a mother's decision to eliminate things from her diet that might be affecting her nursing baby.
Also too much stuff from the cabbage family like broccoli, cauliflower, etc., could cause gas and discomfort.
As someone who never used formula, I would be SO reluctant to supplement.
I have a month-old granddaughter now who seems to have the burping/latching on problem and I was wondering if she swallows too much air if she is crying to be fed, and then it interferes with her actual nursing.
She is not having weight issues though.
With your brood, are you able to have a calm relaxed moment to nurse?
Think about it......if not, the hubbub might be too much for her.
And, are you able to anticipate her wanting to eat, and act on it?
I think one of the things I did with my 4th, 5th, and 6th, for example, was to be in our "playroom/family room" with them when I nursed the baby, so that I would not have to worry about what they were doing etc., and I might read to them at the time or just encourage them to play or whatever.
Anyway, if I think of anything else I will send it along.

Hi...I would ask your doctor about acid reflux. That's a very common issue with little ones (which I wasn't aware of). Our daughter had an upper GI done to check for acid reflux (for other symptoms) and it came back with very little if any reflux. She wasn't spitting up though. I've heard a lot of stories about babies who spit up, don't gain weight as well, etc. and that's because they have GERD/Acid Reflux. In fact the radiologist/doctor reading her charts asked if she was gaining weight okay and wehther she was spitting up lots, etc.
Also, we started propping our daugther's crib up one end so that she was sorta elevated to sleep and it seemed to help (I think). As well as keeping her upright for 1/2 hour or so after feedings. Good luck and I hope you can find something that works for your little one! :-)

Hi C.,

Both of my children spit up a lot but my first was the worst. He spit up after every feeding until he was about 7-9 months old! My friend jokes saying I used to carry a "drop-cloth" everywhere I went. He spit up all day, no matter when he nursed last and it was a good amount. It didn't bother him at all (no crying or fussing) so my doctor said it was nothing to worry about. Some kids just do that. I do know that some kids use Zantac or whatever antacid that is because they are bothered by it. But we just lived through a lot of laundry and burp cloths. Good luck.