Spitting up every meal?

[sixtwelve09]

My 3 month old spits up every time i feed her, and often more than once. I'm thinking it has something to do with my diet and im going to start cutting out the usual suspects (caffeine, dairy, etc). We have also been supplementing with formula bc i cant make more than 2oz per feeding. Im wondering if i should maybe discontinue breastfeeding for a day or two while whatever is causing my babies upset tummy clears my system? I would still pump so my supply wouldn't suffer more...or is it ok to continue even though shes not keeping the milk down very well?

 

[noon_child]

Has this only just started - last few days or last few weeks etc.?

If just a week or so she could have a tummy bug. Some of the viruses hang around in babies for 8-9 days but only real symptom is chucking up all their food and a few loose nappies.

There is little evidence that caffeine causes any symptoms in bf babies but it won't hurt to cut it out. I believe that dairy can take around 3 weeks to clear your system and (unless you have consulted a dietician about stopping it) you may end up deficient in nutrients, so I'd definitely speak to someone about what to replace dairy with on your diet. Of course you'll have to stop the formula too!

How long has she been supplemented with formula? Not a guilt trip, I supplemented for a while due to very slow weight gain on my LOs part, so I know sometimes it can help Mums. I just thought if it coincided with the sicking up I'd be inclined to look at the formula first rather than think it is the breast milk.

 

[sixtwelve09]

Shes been on formula for two months. She was spitting up terribly with formula until the dr put her on one that was thickened with rice cereal. She did great with not spitting up until last week, which is why i assumed it was something on my part. The only thing i did differently was switch from decaf to caffienated coffee. She seems so miserable all the time. I had luck pumping and putting rice cereal in a bottle of my breastmilk but it still seems to be hurting her tummy. Shes also been pooping once a day in the morning but its A LOT and is very watery and leaks everywhere before i can change her. Its a green color too, but since shes combi fed im not sure what color her poop should be.

 

[noon_child]

Green poo was always a symptom of a virus with my LO. Even a snotty nose can make them throw up because they can't digest the mucus they swallow.

You could always swap the coffee back but it might be that if it is a a virus, it'll clear around the same time the caffeine leaves your body and you might be giving it up for nothing!

I don't have much experience with reflux babies or thickened formula so I'll leave others to address that side of things.

 

[luz]

Is she fussy? some babies are happy spitters which is not a problem. My LO was extremely fussy and would scream all day and all night long. Things got a lot better when i cut dairy out of my diet, but she still spit up quite a bit. The dr. put her on baby zantac and she got SO much better. We finally found out she had reflux and she's grown out of it now (she's 1) but for a while we had a really hard time with her.

 

[Rhapsodi]

Is she just spitting up, or is she throwing up an entire feed?

My LO was throwing up entire feeds at least every other day sometimes more. And was spitting up a lot otherwise, very fussy during feedings despite trying to burp. Turns out he has GERD. Dr gave Zantac and it's a huge difference! When he doesn't get enough of his med (he doesn't like it and will spit it up if I don't catch him just right) he will be more fussy and spit up increases a lot. When he gets enough he spits up minimal amounts (normal baby spit up).

Although it doesn't hurt to check for allergies I'd definitely look at reflux.

 

[noon_child]

I'd definitely look at reflux.

Oh, I assumed due to the rice thickened formula that reflux diagnosis had already been made! Maybe LO needs more meds on top of thickened formula? How's it going now OP?

 

[luna_19]

I second the happy spitter suggestion, if baby is happy than it is fine. My lo spit up pretry much every feed until around 4 or 5 months old and occasionally spit his entire meal but was never bothered by it and eventually grew out of it

 

[sixtwelve09]

Sorry for not replying sooner...she did get a reflux diagnosis but dr was reluctant to prescribe anything for it. Shes fussy but shes been high maintenance since day 1 so its sometimes hard to pin down exactly what shes fussing about. Sometimes she will scream/squirm/grunt/and arch back after eating then throw it all up, sometimes it just comes pouring out of her mouth without any warning. I kept breastfeeding even though it wasnt staying down and cut out some basic things in my diet. Shes still spitting up a bit definitely in smaller amounts than before so i hope it will clear up soon. Thanks for all the replies!!