My daughter is 7 months old this week. She is a very "spitty" baby. Some days are worse than others, I have not been able to pinpoint anything that I am eating that might be causing it (she is a BF baby - no formula). We started solids at 6 months, and that doesn't seem to be making much difference, now she just has multi-colored spit up. :)
My mother-in-law is a pediatric nurse at Children's West. She watched Rebecca for a few hours on Sat. and when I came back she gave me a really hard time about not having her on medication for reflux. Now, my pediatrician knows that Becca spits up often. We've discussed it, and I don't really see it as any thing other than a laundry issue. She sleeps ok at night, most nights she has one 6 - 7 hour stretch straight sleep, other nights she's up every 3 or 4 hours. I nurse her when she wakes and generally she goes right back to sleep. I nurse her to sleep at naptime, and she sometimes sleeps up to 3 hours, other times only sleeps a 1/2 hour then takes another nap in a few hours.
My question is, exactly what is reflux in a baby? Wouldn't she be fussy if it bothered her? If she is totally happy 99 percent of the time, shouldn't I be happy too? Do I need to worry about her having problems from the acids coming up (as my MIL suggested?)? Won't she soon out grow this, and therefore, wouldn't medicating at this point be a waste of money and a stress for her (she doesn't even like to take tylenol)?
Thoughts from those who medicated their babies and those who opted not too are greatly appreciated! I'll talk to my pediatrician again if I need to, but would rather not take her in before the next appointment, but that's a few months out.
Thanks!!!
Jessica
I had my son on Zantaz for a while for reflux, but it doesn't actually stop the acid from coming up, just relieves the irritation from it, not really addressing the actual cause of the reflux. My baby's reflux (and a lot of other problems) disappeared completely when we took him off dairy. My son was 99.9% breastfed too. But even that had enough of the milk protein in it to cause him trouble. In my opinion, the Zantac didn't help my son.
Reflux in a baby is just the same as reflux in an adult- the liquid in the stomach travels back up the esophagus in different stages.
Considering how well your daughter is sleeping and how it doesn't seem to be affecting her, I would say skip it. My son on the other hand would not sleep and it was obviously causing him pain and interfering with our every day. His Doctor prescribed him liquid Zantac and it helped sooo much, I know I made the right choice. By about 7 months I stopped giving it to him so often, and he still seemed to be fine, so I quit giving it to him altogether. He was still spitting and throwing up at that time but it just didn't cause him such pain and discomfort as it did when he was a tiny baby. If it's no big deal for your daughter, then don't worry about it. If she is crying and crying and has a lot of trouble sleeping, I would give it a try.
Our daughter was also a huge spitter! I never got completely dressed until we were on the way out the door and then I would cover myself with a blanket just in case! (She was exclusively breast fed or had breast milk in a bottle.) I was really worried about the volume of spit up she would have, but she never cried or acted uncomfortable. When we asked our doctor about it at a previously scheduled appointment he said that as long as she was continuing to gain weight and as long as she wasn't showing a lot of discomfort that it wasn't anything to worry about. He also had us watch the color of the spit up to make sure that didn't change. He said that some babies are just spitters. I can't remember how old she was when she outgrew it but I think it was before she started eating solids. Good luck with your MIL. I can completely identify with you!
My baby was the biggest spitter upper for a long time and strictly breastfed. I wouldn't even consider putting her on meds. Why if she is happy and doing fine? She outgrew it and so will yours. Good luck with all the laundry!
My son was also a chronic spitter and we'd go through 3-4 outfits a day routinely because he would just be soaked. We also had a bout of heat rash in the summer because we just couldn't keep his neck dry. He was also exclusively BF and started solids around 6 months. Because he never seemed to be in any discomfort from the spitting and because it was pure milk (no stomach acid) I never had him evaluated for reflux. My mom said my brother was the same and so I never worried much. Sure enough, around the time that he started sitting and standing more he grew out of it entirely.
In contrast, my niece was medicated for GERD, but she didn't really seem to spit up as much but was always extremely fussy, wouldn't sleep, hated her carseat, and had classic colic symptoms. After they started her on the medication it was like she was a different baby -- much calmer and less irritable and slept in long stretches. I think that was a good diagnosis and course of action. However, it sounds like your daughter is more like my son and you'll probably be through this in the next month or so.
