Why spit up?

lukesbtb

Total rookie question. But why do babies spit up? Is it cause they eat too much or need to burp? I ask cause as you can see in my previous post that I am already concerned that I over feed LO due to her grunting noises that make me think she is hungry. Well she just spit up even thru her nose. Now she acting like she starving again!!

danieliza1127

Babies don't have that flap in their esophagus that keeps milk from coming back up like we do.  So if you lay a baby flat right after he/she eats, he/she is going to spit up.  They told us that in the hospital so I always try to hold my LO upright for a bit after he eats before I lay him down or do a diaper change.  Sometimes it's unavoidable and he's just going to spit up.  But anyway, that's a big part of it.  Over-feeding can cause it too but if the baby is hungry he'll eat and when he's full, he'll refuse the bottle/breast.

JAL102129

danieliza1127:

Babies don't have that flap in their esophagus that keeps milk from coming back up like we do.  So if you lay a baby flat right after he/she eats, he/she is going to spit up.  They told us that in the hospital so I always try to hold my LO upright for a bit after he eats before I lay him down or do a diaper change.  Sometimes it's unavoidable and he's just going to spit up.  But anyway, that's a big part of it.  Over-feeding can cause it too but if the baby is hungry he'll eat and when he's full, he'll refuse the bottle/breast.

 

This. Like you said I also find holding my LO upright for a while after feeding definitely decreased how much he spits up.

pixieprincss

One book described it this way, which helped me visualize: babies swallow air when eating; this forms a bubble  in the tummy. When the bubble bursts, all of the milk above that point has the potential to come up, as the anatomy that holds it down in an adult is still growing and strengthening.

APendola

How long should you hold them up after they eat?  Do you need to hold them completely upright?

I've tried propping her up a bit on the nursing pillow but she still spits up.  It's so frustrating.