Need Information on Spitting Up

Updated on August 21, 2007
N.K. asks from Olathe, KS
35 answers

I have a 13 week old that has been on formula for the last 5 weeks. She either spits up or throws up after each feeding. Each time varies on the amount that actually comes out. I have tried additional burping, keeping her upright after feedings, cleaning out her nasal passages (if she is congested). Any suggestions? I don't know if she has reflux or if it is the formula (I use Nestle Good Start). She was breastfeed for the first 8 weeks and she did spit up, but not like this. She does continue to gain weight though. She is a happy baby besides this!

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K.T.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Try giveing her regular whole milk like bordens or braums. I did with both my babies and it was wonderful!!!!!!!!!!

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M.S.

answers from Tulsa on

My son who is 3mths old does this. He's doctor says if he's not fussy, then it may be reflux. He recommend either to change to a specific kind of formula which is thicker or try adding a little cereal to the bottle. If neither one of those sound like an option it may just be something you have to put up with till she is older. Niether one of this options worked for me. I couldn't afford the formula and the cereal actually made him fussy. I just deal with the spitting up. Doctor said as long as he's not losing weight and not unhappy then it's okay. Hope this helps.

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C.Y.

answers from Kansas City on

When she spits up, is it just right after feedings, or does she spit up frequently between each feeding as well? My son was spitting up sometimes up to 30 times a day, the amount varied. He was gaining weight also, but the doctor put him on Zantac. He was a completely different baby. He was content before, but then actually happy after the medicine. It was so nice knowing that if he was in pain, that he wasn't anymore. That zantac is awesome stuff!
C.

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G.A.

answers from Kansas City on

I would suggest putting her on a soy formula. (we use Similac Isomil Our son did great on soy and still uses it. At one point, we tried to switch back to a milk based formula and he spit up terribly. (He spit up with breast milk as well)

We would talk to our Dr about spitting up and he would tell us that even though it looked like a lot, it wasn't as much as we thought. Basically, the muscle that helps them to keep things down is not developed yet. Our son is 8 months old and hasn't spit up in at least 2-3 months. She will grow out of it. Just keep those burp cloths handy for a few more months! :)

A good example that our Dr used to explain it to us was to imagine a water ballon that was not tied off. If it's full, the slightest movement can make it spill over (spit up). As long as she isn't complaining, (she would if it were acid reflux) and she's gaining weight, then I wouldn't be too worried. It's more upsetting to us than them. Hope that helps! :)

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H.S.

answers from Tulsa on

My son did the same thing when he was little. My doctor told me it was reflux and put him on Enfamil AR formula. it has rice starch in it which thickens in the stomach. He still threw up every once and a while and it was like cottage cheese because of the formula, but it wasnt that often. It would be worth a shot to see if that formula works for you too.

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N.D.

answers from Oklahoma City on

hi my name is N. and it sounds like both of my sons and they both have reflux

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W.B.

answers from Kansas City on

Hi N.,

I have a couple things you can try...
* first make sure the nipple flow on your bottle isn't to fast or to slow for her.
*make sure she is burping every 2 ounces.
*she can get air in her tummy if she is trying to drink faster than what the nipple allows
* try the Dr. Browns bottle they work wonderfully on this sort of problem
* I would also switch formulas a little girl I watch was on that and she did the same thing, I would try the enfamil with lipil (yellow can) and I would also thy the gentlease (my daughter would spit up the enfamil so went with this) its the purple can.
*also when she does eat sit her in a more upright position.

I watched my friends twins that do well on the good start but not on the enfamil, they would spit up the enfamil.
The little girl I watch was the opposite from them
With my little girl I never tried the goodstart I just tried the genltlease and it worked wonderfully and still does.

