Will the Spitting up Ever End?

Our oldest son (2 now) had terrible reflux and didn't stop spitting up until around his first birthday. I had heard that it was supposed to improve around 6 months when they start sitting up, but our pediatrician said that it often times actually worsens then. The extra pressure they place on their bellies trying to sit up and learning to control those muscles can worsen spitting initially. But he also sad that as long as they are a "happy spitter" and do not seem to be in any pain that the reflux is not an issue. It certainly is a pain to clean up once they start solid foods, but I preferred that to trying to find medications that might or might not improve the problem and could have side effects. Hope that helps! Good luck!

Hi R. - I had the same problem with my second child. He had the reflux too. Is your child crawling or sitting up yet? My son's stopped when he started crawling. Also - I think starting solids alos helped. Good luck.... Oh yeah, the medicine didn't seem to work for my son, so I stopped it after a month. And - yes, the spitting up seemed like it was the whole bottle or what ever he took from the breast. It really lessened when he crawled.

an increase in spitting up sounds like she might need a bigger dose, which often happens as babies grow I would ask about a dose change

My son is 11 months old and has been spitting up since he was a newborn. He was diagnosed with acid reflux at 6 weeks old, and we tried several meds (Zantac, Prevacid, Axid), but none of them decreased the spit-up. We took him off of all meds at 6 months old simply because I questioned whether they were helping him and because I didn't like the idea of having him on medication every day. He continued to spit up, but he was a "happy spitter", and it was definitely more of a bother to me than to him. I noticed an increase in spit up when he started sitting up and crawling around, probably because his stomach was being compressed more. In the past couple weeks, however, I have noticed that his spit up has decreased a bit. He's been pulling himself up to standing more often, which may help. He definitely spits up more when I nurse him as opposed to when he eats solid foods. The doctor said that the solid foods are obviously heavier than milk, so it's "held down" better in the stomach. I'm hoping that the spitting up will end once my son starts walking. For now, I've just been stocking up on cute bibs :)

Has your pediatrician tested your daughter for allergies? My son also had acid reflux. We had to have a burp cloth on hand all of the time. He was on Zantac and then Prilosec. At about 3 months, he was diagmosed with an allergy to milk protein. I was nursing, so I eliminateed dairy from my diet. I also supplemented him with soy formula. The Prilosec helped the discomfort from the relfux, but didn't reduce the spit-up that much. In fact, he spit up a lot of the Prilosec. After a couple of months off dairy, I took him off the Prilosec. He was still spitting up, but not as often or as much at a time. It was a little worse when he started crawling because of the pressure on his stomach. Once he was walking, just before a year, it finally stopped. I hope this helps!

Normal or not normal depends on the child, their age, and the level of their acid reflux. It is hard for the doctors to know. My 8 year old and 5 year old daughters both have acid reflux. They have completely different symptoms and take completely different medicines. Neither child outgrew it. They have peaks and valleys. Especially bad when they were baby were the growth spurts, because they would outgrow their medicine dosage. Other children outgrow acid reflux before they are 1 year old. Our pedi GI told us that if they don't outgrow it by the time they are 3, they are never going to outgrow it. Both my kids continued to spit up A LOT even on meds. I may be wrong, but I don't believe the meds stop the reflux, they just reduce the acid to stop the pain and control any damage the acid might do to the esophagus. Good luck! It's VERY tough being the mother of a child with acid reflux - I'm sure you are doing a great job.

My son didn't have reflux, but he spit up A LOT (and quite happily too). Around 10 months it just tapered off and stopped, although I read (somewhere, I can't remember -- perhaps the AAP book) that spitting up usually ends by the 1st year. In the meantime, lots of bibs and burp cloths!

Dear R.,

My son was a happy barfer but he didn't have acid reflux. My pediatrician finally pointed out that this was a laundry problem and not a physical problem. Once I realized that, I would always have cloth diapers (very absorbent) with me to clean up any messes and he wore bibs most of the time.
Eventually that got better and went away.

I hope this helps,
A.

Are you or the babysitter leaving her upright for at least a half an hour after she eats? My niece has the same problem but she didn't do good with the medicine but keeping her up right for 30 minutes lets her digest and she doesn't spit up as much.

I don't have first hand experience with this (thankfully!) but my nephew had horrible reflux and was on the same formula/meds your daughter is. I remember my sister in law complaining about the same thing - he had a "relapse" where the spitting up seemed to get worse again. He seemed to stop for good around 11 months, so hopefully this will be your end point as well. Good luck!

My son, who is now 9 years old, had a terrible time with reflux when he was a baby. At just a few months old, the poor thing had to go through bariatric tests at Children's and a few different meds. [This is actually also the reason I switched pediatricians. He was about 4 mos old and had recently been put on a new med (Cisapride). When holding him I'd notice that his heart seemed to be racing unusually fast. I took him back to the doctor because of this and it so happened that his doc was out, so they had us see one of his colleagues. When the new doc asked about what med my son was taking he looked surprised and quietly said that he was going to change prescriptions and to please stop using the Cisapride. I later learned that it was unapproved for use in children and had a checklist of requirements, including parental consent, before a ped could prescribe this -- none of which was ever done. Also learned that it was causing serious problems in several infants. Fortunately, we ended up with Prevacid and eventually just Zantac as needed.]

