Breastfeeding 4 Week Old Who Spits up Alot

Hello i had the very same problem with my son (kaden), although i did not breastfeed every fedding he would spit the milk up so i changed him to soy milk it helped a little but boy did it smell, i tried gas drops that didn't work so i was told by a family friend there was something called gripe water so i tried that and it worked you just add a few drops to the milk and it helped my son sleep better i am also a new mom and i know it can be tough, but just hang in there until you find something that wrks....

Sounds like nothing too big. Call the lactation consultants at Bayfront Medical. I think the website is bayfront.org. They will talk to you over the phone for free and have saved my breast feeding relationships with both my kids. Hang in there and keep breast feeding! It's the best thing in the world.

Sounds like your baby has some reflux, that may not be too painful yet, but could turn into pain if it ends up burning his little esophagus, which you don't want it to end up doing. My daughter had it really bad and would do the same w/ the frequent hiccuping; gagging and swallowing when shed lie down; spit up constantly; arch her back; cried a lot and was gassy too. We ended up giving her gripe water for gas and to soothe her, as it had natural calming herbs and things for gas in it, along with working with the doctors (she ended up going to the gastroenterologist & getting on Prilosec because she had it pretty bad) for her 1st year. We had to have her elevated as much as possible - we couldn't lay her down to sleep, so with our bad case of it, unfortunately, until she was old enough to eat more solids, we slept with her propped up on our shoulders on our couch (which we know isn't good either, but it was the only way she would sleep, as the wedges weren't big enough for her, but it's ok now - she's 15 mo. and has been off of her meds for probably 6 mo. or so now & doing great). You can start rice cereal for these babies early at around 4-5 mo. so that it keeps down their liquids and that really starts to help as well. It is a common/natural thing though where the muscle between the esophagus/stomach just takes time to develop for some odd reason. Seems so strange that it's like this and that now it's common for docs to prescribe antacids when back in the day they just called it colic and didn't do anything, but it just makes them more comfortable and prevents ulcers from acid coming up. Maybe if you don't think there is any discomfort or weight loss or if your doctor doesn't think there's a problem, you can just keep an eye on it, but it's your call. They tell you to watch for certain signs like the arching of the back (which is a sign of the pain) or them not eating because it hurts and they associate pain w/ eating, etc. But mine has always been an eater - it never stopped her from eating - she breastfed and bottle fed like crazy. But she cried like crazy and was gassy, etc. until we got her on the meds and then seemed much more comfortable. So keep an eye on it. Mommy knows best!! :) Take care. Congrats on your new little one!!

Hi K.! I would talk to your pediatrician about reflux. It sounds as if he has many of the symptoms. My daughter has reflus and reacted very much the same way. The other thing you could try is to eliminate dairy products - the baby may be lactose intolerant. I wish you the best in determining the cause!

Hi K., my Brendan, whose now 22 months was the spit-up king! My dr. said it was normal. He would spit-up breastmilk and later formula. He was always wearing a bib. At 6 months he magically stopped. Thinking back, he is a fast-drinker, even now. I think when he drank that fast as a newborn, it would just come right back up. Some days he would drink upwards of 40 oz. a day. Hope this helps! Ask your Pediatrician just to make sure it's not acid-reflux.

So normal!!! I had similar experiences w/ my now 10 month old daughter, lots of hiccups and spitting up.....everything was/is fine.....baby's spit up! Proper burping helps(even stopping to burp him every 5-10 minutes during the nursing process if you have too!), as well as "gripe water" for the hiccups(recommended by my pediatrician and can be found at most drugstores as well as online)and gas medicine if you have to. If it develops into an issue where your baby isn't gaining weight or stops eating (because of discomfort) ...obviously don't ever be afraid to call your peds office(no such thing as a dumb question!)if you feel excessively worried or unsure-but sound like normal baby behavior so far!This too shall pass! Good Luck!-L.

Sounds like pretty normal baby stuff to me. Baby's digestive system is still maturing and sometimes it seems to take more work to do things. As long as baby does not seem to be in pain. About the spitting up...do you burp your baby after he nurses? I have found that getting a little burp out often prevents the spit up. Also, keeping baby upright for a while after nursing helps.

