son of a biscuit!
Ok. So DD has started throwing up a lot more since 3 weeks. (now a day away from 7 weeks). At first, it was just once, maybe twice, right after eating. NOW! It's like 3-4 times right after eating, 1-2 times if I lay her on the play mat, sometimes 1-2 times while she sleeps and it can even be up to 2-3 hours after she eats that she'll throw up! I took her to the Doctor's office Monday, fully expecting a quick prescription for Prevacid and out the door. NOOOOO- the Dr. watched her throw up several times on the table, all over me, etc. She said she didn't think it was reflux because typically the child is fussy. DD doesn't bat an eye... just comes pouring, sometimes shooting out. So she thought it was something else that had to do with the opening from the esophogas to the stomach. She sent us to TX Children's for an ultrasound. That came back normal. As soon as we got done, I had a bottle of BM waiting because it was like an hour past her feeding time, and I fed it to her... MINIMAL puke. So I sat in the waiting room with my mom, almost in tears from the roller coaster I'd been on that day, and said "maybe she's eating too much?"
So- assess this- help me out-
she eats every 4-5 hours. That's her demand, not mine. I don't KNOW how much she drinks because I only nurse... I pump in the morning from one side while she eats from the other because she has been sleeping 6-8 hours at a time, so my girls are full!! I can pump 4-5 oz. easily from just one side.
A couple of weeks ago, I pumped after she ate, and i didn't even get 1/2 an oz. So what I'm thinking is, that I am making maybe 6 oz. and she's only needing 4 and eating all she can and puking the rest.
I do NOT like giving medicine when medicine's not neccessary, so I haven't filled the prescription. I tried, right after we got home from the hospital, to feed from one side and see if that was enough for her. No. SHe was ticked!
I usually feed from both sides for about 10 minutes each. I don't sit with a timer, but I know it doesn't go longer than that. If she pulls away, I sit her up and burp her. It may not have been 10 minutes.
People are telling me to pump. and feed her bottles, that she'll learn how much she needs (4 oz) and quit eating after that, but doesn't exclusively pumping diminish your supply? I don't want to do that!
Please help! I don't know what to do!
Re: son of a biscuit!
I don't really have an answer for you but here is my experience and thoughts: Cooper has always been a spitter, he pukes a lot, and like you describe it's not always right after eating. But it doesn't seem to bother him at all and he's always gained weight well and had plenty of diapers (I know he's getting enough to eat) so I just don't worry about it. I do a lot of laundry and always have a burp cloth on my shoulder. If he seemed to be in pain, I'd be concerned.
I also have crazy over-supply (I pump 5oz in 5 minutes from each boob when I'm full) and a fast letdown, so the puking could easily be from eating too much or too quickly. **shrug** In your case the only thing I can think of is that it could be due to a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance if you have a lot of milk and are feeding from both sides at every feeding. I would try feeding from only one side for awhile (still stop in the middle and burp) and see if that makes any difference.
Good luck, and honestly, if she's growing and not unhappy, I wouldn't worry too much.
I don't think you should need/have to resort to pumping and bottle feeding. I don't believe for one minute that doing that will "teach her how much she needs to eat". Babies will typically take more from a bottle than from the breast because it's less work for them to drink from the bottle. That said, I don't know the answer either.
You might try posting this on the Breastfeeding board. There are a lot of ladies there with a great deal of knowledge, and perhaps someone there has dealt with something similar.
You might also go see a lactation consultant. I'm sure they've run into similar things before.
Ugh, stressful! Projectile vomiting in a newborn can be a symptom of pyloric stenosis. My cousin's baby boy was diagnosed with it about 2 weeks after he was born. It's super easy to fix with surgery thank goodness. I'm glad your baby doesn't have it but I know it probably would have been nice to get a better idea of what's causing her to spit up so much.
I don't have an advice for the original poster, but I just wanted to say that I am crazy jealous of this! I pump and pump and do a happy dance if I get 6 oz. out of both sides!
I'm not advocating pumping as the answer, but almost exclusively pumping did not diminish my supply - it increased it. I'm a slave to the electronic baby. He eats a lot.
Good luck. I hope you find an answer soon.
I think it could be reflux. Evan is currently medicated for reflux and had the same symptoms and he was never fussy with it - the pedi diagnosed it in office after watching his mouth movements and spitting up. Since starting his meds we have had absolutely no issues.
The advice to pump and give him a bottle seems way off base to me.
Sorry this is short and choppy - little man is just waking up but I wanted to let you know it sounds a lot like our situation. GL!
I also tend to agree that it could be reflux.