Hi Jessica,
I had a spitty baby also, until she was 13mo old. I thought it would never end. She was completly on solids and still spitting up, but that didn't last long. We tried reflux meds and that didn't help, we just delt with the spit up. Like your child she wasn't in any distress with it. She does not have any complications from it. It is your choice about what you want to do. Good Luck!
My first spit up pretty much at least once every feeding as a newborn/infant. Sometimes quite copiously, sometimes it went a ways. We never medicated because I thought, a) babies spit up; medicating every spitty baby is a little silly and b) it never seemed to bother him much. My kids don't sleep well, but I don't think it's attributable to their spitting up. My second didn't spit up every meal; only about half of them, but both our boys spit up until past the time they turned one. It did get a little gross when some food came up with the milk, but it was definitely different from when they were sick and threw up--they were mostly spitting up milk (and juice was a little much for both of them, though they did love it). Anyway--they're both healthy and happy now, and don't seem to have any weird residual issues.
I think some babies just spit up more than others and they do outgrow it. My first son spit up all the time until around one year and it never seemed to cause him any pain or problems. I think the key thing is that it doesn't seem to bother her. If your pediatrician isn't concerned and you aren't concerned then I wouldn't worry about it. You know your baby the best. If it was really bothering her, she would let you know.
Our pediatrician says he will not in good conscious ever prescribe reflux medication unless there is testing done to prove that the reflux is causing harm or damage to the lining of the stomach or throat. He says that there are no studies showing the effects of an adult medication being ingested by a baby. I believe every pediatrician knows the basics in pediatric care, but there are only a few that go beyond that and really keep on the up and up on things. Go with your gut on this one.
Your daughter sounds like she is happy and doing fine! My daughter spit up regularly until she was about 9 months. It was a laundry and convenience issue but in every other way she was happy and growing. At about 8 months we noticed a decrease in spit up and then by about 9 months it stopped! Your daughter will grow out of this as her body matures.
I had two SUPER SPITTY babies that were not treated for reflux. My son did end up having sensory integration issues and that is why he gagged and spit up a lot because of texture. This was remedied through Occupational Therapy we started at age 3. My daughter was super spitty - everything that went in seemed to come up, but my doc assured me she'd be fine without medication because she was gaining weight and was a happy baby. They are healthy 8 and 10 year old kids now. Follow your pediatrician's advice and your gut or seek a 2nd drs opinion if you're unsure.
I don't have time to read all the responses. I believe one mentioned the medications given for reflux affecting calcium absorption. I've heard of that possible side affect. The other very resent side affect I've heard of is increase lung infection. That might have been in a NYtimes email. I know I forwarded it to a friend.
Considering your baby is not having any obvious discomforts, I would really consider possible medication side affects before using a medication.You can look those up on-line. Very little research is done on affects on little children which to me is even more of a concern when making a decision. My son had problems with reflux but not so bad that it warranted medication. He has no long term side affects from me choosing that route.
I also could see giving your baby medication adding a whole lot of stress to her and your life considering she doesn't like taking medication. I've seen real problems and frustrations created with giving medication. If seen babies start having negative reactions to their Mom because they have to give them medication. If it's medically necessary then that is a different decision. It doesn't sound like your situation warrants it.
I remember wearing my husbands old t-shirt over my clean clothes as I was heading out of the house. I would take them off just as I left so that they wouldn't get messy if my daughter spit up. All babies I've known just spit up a lot.
M.
In my opinion, your daughter doesn't seem to have reflux. Like you said, she would be fussy - beyond that. She would be crying in pain, and be making small "burping" noises from the acid coming up. My daughter did not spit up often, but had reflux. She cried A LOT and made those burping noises and was swallowing really hard - at a month old no less. So we started her on liquid zantac which helped, but then when she was 2 months, switched to dissolving a Prevacid pill in water and then giving her that. She was 100% happy once the Prevacid kicked in. We tried taking her off of it every 4 months, but ended up being on it till she was 15 months. So that's the reflux story - it doesn't sound like your daughter has that - just like she's a happy spitter! Good luck with your MIL - mine criticized me to no end for having my daughter on medication so young. But it worked!
We had this problem with my son. Our pediatrician attributed it to a light gag reflex not reflux. my son could throw up his entire stomach if he laughed too hard or sneezed funny or just looked at you funny. We had a lot of laundry to do but our pediatrician said as long as there is no discomfort and htey don't seem to be in pain, they will grow out of it. Just keep talking with your doctor about it at WBC.
