Still Spitting Up

I know this may sound wierd but have you tried chiropractic? I have a friend who regularly sees this chiropractic/massuse lady, and when she was pregnant with her daugter she told my friend that just by the way she was carrying the baby, the baby would constantly be spitting up. She told my friend that she needed to bring her baby in to see her when she was about 2 weeks old. My friend thought "yeah right, I'm not going to let you pop my baby". Anyway to make a long story short, the baby spit up all the time and my friend finally brought her in to her chiropractor lady when the baby was about 2 months old. She popped the baby and she never spit up again. Just a thought and good luck!

Both my son & daughter have been spitters too!! My son is now almost 4 and my daughter is 5 months old. Nothing ever worked with either of them it seemed it was just something they had to outgrow. I continued to breastfeed but tried all the positions & what not and nothing ever helped. My son finally stopped when he was like 8 months or so.... I know it is not what you want to hear but sometimes you just have to wait it out. It is pretty lame though, I know always getting spit up on!! :)

You may have to try a hyper allergenic formula. They are much more expensive but it sounds like he may have a milk allergy. Similac Allimentun is what I have had to use for my son.

I had the same problem with my son, and it lasted until my son was 6 mnths old. I also am a first ti,e mom and thought something was wronf, until the doctor ran some tests and assured me nothing was wrong. I had to stop breast feeding and start him on formula. My doctor advised me to thicken the formula using Thick It, this can be found over the counter at Walgreens and comes in a can can similar to formula. It seemed to help, but did not stop the spitting up. The spitting up still occured, but he wasn't spitting up as large of amounts has he was before I started thickening the formula.

My daughter had the same issues when she was an infant. We too tried different kinds of formula. Our Dr. finally had us try ALIMENTUN. It is very expensive but IT WORKED. If your little one has any sensitivites to milk or soy he will have issues with any other formula (like ours). She was also diagnose with GER. She was put on previcid. Our GI doctor said that previcid is one of the only meds w/ no side affects as long as it is given in the correct dose. She said Zantac is way to harsh it takes away to much acid in thier little bodies and doesn't let thier system digest properly but alot of other moms say that is what thier kids are on so I have looked into both. Zantac has a lot of later side effects that may happpen & I couldn't find any on previcid. My suggestion would be try the formula first. Try mixing a little bit of rice or oatmeal with it to thicken it a little and make sure he sits upright for atleast 1/2 hr after. That is what we had to do with our little girl. If you have any questions please feel free to contact me back. also if you would like i could give you the name of our GI dr. if you would like to ask her any ?'s. She is awsome & one of the best in the state.

I watch a little 5 month old boy, that was having similiar issues. His doctor kept switching the formula. He had been doing okay for a couple of weeks on the Similac Alimentium, but about a week ago he started spitting up/vomiting again. This time it was also associated with diarrhea. She eventually took him to the ER because he was becoming dehydrated and after several tests, they finally checked his stools. He apparently had a strain of c difficile. He is doing almost 100% better, now that they figured out what was wrong.

If your son is not able to hold anything down, next time your at the doctor, have them check his stools.

Hi K. -
I'm amom of 4 with #5 on the way. Our oldest is 7 and he did the same thing. It's great that you know it's not a blockage and that he is growing and maintaining his weight. If he is doing good on the 'charts', then the next question is possible food allergies? Our oldest has GERD - and we do not use medication either...he has almost grown out of it..most kids do, it just takes time and patience! A great GI - gastroenterologist is Dr. Silber with Phoenix Childrens. He is super nice and very smart. He listens and responds according to YOUR needs and you childs.
Good Luck and contact me if you want to know more about how we helped our son.
-A. Varney

Has your son been allergy tested? My now 10 year old spit up everything when he was little, it turned out he was allergic to those foods. He spit up every kind of formula there was. You didn't say if he was spitting up on the breastmilk, if youre still lactating you can contact WIC to get help to bump up your milk production and pump, if it hasnt stopped completely, you should be able to pump it back up to good supply. good luck! :)

Hi, K.!
I have 5 kids (ages 11 years down to 11 months). All but one of them has spit up for almost the whole first year of their life. I have always breastfed almost exclusively. I cannot say for sure if your boy has any specific condition. But I think some babies are just "spitters". I have niece who literally projectile vomitted constantly during her first year. She was always a chubby, healthy baby. So I don't necessarily think anything is wrong, especially if he is growing and happy.
Good luck!

You are right he probably does have GERD. However, if he is gaining weight the only reason a DR would put him on meds is if you are demanding of it. You can try a table spoon of rice cereal in his formula and see if that helps. It will get better when he starts eating solids. You are doing a great job. Some babies are just like that. All babies are born with a certain degree of GERD. They just haven't developed enough pressure at the end of their esophagus. Some develop it earlier than others. Another suggestion would be try to give him 4 oz instead of 5. The larger the volume the harder to handle. Good luck!! I know it is hard.