If you do change her formula change her over slowly, so her first bottle would be 2 ounces of whatever new formula you are going to and 4 ounces of the good start do this for 2 days worth of bottles, than go 4 of the new and 2 of the old and do this for 2 days and then do the same for the last 2. This will help her not get either constipated or an upset tummy and she wont get diaper rash either, to be on the safe side I would load her up on diaper rash cream as you start this.
Before you switch her I would try all the other things first and switching formula would be your last resort. I watch a little boy (8 months) that has acid reflux and he is not on medication because we figured out a way to feed him and keep his food down at the sametime.
Goodluck W.

And for all you other mommies out there I use the standard ventair bottles but I'm sure some of you have noticed that as you go up in stages of nipples for your little ones that the holes are just huge but I have found that the Dr. Browns nipples work wonderfully with these bottles.

www.myspace.com/wbasso

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E.Y.

answers from Topeka on

Is she really fussy? My son has acid reflux and he's a spitter. You can tell the difference by the amount of fussing going on. Zantaz has saved my sanity let me tell you! My son still makes an awful mess most days, but he's cries far less! It wouldnt' hurt to talk to your pediatrician about it. Just make sure you explain that you've tried the sitting up thing and all of the otehr stuff. Have you tried a soy based formula? Your baby might just be lactose intolerant.

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R.P.

answers from Wichita on

she might be allergic to the formula or might be lactose intolerent. you might have to try soy formula. i heard it works. god bless, R.

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M.G.

answers from Kansas City on

Hi Nicky,

We had the same problem, and our baby, who was breastfed until 5 months, was diagnosed with acid reflux. To try to keep him from taking medicine, the doctor had us put rice cereal in each bottle at a ratio of 1 TBSN to 2 oz. of fluid. When we did this, we had to cut a slit in the bottle nipples so the thicker fluid could come out. Just stuck the tip of a knife in the existing whole and cut a slit about 1/4-in. long. It has really worked, although he still spits on occassion not nearly as much as he used to.

We also keep his bed at an angle, keep him up right for 30 minutes after eating (this is same as for adults that have acid reflux), and we use the Dr. Brown's bottles. The Dr. Brown's really do reduce the gas in their stomachs.

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B.M.

answers from Kansas City on

Talk to oyur doc about your concerns. My daughter had acid reflux and would throw up after aech feeding. The amount varied as well. It is frustrating. My husband and I eventually switched her to soy formula before talking to the doc and she said to stick with that then put her on zantac. The zantac worked great. I don't remember how old she was when we stopped giving it to her but she doesn't have any problems now. Good luck!

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J.M.

answers from Kansas City on

I would try a soy formula. My son had the same problem, so we put him on Similac Isomil. I really don't think the brand matters, just any soy formula. Good luck!

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J.L.

answers from Wichita on

N.,
Take her to her dr. and have them refer you to a specialists and have her checked for Acid ReFlux. I had my 17 month old on Nestle Good Start with DHA and ARA and she had severe Acid Reflux due to her formula.

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A.H.

answers from Springfield on

My oldest daughter (now age 19) used to spit up a lot as a baby. I mentioned it to my doctor and she had to have testing done; in the end, we found out she was missing an enzyme that dissolves the milk sugars. Because of this, we had to use a special formula (Isomil) and have her tested to determine the amount of the missing enzyme. If it was under 25%, then she would eventually outgrow it. If it was over 25%, then she wouldn't be able to have milk or milk products. Luckily, she was in the under 25% category, and eventually outgrew it, allowing her to have milk in small amounts.

All I can say is if it bothers you enough to ask here, then I would mention it to your doctor and see what he/she thinks the problem might be and the course of action (if needed) that will apply. It could be something normal, a reaction to that particular formula, or some other health-related problem as well as not burping the baby enough during feedings.

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D.T.

answers from Tulsa on

When my oldest boy did this all we were told to do was add cereal to his formula. Until I finally decided to give up on formula and put him on whole milk.

When my 2nd did the same thing, I knew it was the formula and switched to Good Start but even the normal milk bases formula caused a problem so I switched to Soy. Now I was still giving him breast milk too so don't ask me why it worked.