Dear K.,

Your description of Evan sounds exactly like my description of Jonathan's behavior at that age. I actually took him to a nutritionist (specifically because of the frustration and redness accompanied by gas) and in his case, he needed some water. I gave him a little spring water in a bottle for a few days, letting him drink as much as he wanted, and that was it. He's been fine ever since, though I still offer him water every so often to see if he wants it (he's an exclusive nurser as well).

My pediatrician recommended holding him up, like over my shoulder, and just gently rubbing his back for a few minutes after he ate, to help him digest the milk down into his tummy. I noticed a difference in the "congestion" sound when I did this. I wasn't actively trying to burp him, so he stopped spitting up as often, it just gently moves air up and fluids down.

If you want to see a nutritionist, I highly recommend Dr. Susan Player in Clearwater. She is UNBELIEVABLE with kids and infants, I actually go to her first with concerns now, instead of the pediatrician.

It all sounds pretty normal, but keep an eye on it. My daughter (7 mos. now) didn't strain that hard but have heard that the muscles can tense up and make it difficult for them to push it out. As long as the poops are soft, yellowish, and not foul smelling (for exclusive breast-feeders) you are proably OK.
They say that although the spit-up seems like a lot amount-wise, it usually isn't. So if he's gaining weight and not uncomfortable with it, again probably OK. Look out for reflux symptoms--wanting to nurse but then pulling off over & over, arching the back a lot, appears in pain.
And hiccups... my daughter had them daily while I was pregnant and still has them a lot. She doesn't seem to mind. There is an herbal liquid you can buy made by Little Tummies called Gripe Water that can help. I think it may be from just swallowing the liquid but they do make one specifically for hiccups, too. The Gripe Water is for calming--gas & colic. You can buy it at Babies R Us, although it's $10.
I would recommend to ask your pediatrician ANYTHING you are wondering about. They have heard it all and shouldn't have a proalem with even questions that you may think are stupid. I keep an ongoing list and bring it with me to appts.
Good luck!

I would talk to your pediatrician. Sounds like it could be reflux... as for the hiccups, my son did that a lot too. Gripe Water helped him... You can buy this at walgreens, etc and also at health food stores. May also help the gas, which is really normal for babies!!!!

If your Son were a little older I would sugest that you try including foods w/ sorbitol. This is a natural baby laxative. Maybe there is a formula that contains it. I know that you are breat feeding & that is great for your Son but you could try giving some supplemental feedins w/ this. Maybe this isn't the problem but it ssounds like he meeds a little help w/ his colon function. Is he getting all the water that he needs? Moght try increasing that. Worth a try.
On the other, might be that he has a little extra mucous. Was he cleared at birth?
I definitely would talk to either my Ped or his/her nurse. If they want to try something to help the colon be sure not to let them try Psyllium seed even if powdered. This can make the problem worse if there is a problem.

S.

Congratulations K.. My son is approaching 5 mos and had all of the symptoms you mentioned...except the part about it coming out of his nose. That almost sounds like vomiting instead of spit up. Like you, I was concerned about the frequency and amount of spit up and brought it up to his ped. She said not to worry because he was gaining so well and mentioned the milk mixes with saliva so when he spits up it appears to be a lot more in quantity than it really is. However, I worried anyway and googled it for about an hour one night. I found a recommendation to feed your baby from one breast for three hours before switching to the other breast (instead of alternating for each feeding). Three hours based on the clock/not the feeding time...so if for example if he nursed at 8, 10, Noon, you would feed him from one breast at the 8 and 10 am feedings and switch to the other side for 11-1 feedings. Possibly just a coincidence, but I tried this and noticed a big decrease in the frequency and quantity of spit up. The article said it has something to do with the amount of foremilk and hindmilk the baby was getting was out of balance.

My son also what I described as "painful gas" occasionally and reacted the way you described with the squirming etc. By about 9 weeks I finally figured out all of the foods I had to avoid in order to prevent his discomfort. It is possible that you may still be eating something that bothers him. My son suffered from the common foods that seem to bother a lot of nursed babies: Broccoli, cabbage, onions and cows milk. Once I eliminated those foods from my diet, the painful gas seemed to go away.
I would still bring all of this up to your Dr at his next well visit. Always better to ask. That is what they are there for. Good luck to you.

I would say your baby sounds like he loves nursing and maybe sometimes he drinks too fast for his little stomach. He is developing and gas and squirming are his system working. As far as the spitting up, maybe wait a ittle longer after feding to lay him down. Babies spit up if they've eaten too much. Don't worry you are providing your baby with the best food in the world! Enjoy this special bonding!!

