frustrated w/excessive vomiting

SanHawaii08 · December 2010

argh! E vomits after almost every feed. Not just a little spit up, but forceful, flowing milk vomit. His pedi said not to worry about it as long as it wasn't projectile vomiting, but I don't really know what crosses the line as projectile or not. With his head turned sideways, he can sometimes miss his shoulder, which seems projectile to me, though some websites say babies can projectile vomit "a few feet". Plus, he's gaining weight well, so everything I've read says it's a laundry problem, not a real concern. But it's so frustrating! Every feeding takes an hour, b/c he eats, vomits, eats again, vomits, eats again...

I burp after every 10 min, try not to move him in any way that compresses his tummy, try to get him upright as soon as we're finished feeding and keep him upright for at least 20 min - but sometimes I don't even get to try to pick him up before he throws up.

I don't think he actually has reflux, since he seems to be a "happy spitter" - it doesn't seem to bother him much. but i still find it very frustrating, and maybe i just need to get over it. maybe i should feed him smaller meals more often, instead of trying to keep him awake to eat from both sides.

any advice? or sympathy? Stick out tongue do i just need to put on my big girl pants?

Married2MrWright · December 2010

Aw, Sandra, I could have written this post myself when Libby was E's age! Seriously! She had the same issue! My pedi said that you will know when it's vomit vs. spit up (it'll smell like puke rather than just milk). She spit up a lot! The sphincter that closes at the top of their stomach is not fully developed so yeah, a lot comes up. For the most part, she never fussed or cried about it...it was mostly me.

Advice? Have TONS of burp cloths around...I swear I'd go through 5 a day sometimes! And be okay with doing the laundry...he'll go through a few clothing changes and day (and you might too) until it calms down...usually by 3-4 months.

Sounds like you're doing everything right...burping frequently, keeping him upright after feeds. I know, at the time, I was almost personally offended when she's spit up on me. So I hear you, it's frustrating as all get out. I finally found a way to accept it as part of infantcy and now, looking back, it really wasn't that long. So, hang in there...this too shall pass. ((HUGS))

ETA: How long are you feeding him? I could only feed Libby one side each feed because I had oversupply and forceful letdown. If you're supply is established, you might try feeding on one side each feed (especially if it's every hour)...he'll get fore and hindmilk in each feed that way too.

sanae78 · December 2010

It could still be reflux. I would probably take him to a peds gi doc to get tested. A bunch of my co-workers who had babies this year have been dealing with reflux. You may have to add rice cereal to the milk to thicken it up. But the doc will tell you if you need to.

redshoegirl · December 2010

Married2MrWright:
Aw, Sandra, I could have written this post myself when Libby was E's age! Seriously! She had the same issue! My pedi said that you will know when it's vomit vs. spit up (it'll smell like puke rather than just milk). She spit up a lot! The sphincter that closes at the top of their stomach is not fully developed so yeah, a lot comes up. For the most part, she never fussed or cried about it...it was mostly me.

Advice? Have TONS of burp cloths around...I swear I'd go through 5 a day sometimes! And be okay with doing the laundry...he'll go through a few clothing changes and day (and you might too) until it calms down...usually by 3-4 months.

Sounds like you're doing everything right...burping frequently, keeping him upright after feeds. I know, at the time, I was almost personally offended when she's spit up on me. So I hear you, it's frustrating as all get out. I finally found a way to accept it as part of infantcy and now, looking back, it really wasn't that long. So, hang in there...this too shall pass. ((HUGS))

Yes to all of this. Both Will and Dash did this after every.single.feeding. It freaked me out at first, but like you said, both were happy chuckers and clearly not distressed at all (plus they were putting on plenty of weight so they were obviously getting enough food). I always thought spit up was just a little bit here and there, but they used to chuck a ton after each meal. *shrug*

My only advice is to stock up on burp cloths and don't get the pretty , hourglass shaped ones - they're totally useless for a baby who chucks a lot because you need more spew catching area than they offer lol. The best thing I found was plain flat cloth diapers made of terry cloth - they're about 14" on each side and big and absorbent enough that we could catch all the spit up, plus cheap enough to buy tons of them.

vanilla15 · December 2010

glad you asked this Sandra...Adair spits up a ton & just today I added it to the list of things to ask the pedi about at her next appt. She is a "happy chucker" as well so it sounds like all of the babies mentioned here have the same thing, but frustrating nonetheless!

