Excessive Spit Up - Lynnwood,WA

My daughter had projectile vomit several times a day. My doctor said as long as she gained weight it was not a medical concern, just an inconvenience...a big inconveniece. She began to outgrow it at 8 months.

At the risk of sounding rude, your pediatrician sounds like an idiot. My youngest had reflux and he NEVER screamed or arched his back when he spit up. We called him our "exorcist" baby because of the high pressure vomit that would come from him. (Once, he was laying on the other side of his twin brother. He spit up while he was looking directly at me and the vomit completely flew over his brother to hit me. His brother had hardly any spit up on him at all!)

Absolutely nothing helped my little guy, but like with your baby, he gained weight and was healthy. I just resigned myself to doing a whole lot of laundry and dealing with the smell of sour milk. It was the family joke that every single person my son came into contact with got christened with "regurgitated boob juice" at some point (and usually at MANY points). My little guy was a happy puker. I think he inherited his father's sense of humor because as he got older he seemed to really get a kick out of drenching us. (He never did like drenching himself, though!)

With my son, things got better as soon as he was able to get up and sit up by himself.

Our daughter was quite the puker (in fact, everyone we knew said they never saw a baby spit-up and puke so much). Twice she DRENCHED both my husband and her daycare lady. They had too change all their clothes, including socks and underwear - I mean soaked. We used Zantac which helped some, but really we just had to wait until her body caught up. Around 8 1/2 - 9 months things got much better and we could get off the medicine. She's now 2 1/2 and still one who pukes easier than most, but it's only when she's sick or chokes on something. I honestly forgot what it was like being constantly covered in puke until our friends had a new baby that spit up on me. I promise it WILL get better and you will actually forget what it's like to be covered in spit-up. I'm going to guess she'll get better within the next couple of months. Keep your head up! :-)

Some kids are just pukers. My first was, he spit up until he was about 1 - and yeah, he still did it after solids which was gross. I was concerned about reflux, etc, but he was fine and the spitting up bothered us more than him. He grew out of it. Yours probably will, too. Just keep lots of burp cloths around and keep your humor - it'll pass before you know it.

For me, it was the onions I was eating.
Cutting out the diary cut out the screaming, but she continued to spit up... I called it "Platting" cause I'd burp her, & she "plaaat" all over the floor. (til she was 18 months.) It was then that I discovered the onion connection, & abstained until she was weaned at 24 months. Broccoli, cabbage, green peppers might be an issue too. It's not necessarily an allergy, just really gaseous & backfires.

Good luck, & keep up the good work.

Have you written down what you eat? Does the baby do this everyday? There are certain foods that can bother a baby, broccoli, cabbages, chocolate, wines, milk,spicy foods, onions, peppers, peanut butter, I mean all kinds of things. Maybe you can make a note of things you eat and see what happens after she eats.
My boys spit up too, mine ended up being due to the above and also I produced plenty of milk, ( I could nurse for 20 minutes and still fill an 8 oz bottle.
I would try the feed for 5 and burp, sometimes little ones get drinking so fast they get that bubble in there and this will help.
I think I would avoid medicines, just not a fan of immediately sticking kids on medicines for everything, crazy!
Hope this helps.

Hi A. -- I know how frustrating it can be to always be covered with spit up. Our daughter was the same way and we simply had to live with it until her body matured. Our daughter is now 15 months old and still spits up if she has a lot of milk. There are a lot of babies that are "happy spitters". The reason that babies spit up is because their esophageal sphincter hasn't yet matured. It's acting as a two way door, letting food both IN and OUT. As your daughter gets older, that muscle will work better and only let food IN.

The reason your daughter continues to gain wait is because breastmilk is very quickly digested, so she is getting the nutrients she needs as soon as she starts nursing. Also, the amount of spit up coming out is likely very small, even if it looks like a lot. Take an ounce of water and spill it on the counter -- it will look like a ton of liquid, probably more than what your daughter is spitting up.

Hang in there -- it will get better before you know it.

Maybe try another acid reflux med. We had to try two Prevacid finally worked so did putting him on his tummy. We went throught the same thing. Also we put him on Probiotics that are awesome the pedi recommended. BioGaia -everidis is the company. You have them sent to your house. There the good gut bugs. Even if she seems happy you don't want stomach acid coming up her little throat. That's why the reflux meds are so important.
It's late or I'd write more- Good luck
Lynelle

Hello A.,

I had that same problem when I breastfed my babies so what I did was I nursed the baby for a few minutes on one breast then gently broke the suction and put the baby's head on my shoulder and gently pat the baby's back until I heard or felt the burp then nursed the baby on the other breast for a few minutes then burp the baby again. I'd say nurse the baby for about 5 minutes on one breast then burp the baby after than then nurse on the other breast for 5 min. and burp the baby after that. That should cut down the amount of spit up the baby brings up after the feeding.

God Bless and take care and good luck.
A.

I'm a single mom raising 5 kids on my own.