I don't know what a GER is, but one of my younger cousins used to do that and once he started walking it stopped. (Like maybe his posture/movement had something to do with it.) They later determined it had something to do with his diaphram. Back then the medical tests weren't as comprehensive, but perhaps your baby's problem is higher up than intestinal. My own son used to also throw up alot when he was an infant/toddler when he wasn't sick or digesting and we figured out it was from post-nasal drainage that was gagging him.

Honestly it sounds like he just might be getting a little overfull. Try feeding him as frequently but maybe an ounce less Formula takes up a little more room in the stomach than breast milk and if he is slow to finish the tail end of the bottle that is likely your answer. 5 ounces every 2 hrs is a lot for a three month old even if he is a super healthy eater. I remember feeding them 4 ounces every 3 hrs when they were that age and they are now big strapping teenagers.

One thing I'd like to say first, I'm sorry, but the Mom that said you're over reacting...don't listen to her. You have a concern for your baby and you're trying to find answers!

That said, my question to you is have you ever had a bad case of acid reflux? A truly bad case will have you thinking you're having a heart attack!

Both my boys suffered from acid reflux. Thank goodness we never had to take them to the ER! My oldest suffered for 6 months! I tried changig his formula (even the expensive ones), tried sitting him up, tried the cereal in the formula. The entire time he was gaining weight and was otherwise healthy! Last resort meds. It helped him the first day! Needless to say I didn't wait as long with my youngest! By 1 year both boys were done with it.

A friend of mine just went through this w/ her 5 month old. She was told to take him to the ER. They were forced to put an IV into him for fluids. Then there was the needle to draw blood on his little arm! A horrible experience.

You didn't mention in your letter why you didn't want to give your baby meds. All I can tell you is that after experiencing Acid Reflux myself, I'm sorry we didn't get my oldest on them sooner!

I hoped that helped!

Both my boys were that way. I asked the Dr. and he said that as long as he doesn't seem to be in pain he is what they call a "happy spitter". He was not allergic to anything or have acid reflux just a happy spitter. So if he seems to be OK with it dont worry. Just always be prepared with a cloth to clean up with. I stashed them everywhere. It slows down when they start to eat more solid type foods and stops around 1 year. I have a seven year old and my baby is 13 months. I think he is finally done with the spitting up. Good luck

P.S. Dont get new furniture or flooring any time soon:-)

Hi K.,

Question....how long did you have him on all of these formulas before you switched. I know I remember reading that changing formulas is really tough on baby stomachs and they need a few weeks before their systems get used to the change and it needs to be done gradually. When my son was 7 months, we tried to switch to a less expensive formula and he threw up for days. Then when we changed him back, he stopped. We only gave it a few days cause it freaked us out, but the doctor told us that it would've taken a few weeks so successfully change and we couldn't handle the throwing up any longer so we switched back.

Also, keep in mind that some babies are just spit up babies. My daughter spit up for the first year of her life. It was driving me crazy, but it finally subsided after a year. She also had a hard time swallowing chunky food for awhile, which was scary. She couldn't eat chunky foods without gagging until she was about 15 months! I did research and concluded that some kids just have really sensitive gag reflexes. That may have contributed to the spitting up, I'm figuring.

So, I guess what I'm saying is that the spitting up could just be normal like it was for my daughter. I asked her doctor and as long as the baby wasn't "projectile" vomiting, they didn't seem concerned. Now she's a 2 year old who eats like a pro. She will throw up, however, if she drinks too much milk and burps. Again, I think it's her sensitive gag reflex, so she's still kind of does it once in awhile. We have to limit how much she drinks with a meal so she doesn't get overfull.

Good luck and I think that as long as your son is eating and gaining weight, he's probably fine. I don't know much about GERD, but make sure your doctor rules that out because I'm guessing that could be serious. For me, my daughter being a spit up baby helped me later when my kids had stomach flues. I didn't get as nervous cause I was used to it! Take care and hang in there.

Hi K.,
Welcome to the club. My son spit up allllllll the time even when I breast fed him. I also couldn't keep up with his growth and my milk dried up due to the stress of constant nursing. We switched to formula and he had way less crying. We tried all the formulas - he wouldn't take the more expensive supposedly hypoallergenic ones so we left him on the lactose free regular which he liked the taste of best. At about three months his ped recommended a small amount of rice cereal in each bottle and that helped some. I will let you know he finally grew out of it at about a year. My son wore a bib constantly till then. Wait till you get to baby food! Nothing stinks more than spit up chicken! He is now almost 8 and doing fine (still picky eater) but he is off the charts for height and at the high end for weight. Good luck, keep the bibs handy, and keep your ped involved.