With the 3rd, I started the soy right away between nursing and he never really had a lick of trouble with spitting up.

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K.B.

answers from Kansas City on

Nutrigramin Lipil enfamil formula

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M.E.

answers from Kansas City on

Please check this problem with a doctor. My best friend has had two out of her three children born with a condition that affects the flap(don't know the technical name)in the childrens throat that causes that flap not to set right for them to take air or food properly. This was not acid reflux. Don't worry, not life threatning. But definately causes problems in weight gain and throwing up frequently. I'm sorry I don't know the name of the condition off hand. It takes an outpatient surgery to take care of the problem, and is usually covered by most insurances. Hope this helps. lol :)

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E.M.

answers from Oklahoma City on

i had or am having the same problem with my 7 week old son. except he was never breastfed but his formuls was switched..his nutrionost told me to do all of the sames tings that you are doing with your daughter..but she also told me that it may take a few weeks for the baby to get used to the formula. also, she told me to try feeding him less more often instead of more less often..i tried doing that and he still spits up..just not as much. hope this is helpful to you and congrats on the baby!

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S.W.

answers from Oklahoma City on

If you are using tap water, try switching to "Nursery Water".

My son spit up quite a bit when he was smaller. We went through every kind of formula and nothing helped. His doctor never mentioned anything about babies having reflux, but did suggest having his torso elevated when sleeping.

My mother, thank you God for moms!, suggested changing his water. When we used the bottled Nursery water, he had no further problems.

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R.F.

answers from Oklahoma City on

My son had trouble spitting up real bad too. When I took him to the pediatrician, she said he had "baby acid reflux". She gave me a prescription call Axid. My son takes 1/2 tbs twice a day approximatley 30 minutes before I give him a bottle (I give it to him first thing in the morning and then early evening). It really helps, but it is about $20 a bottle. However, my pediatrician also gave me some samples to make sure it worked first before I invested my money in it. Good luck with your little one.

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T.O.

answers from Kansas City on

my daughter did the same thing, we switched her to a soy formula and made sure she was sitting almost upright while eating and it seemed to help the problem a great deal. I used Parents Choice soy formula it is Walmart's generic brand.

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T.J.

answers from Tulsa on

both my kids were breastfed and both had reflux! you have gotten some good suggestions.
here are some more:
tilt her bed so she is at an incline.
feed her less and more often (this was a hard one since you feel like you are feeding all the time anyway)
We didn't do medicine. my kids just spit but didn't have the pain with it. Good luck . It also gets better when she is able to sit on her own.

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C.V.

answers from Kansas City on

All three of my children had acid reflux and although sometimes soy can reduse the spit up I don't think it will help with the discomfort if it is acid reflux.However with acid reflux they are usually fussy.I would talk to your doctor because if it is acid reflux they can give her zantac to help and if not maybe it is an intolerence to the formula.

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S.P.

answers from Kansas City on

My son is nearly 8 months old and still spits up a little sometimes. It has gradually gotten better and I really just stopped worrying about it since he was gaining well.

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Y.S.

answers from Springfield on

If you're concerned about the amount she spitts up talk to her doc. My son is 13 weeks old too and he is mostly brestfed, but I do have to suplement. He used to spit up alot, so our ped recommended Enfamil AR and that has helped us a little.
As long as she gains weight though I would'nt worry to much, most kids spit up after a feeding.

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S.S.

answers from Springfield on

The Good Start formula is made with cows' milk. I know it's broken down better for digestion (I used it with my kids when I changed from breast-fed to bottle-fed), but if your baby is lactose intollerant, this may be the problem. You may want to try a soy-based formula. I hope that helps.

S.

