Excessive spit up

My 4 month old son spits up all day long, every day. He will spit up hours after he eats and the smell is like vomit. His doctor said he has reflux and prescribed him zantac, but I've heard and read that zantac is not good for infants to use. I have seen a naturalist who has given me vitamins to take (I am brestfeeding) in hopes it would get in my breastmilk and homeopathic colic tablets to give my baby. NOTHING seems to work, and we are out of ideas. It does not seem to hurt him and he is putting on weight. Is consistent projectile vomit normal? Do you have any other tips or suggestions? I burp him often through feedings and am not over feeding him. I keep him upright after he eats and do all the things I know I'm supposed to be doing. We go through about 12 burp rags, 4 outfits for baby, 4 outfits for mom, and usually a couple for day everyday because the vomitting is so frequent!

We had the same problem with our son. We did put him on Zantac and it made a HUGE difference. He was on it until 15 months (at 12 months we tried to stop, but he started spitting-up again within a day. He is almost 2 and doesn't seem to have any "complications or problems" from the zantac. I know there are concerns about putting young children on medications, but it was the best thing we did. He was a much happier baby since he wasn't spitting up all the time and I was a happier mom not having to do laundry or clean spit-up multiple times a day. :)

My son, who's now 6 years old, took zantac for reflux when he was a baby. My doctor said is was perfectly safe and nothing bad ever came out of him taking it. I was so relieved to finally realize why he was so fussy. He wasn't spitting up, so he had a milder version, but the zantac worked like a charm. I would give it to him if I were you. He'll be a much happier baby and you'll be a happier Mom. Don't feel guilty, it will help him!

Beth

Danielle-actually you are very correct about the zantac and it only MASKS the symptoms, it is not a normal par for the course to put ANY child on medication like that--have you tried eliminating certain foods from your eating regimen?? Dairy, nuts, gluten, broccoli and garlic are the biggest triggers with dairy and gluten being the top two. You may have to eat bland foods-with alot of fruits and veggies. Also are you taking any over the counter meds or prescriptions??

Trader Joes has a whole list of gluten free foods and they have a list online or you can pick up in a store. Also get the baby on DHA's (omega 3 and 6)!! They are so very good for him--they easiest way is to do a liquid but you can use coconut oil (organic and cold pressed). When you buy it it looks like a solid but becomes a liquid at 76 degrees. He is having problems with the acid levels. You can also give him pH drops. You can mix the two in pure clean filtered water (NOT nursery water!!)

Many times young babies already have leaky gut syndrome which is triggering the reflux and will cause life long issues. So just be aware of it now--do some reading on leaky gut and the acid alkaline balance let me know if you have any questions.

Good luck!!
Toni
Detox Coach

Hi Danielle. Your son's spitting-up sounds exactly like what my son went through, although my son was on formula (so it had nothing to do with what I was eating!) My Pediatrician prescribed Axid instead of Zantac, but I think they are very similar drugs. This helped him tremendously, and after about 2 weeks, he stopped spitting-up. Since your Doctor has already diagnosed him with Reflux, I would strongly consider using the prescription. PLEASE be careful about withholding the medication he needs, as untreated acid reflux can permanently irritate the lining of the esophagus, and serious complications can occur. Many children outgrow reflux by the time they are 10-12 months old, so this may be temporary. Best wishes to you and your little one!

In my experience... some kids are just barfy. You have already figured out that keeping him upright for an hour or so after feedings helps a lot. Most likely this will get much better around 6 months, and probably will be completely resolved around 12 months. If he seems happy and is gaining weight, I wouldn't personally worry about it. I'm generally not one to give my kid drugs unless he/she is clearly miserable, though.

Mine was spitting up a lot too. I read around 2-4 months they start. If you are breast feeding, make sure that he is propped up high enough and that your breasts are not overfull. Don't put on diapers too tight like me. I went through a week of spitting up with lots of mommy/baby changes but it seems to have subsided at least for now. Good luck.

I found these suggestions on webmd.com

Tips to reduce spitting up

The following tips may help your baby to spit up less often. If this advice does not reduce the frequency of spitting up, contact your doctor.

* Feed your baby smaller amounts at each feeding.
* Feed your baby slowly.
* Hold your baby during feedings.
      o Don't prop your baby's bottle.
      o Don't hold your baby in an extreme upright position or place your baby in an infant seat during feedings.
* Try a new type of bottle or use a nipple with a smaller opening to reduce air intake.
* Limit active and rough play after feedings.
* Try putting your baby in different positions during and after feeding.
* Burp your baby frequently during feedings.
* Do not add cereal to formula without first consulting your health professional.
* Do not smoke when you are feeding your baby.
* If you think a food allergy may be the cause of spitting up, talk to your health professional about starting your baby on hypoallergenic formula.

