4 Week Old Throwing Up

Updated on January 25, 2010
S.C. asks from Riverbank, CA
16 answers

My son's doctor changed his formula yesterday because he had been throwing up after every 3rd bottle or so and unresolved constipation issues. We are now giving him Similac with iron...now his throwing up is worse...after almost every feeding! He's eating less and is fussy now, too! His stomach is bloated and is extremly gassy!

Any idea of how to resolve the throwing up or help ease his pain? I feel awful for my baby boy!

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So What Happened?

Thank you everyone for your advice and kind words..it's nice to know I'm not the only one! We have found the right formula and with the help of Mylicon we have (at this point) resolved my sons issues. Thanks again!

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T.G.

answers from San Francisco on

Try soy formula. My son threw up every where all day and was constipated until I changed him to soy milk at the age of one.

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T.D.

answers from San Francisco on

My daughter had problems adjusting to similac & enfamil. We used Good Start formula. It is gentle on their tummys. My daughter was often gassy & constipated but Good Start really was easier on her stomach. Don't feel like you have to stay on Similac, find out what works best for him! Good luck!

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C.O.

answers from Minneapolis on

My oldest threw up after almost every single bottle and had terrible gas. I tried several different formulas before landing on Lactose-free Enfamil. It worked! The pediatrician said babies aren't lactose intolerant, but that was the only formula he could keep down and the gas went away. When he started eating food, anything with lactose would have the same effect. If we gave him a Lactaid pill, though, he wouldn't have a problem. He outgrew it by his 2nd birthday.

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J.W.

answers from San Francisco on

It could be the iron. My daughter could not tolerate the iron and after trying every other formula out there, we switched to low iron and she was a new baby in within a day.

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T.T.

answers from Yuba City on

My son had the gassy, constipation issue too!! Our doctor tried several different formulas and at last we went to a 'lactose free' based formula. It worked wonderfully and our son was very happy and all his symptons vanished.

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C.L.

answers from San Francisco on

Oh i know how seeing your poor baby in such discomfort must be killing you. For my baby i had to supplement my breast feeding with formula and i was recommended Earth's Best regular formula with iron, (i couldn't find it without the iron, which i would prefer). It's organic and pricey but definitley didn't have many bad affects with his system.I would personally avoid soy since it has hormonal effects. This supplement worked great and he only had the occasional spit up. also,as a chiropractor i've taken care of MANY babies as well as seen other chiropractors take care of other children and let me tell you its so amazing to see a poor bloated and achey baby get a chiorpractic adjustment then suddenly get color and be able to poop confortabley. And incase your worried, the adjustment is very soft and no "popping" happens, just a light olding of the baby, often with the mother helping, and undwindng the spine with very light pressure. it's truely miraculous what it does for the little guys. i wish you the best of luck and hope this helps answer some questions.
-CL

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E.B.

answers from Sacramento on

The iron is probably causing his constipation issues and the throwing up. Our pediatric GI specialist put our daughters on GoodStart since it is much easier to digest (both our girls had reflux). It takes until eighteen months for the stomach and digestive muscles to strengthen enough to prevent the spit ups. See if you can switch him to GoodStart and if that helps. If not, then you may need to inquire about relfux medicine. More ped GI specialists are putting newborns on prevaid which is what we used. We noticed an immediate improvement. Also, after feeding, hold him on your shoulder for 20-30 minutes while patting.rubbing his back. It takes 3 hours for the stomach to empty into the digestive tract so keep that mind.

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M.C.

answers from Bakersfield on

When our son had the vomiting issues our doctor had us switch to Enfamil AR and the issues stopped immediately. We did not have the constipation issues though. I think you should contact the doctor again and let them know that the soy is making things worse and see what the suggest. I can tell you that my son to this day get constipated if he drinks soy milk. Good luck and I hope your son gets to feeling better soon :)

Updated

When our son had the vomiting issues our doctor had us switch to Enfamil AR and the issues stopped immediately. We did not have the constipation issues though. I think you should contact the doctor again and let them know that the similac is making things worse and see what the suggest. I can tell you that my son to this day get constipated if he drinks soy milk. Good luck and I hope your son gets to feeling better soon :)

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K.H.

answers from Washington DC on

If he has constipation then a formula with iron will make it worse. My daughter suffered like this as a newborn , her stomach was huge , she was full of really bad smelling gas , we switched her to Similac sensitive (lactose free) and she was a different baby within 48 hrs. I would switch the formula again to a lactose free and to help initially with the constipation add 1oz of prune juice to 3oz of cooled boiled water , he will go in no time at all.

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R.K.

answers from San Francisco on

you may still be able to breastfeed. call la leche league and ask about relactating.
good luck!

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K.L.

answers from San Francisco on

You may want to switch to First Start by Nestle - we were on Similac and our son was spitting up a lot and gassy - this worked really well plus the Mylicon. And of course making sure we were burping him hard enough - not just light pats. Good luck!

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S.X.

answers from Chicago on

allergy allergy allergy

K.P.

answers from Killeen on

same here...i put prune juice in with formula and use mylcon crops they work great! he poops great and no gassy stomach and burp in between the bottle feeds...like my son is 4 6 weeks he drinks 4 oz...at 2 oz we burp then cont.

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A.T.

answers from San Francisco on

My daughter would projectile vomit when she was your sons age. She was very fussy and would not sleep. Finally, at 2 months I told our Pediatrician somewthing was wrong. I went over all our daughters symptoms again and she was diagnosed with reflux (very common in babies)
Here is what she had us do and it worked:)
she was put in axid (rx) you may not need that
keep baby upright for 30 min after feeding
add 2tbs of Beechnut rice to every ounce of formula(only Beechnut)
and switched formula to Nutramigen( I would try everything else first, this is very $$$)try Gentlease
make sure you get good burps
and let your baby sleep in a carseat to keep him upright

Hope this helps

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E.M.

answers from San Francisco on

My grand daughter was having lots of similar problems up until three months old. At first, her doctor said it was the stomach flu but the symptoms didn't get any better with time. I did some research and found she possibly had an allergy or sensitivity to regular formula so I purchased, as indicated in the articles, Similac Alimentum which was expensive but worth seeing her symptoms alleviated. She loved the formula and never had anymore problems with vomiting, skin rash, gassiness, etc. When she turned one years old, we tried to place her on whole milk. She loved the taste but after three days experienced stomach pain and bloating so we attempted other products (Lactaid which she didn't like and Good Start). With Good Start, she did okay initially because we mixed it with her Similac Alimentum. But as we decreased the Alimentum and increased the Good Start, she drank less and less and said she didn't like it so we went back to Similac Alimentum for another year (yes, very expensive but worth every penny as far as I'm concerned) until she turned two years old. Hope this helps.

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A.G.

answers from Austin on

Is it really vomit or spitup? Vomit would be projectile, like forceful throwing up. Spitup can seem like vomit when it isn't. For the gassy/bloating, I would use Mylicon. You can use it after every feeding, up to every 2 hours. We used it with my son for months, he was sooo gassy. I agree with the others about changing formula regardless. What about a soy base formula? I wouldn't even wait for doctor's approval. Hope it gets better, poor thing!

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