My son (who's now 11) had the same problems. It turns out he was allergic to most formulas and we had to put him on Nutramigen. It's expensive, but it worked. He also had reflux, but the solution for that was keeping his head elevated for 30 minutes after feeding him. He spent a lot of time in the swing to accomplish this.
He pretty much outgrew the reflux (I should get him re-tested because he complains of stomachaches). He developed asthma at 9 months, so at 12 months he was tested for allergies. He was allergic to wheat, soy, peanuts, eggs, milk, peas (which are related to peanuts), and some other stuff.
Nutramigen (and pregestimil which is similar) is expensive, but I got help affording it through WIC (Women, Infants, and Children). Maybe you can look into that.
My son was able to get through it without meds. He just had to eat smaller amounts (and be propped up) until he outgrew the spitting up.
Good luck!

My first child spit up ALOT. Sometimes I knew she was getting ready to projectile so I would run to tile so it was easier to clean up. :) She did out grow it. He may be allergic to something in the formulas..... something that they all have in common. However, if he is happy & healthy & the spitting up doesn't bother him, I wouldn't worry about it. I know it's messy, but this too shall pass. :) Blessings! -C.

Hi K. -

You didn't mention how much he is spitting/vomiting up. Is it a sufficient amount compared to what he has ingested? Does it happen everytime you feed him? You also didn't mention how much he weighs. This makes a difference in determining the dosage recommendation.

If you are interested in an herbal formula, I would suggest you go to an herb store that does formulations. Ask them to make you a 1 oz (30 ml) bottle of:

Chamomile tincture 10 ml
Calendula tincture 10 ml
Slippery Elm tincture 5 ml
Licorice tincture 5 ml

Standard dosage for an adult would be 25-30 drops 3x's a day. This is based on a 150 lb adult. The dosage must be adjusted based on your son's weight. I.E. - 25 lbs would be 3-5 drops 3x's a day.

These herbs are calming, soothing, anti-inflammatory and, if it is GERD, they will help heal the esophagus.

There are no contraindications with any of the above mentioned herbs, except possible daisy allergy with the chamomile. Adults with high blood pressure should use de-glycyrrhinized licorice.

You can also ask if the herb store has tinctures made with glycerine instead of alcohol (used for preservation). These are often more palatable by children.

I hope this helps,

M. M. Ernsberger
Clinical Herbalist
Square-foot Gardening Specialist
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www.wellnessgardening.com

Hi! I really do feel for you. It is extremely nerve racking to have to deal with this. I stressed myself out so bad, that it took a toll on my emotions, and I couldn't handle anything. Let me tell you a little bit of my experience (and this is a forever long response, but you might get some ideas). I have 3 children. A 5 yr old, 3 yr old, and an almost 4 month old baby. My first 2 were spitters. Nothing wrong with them, they just spit up alot. I did some reading up on it, and when they are little, the esophagus is still developing and figuring out how to work. Alot of articles will say that they usually stop spitting up about the time they are 6 months or sitting up age. That wasn't the case with mine. My first child spit up until he was almost a year old- cause I remember feeding him baby food, and he would spit up colors, depending on what he had. (orange if it was carrots, you know what I mean, kinda gross I know) Anyway, they eventually grew out of it in their own time. But my baby now has been different. When he was about 1 1/2 - 2 weeks old, he started projectile (sp?) vomiting. But he wasn't in pain or hurting at all because he would never cry. So the doctor recommended switching him from Soy formula (nasty stuff) to Alimentum- it's a hypo-allergenic formula. Very expensive. It didn't work either. The doctor didn't seem too concerned and wanted to schedule an upper GI test. I didn't want him to have to go through that. So I finally took him to a naturalist, who was able to help him. She tested him and told me he was a very healthy baby- he had a milk allergy and just wasn't digesting his food well, so he would throw it up. She said to get him off all these fancy formulas- they wouldn't help anything- and to put acidophilus in his bottles. And also to give him papaya enzymes, and some stuff called bubble-b-gone (this keeps him from being fussy when he is gassy, he just passes it and smiles). So, he is now on the cheap regular milk based walmart brand formula. I add 1/4 tsp of acidophilus in the morning, and then again at night. Then I crush up half of an enzyme pill and add 3 times a day (total of 1 1/2 pills a day) and 4 drops of bubble-b-gone 4 times a day. It seems a little overwhelming I know, but I have a system down now where I know which bottle gets what in it. Now this doesn't help the spitting up at all. This helps him to digest his food and tolerate the milk formula and he has done great. He is probably my worst spitter beween all 3 kids, but there is nothing you can do about spitting up. It just happens. Now the throwing up is different. I personally think that a baby should not be throwing up. And I know you really shouldn't keep switching formula. It is rough on their digestive system- and I have been told that it takes about 2 weeks to know if a new formula works. So, to me it is worth a try to put the baby back on a regular formula, and try this stuff with your baby and see if it works. They make fancy formulas that say they help with different things, but they really don't. Nothing is going to help a baby not spit up. Another factor with the throwing up thing is the kind of bottle you use. After about a week of adding all the stuff to his bottles, and he was do so good at not throwing up, and all of a sudden he did it again a few times. And I panicked. So I took him back to that lady and she said to switch his bottle. I was using the wide nipple bottles, and he was sucking in too much air (that is a huge nipple for a tiny mouth), and the body's reaction of too much air is for it to come back up and burp, bringing all the food with it. So I switched to a small nipple bottle, and burp him halfway through his bottle, and he is totally great now. Other than the spitting up. We just use lots of bibs and burp clothes at our house. My other two kids were such good babies, and he is even better. Now I am not anti medical or anti natural help. My thoughts are that doctors are there to help us, but sometimes other help is ok too. If it helps your baby, it is worth it. So maybe give it a try- it won't hurt the baby. It is all stuff that anybody could take- all it can do is maybe help your baby, but it definetely won't hurt anything. You can find all this stuff at a health food store. Good luck, and please let me know if you have any other questions. I would be glad to help in any way I can- I have been through the same thing and it is very overwhelming when you don't know what to do. And again, I apologize for how long this is.

