Frequent, Recently Started Spit Up

My daughter developed reflux at 5 months out of nowhere and it sounds similiar to what you are describing. She started spitting up and vomiting after eating at inconsistent times, especially after being sat up from a horizontal position. It started effecting her sleep too. The doctor diagnosed her with reflux and we were skeptical but after a month more of symptoms, we gave in and gave her the meds he prescribed. It is a baby version of zantac in fluid form with no side effects. They hope she will outgrow it. She is 12 months now and we still need it but we have not increased the dosage. Try raising the crib on one end where her head rests by putting a board or brick under the legs of the crib also or putting something under the mattress the end where her head rests to help elevate. It may relieve some discomfort. I have a friend who is a speech pathologist and she recommended not to ignore this b/c some babies have "silent reflux" with very little symptoms but it can do damage to their esophagus if untreated. Good luck!

I had this with my second daughter too, although it started a little earlier. For her, it happened when I ate eggs or anything with eggs in it (ranch dresing, etc.) I think milk, soy and eggs are the most common culprits for breastfed babies so you might try eliminating one of those at a time. I saw immediate results (within 1 day) of eliminating eggs.

Mine didn't start spitting up until about 9 weeks... and then he was a frequent, HUGE spitter-upper until 11 months. He still (at 19 months) spits up sometimes. If there is no weight issue, no dehydration issue (unlikely-- it looks like more than it is), and no pain/crankiness, then just invest in towels (those little receiving blankets work great) and grin and bear it. I got very good at hearing the sound that precedes the spitting up and turning him away from me so he'd throw up on the hardwood floor and not my office clothes. It is so hard to see them throw up breastmilk!

At almost 5 months, you could certainly think about adding some cereal, veggies, etc. It helps. If it gets to be a problem, talk to your doc. We used the zantac and it helped, but mostly you just have to live through it.

Dear K.,
This does not sound as though it is advantageous to good health practice and I would definitely seek professional advice on this one.

my son did this too - i was also exclusive b.f.ing and it came on all of a sudden. i took him to our chiropractor (hes been seeing her since birth and i swear by her) and she did a simple, quick thorasic adjustment and he never spit up again! not sure where u are, but her name is dr. blossic and she is in hockessin.

It could be reflux. Talk to your pediatrician and get her on some medicine. My son had the same thing. He is on zantac and it has helped significantly. They eventually grow out of it.

giving her any other food? cereal, baby jars?

Burping her enough? is her stomach hard? maybe excess gas

maybe something in your diet?

Hi K.... i would not worry.. when my son started spitting up around the same time, i was told 4mos is peak spit up time.. as long as she's not having discomfort and eating well i would not worry about it.. of course, you can always call your ped if you're concerned!

Hi K.,

Just wanted to let you know that my also-exclusively-breastfed-daughter also went through a phase like your daughter. I brought it up with her ped, but everything was fine...she told me to burp her more, but that didn't help. Eventually she quit spitting up just as suddenly as she seemed to start.

I would call the pediatrician. I would be concerned about dehydration. Maybe they can look into reflux, etc. Better safe than sorry. I would keep a spit-up "journal" to see of you can detect any pattern at all and you'll be able to refer to it at your visit. Good luck to you.

I've had 3 kids, all with reflux up until 2 or 2 1/2 years old. It does seem possible that you're dealing with reflux, but it sounds like a fairly mild case. Illness and shots can sometimes cause flare ups with reflux. It's possible that prior to this, your daughter had more "silent" reflux, where some liquid will come part way up the throat but is reswallowed rather than actually being spit out.

For what it's worth, I would only recommend pursuing meds if you are dealing with weight gain issues, pain, or respiratory issues from the reflux. If your daughter is generally healthy and happy, I'd just deal with the mess. Zantac and many of the other reflux meds will not really decrease the amount of spit up (or only minimally), but will make your baby more comfortable if the spit up is acidic and causing pain. The meds that would decrease the actual amount of spitting up can have some serious side effects, and so are generally reserved for much more serious reflux. I'm not saying you don't need meds - we did use them with my kids due to pain - but just that you may not need them even if it is reflux.

Sorry to ramble, but we have spent lots of time researching and dealing with reflux. Hope things improve soon.

My little guy is 5 months old and is also a "spitter" although he's been that way since birth. He is breastfed as well. The cause of his spitting issues is a weak stomach muscle which his pediatrician suspects will strengthen up by 6 months and the issue will subside. He isn't in any kind of discomfort and doesn't seem to mind spitting one bit. For us it is more of a laundry problem than a health problem, which I'll take any day! I'm not sure if this is what's going on with your little one but I thought I'd throw it out there to you! One additional note: I was really concerned with the amount that comes out when he spits up but his pediatrician informed me that most of what you see is saliva, not milk. I would suggest checking with your pediatrician for some peace of mind. Good Luck!!