Baby leaking breastmilk.. from her NOSE

[TnMsMama]

I thought I was a pro at this Mama thing but this is a first...

My 10 mo old DD has the hiccups and every time she hiccups, breastmilk dribbles out of her nose. She's acting fine, in fact, the hiccups seem to amuse her, but the milk is freaking me out.

I'm assuming it's milk, it's white and milky, not snotty looking, and smells sweet.

Ideas?

[Knitting Mama]

Cecilia has totally done this. It made me laugh uproariously. I think the act of hiccupping brought up just a little milk from her tummy and then that came out of her nose. She's done it when she's sneezed before too.

[WindyCityMom]

Make sure you get that on video!

I think she's fine

[TnMsMama]

Thanks! I'm preggo and the horrible "dying baby" dreams have started so I'm way sensitive now - I'm sure every little thing is some horrible symptom!

I tohught it was funny at first too - then my preggo brain kicked into overdrive!

[neverdoingitagain]

If you manage to find some old cartoons by Hathor the cow goddess, she has a few with the breastmilk out the nose issue. Its pretty common, no worries

[Xerxella]

Very common. My poor DS used to spit up out his nose...

[Super~Single~Mama]

Oh man, my ds used to drip milk out his nose every time we nursed laying down! It was too funny. A little gross, but funny too. As long as she's not uncomfy, its definitely nothing to worry about!

[2boyzmama]

Yes, it's very common with something forceful like vomiting or hiccuping or sneezing. BUT, if it happens with feeding (swallowing, or shortly after a feed) then you might mention it to the dr and get a referral to an ENT.

There is such a thing as a soft palate cleft, and something else called (ready, this is a big word!) velopharyngeal insufficiency. A soft palate cleft (sometimes called a submucous cleft) and/or VPI can cause nasopharyngeal reflux or backflow, basically food and liquid that is supposed to be pushed down into the esophagus backflows up into the sinus cavity due to a malformed or dysfunctional soft palate.

Sometimes it is all benign, sometimes it leads to minor problems like increased sinus and ear infections, sometimes it can lead to more severe problems like severe speech issues, difficulty transitioning to solid foods, sleep apnea, and aspiration (which can lead to pneumonia).

SO...if it only happens when she hiccups, then get a good laugh of it and don't worry. But if you notice it other times, get it looked into. Breastmilk coming from my son's nose was one of the early signs of the severe issues he had as a baby (there were many other signs, though).

[sew_crafty_girl]

Thanks for the info, 2boyz. We've experienced this twice now while feeding and she often aspirates while feeding and sometimes with spit up. I'm seeing the ped on thurs for another issue.