K., I am a 36 (nearly 37y old) mother of one incredible 19mo old girl, who has been with my husband for nine years and married for nearly three years. I am also a pediatric nurse practitioner. I can read how frustrated you are. Let me ask you this, when your baby spits up, is it forceful or projectile or does it more roll out and over his chin? How much is coming back up and how long after he has eaten? What is he doing developmentally now? Does he get a lot of tummy time? Is he able to roll over yet? Can he lift his read up and turn it from side to side when he is on his tummy? All of these will tell you if it is just a weak core strength or if this is something you might want to go and discuss more with your primary care provider for your son.

Projectile vomitting is bad, spitting up is a fact of life, even for the first 6 - 9 months of some childrens lives. If he is not acting like he is uncomfortable, not having a lot of crying right before the spitting up or for a little while after he spits up than it is probably not GER. Usually with GER they are irritable after feeds and happiest when they are feeding. Usually they act like they are starving when you give them the bottle.

The other concern I read was that he is only 3 months old and you have listed breast milk as well as six different formulas. This is very hard on a baby, when you keep switching formulas. However it looks like you have been on the current one for 2 months which is good. If it is just spitting up you don't need to worry, if it is projectile vomitting with the marjority of his feeds then I would recommend you go back to the pediatric office and talk to the provider you trust.

As for the "I Absolutely do not want him on any meds," if he has GER and you start giving him the meds for it, you will have a happier and more satisfied child. They are not dangerous and they are not on them usually for that long. Building core strength is key to stopping babies from spitting up or vomitting. That is because, the stronger your core muscles the less regergitation. Weak core strength means a weak digestive control. One of the key to allowing children to eat solids is that they have good core strength and this is the reason why.

Feel free to email me if you have any questions.

Best of luck,

K. K ____@____.com

Hi K.,

I just read an article in Mothering Magazine about formula made with DHA/ARA. It said that formula containing these ingredients (possibly even organic formula) could cause vomiting and diarrhea. I don't know if he was spitting up while you were breastfeeding though, which would debunk my theory here, but just thought I'd give you this info in case it may be helpful.
For the full report, go to http://cornucopia.org/index.php/replacing-mother-infant-f....
I know you said you didn't want to switch formula again, but 90% of formulas are made with DHA/ARA, so switching to one without may solve the problem. I hope this helps! Good luck to you & your baby! You sound like a very proactive and loving mommy!

Hi, my daughter was the same way! As a first time mom I was freaking out, but she is now 9 months and the spitting up lasted all the way to about 7 or 8 months with her. Now she does it only one in awhile, thank God. The key for me was knowing that other moms I talked to went through the same thing, AND the fact that she kept growing and was happy and healthy. As long as your son is growing and is happy, I think it's just one of those things to take in stride and deal with. Yes, it's inconvenient and messy. We ended up sticking with Similac Isomil Advance. Oh and the other thing we did do before she could roll over was use a wedge to sleep on, doesn't always help but seemed to help enough. Once she started rolling over at night and preferring to sleep on her tummy she didn't seem to have as much issues at night, now that I think about it! I agree, don't use meds, just keep at it and he'll grow out of it. Stay the course! ;)

I had the same problem with my son, who is now 27. I would leave him sitting up,at 45degrees, after feeding for up to an hour. Does you son throw-up when he is at the 30 degree sitting position? Maybe sitting him at a higher degree will help. Is it projectil tip throw-up or just up and down the cloths? Has your Doctor talked to you about the valuves at the top and bottom of your childs stomach? They some time take a while to develope. I would ask about that next time you see him. Hope that helps some.

