baby choking

[unitytree]

My son Noah (2 weeks) has had 5 moments like this.....last one was about 2 hour ago:

It ofter happens after he spits up. He doesn't spit up often but when he does, usually after nursing a LOT!!, he projectile vomits what seems like the entire contents of his tummy. This is usually in the morning and only happens 1x a day. He seems to aspirate some of the spit~up and can't breathe. (its happened 2x's during the night) He turns redish~purple and screams when he gasps.(lasts about 1~2 minutes) I suction his nose either with my mouth or a bulb suction and help him get it all out, but OMgosh it is the scariest thing EVER!!!! I can't put him down and feel so freaked the I won't be able to clear his airway if it happens again! Every time he gags/coughs/makes a wierd sound I jump. He gets a bubbly mucus while it's happening, kinda like what comes out shortly after their born. I have my neonatal resusitation certification but I still feel so helpless!!! He has been sleeping on me 80% of the time...........AHHHHHH, this is so freaky, I've had kids choke so many times on all kinds of things but never like this so many times. I'm taking him in to see the doc on tuesday, hopefully he can shed some light for me! He's thriving, alert, sleeping/nursing well, he's gained 2 lbs in his 2 weeks. Any thoughts??

[myhoneyswife]

Aww, the one time my Hannah spit up she choked on it also. I put her face down to work it out herself... but I guess I was pretty relaxed about it. That's what we did when she was born all mucousy also, put her face down for a while.

I've noticed that the ONLY time she spit up was when I offered both breasts at a feeding, I normally only offer one (I have plenty in each).

[Caroline]

It sounds like Gastroesophagal Reflux or GER....

My third child had this for the entire first 5 months of her life. She would have the projectile vomiting several times a day sometimes, covering me and her both at times. I never went anywhere without an entire change of clothes for both of us! It helps to keep them slightly elevated after nursing for at least 30 minutes. Also an incline sleep positioner is absolutely necessary (people laugh at these things normally but for GER babies it is crucial) since they can choke while you are sleeping. I had her sleep on her side not her back as recommended to make sure that her vomit would fall out rather than back into her throat. Also, a mirror to see her in the carseat helped --- there were a few times I needed to pull over and whip her out of the seat fast to turn her over (scary memories).

There is a lot of info. online on GER and some believe it is an "immature valve" and others believe it is food allergy related (if you eat dairy for instance and are nursing). I cut out dairy and chocolate and a few others but it didn't help. In extreme cases you can get a prescription medication like Zantax.

All the best to you, C

[brewgirl]

I think it sounds like reflux as well. My first dd suffered this and ended up on zantac and now dd2 is showing many of the symptoms as well. The choking thing is so scary! We always keep her upright or on her side (no back sleeping) and for now never leave her in a room alone where we wouldn't be able to hear her choking. I have an appointment with her ped on Monday to discuss if medication would be appropriate. Good luck!

[*~Danielle~*]

I totally agree to let your baby lay down on an incline. And to keep your baby upright after a feeding. Another thing to think about, is to not let there be a huge feeding all at once in the morning. Maybe space out each boob by 30 minutes or so. I know it is more of a pain on you, but if you let your baby eat one side and then kinda let that settle, then offer the other side it may give the body a chance to really start digesting what's been eaten and if baby is still hungry the other side is there. If not, you can pump that side and have it for later.

[mojumi]

You could also try either NOT burping him (if you are burping him now) ... or rather than burping try holding him upright and doing a little up and down jiggling (think trying to make him belly dance!) ... or burp by holding him tummy-down over your arm and just rocking him until he burps (or not) on his own. Breastfed babies often don't need to be burped at all, and the effort to burp them can make a spit-up issue worse.

It could also be that you have an overactive let down or milk-ejection reflex, so he's gulping milk and air to keep up with his dinner. When you feel your milk start to really flow or see him start to swallow really fast, you could try pulling him off the breast for a second or two and then putting him back on. I've been having this issue with my Genevieve and she gets frequent breaks during nursing right now. (She's only spit up once but it was that freaky projectile vomit thing which made no one very happy!)

For a mucousy baby, I love to nurse 'em in the bathroom with the shower running and some essential oils (tea tree, eucalyptus) steaming in the air as well. The steam, oils, and action of nursing really clears them up.

Good luck

[unitytree]

I ended up taking Noah to the doc that day as he had a severe choking episode. He wanted to rule out Pyloric stenosis so he connected us with a great pediatrition at a hospital 2 hours away. (we live in a tiny community)
We ended up spending hour there over 2 days. Noah had ultrasounds and blood work. There was no apparent pyloric stenosis..YEAHY!!!!! The ped perscribed ranitidine(zantac) which he took 2 doses of. It made him really sick so we stopped right away. I'm so not into histamine blockers, its seems so counter productive to mask the problem ny dealing only with the symptom. Plus the reduction of natural stomach acids can cause an overgrowth of bacteria in the stomach causing complications like phenumonia n'such.
Noah has a very sensitive system. When they did the alchohol swab before taking blood his skin broke out into little blisters...poor guy. We have many allergies in our family so we are just going to have to be VERY careful as to what he's exposed to.
I'm overhauling my diet and making sure he doesn't overfeed. He hasn't vomited since thursday and the last time he choked was after the medicine(friday night) so we are feeling encouraged. He seems to be getting all the meds out of his system and is feeling way better today.

Thanks for all the advice/support. I haven't put him down for days....he likes it that way!!!