Constant spitting up and hiccups, frequent vomiting in a newborn

[Jaimee]

My first dc hardly spit up at all and vomiting was even more rare. My second dc is a month old now and he spits up what looks like half the milk he just swallowed at every feeding (we bf). He also often vomits some more of it a little later. I'm not sure what's going on and if this is normal. I've tried keeping him upright after feedings and making sure that I burp him well. But this almost always results in even more spitting up, hiccups, and vomiting. So, I've tried keeping him still after feedings and this helps a little, mostly cutting down on the vomiting. I'm not normally drowning him in milk, though if it's been a bit between feedings he does choke a bit when the milk lets down. I've thought about pumping some of the foremilk off before feeding him, but this process seems overwhelming while he's crying and dd is wanting attention, too. He's gaining weight, so I'm not worried about that, but the whole process really upsets him. He cries a lot and just seems uncomfortable.

I wonder if this is just "fourth trimester" stuff, which he'll outgrow around the three month mark. But, I also wonder if it's food allergy related. Toward this end I have ordered neonate probiotics to start him on. But, I'm wondering what your experiences have been. When did it go away and did you do anything to help it?

TIA!

[marinak1977]

My DS also frequently spits up and hiccups although it doesn't seem to bother him. He usually spits up or vomits if he appears to eat too greedily. He is happy and is gaining weight but I am considering checking him for signs of reflux, because these symptoms can be reflux

[Llyra]

My DD1 was like that. She hiccuped pretty constantly from about when I was 22 weeks pregnant, up until she was about six months old. It seemed to bother me more than her, though. She also spit up after every feed, often more than once, and sometimes profusely and forcefully enough that you'd call it vomiting. She also sometimes spit up between feeds.

She was fine. She outgrew it all by herself. By the time she could sit alone, it was mostly gone, and it was all the way gone by 10 months or so. She grew just fine, quickly even, and never seemed to be in pain, beyond the usual newborn fussiness.

I think that most of the time, it's just an immature GI system. Some kids are just spitters. What I was told was that if baby is growing, and not in pain, then it's more of a laundry problem than a health problem. Some people might disagree-- there are other points of view, that talk about treating reflux more aggressively, even when baby is growing normally, and they have a point. But infants mostly do outgrow it, all by themselves.

Keep in mind that 6 weeks is the peak of newborn fussiness for most babies. It's a tough age for almost all infants, as they wake up from birth and start trying to get adjusted to the big world.

[Alisse]

In the first couple of months my ds had to be held upright for about 1/2 hour after meals because of so much spitting up. He also had to be put into that upright position very slowly, then held vertical without too much of me or dad moving around. He also had a greater tendency to spit up after morning/afternoon feedings rather than ones late at night because of aggressive let down and oversupply in the earlier hours.

Wow, i almost forgot how often we had to change his clothes in the earlier months.

[Llyra]

I found it helpful to offer to nurse more frequently, so that baby is taking less each time. Smaller feeds seemed easier to keep down.

I think pumping off the foremilk is only likely to exacerbate the problem, since you'll be increasing your supply beyond what baby needs. I think a better strategy might be block feeding, if you feel like you have too much foremilk for baby. If you're not familiar with that, it means you offer only one breast at a time. You choose a block of time-- say three hours, for example. As many times as baby wants to nurse in that time, you keep offering the same breast back again. Then at the end of the time, for the next block of time, you offer only the other breast, multiple times if baby wants to feed more than once.

This is a supply-reducing technique, so you may not want to do it if you have doubts about your supply, or if baby stops gaining weight well.

[CageFreeFamily]

We were having the same thing with DD3 and she was very fussy and sometimes cried in the evenings. All was remedied with an elimination diet and infant probiotics (BabyBiotic).

She's 10 wks old now and still spits up a little, but the vomiting of all that she ate is gone and she's just leaking a little spit up on occasion.



Oh, and the hiccuping is gone too, which is dramatic for her because she was doing it A LOT.

[annarose999]

i am going through the same thing right now with my 7wk old daughter. we also have thrush so there's a little more going on, but i wanted to ask if there is any difference in only taking the probiotics myself vs. the both of us. will the probiotics transfer into my bm?

[Jaimee]

Originally Posted by annarose999

...but i wanted to ask if there is any difference in only taking the probiotics myself vs. the both of us. will the probiotics transfer into my bm?

My understanding is that it is important that both take them. What could bothering them could be partially broken down proteins in the bm. This is happening in the mother's system and probiotics ingested by her can be helpful. Any allergy or intolerance in the infant's system can be helped by the infant digesting probiotics directly. Bm does contain probiotics, but some infants need more help.