52 answers

Spit up Crazy!

I am a new mom of a wonderful 6 week-old girl who happens to spit-up tremendous amounts throughout the day. She is breastfed, healthy and gaining weight at a normal to rapid pace so I am not worried that she is not getting enough milk. However a few other moms have commented on the amount that she spits up making me think it may be abnormal or that there may be something I can do about this. It comes up and spills out frequently and in large amounts. Needless to say we are both changing our clothes several times throughout the day or just throwing up our hands and calling it our new perfume! Not sure if she may be overeating, reflux, or positioning perhaps? This happens if I sit her up to burp or let her rest, though it seems less common in the middle of the night when she stays in one position during and after feeding. I still have a few weeks until her next checkup so I'm hoping other moms out there can either relate or give suggestions? Until then, I'm thinking of buying head to toe burp cloths for me and baby to stay clean and dry!

What can I do next?

So What Happened?™

Its been quite a while since I posted my question and received so many helpful and reassuring responses. So thank you to all who took your time to write about your own experiences. My daughter eventually just grew out of the spitting up without the aid of medication or any major diet changes on my part. I did try reducing milk in my diet some but was never quite sure if it was helping or not. In any case, she is now two and quite healthy, definitely another phase we lived through but at the time was worrisome... I guess that's par for the course being a parent, and especially a new one. Thanks again mamas!

Featured Answers

Both my kids spit up quite a bit. With my daughter (now 8), she was gaining weight fine so we didn't do anything and she eventually out grew it. It seemed to help to hold her in an up right position for 20-30 minutes after she ate. With my son (now 5), the spitting up was more extreme and his weight gain slowed down at about 6 months. We had him tested and he had bad reflux. With some medicine, the problem was solved. And he only took the medicine for about 6 months or so. Hope this helps!
M.

The same thing happened to me and my son...he eventually grew out of it! The Pedi suggested not to let him continue to lie down after being breastfed, and to sit him up, or lie him on my chest up-right for a while until the milk was settled in his tummy...this seemed to help a lot!

As long as she's putting on weight, I don't think you have anything to worry about-- except all that extra laundry. My son was the same way when he was an infant, but he was quite healthy. One of the last times he spit up, he was about 5 or 6 months old. I had just told his grandma that he hardly ever spit up anymore, and handed him to her, whereupon he spat up on the fancy silk dress she was wearing to attend my cousin's wedding. We got through that too!

More Answers

Boy do I remember those days. My son spit up so much (both frequency and quantity) that I was afraid to let anyone hold him without giving them a towel first. Everything constantly smelled like sour milk. He was breastfed, also, although I don't know if that had anything to do with it. He also gained weight, so our pedi wasn't concerned. Just hang in there and keep lots of burp cloths (I used cloth diapers) handy in every room and a change of clothes (for both of you) when you go out. We also had a huge collection of bibs, and he was never without one unless he was sleeping. For my son this stopped by 5 months. That may seem like an eternity now, but trust me, it will go by so fast!
Good luck!
T.

My second child spit up like crazy. We finally decided it was because I had a fast let- down and the milk came so fast that she couldn't swallow without getting lots of bubbles. She gained weight just fine and did not ever have projectile vomiting. If that should happen please call your pediatrician immediately.

I remember going to buy small hand towels for burp rags because she spit us such a large volume of milk.

Once your milk supply is more regulated to her demand it shouldn't be so bad.

I'm sure other mothers will have some suggestions--La Leche League ladies are very knowledgeable about breast feeding so you may want to call them for advise as well.

Blessings to you and your baby girl!

C.

don't worry, as long as she is putting on weight she will be ok. My son spit up all the time in massive amounts. I always smelled like spit up, but he was the fatest little baby ever. Sometimes the valve that keeps the food in the stomach is just not really mature and somtimes they just have had enough. Best of luck.

first off congrats!! i also have a 6 week old girl (exactly 6 wks today!) i also have a 27 month old boy and a hubby who is sometimes the third child ;)

does she seem irritated, in pain or upset when she spits up? Cause if not, i know it may look like a HUGE amount, but it can be totally normal. if she seem in pain or uncomfortable, she very well could have some reflux issues.
i have fast let-down and overproduction with breastfeeding, so my little ones both had the experience of getting too much milk too fast and still wanting to suck (so they'd end up overeating at some mealtimes) so that's also a possibility for you (that maybe your milk just comes out fast and she fills up quickly but keep eating).
if she doesn't seem in pain i think it's totally okay to wait for your next check up...if she IS though, i'd definitely call and go in sooner. reflux can be so painful to the little ones. (i used to care for preemie twins who had it and were on 2 diff meds for it...helped SO much!)

Good luck and enjoy every single minute. it seriously goes by way too fast!!!
~K.

I wouldn't worry about it. My son did the same thing. I think he just had a very sensitive gag reflex. My husband and I never went any where without a burp cloth. We put beach towels on the back of the sofa as he sometimes was projectile! And we had that lovely baby smell. He outgrew it eventually. He is mow 16 and doing great. My 2nd child did this too, only not quite as much. My third not at all! They're all different. As long as she is gaining weight, don't worry.

If she's happy, I wouldn't worry about it too much. Though here's my experience with that: I have twins who were exclusively breast fed. One of my daughters spit up a "normal amount" and the other spit up a lot more frequently with a lot more volume. She was also mildly less happy after eating. I talked to the doctor and she suggested I feed the spitter less (no more than 10 minute nursings) and make sure to keep her upright for a while afterwards. That really did the trick for us. The one who spit up a lot just had a much more effective suck and must have been gobbling milk down, plus she just loves to suck for comfort (she still does at 15 months) so she wouldn't pull off when she was full. But that was advice for us based on our growth curves, so I wouldn't presume to suggest limiting feedings without a professionals input!

I went through the same thing with my son, around the same time (he's now 17 months). They diagnosed him with reflux, but luckily he was still gaining weight, even though he was CONSTANTLY vomiting. Breastfed too, but it seems that was all we were doing! They put him on Zantac, and Reglan, and they actually did help. It was completely frustrating, and got to the point where I avoided going out because it was so bad, and he was constantly in bibs! I would definitely get it checked out though, because the acid reflux is not good on the esophagus, and it's usually caused by the sphincter not closing sufficiently. I didn't believe he ever would, but he did grow out of it, probably around 10-11 months. Not on medication anymore either :) Once they do start on solids, that does help, like cereals because it has more weight to keep it down! Baby foods had to be thickened with rice cereal for us, otherwise that would come back up, yuck! Good luck!!

As long as she's putting on weight, I don't think you have anything to worry about-- except all that extra laundry. My son was the same way when he was an infant, but he was quite healthy. One of the last times he spit up, he was about 5 or 6 months old. I had just told his grandma that he hardly ever spit up anymore, and handed him to her, whereupon he spat up on the fancy silk dress she was wearing to attend my cousin's wedding. We got through that too!

Required Fields

Our records show that we already have a Mamapedia or Mamasource account created for you under the email address you entered.

Please enter your Mamapedia or Mamasource password to continue signing in.

Required Fields

, you’re almost done...

Since this is the first time you are logging in to Mamapedia with Facebook Connect, please provide the following information so you can participate in the Mamapedia community.

As a member, you’ll receive optional email newsletters and community updates sent to you from Mamapedia, and your email address will never be shared with third parties.

By clicking "Continue to Mamapedia", I agree to the Mamapedia Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.