A.

Hi K...

My son had this issue when he was a baby. Poor kid! With him, the problem was the little flap that sits between your stomach and your throat wasn't staying closed. The dr's told me to start putting just a table spoon of cereal in with is formula, which I did and it worked!!! The weight of the cereal kept the formula down and he started gaining weight again.

Despite what people say, a little food at a young age doesn't hurt the baby. All of my kids started on cereal early and all of them are just fine..

Good luck and I'll be praying!

My son had this issue and his doctor said it was acid reflux and they pu thim on medicine and it took about 1 to 2 weeks to go away you may want to contact your doctor or a specialist this can cause issues in the throat i am not trying to scare you just want to be honest. We also tried multiple formulas with the same outcome so you may want to discuss this with the doctor.

honestly I think you are overreacting. Babies spit-up, it's what they do and from what I hear it actually gets worse when they are between 3 and 4 months (ask your doctor about that). If he is growing just fine and meeting all his milestones then I think you should just calm down! There are enough things to stress out about with a brand new baby don't let this one get to you. My son is 6 months and still spits up and I have a nephew who projectile vommited until he was 1 but he was still growing and meeting all his milestones so the doctors said he is fine, it's normal.

You are not overreacting. My 3 kids all had this problem, one of which spit up so much she ended up losing weight and was termed "failure to thrive" because of it. It was GERD related, but now they've discovered that most of these kids have a milk protein sensitivity. My 6-mo. old has that, and I'm sure my others did too. The best option is to use Nutramigen or Alimentum formulas. They are the ONLY ones without milk protein. I switched my firstborn to it and we ended up calling it "liquid gold"--not only because it's expensive, but because after 3 days it was like a miracle! No more spit-up or fussiness! The good news is that the stomach and intestinal linings thicken right around 6 mos. and then you can switch to a formula like Good Start. I know you don't want to switch formulas again, its a pain, but you will certainly be glad afterwards. If the baby won't take it right away (it tastes different) try to mix in more and more with the other to make the switch. Good luck! In Tucson the best G.I. doc is Dr. Ghishan, if you need to go that route.

I am so sorry you are going through this. Your son sounds SOOOO much like mine. We did the U/s to rule medical issues out. More than likely he has severe reflux. We did end up giving my son medication but after a month stopped it becuase it did not work at all and it made him extra cranky. We had to wait through it....14 months! You could try some thicking stuff. I forget the name, our DR. had us use rice cereal to hold it down.....did not work! I sure hope it doesnt last as long as it did for our son. The only other thing I can think of is a lactose free formula...I am not for if Isomil is lactose free or not.
Good Luck

Wow, reading your request brought back the nervousness I remember as 1st time mom. That was 30 yrs ago and it was colic that 2 docs said it happened to a lot of kids but I also kept seaching for answers. The colic was caused by what I ate. However she still has occasionsl challenges with constipation. Hum, is it related? We think so.
So, now with your formula-it can't be what you eat. Is his stomach tight? Passing gas too?
I'm sure you've already checked heredity factors on both sides. We have found everything from food alegies or sinitivities to esphagial challenges to gall bladder & duct or spincter challenges. NONE of which are serious, they JUST required adjustments in eating styles. So it's NOT so scary. Just by talking to family members we knew more of what to research.Two people went to goats milk (s'pose to be eaisier to digest) I personally went to raw cows milk for the enzymes it has to help it digest (then there are concerns of unwanted bacteria. Make sure it is CERETIFIED) And babies do need the protien and vits in animal milk for brain cell growth. Well all cell growth. How 'bout soy? It has the protein that other grain and/or nut milks do not.
As over whelming as you may feel. Keep up the good work! Remember YOU already know your son better than anyone else.

K. As a mother of a child that had GERD, here's what I think because I went through it for over a year. If you've tried the different formula and none are working then I think your option is to deal with it by keeping him sitting up (try a bouncy chair for even longer) as long as he is growing fine. And continue with what your doing, the thing is he'll grow out of it eventually, what you need to realize is that the GERD hurts them and ruin their esophagus(throat) causing more problems later. The medications do help and you can take him off of it periodically to see if the GERD is gone. Talk with your Pediatrician about it. Also research it because alot of babies that have Reflux can be diagnosised with asthma when they get older (a new corrolation). Sorry it's a little mixed up. Hope it helps. And it does Get Better!