Talk to his pediatrician. It sounds like acid reflux. What you can do now, after he is done eating, hold him upright against you for 20 minutes (i know its hard in the middle of the night when you are sleep deprived, but it does help) This will help settle his belly. You might want to let him rest a little during his feedings by sitting up right for a few minutes.

Sounds to me like your milk is coming out to fast. That can cause everything you are explaining. What I would do is pump some of the milk out before nursing. It solved the problem. If that doesn't solve it I would be calling my doctor.

Congratulations on the birth of your son!

It may just be that his body is growing up and learning how to digest outside the womb. Keep an eye on it, especially if he seems to cry when he spits up. That would indicate it is acid reflux. They cry because the stomach acid burns their throats. I have heard that some infants have silent reflux and don't cry when spitting up.

My little guy had his medicine from 5 weeks to 1 year. We are still breastfeeding at 14 months. He is so much better, but sometimes when he poops he still spits up. The force pushes it up. Poor little guy.

Below are some hints I found with dealing with reflux. You may also try just breastfeeding him on one breast at a feeding.

*Use a bouncy seat for sleeping. This will help his not reflux at night. My son slept in his from 1 to 5 months of age.
*Realize that any medicine you try takes some time to start working. We tried Zantac and Prilosec. It took Zantac 2 agonizing weeks to start working. After one week of Prilosec, we went back to the Zantac.
*Frequency and dosage is key. My son got 1.5mL of Zantac 3 times a day which works out to be every 6 hours while he is awake. This is down from the 4 times a day he was first on. I even gave it to him while he was sleeping in order to make sure it was in his system. I no longer do this.
*Keep your little guy elevated at least 30 minutes after each feeding. This is very straining on the arms, but it will help with digestion. I used a Bjorn to help my aching arms.
*Elevate your baby when you are feeding him. This too helps with digestion.
*Keep watch over your son’s weight and that he is continuing to "thrive".
*Breastmilk is best for refluxers. It is a natural anti-acid.
*If you are breastfeeding, they suggest less quantity/more frequent feedings a day. There was a period of time I had him nursing for about 5 minutes every hour to help his throat pain.

it might be acid reflux sound very similiar to what my nephew had

Congrats on the birth of your little boy.

My nursing 7 month old had the same issues. We used alot of Gripe Water and I drank alot of Fennel Tea. Both do wonders in helping decrease the amount of gas that develops in the baby's digestive system.

Another thing that seems to help with the gas is to give your baby an abdominal massage using Olive Oil. My daughter loves them and she hasn't had any constipation or gas troubles since.

If your concerned that he is unable to breathe correctly then definitely call the ped. All newborns spit up and make funny noises and faces when they poop. They are getting adjusted to all this new stuff around then and their actions 7 reactions to things. For peace of mind I say consult the ped. Have a great day!-Barbie

My son is 5 months and is only breast fed too. (Now solids) I was unsure of the cause he had similar symptons. He would give a high pitched squeal as well. He would even sound raspy. He is now on zantax for acid reflux and soooo much better! I really did not want him on medicane so I tried the following which helped a little at first. Prop him more upright to feed, (straddle your leg) burp frequently, hold upright for 20 minutes or so after eating. Good luck.

C.

Hi K.,

This is all very normal. Sucking stimulates peristalsis which are contractions of the intestines to move food through the GI tract. While we sometimes feel little gas bubbles or gurgles and think nothing of it, these movements can be very uncomfortable for a newborn.

Spitting up also very common because the esophageal sphincter does not close all of the way. This is a valve that keeps food in the stomach from going back up into the esophagus. As long as your baby is not projectile vomiting or acting like he is in pain when spitting up, I would not worry. This usually peeks at around 3 months and goes away completely after 1 year, when the sphincter finally closes. Breastmilk is also very watery and not as heavy as formula, so it comes up much easier. You might try propping him up for 30 minutes after he eats or prop up one end of his mattress 2-3 inches. Also, make sure to burp every time you switch sides. Some babies are just "happy spitters" and it doesn't bother them in the least. It's just a mess to deal with.

If your milk is coming out too fast, your baby will be choking and gasping. You should be able to hear the normal suck, suck, suck and then swallow to be sure that the flow is adequate.

Good Luck!