I haven't had time to read the other responses, so sorry if this is redundant: I'm sure your mother has your best interests and those of your daughter at heart. But I wouldn't worry about it. Babies all spit up, some more than others, and it doesn't mean they have something "wrong," just that their systems aren't mature yet. If she seems happy, she's eating and gaining weight, and your doctor isn't concernt, that's good enough for me. I'm sure that if she continued to spit up for years and years, at some point the acids would start to damage her esophagus. But you would know there was something wrong before that happened, if she was spitting up for years.
Sounds like you and your doctor have talked about her health and you agree she's doing fine. So I would tell you mother-in-law thank you for your concern, but we're confident that she's developing just fine!
J., I too have a 7 month old and he spit a lot!!! It is most likely reflux, however he is the happiest baby. My Dr and I decided it was not necessary to medicate because he is not uncomfortable and will likely grow out of it. I nursed for about 8 weeks and the spitting was uncontrolable. I moved to formula to see if it made a difference....he still spit a lot, but not nearly as bad as he had been. Now, I would say he is spitty, but some bottles he doesn't spit at all :) It is getting a lot better. I know that as mothers we want to nurse, but sometimes it can be impossible to see what we are eating that might be exacerbating the issue. I say, if he is happy and you don't mind cleaning him up frequently, don't medicate.
My son was very spitty also....VERY spitty. But when he burped, he would cry and when he spit up he would scream. I knew it was hurting him so we went to the Dr. and they prescribed Prevacid. It was like a miracle. He spit up just as often but it didn't hurt him like before. He stayed on the medication until he was about 10 mos. old or so. Solids didn't really help, same as you...just multi-colored spit up. If she doesn't seem like she is in pain, she is growing and gaining weight normally, sleeps well, and the spitting doesn't seem to bother her, then I would just say to leave well enough alone. But if it is causing any of those problems, then I say give the medication a try. It won't hurt. It will only help. With the prevacid, it is a dissolving tablet so you put it in a syringe with a little bit of water and let it dissolve and then give it to her from the syringe. My son liked it. It tastes fruity. If you decide to give the medication a try, you might find that she sleeps even better and she is happier during the day time. But you won't know until you try it. But if you don't think she needs it, then don't worry about it. It's up to you. MILs always just try to help and give advice even when it isn't wanted or needed. That's their job. Hope you make the decision that is best for the both of you...your baby and yourself. :)
You are totally fine!! Everything you described is typical...I know, I had 2 reflux babies in a row! So, I have talked to our pediatrician enough about it. You really only want to medicate, if they are projectile vomiting (my 1st did, and 2nd does sometimes) or, if they are really crabby (the heartburn) but it sounds like your baby is pretty happy. I think your MIL is going alittle overboard. Also, I read somewhere that being on Omeprazole can be hard on the bones, so look it up so you have ammo the next time she brings it up....Good Luck!
If your daughter isn't fussy or seem in pain, then I wouldn't worry about it. One of my boys was a spitter, the other wasn't. Neither was fed differently, they were just different kids. And like you said, it was a laundry problem.
I will say that most peds or peds nurses are huge on pushing reflux/reflux meds. Trust your mommy instincts, if she's a happy baby, then worry about the piles of laundry, not reflux meds. :)
Hi J.! My son was a TERRIBLE spitter (5-7 clothing changes a day) and did NOT have reflux. My daughter did not spit up often at all but had reflux so bad that she got erosions in her esophagus. Both breast fed. Go figure, huh?
A craniosacral therapist helped our son to stop spitting up so bad. It didn't take care of the problem 100% but it did help!
It actually sounds like your baby is fine. Your MIL needs to realize that even though she is a peds nurse that she should trust that you and your doc have it all worked out. Good luck!
My DD was about 7-8 months when I noticed her spitting up so much to just go away. It was after she started solids, not right away, but it did go away. If your ped. knows about it and she is still having issues at her next appt ask then, but my opinion is if she is happy then its probably not reflux (no experience, just my opinion). Good luck. You can always call your ped and ask again about it and what she thinks.
Both my kids would projectile spit up a couple of times a day, and I don't think it stopped until after they turned one. (They were exclusively breastfed until 9 months, when we switched to breastmilk and formula.) It drove ME crazy because it always seemed to happen when I was all ready to go and they would spit up all over me, themselves and their carseats! But, it didn't seem to bother THEM any. I talked to my dr. about it too, and he's a very conservative guy when it comes to medication. We opted not to medicate and they grew out of it. They're absolutely fine, healthy 2 year olds!