K.,
I am the mother of two, and my youngest had that problem. I breastfed exclusively, and it was crazy. He wanted to eat every 30 minutes and was constantly throwing up. I can't even call it spitting up, because it wasn't just a little bit. Sometimes he would still be nursing when he would throw it all back up. I tried taking him to Doctors, different acid reflux medication (which I HATED and didn't seem to work) and monitoring my diet. I couldn't figure it out, and after changing our clothes and the third or fourth bath of the day, I was beginning to feel very helpless (I had a two year old to take care of during this.) I really didn't want to switch to formula, I had to do that with my first one due to a surgery that I had to have, and I wanted to keep breastfeeding my second (and last) for at least a year. Fortunately, he was gaining weight great, so I was able to take some time to figure it out.
Turns out, it was milk. Specifically, cream. If I had skim milk, he was fine, which was why I didn't figure it out for the first four months. But whole milk, or cream cheese, or anything made with heavy cream (homemade caramel and truffles, what a bummer!), would cause him to throw up. I mentioned this to the doctor, and she was at a loss to explain it, but she said if it worked, then run with it. And it worked! He stopped throwing up. From 4-8 times a day to none at all. After a month of no milk, I decided to test it and had some potato soup (lots of cream). Within 3 hours of eating it, I fed him and he started throwing up. I gave him frozen breastmilk for the next twelve hours, and pumped and dumped, and then he was fine!
If you have the option to return to breastfeeds, you might want to give that a shot. If not, try soy formula. It may help.
When he was almost a year old, I introduced whole milk into my diet, and he was fine. (I nursed until he was 14 months old, as I said, he's my last and I couldn't quite let go...)
Now, he drinks whole milk or anything else he wants and he's fine.
On an odd note, cheddar and american cheeses were okay, but not swiss or mozzerella.
I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!
B. S

Hi K.,
I don't know, this may be bad news: you've got a looong time before the spit-up/barfing stops. My first didn't quit until he was about a year, and I *just* got done wiping up the floor from my 9-mo's daily, post-lunch "up-chuck." (ha-ha)

I've heard only bad things can come of switching formulas - but I don't know because I've always stuck to the same one.

I know one factor is muscle-strength: as babies begin crawling - and eventually walking - their diaphragm strengthens, and the puking gets less and less.

It sounds like you are doing everything right. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean your little one won't be spending the rest of 2008 re-decorating your shoes, floor, freshly-washed jeans... (lol).

Good luck :)
T

K., I was reading all the responses to your question because I am in a similar position with my son. One thing I wanted to make you aware of if you decide to use the rice cereal in his bottle is to consider using rice cereal without soy in it. I didn't know it until my son had a reaction to it, but Gerber rice cereal has soy in it and my son has an intolerance to it! Poor little guy. He is now on Earths Best rice cereal and tolerates it well, and also loves it!

My son did the same thing. It started at birth and just kept happening. we had doctors say they wanted to do experimnetla surgery, I said that's a LAST resort!

We did a ton of research and then found that we needed to take him to an Osteopath who specialized in babies and Cranial Sacral work. We found that his head and neck needed to be worked on after his birth. It is so gentle and easy and worked beautifully!
DO NOT take him to someone who just does Cranial Sacral work, it's best to use an Osteopath with that specialty.
Try Theresa Cisler in Tucson.
Good Luck, Mommie Mentor

Hi K.,

Your son is obviously having a reaction to the formulas. You can control this issue when breastfeeding; but not with formula. There's simply no equal substitute for breast milk. Is there any way for you to switch back to breastfeeding?

Feel free to contact me to discuss. I would be happy to talk with you.

Warm Regards
G. Van Luven
Health and Nutrition Consultant
Healthy Habits Wellness Center, LLC
~Helping you create a lifetime of wellness~
Office: ###-###-####
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Hi, K.. My daughter was just like your son. She spit up everything (even breast milk). We tried all of the traditional infant formulas and none worked--until we tried Carnation Goodstart. Strange,huh? One of the cheaper brands, but it works. Apparently, it has a certain make up in the formula that breaks down more gently in the digestive system. She could keep that down better than any we found, so I highly suggest a trial of it, at least. The only other thing I would wonder, is if he is gaining weight, or losing? In extreme cases of weight loss (like my brother in law),it could be something like pyloric stenosis, which is a constriction on the esophagus that will need to be surgically fixed. But severe weight loss is the first indicator of it, so don't worry if he's steadily gaining weight (or at least not losing it fast). Good luck! Hugs, Kat

Oh, 3 months is nothing, sweety! My son spit up until, geez, I'm not even sure anymore when it finally stopped -- definitely well after a year. I remember reading how when they start to sit up on their own, then it usually stops, but that didn't happen for us. We used to joke about how he'd be in a job interview someday, and then, blahhh, up it would come all over his suit and tie! We were never religious to one kind of formula -- whatever we had coupons for or the store brands if they were cheaper, plus some breast milk thrown in from my pumping for the first 5 months. He never seemed to be in any pain from it, and the doctor was never too worried about it since he was in the 90+ percentile for height and weight. Costco sells these little square white towels, a pack of 40 to be used for shop rags or something, and those were our constant companions as burp cloths and spit-up wipers. My son is now 3-1/2 and I still carry one around in my purse. So sorry I don't have any magical advice for you, but as long as he checks out medically otherwise, well, hang in there! It'll eventually go away! Good luck!

