Spit up queen!

[@llli*yehudim]

Hi Mamas,

I am here for a little encouragement, and some advice if possible. I have a 3 month old who has been spitting up since she was around 3 weeks old. At first she seemed to be in a lot of pain, but now, it just seems to make her mad. She also has a lot of gas. I have tried eliminating dairy from my diet, then moved on to eggs and corn, and am now off wheat for almost 2 weeks. Nothing seems to help. Some days she barely spits up, but most days, she soaks the both of us several times a day. She is gaining fine and is a happy baby when she doesn't have milk flowing from her. lol. I am just tired of smelling and not having any clothes to wear, much less being able to leave the house. She doesn't spit up at all at night, and once went four days without spitting up at all. If it was a food intolerance, she would spit up at night too, wouldn't she? I know breastfeeding is best, and I won't stop, but is there anything else I can do to help? I am so frustrated with this situation!

[@llli*jeno]

You aren't going to like what I say here probably, but there probably is t going to be anything that can fix this except time. Spitting up in babies is usually more of an issue of physics - the end of the esophagus is just open, stomach gets too full, stomach contents come out. As long as your baby is thriving and not too fussy, there isn't much you can do to change things. I think mommal has said on here several times that reflux is a laundry problem, not a medical problem. I remind myself of this everytime my son hoses me down

That being said, there are things you can do to help while you let nature take its course.

-Smaller, more frequent feedings will keep your baby from getting overfull. If you are doing any bottle feedings w/ ebm, keep them 4oz or less.
-Do you have oversupply or overactive letdown? Sometimes babies w/ reflux will want to nurse more because they are uncomfortable; this can lead them to overeat. Since your baby is older, you could try offering a paci if she seems to just want to suck.
-Burp frequently; you might interrupt a feeding every 10 min or so to burp.
-Keep her upright after feeding for a good 15+ minutes.
-KEEP BREASTFEEDING - breast milk empties from the stomach more quickly, and so will be better for reflux than formula.

Good luck, and happy laundry

[@llli*mommal]

with the PP. As long as there's no pain, it's laundry issue. Of course, tell that to my husband- our second kid once spit up into his EYE and he was so grossed out that he's still mad at me for laughing.

The PP gave you a great list of stuff to try, but the thing that's going to fix this problem for good is time. One more thing to try: reclined nursing positions. If you have a fast letdown of milk, and that's what's causing increased spit-up, then reclined nursing will slow it down by enlisting the aid of gravity. If you don't have a fast letdown, reclined nursing won't hurt anything.

[@llli*yehudim]

Thanks Ladies! I was afraid of that.

@jeno, It is possible that I have forceful letdown, but I thought it was leveling out. She does comfort nurse an awful lot, and I feel like she over eats, but I am afraid to regulate it and not feed her enough. And she won't take a paci. We burp often and keep her upright after, but it doesn't seem to help either. One more question... If it was food intolerance, would she be spitting up at night too? Because she doesn't... at all. I also just want to make sure I am not eating something that is bothering her and making her gassy.

@mommal. Ewwww! Spit up in the eye would be gross! lol I, too, probably would've laughed though!

Thanks to you both for the encouragement . Now I guess I better go so I can do laundry.

[@llli*mommal]

If it was a food intolerance, you'd have spit-up at all hours of the day. The fact that you tend not to see spit-up at night suggests that the issue may be positional? A lot of moms feed lying down at night, or the babies are themselves in a different position from how they usually are during the day...

So glad to hear you haven't given in to the temptation to try to "regulate" your baby's feeding. That's a mistake too many people make! Overeating is best managed by allowing baby the chance to learn when to stop nursing. Just give her time and she'll figure it out.

[@llli*lehall]

My first spit a lot too. On the laundry issue:
1) I always traveled with extra clothes for both of us.
2) Receiving blankets to cover shoulder/seat/floor/whatever
3) Dish soap with just a little water directly on the spot asap really helps with the stain and smell issues.
Hang in there. It does get better in time.