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| First Time Moms |
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I am breastfeeding my daughter, and lately she's been spitting up. I do burp her after she eats, but she still spits up. Should I be concerned or not? I know that formula fed babies tend to spit up a lot, but I haven't heard anything about breastfed babies.
cypress |
| Posted by Cypress on 01/23/2008 07:03 PM
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I think that all babies spit-up sometimes. My son was exclusively breastfed for the 1st 6 months of his life, and although not often, he did spit up from time to time. I wouldn't be concerned unless it becomes a lot of spit-up, a lot of the time, and you feel she's not keeping enough food down.
Big Yey for breastfeeding by the way! Good job!
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| posted by on 01/23/2008 07:40 PM
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Hi Cypress,
That can be a scary feeling. You think that she isn't getting enough food, or that something is wrong. My daughter went through a stage where she spit up alot and she is breastfed. It was concerning because she never had a problem, then she did all of a sudden. It didn't last long, a couple of weeks??? I can't remember. And I am not sure on her age, maybe around 4 months. the dr told me it was normal, or that it was ok. He suggested to keep her in an upright position for about 20 minutes, but she already was in that position when spitting up. I really didn't do anything at that point, and it seemed to just disappear. |
| posted by deanna on 01/23/2008 07:42 PM
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| I also breastfeed my daughter and she spits up alot also. I was worried to so I asked her doctor. He told me my milk supply is great and that when I nurse her she gets so much milk that it just comes back up. As long as when you change her bm's and they are yellowish or bright yellow it means she's fine. No worries. Some babies spit up more than others. All I can say is use bibs!!! lol. Don't worry.. |
| posted by Kris on 01/23/2008 07:42 PM
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| I bottle fed my daughter, but she was spitting up all the time. It wasnt just a little either, it would look like she spit up a half of an ounce sometimes. I learned she was allergic to dairy, once we switched her to earths best organic soy formula, she was 100 times better. She never spits up anymore. Maybe your daughter is allergic to something in the breast milk? |
| posted by H on 01/23/2008 09:10 PM
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Thanks everyone for your advise. I guess I'll just see what happens over the next 2 weeks, and if she's still spitting up, then I'll ask her doctor at her 1 month well check. Her bm's are bright yellow and she has a lot of wet diapers as well, so I guess I shouldn't worry.
cypress |
| posted by Cypress on 01/23/2008 11:06 PM
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Hi Cypress,
Deanna is right about the keeping your baby in an upright position for a bit after feedings. I had a similar issue with my baby - we breastfed and are still breastfeeding - and my doctor suggested keeping the baby upright. :) Some babies - even breastfed ones - just spit up and most doctors will tell you that even though sometimes it LOOKS like a lot of spit up - she's still getting enough to sustain her. Whether or not babies spit up has more to do with the development of the muscle that closes the the feeding tube from baby's mouth to baby's stomach. In all infants, this muscle is not fully developed which leads to spit up.
In all of my support groups and nursing groups, they've always told me to concentrate on what's coming from the baby's other end, not what's going in (or coming out) when breastfeeding. Since it's so difficult to measure how many ounces the baby is getting, how many wet and dirty diapers is the best indicator. Babies normally have 1 to 3 dirty diapers a day and then 6 to 8 wet diapers - this will change of course as they get older. And the color of the BM for breastfed babies is definitely important. If you see green BM that means the baby is not getting enough hindmilk - the richer creamier milk that comes after several minutes of nursing. Yellow BMs are best, although a few green BM here and there are nothing to worry about.
Also, it is highly unlikely that your baby is allergic to your breastmilk - there is about a one in a million shot of that being the case. That being said, sometimes the protein in dairy products can transfer in to your milk and give newborns a bit of a problem with digestion. If all other advice fails, try eliminating dairy for a few days.
www.llli.org was a great resource for me. I only attended one Le Leche League meeting early on during breastfeeding but I continued to use their website to help answer my questions about breastfeeding. :) Hope this helps! |
| posted by Stephanie on 01/23/2008 11:17 PM
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| I am formula feeding my little boy, who is currently 9 mos., and he was always spitting up or should I say throwing up. I couldn't breastfeed due to medical complications, so I was forced to make the formula thing work. I tried switching formulas but that didn't work. Eventually he grew out of it around 7.5 months. According to my pediatrician, his digestive system probably wasn't fully developed yet combined with a very bad gag reflex. We are still battling the gag reflex, which my husband and his family have. It could be that. We still can't give our little one cheerios or anything besides mashed up baby food or he throws up everything from the last two hours. Anyways...I hope this was helpful! Hang in there!! |
| posted by Heather on 01/24/2008 07:12 AM
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Don't worry! My daughter is 8.5 months old and she has been breastfeed the whole time. She spit up A LOT when she was younger and now gradually does less, but still at least once/day. She is also very healthy. In the 75th precentil for weight and the 95th precentile for hight. My lactation consultant likes to say, "Spit up isn't a medical issue, it is just a laundry issue".
We invested in a pack of cloth diapers to use as burp rags and carry them around all time. They are in the diaper bag, in the car, in the living room, between the pillows on our bed, etc. It also makes for comic relief when she spits up at inoppurtune times :)
If you are still worried, do a little research on the physiology of babies digestive tracks. Spit-up is a result of their little bellies not being fully developed and as they grow it goes away.
As long as she is having plenty of wet and poopy diapers and is gaining wait she if fine, your breastmilk is PERFECT, and you just have to plan on an extra load of laundry every day or so :)
Good Luck and injoy that new little one!
Celeste |
| posted by Celeste on 01/24/2008 09:28 AM
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| Check your diet to see if you are eating things that can cause gas or have a lot of acid in them. when breastfeeding anything you eat the baby eats. If you get an upset stomach from it so will your baby. I would talk to a lactation specailist or your pediatricain about acid reflux too...just to rule that out. Both of these caused my daughter to spit up a lot when she was younger. Now she is 10 months...still spits up but not as much or as bad. |
| posted by DB on 01/24/2008 10:29 AM
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Hi Cypress, yes I remember feeling so bad for my son during his first months..he was also breastfed for the first 7 mos. & would spit up all day everyday everywhere lol. Bibs & burp cloths...never left home without them! I felt helpless 'cause he would cry in pain also at times when spitting up..eventually his dr. found he had acid reflux. I changed my diet (no tomatoes) which helped a little but not completely...it just went away on its own. I would always hold him in an upright position for 15-20 min. after feedings & put a wedge under his bassinet bed just incase. Also, the Avent & Dr. Brown bottles were helpful for spit up. Thank God it was temporary..I kind of miss the smell lol NOT!
By the way, bcareful with meds if your baby has acid reflux, God forbid, but they gave my son one (can't remember the name, I think it started with a Z)...I only used it like 2x it was no good, it only seemed to make it worse.
God bless your baby |
| posted by Daisy on 01/29/2008 10:45 PM
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| Hi, I know you've gotten a lot of replies & maybe figured out what helps for you, but I thought I would also reply. My daughter spit up A LOT, right from the beginning & she only was breast-fed. I was also concerned & read a lot about how a baby is still maturing inside & they will most likely grow out of it, but in the mean time try to eat a very low acidic diet. No tomatoes, citrus, chocolate, coffee (even decaf), stuff like that. I know it's hard, but it really helped for me. My daughter would still spit up, but not as bad & it didn't bother her as much because she had less acid in her stomach. It started to slowly get better around 3 months. I hope this helps & good luck! |
| posted by Natalia on 02/04/2008 01:51 PM
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