my son who is now 9 months spit up extremely bad till he started taking a sippy cup. even now he still does. i tried different formulas finally stuck with good start & dr. brown bottles seemed to help a little. my mil kept telling me he had acid reflux or something like that but he gained weight fine so he doctors said some babies just burp up a lot & boy did he. my carpet had spots ever where from him rolling around & spitting up. I felt dirty all the time the burp cloths were always dirty & soaked. I was worried to but he is healthy & happy. I would love to say it got better as he got older but it didn't & still to this day if he has a bottle he spits up constantly. but with the sippy cup he is fine. he uses traditional sippy cups & he really likes the ones with the straw in them.

Hi K.,

My daughter is now almost 5 months old and she does the same thing. I can tell you that it is very frustrating and just plain sucks! The good news is that it is normal and our kids are growing normal and gaining weight as they should be. My pediatrician has always said to me that I shouldn't worry until she starts losing weight. My son who is now almost 3 never spit up so I was just as concerned when Olivia "couldn't keep anything down"! I just keep praying for the day that it is over. I am tired of changing her outfit 4-5 times a day!

Best of luck to you!

K.

Hi K.,
I am an Occupational Therapist who specializes in Myofascial Release, Cranio-Sacral Therapy, in Tucson...
Often during the trauma of birthing, the Vagus nerve gets "trapped" or compressed in the malleable, skull bones.
The vagus nerve is the longest cranial nerve, meaning it originates in the brain and innervates the digestive organs. A skilled therapist, can offer some simple,gentle manual therapy techniques to alleviate the "collic" issues.
It is not necessarily an infant formula that will alleviate his symptoms, in fact a lot of the synthetic, chemically laden baby formulas are toxic to them.
Let me know what city you live near and I would be happy to refer you to a local, talented professional
B. Gettel OTR/L CHT CCH
Eclectic Body Work
Tucson, Az.
____@____.com

Hello K.!
My youngest son was this way. He was referred to a ENT doctor and they did this test where they could see that the acid had kind of damaged his esophagus. It was a condition called laryngomalacia. The reflux contributed to his problem. He cried a lot and nothing i could do helped him. He spit up constantly- to the point where no one would hold him and I'd have to have several changes of clothes for both of us in the car all the time so we didn't always smell like rotten milk. The ENT said that his throat needed time to heal and we needed to put him on Prevacid to get the reflux under control. It worked great with no side effects, but I really wanted him off of it. If your baby is having a hard time breathing sometimes or if his breathing has a slight high pitched sound (especially when sleeping), they he may have laryngomalacia like my son and medicine really is a better bet. But, from the sounds of it, he's happy and healthy other than the spitting up. My doctor told me when I took my son in to see her that some babies need medicine only becuase they are in pain. She said that if a baby is a "happy spitter", they try to leave him alone to grow out of it. I hope this helped.

Hey K. - I read a handful of the responses and thought I would jot my story really fast - sorry if I reiterate some of what you've already heard. My daughter #2 was a huge spitter - so bad that we couldn't lay her flat, she would start spitting and never stop. She slept in a swing the first 6 months of her life (she is now only 8 months and finally in her crib!). Solids didn't help - she would spit those too. I did try her on perscription meds for a while but they didn't seem to help and you have to continually up the dosage. Meds don't stop the spitting, they only help if the spit-up is acidic and burning their esophogus. The only way to conclusivly determine that is to have a probe put into your childs stomach for 24 hours to measure the different acid levels and I didn't want to do that either.

You didn't really mention if he is fussy or not - if he is not, then spitting isn't a big deal, he will grow out of it. If he is fussy from it, you can try "colic calm" which is homeopathic but expensive. I finally did for my daughter and it helped a lot. Like I said above, there is nothing to stop the spitting or vomiting, it is due to esophogeal development and will heal on its own, the only thing to worry about is if it is causing pain then addressing that. Good Luck.

Hi K. - My first son who is 5 now was just like yours. He ALWAYS, ALWAYS threw up after breastfeeding. My mom told me that I was the same way as a newborn so now I was just getting it back! Ha! Needless to say I thought it was normal & never did anything about it besides have a bazillion burp cloths ready & available. I guess if the ultrasound did not show anything & you don't want him on medication I would go with the flow. He will eventually grow out of it. Friends & family of mine have had the same issue & chose to put their kids on medication which helped. So it is up to you. As long as he is growing & happy... Good luck & know it will get easier:)

Hi K.,

My daughter (now 15 mos) was the same way and I too did not want her on any meds, even though the doctor said she had reflux. We tried Enfamil AR and it did help her a little. I also experimented with different bottles and eventually settled on the Born Free bottles, which are expensive, but they are BPA free and and for whatever reason they helped with the spitting up (but just a little-- I was happy with ANY improvement). But she still spit up regularly until she was about 9 or 10 months, when she just outgrew it. It's a long time to put up with it, and yes, I had formula stains everywhere. My couch is a mess and I've thrown away a few shirts! But I just always made sure I had a burp cloth (or several) handy and made it through. I do know people that have their babies on meds, and I'm not sure it really helps all that much. They still spit up! So I am sure your daughter is fine. Good luck to you!