Dear A.,
I have a 17month old daughter. When she was born she had TERRIBLE GERD/REFLUX. It sounds like you are on the right track, with what you have been trying. This is what I did tried my little one: I too breastfed her, I would let her suckle for five or ten minutes on one side, then sit her up( at least at 30 degree angle) supporting her chin and pat her back to encourage her to burp. After a good ten minute break from #1 breast, I would then offer her the other breast, sometimes she would take it sometimes not. The GERD was way worse when she was very hungry. So I started feed much more often, in smaller amounts, and after burping I would keep her up right for a minimum of 30 minutes, longer the better.
My Pediatrician put her on Zantac. That helped with her discomfort of the reflux a bit. Of all the meds that they can try, Zantac worked the best. What the issue is that we all have a upper sphincter muscle in the upper stomach, near the lower part of the esophagus which is not fully developed at this age. This should bet better with time.
Even after I started solids with my DD she still would vomit regularly. My pediatrician said she wasn't very worried about it since baby continued to gain weight. There is a procedure that they can do to alleviate or help the problem. Personally I am not into any invasive surgeries on my child, unless it life threatening. So let me break down my recommendations.
First find a 30 degree wedge pillow that she can lay on, relax, and sleep on. There is an awesome wedge pillow, which has a support for the baby to keep it in the proper position.
With the risk of SIDS the common practice now it to put babies on their back. This is not conducive to Reflux and GERD. The wedge pillow also helps ensure that the baby will not suffocate. I will attach the link, if I can find it. It isn’t the cheapest on the market but is the best I have ever used and all my parents in group swear by it. http://www.pollywogbaby.com/item--tucker-sling--CribSling...
You can look at local stores, but do not purchase the low level height ones. The KEY is to have baby at 30 degree incline.
Regarding being coved in puke all the time, a friend, while walking thru Sears with baby vomiting behind her as baby was on shoulder, daddy just walked behind them with a towel and cleaned up the mess. If you explain to the management at the store, restaurant, or where ever you might be that you bundle of joy has terrible Reflux and GERD they will be more understanding and helpful.
The GOOOD News is that they usually grow out of this, for some, its by about five months, for me it was closer to a yr or more. I am part of a support group some of the ladies have had it come and go as the kid develops. With solids you also need to be careful some foods will make it worse than others.
I totally sympathize with you. If you would like to talk more regarding this or other issues feel free to contact me at any time I am her to help. My email is ____@____.com Bless and stay strong, it will get better.
Always,
D.

You mentioned feeding her more frequently. That seems counterintuitive to me. Why don't you try feeding her less frequently. I don't know if you nurse her first and do solids second, but I would definitely do that. Do you demand feed or do you have her on a schedule? She might just need to eat less? There wasn't the information in your question for me to be confident in my advice, but you might try that. Good luck! I imagine that she really will grow out of this, but it obviously will take more time.

Even though the baby has been on reflux meds and doc doesnt seem convinced that could be the problem it still could be. Both my boys the second being the worst had this problem and the meds didnt do anything for it. He would spit up more and more it was to the point where whole bottles were coming up. I would try aliminating food but keep the fact that it could still be reflux in the back of your mind. My youngest right now is 17 months and still has problems with it sometimes.

Hi A., How often and for how long do you burp her? I never realized how important and how long it can take to burp a baby. I used to think that you just pat them on the back for a bit after feeding and if they burp great and if not ...of well. Well, it is not "oh well"...keep patting on that back until you hear a good burp. This also applies to babies who cry alot in the evening for no apparent reason. Try it and good luck. J.

I would ask what type of milk do you drink? I know this sounds strange, but when I cut back to 2% my son stopped getting sick. Now that he is older him and his sister both get a rash if they have whole milk. Out of 5 kids, only 2 have had this reaction.

My son had a similar problem. What seemed to work best for him was slow feeding. When drinking we would stop about every once or so and let it settle/burb him, and with solids we had to do small bites and really take our time. The only think that completely fixed it was time. He grew out of it at about 9 months.

Good Luck.

My daughter had the same problem. She spit up constantly. She was diagnosed with reflux and put on Zantac, but it didn't seem to help. She never seeed bothered by it (no arching her back or crying) but it was hard dealing with the constant mess. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to help and our pediatrician said it would probably correct itself over time. Right around her 1st birthday, she stopped spitting up. Hopefully, within a few months, your little girl's reflux will disappear, too!

Boy do I know about spitty babies! That seems to be the only way I know how to breed them:)

I've had 3 babies in 3 years and all of them have been bad spitters, however my son (middle baby) was by far the worst. He had reflux and spit up so much people who watched him in the nursery at church would hand him back to me practically in tears because of how much he spit up when he was there. I had warned them but they had never seen anything like it! He was a happy spitter too, but in his case they didn't rule out reflux just because it didn't hurt him.
So anyway, I commiserate with you on this issue!

However, I wish I had known then what I know now. I recently discovered a natural remedy that has really helped with my 5 month old daughter's reflux & eczema. She was covered in red splotches so the doctor said to slather on the petroleum jelly, but that ultimately, there was nothing that could really be done! A friend of mine told me about hazelwood necklaces and ointments that had dramaticaly helped her son’s reflux (she was able to take him off Zantac within 2 weeks of him wearing it).
Apparently, the hazelwood (wood from a hazelnut tree) has the property of absorbing excess acid(which is the root cause of many problems including reflux & eczema) in your body when the wood is against your skin.
I was really skeptical but I decided to buy a necklace and give it a try. Within 2 weeks, my daughter's eczema was all but gone. She also doesn’t spit up nearly as much anymore (she used to spit up so much that we had to have a pocket bib to catch it all) All she has left are a few dry spots, but nothing like before! I have been so amazed by this product that I decided to make them available to other moms here since they are not commonly available in the US (these necklaces come from Canada) and could help so many people!

I know it's hard to believe that wearing a necklace could help so much, but it's definitely worth a try, especially since they are inexpensive and cute!
I can't tell you how thrilled I am to see my baby daughter's skin soft and smooth and not all blotchy and red...there are no words!

Anyway, if you’re interested, check out www.hazelaid.com

Good luck!

I had the same problem with my now 14 year old. I quit breast feeding him at 3 months and put him on a soy based formula. It was like night and day, suddenly I didn't smell like baby vomit all the time, he also started to sleep better.
I had no problem with my now 11 year old, who nursed for 18 months without a hitch.
This might not be right for you but, it was the best choice for us.
If you eat broccoli, radishes, cabbage or any vegatable like those you might consider cutting those out and see if there is a difference.
Good luck.