Breastfeeding Question - Corning,KS

Sometimes (probably usually) babies spit up just because they've eaten too much, and aren't yet developed enough to keep it in their stomachs anyway. Spicy foods won't cause them to spit any more than non-spicy food (and eating what you normally eat will change the flavor of the breastmilk and make them more likely to eat those same foods when they get older, so this is a good thing).

Spit up is normal. The foods you eat affect the flavor of your milk, but they also affect the flavors in your amniotic fluid when you were pregnant. It's a system that works well for teaching babies what is good to eat and what isn't. The only thing to look out for is if the baby is very fussy or uncomfortable and maybe keep track of what kinds of food make that happen. This link has some good info http://kellymom.com/babyconcerns/food-sensitivity.html

Congrats on your baby, and on being a wonderful breastfeeding mom. Depending on how frequent the spitup is, I'd recommend different strategies:

1. Occasional/periodic spitup: This is 100% normal; you don't need to do anything differently.

2. Frequent spitup: I agree with Cheryl's suggestion: try avoiding things like broccoli, cauliflower, onion, cabbage, cukes, and peppers.

3. Constant spitup, plus symptoms like arching back and sort of roaring, diarrhea, bloody or mucusy stools: These are symptoms of more serious dietary allergies or intolerances. You may eliminate dairy, nuts, eggs, soy, and/or wheat from you diet -- dairy is the most common culprit in infants.

I highly recommend the website Kellymom for any and all breastfeeding questions/challenges. And of course, if the spitup is constant, or if you notice any stool abnormalities, check with your doctor.

Best wishes,

Mira

A.:

CONGRATS on your baby!!

When I nursed Greg, if I ate broccoli and cauliflower, he had gas like there was no tomorrow.

Spitting up is TOTALLY normal. I would keep him upright for about 15 minutes after feeding and burping.

I am nursing my second child. He spits up a lot more than my first who I also nursed. I don't really think there are specific you should steer clear of. Some things that bother one baby may not bother another. You could keep a food log and see if you notice your baby spits up more after a particular food. I think dairy is sometimes the culprit for causing spit up do maybe pay attention to that. Good luck and congrats.

I ate anything and everything I wanted to when nursing both of my babies. Nursing really increased my appetite. Both spit up some, which is normal and I really did not feel it was related to something I was eating. After 3 months, the spitting up really decreased which I think is due to the baby's digestive system being more developed.

Spitting up is normal. There are ages where they spit up more often than not. My kids all react when I ate dairy and their symptoms were rashes on face, diaper rash (bleeding), blood and mucus in stool, grumpiness, not sleeping well and crying a lot. I had a baby who reacted to a lot more than just dairy. I just kept track (in my head) what I ate right before or the day before she had symptoms and I started eliminating things from my diet to see if it helped. It did. I couldn't have wheat, gluten, corn or chocolate along with the dairy with one of mine. Thankfully, the rest were just dairy. Good luck and congratulations!!

My wife and I learned the first week - no cauliflower and no broccoli. If it gives you gas - it gives them gas. Generally - how it affects you, affects them similarly.

Oh, and we learned that lesson at 3am, when we had to ask my mother-in-law (thank god she was there) what to do. Turns out, babies don't like farting, so we had to put him in a sitting position on our laps and "burp" his lower back. Gas can also be helped out by laying baby on his back and gently pushing his knees into his stomach.

Some spit up is normal -- the muscle that keeps food down isn't very strong yet and that has nothing to do with what you are eating. If you baby is eating, that means he doesn't find the taste disagreeable. Burp him, keep him upright after eating, and see it that helps. If it doesn't, ask your DOCTOR about it. You'll see lots of advice about cutting out dairy, or broccoli, or this, or that... but in reality, your breastmilk is created by your body from basic proteins, fats, and sugars that have already been broken down and processed by your body into their most simple forms. They are put back together to make breast milk -- which means there isn't really much of the original thing you were eating in it anyway. Your doctor will be able to tell, from other symptoms, if your child has allergies to the basic proteins that he is getting from breastmilk.
Good luck to you!

Babies spit. Now, he may be sensitive to dairy or spice, but in general you can eat what you want. Unless he was really fussy or spit up lots (like a full feed), I'd not worry about it. They wouldn't make burp cloths if it didn't happen to everyone.

Also make sure baby's diaper/clothes aren't too tight on the belly. My lo would puke a whole feed...then i realized it was only after her dad changed her diaper and made it too tight.

My odd did have reflux from dairy. And ydd got diaper rash when i ate too spicy. Just watch for patterns...and enjoy that baby!

Hi, I couldn't eat anything that gave me gas. Certain vegetables, lentils, beans etc. Also, I couldn't eat eggs or peanut butter....my little one ended up with blood in her stool....very scary emergency room visit! I've only recently been able to eat those items. She's 20 months now. When she was first born I found pumping her legs helped her to pass the gas.

Congratulations for choosing to nurse. You have made a wonderful decision for you are your child.

I didn't have a spitter, so when he did, there was reason. For one, the milk helped to get the mucus up, so if that was in his "spit", it was cool. Talk to a lactation consultant about hind- and foremilk. Too much foremilk can be unsettling on the stomach. Getting this part down did wonders for me and my baby.

Congratulations on the baby and on the nursing!

I echo what others have said--babies spit-up, some more than others. My second was what my pediatrician called a "happy spitter." He spit-up a significant amount, especially compared to my first, but it didn't affect his mood, sleep, or willingness to eat, he didn't appear in pain from it, and he continued to gain weight. As long as he seems healthy and happy, there is no reason to monitor what you eat.

have your baby allergy tested (by blood) to see if your baby has an allergy. you may need to give up dairy.