I know my friend went through almost the same thing with her baby. It turned out she fed him a little less formula and that stopped him from spitting up. Maybe it would be the same for you. She would feed him smaller amts more frequently. Hope this helps.

Hello! I currently have a seven month old and still nursing. I had the exact same concerns with my baby because he spit up after every meal as well. However, it finally has started to slow down. The doctor told us not to worry since he was still gaining weight (the 50th percentile at every checkup). God played a trick on our perfect ones by not fully developing their digestive tract, for which their esophogeal sphincter muscles are not quite ready (this is why they reccommend waiting to start solids till six months). I tried everything and tried not to move him around much after eating and nothing seemed to help. I decided to not give him formula because I figured that my milk would be the most natural way to go.
I beared through it all even with his vomit down my back. Ha ha ha. It does slow down after he eats more solids but in the meantime wear alot of white shirts, enjoy your precious one and don't worry. Especially if your baby is gaining weight. Definitely try to feed less amounts at more intervals. Hope my advice helps you as I worried about the same issue and now am facing a baby that constipates sometimes on cereal. It's a neverending grateful battle!!!

I would talk to your pediatrician about adding a scoop of rice cereal to his formula. An infant that I watched had this problem and this is what their dr. told them to try. It did not work right away, but after a week,she was definitely spitting up less. We also fed her sitting up in a bouncy chair or completely sitting up in our laps. Hope this helps!

K.: I know I'm the 24th person who is writing some advice to you, and I did read all the responses you got, including the one from the nurse. I do agree that you have to see really how long it happens after you feed him. Not to scare you. I am not a nurse or anything, but my mom is, and my dad is a doctor. And my mom had a baby sister who spit up and vomited all the time. The problem with her is that her esophagus was partially blocked. I don't know if they could do an ultrasound of the esophagus. I also don't know what causes this, it could be a bad membrane, or maybe like some people mentioned, core body strenght, or the diaphragm. I really don't know what could be causing it. It may not be reflux, like you probably already know, but something partially blocked before the milk even reaches the stomach, which is what happened to my mom's sister. Unfortunately in the 1950's they couldn't do much for her (they live in Mexico) and she died when she was 2 years old. But for what I know, that's a problem that's easily solved nowadays. I don't mean to scare you, of course, but I think you should insist with doctors to see why this is happening. And of course, I do agree that all babies spit up, but if he is growing normally, he may just grow out of it. If he's not gaining weight, seems to be in pain, or is getting dehydrated, then do get him help right away.
good luck.

just want to say I have a 6 1/2 month old he is # 5 child and he was spitting up all the time also . But , he would do it in his sleep, sitting up on an empty stomache -just nothing came out, but i could here the sounds and his stomache . This started almost right away . Doc said it is Reflux . Sometimes the top or bottom of the stomach is not closing or opening right. My baby is on similac sensitive rs. wich only comes pre made in the bottles. It thickens when it hits the stomach due to rice starches. My other children never had this nor did this. He is starting to out grow this but still does it . I read it can go on even when they are crawling, wich sounds aweful, so I am glad it is going away . We made alot of burp pads , more than I ever needed with the other babies. Don't know if I helped you , doc says in cases where they spit up or throw up all the time and are not gaining enough weight , sometimes surgery is an opt . to fix. Have you talked to your pediatrician? He or she should be able to help you on this. ! Hang in there !

Sounds like he may be what they call a "happy spitter". If he's growing normally and not really uncomfortable, you are probably ok. Try taking him to a chiropractor that sees infants. I know a great one on Bell and Grand I can recommend. He has 4 little girls and has worked on all of them. He made such a huge difference for my son! Babies can get really out of whack during birth and it can really mess things up. I also recommend buying a good baby carrier and carrying him tummy to tummy during the day. This will help keep him comfortable and will help keep the food down. Good luck!!

Kristen,
I had this problem and my doc had me do the rice cereal too. It worked ****for the most part*** it cut the spitting up by 80%. I also asked about lactose and the doc said it's HIGHLY unlikely that the baby would be lactose intolerant. I guess that is something that usually shows around 3yrs. I don't know I'm just telling you what my doc said. Not to offend anyone but we all know docs opnions are like ***holes everyones got one :).
Good Luck,
K.