Let's talk spit up!

[sothisislove]

Ok ladies...I've got a new babe...DD is 5 weeks old. DS is 2.5 and nurses to sleep. Of course...ds doesn't spit up any more!

But I'm looking for some spit up education..it just makes me so nervous! Almost everytime dd spits up I think, "Crap...what did I eat?"

Sometimes it's an immediate spit up of a tsp or so...sometimes its right after a burp. Other times it's 5 minutes after she's done nursing and like a full cup of milk.

Sometimes it's 'curdled' but other times looks just like milk.

At times she'll stiffen and arch while nursing. She'll pull at the nipple and squirm. She's a little congested, but it's improving. Sounds like overactive letdown? I don't know how to prevent that from being a problem. If my breasts feel super full, I"ll express a bit onto a burp cloth or something. (Or let ds take the edge off!) But pumping will only make more milk. Could drinking too much milk too fast cause her to spit up?

Bottomline: What do you know about the causes and preventative measures for spit up?

TIA!

[sunshynbaby]

Spitting up is normal. Babies do it because their digestive systems are immature. As long as the baby is a "happy spitter," there is no need for alarm.

Excessive spitting up can be caused by overactive letdown, and it sounds like you have other symptoms of that as well. Check this out for help: http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html

ETA: Spit up looks different depending on the stage of digestion. It can be clear, curdled, or look like milk. Totally normal.

[georgia]

One of my favorite quotes is by the late Dr. Gregory White:

For most babies, spitting up is just part of a normal day's activities. "In a healthy baby," says LLL Medical Advisor Dr. Gregory White, "spitting up is a laundry problem, not a medical problem."

IME, keeping baby more upright immediately following nursing can help, but not always prevent. Not jostling too much....but really, some babies are just spitter-uppers. It does pass

[tessie]

I posted the same question about 13 months ago. She was diagnosed with reflux and we did try baby gaviscon but it made not a blind bit of difference. We also tried burping more, keeping her upright after a feed, expressing a tad by hand off before feeding etc, etc.) She was a 'happy puker' and was gaining well and not in pain so we just learnt to deal with the extra washing. She suddenly grew out of it around 5 months.

It's worth seeing a dr if you're at all concerned (if only for reassurance), it's affecting weight gain or baby is in pain but otherwise I agree with Georgia that it's really a laundry problem.