Reflux or immature digestive system??

[Gray's Mommy]

Liam is 6 weeks and spits up at least 18-25 times a day. Normally up to 4 times after a nursing. He is a "happy spitter" though. No complaints from him or crying. I can't figure out if he has reflux, a possible pleoric stenosis or just his system isn't mature yet. He is a little vacuum nurser & very efficent at controlling let down & gets right down to business. He refuses any type of pacifier. He does love to comfort nurse, but continues to pull down milk--hence part of the reason he spits up so much. Sometimes the milk is curdled and sometimes it is fresh looking.

Suggestions? Ideas?

[mamakims]

My ds had reflux and his symptoms were mostly crying when laying down, constant nursing and sour smelling spit up (he even just smelled sour in general). For us, we ended up needing one of those wedge chairs that keep a baby propped up for sleeping (45o angle), we were given ranitidine and it worked for a while but we got some iberogast which was the best thing ever and is all natural. He's now almost two and still struggles with reflux on occasion esp if he overeats or has citrus.

Some babies just spit up more than others and have no reflux. What's his temperment like? Have you tried sitting him up or on an incline for 20 minutes or so after eating to see if it makes a difference?

[smokeylo]

If he's happy and gaining it probably just needs to be waited out I know, that sucks. I read somewhere that boys tend to spit up for longer than girls by 6-7 weeks. It may just be his way for a little while. Hopefully not, though, that is a LOT of spit up! That being said, Holly is 8 weeks and her spitting up has decreased some in the last week, which has been nice. Crossing fingers this clears up soon.

[gabeyho]

Originally Posted by smokeylo

If he's happy and gaining it probably just needs to be waited out I know, that sucks. I read somewhere that boys tend to spit up for longer than girls by 6-7 weeks. It may just be his way for a little while.

That has been my experience with all 5 babies. It always seems like a lot, and often, and they were just like your lo, nursing for comfort but still pulling out milk. I have tried several times eliminating different bothersome foods from my diet, and it just always seems to me like they nurse, nurse, nurse and then are too full, plus they are still a little immature so they are more relaxed in their tummies and spit up easily. It should go away with time, and probably lessen significantly by 3-4 months. HTH and good luck!

[ratrodgrl]

sounds like Dominic. We go through a LOT of laundry! My pedi is of the mindset that as long as he is growing and isn't in discomfort/fussy due to the spitting up, he'd rather not go the medication route. Said it is reflux & he'd probably grow out of it by 4-8 months (8 at the most). I have had to cut out egg/milk/soy out of my diet because he has a lot of mucous in his diapers, but to be honest it had no impact on his reflux. I read somewhere that cutting out dairy can help; do you eat a lot of dairy products? You could try it, but I believe this is a 'tincture of time' situation. fwiw, the spit-up here ranges from thick cottage cheese to clear with a bit of white flecks.

OH! I will say that using a baby hammock for naps has helped a lot,he never spits up in it (make sure to use a positioner and keep an eye that he's safe in it) and when things were at their worst, I would make sure to keep him completely upright for 30 minutes after feeds. I'd also change his diaper before nursing and hope he wouldn't poop so I wouldn't have to change him after. Now he stays awake long enough that I don't have to be so on top of the diapers. Hang in there and hope it gets better soon!

[sunshadow]

My DD spit up a ton. She was a big comfort nurser and had a dairy intolerance and I don' t know which was the biggest factor. I think they both contributed. My son doesn't spit up very much and he does not comfort nurse at all. I can tell when his tummy is full because he will try to nurse and push away and then spit up just a bit. Then he is done nursing. It's so clear to me that he is doing it because he is full. He doesn't spit up any other time. My daughter spit up all the time. She had other symptoms though that pointed to the dairy intolerance such as gas, fussy, green and bloody stools, and eczema. So, if he doesn't have any other symptoms I'd suspect he is just getting his tummy too full. It did help with my daughter to stop and burp her every few minutes and it did help to stop dairy in her case.

[marinak1977]

DS is a big spitter and used to erupt like a volcano all the time, but since he started to take the pacifier his spitting subsided. Although I gave him the boob when he wasn't hungry today and he was spitting up like crazy afterwards. He doesn't seem to be bothered by it and is gaining well so we're treating it as a laundry problem. I'm also getting better and recognizing when he wants to comfort suck and give him a paci instead. It makes him happier since pulling down milk sometimes made him mad.

[Astraia]

Orrin spits... but it's directly related to dairy. I went off dairy completely for about a week and after 1 day dairy free he stopped spitting up entirely. Right now I take cream in my morning coffee and that's it. If I have anything else - cheese for lunch, icecream after dinner, whatever- then I pay for it. This week I'm doing lots of laundry because instead of my usual 10% cream I accidentally bought 18% cream, and it makes him spit up just before his morning nap.

[Gray's Mommy]

we are trying to keep him a bit more upright after nursing & he burps well too. he spit up 22 times today...i made a tally chart. i am going to treat it as a laundry problem & just mention it to the doc when we go in mid-april.
he is gaining weight & really does seem happy.