lelekay · December 2010

redshoegirl:
Married2MrWright:
Aw, Sandra, I could have written this post myself when Libby was E's age! Seriously! She had the same issue! My pedi said that you will know when it's vomit vs. spit up (it'll smell like puke rather than just milk). She spit up a lot! The sphincter that closes at the top of their stomach is not fully developed so yeah, a lot comes up. For the most part, she never fussed or cried about it...it was mostly me.
Advice? Have TONS of burp cloths around...I swear I'd go through 5 a day sometimes! And be okay with doing the laundry...he'll go through a few clothing changes and day (and you might too) until it calms down...usually by 3-4 months.
Sounds like you're doing everything right...burping frequently, keeping him upright after feeds. I know, at the time, I was almost personally offended when she's spit up on me. So I hear you, it's frustrating as all get out. I finally found a way to accept it as part of infantcy and now, looking back, it really wasn't that long. So, hang in there...this too shall pass. ((HUGS))
to all of this. Both Will and Dash did this after every.single.feeding. It freaked me out at first, but like you said, both were happy chuckers and clearly not distressed at all (plus they were putting on plenty of weight so they were obviously getting enough food). I always thought spit up was just a little bit here and there, but they used to chuck a ton after each meal. *shrug*
My only advice is to stock up on burp cloths and don't get the pretty , hourglass shaped ones - they're totally useless for a baby who chucks a lot because you need more spew catching area than they offer lol. The best thing I found was plain flat cloth diapers made of terry cloth - they're about 14" on each side and big and absorbent enough that we could catch all the spit up, plus cheap enough to buy tons of them.

All of this! H did this all. the. time. I'm afraid to say that I think it's totally normal. He's much better now, but yeah....he used to spit up (no spit-up doesn't even begin to describe it!) a LOT every feeding.

KShiz · December 2010

SanHawaii08:
maybe i should feed him smaller meals more often, instead of trying to keep him awake to eat from both sides.

Even though I didn't BF, my pedi said that I'll know when she's had too much because it'll "overflow". It sounds like it could be the case for you as well.

eacerna · December 2010

vanilla15:
glad you asked this Sandra...Adair spits up a ton & just today I added it to the list of things to ask the pedi about at her next appt. She is a "happy chucker" as well so it sounds like all of the babies mentioned here have the same thing, but frustrating nonetheless!

Elle also did this a couple of times today considering she did not eat a lot during the 2 feedings! She never "vomits" so I was worried something may be wrong but yeah, she didn't seem bothered. The pedi did say spit ups are normal.

inamra · December 2010

Like some other ladies here, we went through this phase too! Once, it was even yellowish-green, which I thought was scary, but then he stopped doing it so I felt better about it. But most of the time it was just white and thick, sometimes chunky, and I just thought that B had an extreme case of excessive spit-up.

Yeah, other than keeping tons of burp cloths around, we just try to keep him upright and burp him a lot. Sometimes I find it helpful to even burp several times in between the feeding (which can sometimes/sorta help keep him more awake too because he used to fall asleep all the freaking time when we're nursing!) and that way, I think it lets the air settle more frequently, rather than try to do it all at once in the end when he just ends up spitting up instead. Mmmm, other than that, we just went through tons of burp cloths and bibs during that time.

mrspresley · December 2010

and i totally thought this was just Miss A - haha. seems like everyone who has chimed in went through the same thing too! i guess it's just a phase....and, what the pedi will also tell you - although it always looks like a lot, it is actually not as much as you think it is... sometimes it looks like the entire meal and if you were to actually "catch" it and measure it it's actually a very small amount.

i did want to say, since no one else mentioned it...but i never knew that milk causes worse stains on cloth diapers than poop does.... i still have some PFs w/milk stains that i can't get out. so, if you care about the appearance (or resale value) or your PFs then i'd get some cheap gerber PFs or other burp cloths to use instead. and honestly, sometimes she used to spit up so much that i think using a bath towel would have been better b/c inevitably she'd spit up and miss the cloth!

MauiWedding08 · December 2010

have you considered probiotics? they could definitely help E's tummy issues, especially since I think he and you have been on antibiotics.

I like Udo's Choice for infants, I bought it regularly at super supplements (it's refrigerated) and I think they also carry it at whole foods. It's powdered so you can add it to a bottle or finger feed.

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