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B.L.

answers from Tulsa on

Sounds like your daughter has a case of gastroesophageal reflux. Which sometimes you don't even have to change the formula but I'm not sure what all your doctor can do for it. I have a daughter that is now 5 months old, she spits up a lot. I finally talked to her doctor about it and he changed her formula. She is now on Enfamil Lipil AR. The AR is added rice. Its a thickened formula. It has helped her a lot. She doesn't spit up like she used to. Which they say a little spit up is normal. If you are on WIC you have to get a prescription from your doctor every 3 months so that the baby will still be able to get the same formula. Which your doctor will most likely be more than happy to help you out. Plus there are different kinds of formula out there that might help too. There is Alimentum, I heard that works really good. All three of my children couldn't be on the formula that they started in the hospital. My oldest son was on Enfamil ProSobee which was really good. My two youngest kids were on Enfamil Lipil AR. Which I must say it is the hardest formula to mix up in a bottle.
All in all, I would talk to your doctor about it and see if there might be another formula that your baby could have or maybe something he/she could tell you to do. I wouldn't recommend giving her the whole milk (which is just my opinion) because if they drink it before the age 1, they are more likely to get an allergy to milk products and they are at a higher risk for juvenile onset diabetes . I just had a WIC nutrition class today. But like I said that is my opinion and I hope it didn't make anyone mad.

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M.H.

answers from Springfield on

N.,
I have had to deal with the same problem. I have twin girls and they were both breastfed for 3 weeks then we moved to the formula. The smaller one of the two spits up alot and has a hard time keeping it down. I called my doctor and he suggesteds the similac alimentium and it has seemed to cut down on the spit up. He also told me that alot of babies have reflux and will grow out of it, it just takes getting the right formula down them. I suggest to talk to the doctor and get there opinion, if all else fails you can always try the formula. (If you happen to be on WIC it is on the list)

Good Luck,
M.

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M.R.

answers from Washington DC on

My daughter was spitting up constantly, and consuming much more formula than she was supposed to at 6 weeks. My doctor said that 20% of all babies have a sensitivity to the protein in cow's milk. Most of the time it goes away after a year. So, we switched my daughter to soy formula, and immediately she stopped spitting up. Soy formula is a little more expensive, but definitely worth it!

A.C.

answers from Oklahoma City on

I don't know for sure if it could be the formula but I'm sure it could. I had the same problem with my daughter though even though she was still breastfed. She started out fine then went through this stage where she would spit up EVERYTHING! What I did was I would lay down with her while I fed her and then I'd let her lay there for at least 30 minutes before I got her up and moved her around. That seemed to do fine unless I got her up sooner than that. I had to do that for about a month and a half or so and then she did just fine after that!
I hope this helps!
Ashley

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R.Z.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Change to Enfamil. I have not heard good things about Nestle Good Start.

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J.R.

answers from Kansas City on

I solely fed my daughter breast milk and she still spit up no matter what. We tried faster nipples, slower nipples (on breast milk filled bottles) and nothing worked. We asked her ped. and he said not to worry that some babies just spit up. I was worried about her getting enough to eat but she was and still is way above average for height and weight. I would check with her ped. before changing anything. She may just grow out of it like mine did. She didn't fully stop spitting up until she was around 10 mos. or so. Just call your doc. or take her in to be sure he/she doesn't advise a switch in formula. Until then, invest in bleach and spray n wash! Best wishes!

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T.P.

answers from Oklahoma City on

hi nikki well my daughter did this when she was little and my doctor tried her on a new formula it was a spit up relief formula and she didn't do it nemore after that it got better

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J.J.

answers from Wichita on

My daughter did this and we had her tested several times to see if the flap was closing in her throat. It was. After several trips to Wichita and three months later we discovered it was rotovirus. Your local doctor can check this for you. It causes vomitting, loose stools and after awhile will cause weight loss. Good handwashing and disinfecting everything (toys, clothes, sink handles, anything you, your children, your spouse touch) we bought several cans of lysol and sprayed the house down as lysol kills the bacteria in rotovirus. Hope this helps.

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R.

answers from Oklahoma City on

Try enfamil. My daughters docter calls good start crapy start. Every babby he has ever seen on it spits up or something all the time. He gave us free samples of the enfamil so we would not have to give her good start when She wouldn't nurse.

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