spit up or throw up?

[Mommie22]

My 3.5 month old sometimes spits up quite a lot. Yesterday he soaked his onsie and it was all over my lap as well. He's thriving and actually quite big for his age. He doesn't seem to be in pain. He also gags for no apparent reason or sometimes when he"s nursing. Is this just normal baby stuff? We've got our 4 month checkup coming up, but I thought I'd ask here too.

[skycheattraffic]

My DD went through a big spit up phase too. She could soak herself and me without effort. If he isn't heaving and what comes out doesn't look or smell like vomit then it's just spit up. Breast milk spit up can look like milk or like clear water with some soft white milk solids. If that's all you're getting, it's just normal spit up that he will grow out of.

I don't know about the gagging out of the blue, I would check with the dr at next checkup about that. Gagging while nursing can just mean that you have a powerful letdown and a good milk supply and he just isn't able to keep up. The fact that he is big and thriving is consistent with that. I'd discuss it at your next appt to be sure but I think it's just baby stuff. Newborn to about 6 or 7 months was a messy time for us too lol.

[phathui5]

I'll be watching this thread. My 10-day old spits up several times a day. He doesn't seem upset or uncomfortable, he just barfs and moves on. He's putting out enough wet and dirty diapers to make me happy, but it would be nice if he wasn't making such a mess.

[begoniamama]

this is my house with my 5 month old DS - and we are just starting to slow down on the spitting up. He would totally soak himself and me, and even sometimes multiple times a day, large quantities. it would make me wonder how much he was actually digesting. he is also big and thriving, and now we are down to spitting up maybe once a day. I did notice however that we would have a lot of spit up if i ate more than usual amounts of raw onions - we had one weekend that made me call an advice nurse: really large quantities of curdled spit up after every feeding. i remembered i had a lot of raw onions, so it hasn't happened since. not sure if it was related though. i'm thinking once he can sit up on his own the spitting up will slowly dissipate. In the end, if they're a happy spitter with no complaining, it's more of a laundry issue than anything else. i went through burp clothes like crazy. as far as the gagging goes - DS gagged during letdown quite often, until he got a little bigger. i have a forceful letdown and before my milk regulated i had oversupply as well. not sure about the gagging for no apparent reason - maybe look into silent reflux? but if he gags/chokes while feeding, i think it's normal. was for us!

check out these links on spitting up and forceful letdown:

http://kellymom.com/bf/got-milk/supply-worries/fast-letdown/

http://kellymom.com/health/baby-health/reflux/

[butterfly_mommy]

My DS was a happy spitter too. I also had overactive let down and oversupply and he would gag and choke while nursing, especially when first going on the breast. He would spit up a ton and often soak me and him. All the pictures of him in the first 6 mons or so he is wearing a bib with spit up on it. I would also give people a warning whenever they asked to hold him. it slowed down around 5-6 mons and then pretty much stipped around 7 mons or so. He also was a big healthy baby.

[Mommie22]

Thanks for the reassurance. Last night he was very fussy, so I decided to take him in today to see someone just to be safe.

[phathui5]

How did the appointment go, Mommie22?