waterfall of spit-up

[sugarpop]

I don't really know what is going on, I will call my Dr. in the morning and I am not overly concerned but thought maybe someone else has had a similar experience.

My DD is 8.5 weeks old & 14lbs. She eats lots and is gaining weight at record speeds. Sometimes she eats for 5 minutes then a little while later wants more. It doesn't bother me, I mean it's my job right? So whatever I just go with the flow and haven't worried about how long she eats for since she seems to get plenty.

She has been doing this thing where she opens her mouth and out comes everything she has consumed. Sometimes she coughs first sometimes she just opens her mouth and out it comes. It isn't like she is throwing up, her body doesn't tighten, she doesn't cry, no fever, she doesn't seem sick, in fact immediately after the spitfall she is smiley and happy and then goes off to sleep. The past 7 days it has happened 4 or 5 times. Oh she doesn't seem sick in the throwing up sense but she is congested and has a slight cold I believe as I just got over one myself.

Any thoughts? I will call in the morning but thought I would see what you folks say too...thanks!

[Bokonon]

That sounds pretty normal to me. Both my kids were epic spitters - they probably spit-up 20+ times a day, and were perfectly happy about it. My son outgrew it by 7 months.

DD had other symptoms of a dairy intolerance though, and when I eliminated that and soy, she stopped spitting up nearly as much. It still happens, but may only be once a day, sometimes more, sometimes less. But her other symptoms have gone away too, so I know that was the culprit. My son never had any other symptoms, so I never even thought to cut out dairy.

[Blueone]

My son does that sometimes. He doesn't seem bothered by it so I'm not concerned. I just figure it was because he just wanted to suck on something but didn't want the food so it didn't go down. I usually don't offer anymore after that or if I can tell he's not really drinking it the way he normally does I just give him a paci instead and take his bottle away (we bottle feed).

[sugarpop]

hmmm I don't know if it is the same thing as spit up though...when I say waterfall of spit up I mean like 2 cups worth...tons of it comes out at once, I would say vomit but her body doesn't convulse like I would expect when vomitting. Is this the same as you experience? She never spits up otherwise...unless it is this 2 + cup thing where she empties her stomach on me!

[CrunchyChristianMama]

I know exactly what you're talking about. We called it the garden hose because that's what she looked like when it happened. Turned out that she was sensitive to me drinking milk and when I cut that out, the garden hose was turned off (as well as the stuffiness and some of the irritability).

[texaspeach]

ds does this too. usually about 3x a week. a few days ago we were in the kitchen and it went all over the floor.

I try to burp him well. I think it has helped.

is this sort of barfing a sign of dairy sensitivity? our ped advised me to cut out dairy and peanuts for another reason, I wonder if this is connected.

[omelette]

It sounds like a form of reflux - or at least that's what they labeled it with my son. He was the exact same, it would just pour out of him. Him and I both went through a ridiculous amount of clothes each day b/c each 'spit up' would soak us both. He could also get amazing distance with some of his spit-ups. It was constant and we could not lay him down for a good hour+ after a feed b/c everything would come back up.

We saw our Dr., a pediatrician, a dietician, an occupational therapist (OT), La leche and a naturopath in hopes of trying to solve the problem.
They labeled him a happy spitter b/c the reflux did not make him uncomfortable like it is for some babies (my #2 is 6 weeks old and we have another one with reflux but this time he is so uncomfortable it is awful, so far my first was way easier b/c he would spit and smile, this guy cries and cries, spits and cries and cries some more)

The best thing for us was seeing the OT. Here are some of her suggestions.
Change the diaper before each feed so you don't have to lay them down right after they eat.
Keep them upright for 30min-1hr after each feed - a carrier is great for this or a swing.
If you snuggle after a feed lay them on their left side against you b/c their stomach is on their right side and if they are laying on their right side it can put pressure on their tummy and make everything come back up.
When you nurse do not hold them horizontally, have their body on a decline so that their stomach is below their head, not level with it.

We also got a wedge from the hospital that kept him on a 45 degree angle for sleeping, this made a world of difference. It's a large foam block with a sling attached to it to keep him in place. He no longer woke up choking on his spit and was more comfortable for sleeping. Once we got the wedge he started sleeping 6 hours/night.

Hope some of that is useful.

[leaves]

perfectly normal. don't fret! my son does the same. usually it's from eating so much, so fast. i feed him the way you describe feeding your dd - just avid nursers, i guess! i would only be worried if there is mucos in the spitup often, or blood. my sister was a projectile-vomiter, moreso than my ds, and she was/is just fine. (she too, was a chunky little babe!)

[moongloe]

this is what my ds did as well (the tons of spit and the congestion). the doc suspected a food allergy or intolerance, and put me on an elimination diet (no soy, dairy, wheat, eggs, or corn).

three weeks off and it definitely made a difference. we're in the testing phase now. eggs are ok.

we did discover that chocolate and chickpeas are a problem through this. with the spitup gone, it was easy to pinpoint what was triggering new episodes.

i say talk to your doc about this, and go from there. other signs for us: terrible sleeper both days and nights, gassy, fussy.

good luck.
~peace.