feeling like nothing i'm doing is right

[@llli*newmom64]

my peanut is 11 days old now. i'm am finally starting to get over the sore nipples. and learning to manage the witching hour.. for her is 8-11. I am also doing well managing the over active let down. but although i should feel successful. i feel like i'm still not doing things right. she woke for a feeding around 230am and went in and out of sleep for about an hour. then she nursed some more.. all the while seeming rather fussy. she stayed awake till about 430-5 but seemed like something was bothering her. i did get her to do a small burp and she had a bowel movement. my husband felt like she was swallowing alot, almost as if the milk wouldn't stay down. he was worried she was choking. although i didn't see any signs of her choking. she also seems to breath really fast for a short time and then go back to relaxed breathing.. she goes back and forth with this.

when she did fall back to sleep, it was a fitful sleep.. she never woke up, but she made lots of noises, and sounded like she was swallowing something.. it seemed as though she was uncomfortable. i put a blanket behind her so she wasn't flat on her back. didn't seem to help...

when she woke at 630am she nursed for about 2 mins. and then about 20 minutes later she projectile vomited that from the changing table to the floor. and has continued to spit up since.. she is sleeping and has not nursed since. but she is not sleeping soundly.. what am i doing wrong. is it my food intake? i have avoided dairy because i know many babies can't break down cow's milk.. so i drink lactaid milk.. lactose free. my son is lactose intolerant. he is 7. i also took her temp this morning just to make sure. it was 97.5. that was in her ear. i don't have rectal thermometer..

[@llli*mommal]

Mama: relax! As long as your baby is gaining weight and peeing/pooping normally, there is probably nothing to worry about here. New babies are fussy, they find normal digestive processes rather upsetting (hey- if you'd never eaten, pooped, or passed gas up to 11 days ago, you'd probably be kind of freaked out by all of that, too!), and they make all sorts of crazy noises (squeaks, grunts, gurgles, wheezes, etc.).

I doubt very much that what you're seeing is in any way related to diet. Dairy intolerance usually manifests itself with green, frothy, mucousy, and possibly blood-streaked poops, severe gas, and other allergy signs like excema or a bright red ring around the baby's anus. It does not, as far as I know, cause vomiting or make baby seem like she's choking.

That all being said, I hope you will discuss acid reflux with your doc the next time you take baby in. Powerful spit-ups, fitful sleep, plus the baby seeming to "swallow something" after she was done nursing could all be totally normal, or they could be reflux. One thing that may help would be elevating the head of your baby's sleeping surface- by placing a blanket or perhaps flattish pillow under her mattress (not IN the bed with the baby- that's a suffocation hazard). If she's a little bit upright after feedings, that may help her tummy contents stay down where they belong.

Please don't get unduly upset by spit-up. It's a very normal part of infancy! I know it can be surprising if your first baby wasn't a spitter, though.

[@llli*worknpump]

You're doing just great! It sounds like your baby is doing just fine for her age. As pp said, it couldn't hurt to talk about acid reflux with your doctor. But some babies are just spitters. My son projectile spit-up ALL THE TIME. Like, across the room. My daughter spits up maybe once or twice a week and it's just a little dribble. They're all different. Hang in there!!

[@llli*saidah]

that swallowing thing you're talking about sounds a lot like what my dd does sometimes. it's seems she swallowed "wrong" and will start swallowing over and over again (when she's not eating or drinking anything). it alway rights itself eventually and is nothing to worry about (although I know how hard that is... I googled every squeak/wheeze/grunt my baby made when she was newborn!). like mommal said, having dr check for acid reflux would be a good idea and raising her head when she sleeps in the meantime.

[@llli*phi]

I am also doing well managing the over active let down.

I had really bad OALD. Like spray the cat sitting on the other end of the couch with milk kind of bad. The frequent, voluminous, even projectile spit ups often accompany OALD. Gas is common as well. I would massage my baby's tummy and bicycle his legs between feedings through out the day to help work out the gas incrementally. That helped a little bit with fussiness in the evenings. Weird sounds while nursing also come with OALD. My son made a whole host of disturbing gasping, gurgling, clicking, choking sounds while he nursed.

If you are not already nursing in a reclined position, I recommend giving it a try. It helped us immensely. Nursing on only one breast per feeding helped a little too.

It's certainly a good idea to look into reflux, but be aware that OALD can cause all of the things that you are describing too.

[@llli*nola]

Just wanted to encourage you again to hang in there, the other moms have given lots of good tips.

My DD is a big spitter too, and does that "projectile" spitting up every day. A few times a day. She just did it a few minutes ago onto the floor, earlier, I heard it coming, so I held her out over the kitchen floor instead of getting it all over me. SHe is healthy, gaining, etc and I've been told its just a laundry problem (which it is!). Some kids are just like that. For sure mention it and check it out, but it can be totally normal.

[@llli*newmom64]

thank you for all the support. we took baby to the doctor's today. she is gaining weight beautifully. Doctor said she is a happy spitter! lol.. so we did talk acid reflux. he doesn't feel that she need medicine for it. he also said with her weight gain being so well that i can let her sleep 4 hours if she wants to. he suggested many of the the same things ya'll have. so i will keep at it.

[@llli*worknpump]

Good news!! Keep up the good work!

[@llli*nola]

Yay that is wonderful news! Keep up the good work. Just think: she's gaining because of all your hard work!

[@llli*newmom64]

Thank you all so much.. I can say enough, how much I appreciate the advice..