Spit up VS. Throw up?

[LadyCatherine185]

Ian spits up quite often, sometimes just a little, and sometimes it is a LOT and is very chunky/curdly. How do you know if it is just "spit up" or if he is actually "throwing up." Or does it really matter? He is also having some "colicky" issues that we are trying to get to the bottom of, so I am wondering if the "spit up" vs "vomitting" thing has any bearing on where we should go with figuring out what's wrong. Thanks!

[RaeDyCo]

Not an expert here but when either DS1 or DS2 has vomited, there is a noticeable bile-y odour, not just sour milk.  The sound is very different too -- spit up would just appear or would be "coughed" out, while vomit is "hurled" out (for lack of a better term).

DS1 was not at all a spitter so I was totally unprepared for DS2 who was a happy spitter.  He still spits up occasionally (at almost 1 year) but not as much as in the early days.  I had OALD in the early days and DS2 just didn't handle it as well as DS1 did.  DS2 wouldn't burp as well as DS1 so he held in the air and then it would come up along with milk.  If it was just after nursing, it was usually fresh milk.  If it was a while after nursing, there sometimes was curds.  Sometimes there were curds at other times too.

The thing that made me feel better was taking a tablespoon of water and pouring it on a table.  It spreads so far and looks like so much but it really is just a tablespoon (what is that? 15 mls?) so not as much was being spit up as I thought.

[trumpcard]

It sounds to me like you are dealing with spit up and not throw up.

DD (almost 7 months) has been a spitter since birth--sometimes quite dramatically. I was concerned in her early weeks about the projectile nature of some of her spit-up episodes but they never bothered her and I learned to not get so alarmed. I always attributed to different consistencies of what she was bringing back up to the the different stages of digestion when it happened. 

A week ago a stomach virus took our entire family down and from DD's first throw-up incident it was clear to me that this was indeed something different than a projectile spit-up. I could feel her little belly heaving and it was unsettling to her. It took a couple of times to clear her stomach of milk and the third time it was bright colored bile. She wanted to nurse but wasn't swallowing at all. A very different experience than even the most dramatic of her spit-ups.

[LadyCatherine185]

most of the time it is definitely spit up, but I usually do hear it come up.. typically right after a feeding. but last night after one of his couple hour crying jags, he "threw up" all over me.. the front of my shirt was soaked and it was very curdly. big chunks/curdles

[Shannie77]

DD1 spat up SOOO much until she was 6 months.  It would be huge amounts.  She got a stomach virus when she was 6 months and vomited.  It was definitely different.  The whole action of the body was different.  Throw up to me comes right from the bottom of the stomach with a more dramatic action.  DD also would cry after vomiting whereas when she spat up she seemed unphased.

[tessie]

As everyone else has said, there is a difference in the smell and the nature of the puking. Has he been assessed for reflux if he seems colicky?

As I was advised a couple of years ago if baby seems happy it's a laundry issue,but if baby seems miserable it's a medical issue.

[HappyMonkey]

My daughter spit/threw up lots for the first 6 months then it ended almost overnight. I was told as long as she's gaining and seems healthy all is good.

[ShanaV]

We are currently in the midst of an awful stomach virus that has taken over the whole family and wiped us out for the past week. It started with the babies vomiting. And yes, for spit up vs vomit, you'll know it when you see it.

[Louisep]

Lady Catherine! I haven't been on for ages and so my congratulations are late...but so glad to see the little one(s) in your profile pic.

DS spat up every single feed and in between from about 1 week old to 6 months and then it just abruptly stopped, which is pretty text book. It was never chunky though and although he was an "unhappy" baby, he didn't seem bothered by the spit up. I'm not sure why an infant would throw up chunks from being ill since he is not on solids, but the projectile nature of it seems more than spit up, so maybe just monitor and see how it goes and if there's a pattern to it. The crying might be unrelated...so hard to tell when at this stage. Happiest Baby worked for us and DS just needed so much sleep.

HTH