spit up vs. throw up

[SariRae]

My 12 week old DS has had off and on issues with spitting up since he was about 2 weeks old. He'll go a few days or more with no spit up and then we'll have a couple of days in a row of voluminous spit up/throw up several times during the day. I can't say it's projectile, but it's enough to have to change your clothes. Sometimes a little comes out his nose. He doesn't usulally cry about, but sometimes makes a face like there's a bad taste in his mouth, which also happens if he has very wet burps. We really try to burp him well, but it doesn't seem to make a difference. I think it smells sour, if that is any indicator.

I talked to the doc about reflux when he was younger, but he didn't think it was reflux. I wonder if it's something I'm eating. Dairy could be the culprit. Has garlic caused this problem for anyone? i also wonder if it could be that he just eats too much too fast. He sometimes gags when he goes to latch on after I've nursed him a bit and I've wondered if it's my milk or as someone in another post suggested maybe he's getting a lot more nipple after the breast has emptied and that's what is making him gag.

I don't know if the gagging while nursing and big spit ups are related or not.

Any suggestions?
thanks!!

[KristaDJ]

Cut out all dairy for a month. It is the most common cause of vomiting in breastfed infants. What you are describing is not spitting up it is vomit. My first did this every time he nursed for two months and the doctors said it was normal I ended up in the ER when he finally spit up blood. I stopped drinking cow's milk after doing some reading and he STOPPED SPITTING UP ENTIRELY THE NEXT DAY.

[Thankful'n'Blessed]

Having nursed both a GER baby and a "normal spit-up" baby, I will say that what you're describing doesn't sound like either. I second the pp suggestion to go on an elimination diet. I would eliminate anything you think could possible be causing harm, dairy being top on the list. Wait a good week or two, or at least as long as it takes to get rid of symptoms. Then, if you've removed multiple things from your diet, reintroduce them one at a time until you have figured out the culprit(s). I hope you figure it out soon, mama!

[SariRae]

I was afraid of that answer!! As a former vegetarian, I eat a little meat now, try to avoid the large amounts of soy I used to eat, try to avoid canned foods because of BPA, and as I'm just not much of a cook and hardly have time to eat, I have a hard time maintaining my weight while nursing! What am I going to eat??? Dairy is a major food group for me, although there are many reasons to give it up, including this one. Thank you for your reply although I'm dreading giving up dairy!

[Adsullata]

My dd (now 15 mos) did just what you're describing also. Like spit-up in that it wasn't projectile, but it was definitely more than that because she'd "lose her whole lunch" so to speak. This happened about every other day for the first four months. It wasn't GER either. (I got in the habit of always having LOTS of burps cloths and receiving blankets, all of which got used to mop it up. and extra clothes, well, extra everything) We tried everything, including elimination diets and absolutely. nothing. worked for us. It didn't matter what I ate or didn't eat. She continued to puke regularly. She was still gaining weight no problem tho, so we weren't that worried (after the first month we kinda got used to it). She'd nurse, puke, than eat like crazy again. We, however, never had the issue of any puking blood. She also wasn't struggling or heaving when she puked, everything just sorta, came out in a big splatty bleh. Her puke always smelled a little like sour milk, because, well, that's what it was after spending a few minutes in her tummy. The color is important. My dd's puke was never green or yellow (if it's truly yellow, not the normal yellowish color of puked up milk, that's cause to be checked.)

I also loathed giving up dairy. I drink soymilk and eat soy yogurt, but I'll never, ever give up cheese if I can help it- it just can't be done! It didn't work anyway... My lactation consultant thought it was more likely because I had a strong milk letdown and it was just too much for dd until her little tummy got used to it and she could handle sucking down a little more. The LC described it as, "imagine a firehose shooting down into that little tummy, it hits and shoots right back out" (of course, it cracked me up to think of my boobs as firehoses, wow..what power! )

But, I also knew inside of me that my baby girl was ok and I finally just decided to listen to that voice. After four months, it just sorta stopped. My personal belief is that it was a combination of my oversupply and dd's tender fresh little tummy getting used to digesting and processing. But that's my case. If you feel like something's wrong, listen to that mommy sense and get it checked out. But don't beat yourself up trying to figure out what your eating or doing that causing it, cause it might not be anything.

If you try cutting out dairy, do have access to good fresh fruits and veggies? I snacked on a lot of strawberries and watermelon and such- things you can eat easily with little to no prep- carrot sticks, that kind of stuff. Either way, I hope your little one's tummy's settles down very soon!

[kriket]

DS and I when through a phase where I was letting down too much milk and he was just gulping it all down and then barfing it all back up. Thats what this sounds like to me. I swear 2-3 oz of chunky milk would come out of this boy. We were right around 8-12 wks then.

Eventually he learned to swallow a little more efficiently and if the milk gets over his head he will pop off an let it flow all over the place. Either way I'm wet.

I seem to hear a lot of people recommend elimination diets on MDC however IRL, I have never been suggested to cut out dairy (I'm lactose intolerant anyway and don't eat more then a little cheese) It was a drowning issue for us.

[SariRae]

Thank you all for your replies! BTW, what does IRL mean? Certainly raw fruits and veggies are easy, and I'm sure this issue probably belongs in another forum, but it's difficult to get protein and fats without overdoing it in one food category(soy, nuts) if you are eliminating a big category and have other limitations including time, skill, and trying to avoid things in processed foods.

I'll try cutting out the milk I put in my coffee, which is a lot, and see if that makes any difference. THe thing is, I make probably 2 lattes at home everyday and we have strings of several days where he doesn't do this throw up thing!

Thanks again! Have a great day!

[kriket]

IRL= in real life