Essentially, children with this not uncommon problem have underdeveloped sphincter muscles at the top of the stomach. This muscle usually strengthens by the end of their first year. Unfortunately, my son dealt with this almost until his 2nd bday. Honestly, to this day, he still sometimes gets occasional reflux. But he came through it all okay. Although, we sure washed A LOT of clothes (his and ours) during that time!

Hang in there. Same thing happened to us and then one day the spitting up just stopped. I think she was around 11 months. It is annoying and disconcerting but it will end!

Hi R.,
My son who is now 15 months old used to spit up a lot. I used to tell everyone to take cover when they would hold him. He finally slowed down on the spitting up when he started eating more solid foods. He does not really spit up anymore (only when he has a lot of mucus). Hope this helps.
T.

My son too has acid reflux and is almost 8 months old. He is on Prilosec which seems to work for him - but he too has gone through phases where he seems to be spitting up a lot more again - a dosage increase usually helps based on his weight gain. But for the times when he does not seem upset/uncomfortable by the spitting up or any other symptoms associated with it, I just keep a lot of burp cloths handy and try to find humor in the never-ending laundry. I would keep a close eye on what he eats on the days when he seems to be spitting up more and if he is sensitive to any new foods. I have also found that now that he is on his stomach a lot trying to crawl, he seems to be spitting up more and my pedi said that could happen because of the pressure on his stomach. It does seem like a guessing game a lot of the time, but as long as she is happy and thriving, I would try not to worry too much about it. Good Luck - here's hoping they outgrow it :)

I have a 3 month old and she spits up about 4 to 6 times after each feeding & in between feedings as well. My doc isn't worried about it because she gaining weight and not loosing it. She explained that the muscle at the top of the stomach is weak in all babies and thats the reason for all babies spitting up, just some do more than others. My daughter spits up lots at a time & the doc said that its not normal but that the muscle will get stronger by a year old sometimes longer depending on your baby. I wouldn't worry about it unless your daughter is loosing weight as a result. Its a pain to deal with and several changes of clothes a day but she will soon grow out of it!

Hi R.!
I can promise you that the spitting up will eventually stop :)
It may not feel like it, but in 3 or so months you will be chasing your baby around your house and the reflux should be a memory.
My nephew is almost a year and he is still spitting up. He used to spit up ALL the time and it seems certain days he may be more or less. Now that he is eating more solid foods - it has gotten better. Have you started introducing any foods yet?
Reflux seems to be a common thing. I know that all the kids in our family had been on refux med (and that's 5 kids). Keep those wipes close by for now and hopefully soon you wont have a spit up aroma as a perfume :)
Good luck! and just know that there is an end within sight!

I feel your pain! My son(now 10) was on Nutramagen too(doesn't it smell awful!!!). He still "spit up" all the time. When my nephew was born(now 3) and had the same issues as my son, my sister put him on goat's milk(without meds)...NO SPITTING UP! I wish I knew about goat's milk! To this day, my son can only have minimal amounts of milk. He does not get sick anymore, but milk products do cause him to have a runny nose, headaches, and asthma problems. I highly recommend trying the goat's milk, it worked for others and it's cheaper!

Good luck!

What cereal are you using? I ask because my son had sevear reflux and Gerber is more gassy than Beachnut rice cereal. If you read the ingreadiants they are diferant. I forget what the diferance is. Also are you adding cereal to her bottles? Adding cereal will help hold down the formula. My son was also on Reglan for the reflux. Hope this helps. L.

Hi R.,
Is your little girl eating baby food? If she is pay close attention to what she's eating and write everything down she may have a sensetivitey to something she's eating. My little boy can't have milk or soy they really upset his stomach. If it continues you may want to have her tested for allergies because you dont always get hives an allergy can upset your stomach. Good luck I hope she stops spitting up and starts feeling better soon. Oh, and you may also want to consider celiac disease.
R. K

Hi
I dont really have any advice for you, but wanted to share my daughter was on the same formual and meds that yours is. They did work for us(to a point). My little one had the silent reflux, never vomitting, but you could see it coming up and burning...its awful to see them in pain at a young age..I agree that when their weight increases so should the medicine. Good luck...

My son is 3 and 1/2 months old. He spits up with every feeding, however he doesn't fuss. I did tell the doctor that he spits up and he told us that as long as he gains weight that we shouldn't worry. My son is on similac alimentum formula, similar to the nutramigen but different brand. Tell your doctor and be thankful she isn't uncomfortable. I am also a first time mom.

my 9 mo old was diagnosed with reflux at about 1 mo. He was exclusively breastfed. I stopped eating dairy, wheat, and soy and the spitting up and vomiting stopped.