spitting up after breastfeeding...

[lilye13]

hi all,

I am trying to figure out how concerned I should be about this.. I don't want to be a panicky new mom....but yesterday after most of his feedings nicholas( 3 months) has been spitting up, not just watery stuff but the cottage cheese stuff. He doesn't seem at all bothered by it but he just did it again today after his 11 am feeding. This hasn't really happened before. The only other thing I noticed different that he is doing is that when he nurses he will pull off quite frequently- after a few sucks- and then start again.I s thisnormal? Is it something I ate? Is he getting sick? I am just not sure if this is cause for alarm or not....part of me thinks not but then again since it happened just now I am beginning to wonder if there is something I should do doing.....

thanks
elizabeth mommie to nicholas
7-22-03

[KGoes]

My DD is just 2 weeks younger and she started this as well. In fact, after her firsy week in daycare, that Saturday she stuffed herself. Next thing I knew, she was sitting in a large puddle in her bouncy seat. I did some emergency reading and found out that this is not uncommon and could be an indication of trapped air, ie I need to burp her more, or that she ate too much too fast. One of the mothers in daycare who breast feeds told me that her DD spit up like that for the first four months - to the point where she could not go anywhere without two changes of clothes! Her DD is now 6 months old and 20 pounds, so apparently, this did not impede her development. BTW, my ped did want to see her unless she was running a fever, throwing up yellow or green stuff, or throwwing violently.
Kelley
DD born 7/30/03

[puglucy]

I believe spitting up is only a problem if its projectile, if he's bothered by it, and/or . . . hmm, there's a 3rd thing. maybe if the color is strange. What you describe sounds perfectly normal, but of course if you continue to be worried or it changes, call your ped.

Pulling off suddenly could mean that you have a fast letdown, & he needs a little breather. A fast letdown could also mean he's getting lots of milk and might occasionally get too much and/or swallow some air, which could lead to the spitting up. Again, not a problem. Just let him take breaks, & go at his own pace.

hth,
Lucy
mama to Alex 3/18/03

[Momof3Labs]

Spitting up is sooooo normal for newborns!! It could be related to fast letdown - here is a link with some easy things to try to help it:

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html

[heidi_timms]

My DD started this at 3 months as well. I think that she was overeating because she is a comfort sucker. She eats her meal in the first 10 minutes and then will suck on me like a pacifier. Well she was getting too full and spitting up a lot.

I have had better luck pulling her off after the "meal" is over so she doesn't get too full and I keep her at a propped up incline for 15 minutes after eating so her food will start digesting and not come up.
~Heidi
Mom to Kailey Ashlin
4/27/03

[houseof3boys]

Sounds totally normal to me. Ryan actual throws up/spits up MUCH more when I have a lot of dairy. I now use Lactaid milk and eat lactose free ice cream (geez I can't stop eating ice cream), eat less cheese, et cetera and it makes a HUGE difference in how much he spits up the next day! You could try it for a few days and see if it helps Nicholas at all.

[lizajane]

buy more burp cloths and bibs. we have a spitter on our hands, and still at it at 7 months old. it DOES get better, though!

schuyler actually thinks spitting up is funny most of the time...

[momma_boo]

When DD was three months, she was doing the same thing... pulling off frequently, turning her head to look at something and then latching on again. This probably gets extra air in there which would lead to the spitting up. DD use do spit up A LOT; to the point where I started wondering if there was a problem. We always had a bib on her b/c I knew she would spit up a few minutes after burping. But it did get better.

[lilye13]

Whew! what a relief... I didn't think it was a big deal but then when you're doing this for the first time you get that little voice in your head that tells you that you never know....glad to see though that my 'feeling' about it was right though. Went out and bought some more bibs!!!! thanks everyone.... It's reassuring to see I am not alone in this!!
elizabeth