My daugther also has reflux and we have been using Zantac since she was 5 weeks old. Can I tell you it saved our life and changed our world instantly! I prefer the natural approach as well but her being comfortable was of utmost importantance was a high priority in addition to seeing the chiropractor and using probiotics. I was told you can't really "overdose" on Zantac which made me feel better about using it. Hopefully it's only short lived and he will not need it too much past a year. Best wishes.

My son spit up a lot too (not that much though) due to a milk allergy (as a result of what I was consuming). I gave up all dairy for the rest of the time that I nursed and he did much better. Might want to try for a week or two just to see if it works. It's difficult to do but so worth it for the little ones. :) Good luck.

Danielle: You are going through the same thing I did with my son. As I shared your concern, I also realized there are a lot of other things that can happen if you do not utilize the Zantac and get the acid reflux under control. My son had an episode so bad that the Phallgeum (hope I am spelling it right), basically the flap that goes over your wind pipe when you swallow food clamped up and he stopped breathing. Granted it was probably for about 30 seconds but I can safely say it felt like hours. Additionally, as acid backs up and comes back up (the projectile vomiting), its hitting his vocal cords. Side effects from this are nodules can form on your vocal chords. I know because I had horrible acid reflux while pregnant with my son and developed these nodules on my vocal chords. Also, I knew how it felt the burning of the acid coming back up so I knew my son was in discomfort. Weighing all this I went with the Zantac and I thank God everyday I did. My son turned into a completely different baby. Now at five, he is healthy as can be, active, reading (he started reading at four, loves fruits and vegetables, and has no issues right now with acid reflux (knock on wood). Like I said completely see your concern with putting something in your son however I would just weigh all the other side effects that can happen if you let it acid reflux continue. Wish you all the best! Nadine

dietician (?) Bonnie Minsky http://www.nutritionalconcepts.com/ recommends an elimination diet (for you, since you are breastfeeding) for some situations like this to determine which foods cause the reflux. I used her guidance to ID foods my son was allergic to for eczema. It's not easy, but you may decide it's a good option.

I had this problem when I was breastfeeding one of daughters and it ended up being that she could not tolerate my breastmilk. It may be something that you are eating that is disagreeing with his stomach. For my daughter it was that she was allergic to dairy and since I was drinking milk and eating dairy products it effected her little tummy. I stopped all dairy intake and I also supplimented her with a bottle of soy formula once in awhile.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Hello Danielle. I have only one suggestion and that is the drinking of cow's milk or eating dairy products. I have three children and with all of them I could not drink or eat dairy when breastfeeding because they would projectile vomit everytime. It is usually a sensitivity that is outgrown eventually. Hopefully this helps you!

Tara

I used Zantac on my preemie for 3 months & it was a life-saver--it finally got her off of her supportive oxygen she came home on--seeing as I started her on it at around 2 months old, if she had been born on time, I didnt see any adverse affects, & she eats great now at 3 years old.....hopefully that could give you a little confidence with the meds--good luck with whatever you use, but dont take one article you read regarding a med, educate yourself completely--especially with stuff on the internet, it is not monitored enough to be scientific fact. I used Zantac with a very high risk infant who is not on any type of meds now & I would use it again.

Hello Danielle,
My now 22 year old spit up buckets --forever. Just like your little one he was happy and gained weight just fine. Eventually, I just got used to walking around with spit up on my shoulder! No meds, we just lived with it until he outgrew it. No worries, just lots of spit up!

My daughter had reflux so my two tips are for you to monitor your diet...in my daughter's case the reflux subsided after we switched from regular to soy-based formula. Are you eating a lot of dairy? The other is to keep him elevated for 1/2 hour to 45 minutes after eating. My nieces had severe reflux and this is what they did to combat it. Also keep in mind that reflux in babies usually reflux is said to go away after a year. My 2 nieces (4 & 2 y.o.) are drinking soy milk but otherwise fine, and my daughter (9 mo) is still doing good on the soy. Hope that helps and good luck!

I dont know where you live, but I wonder if you would consider taking your child to a chiropractor. It isnt what you think...he isnt going to crack your babies neck. I have been seeing mine for years and he has helped me with all sorts of ailments. His name is Dr. Steven Andreano and he is in Lake Barrington. 847*713*2500 I am so happy you arent just giving your child Zantac without first trying the natural route! Also are you giving the baby any probiotics? O and one more thing Chiros are not all created equal so please email me directly if you are too far from here and I can try to find you someone closer to your area. Good luck!

I want to ditto the response about milk and dairy products. Have you tried cutting these out of your diet for now? My first son was a projectile vomiter. The first thing the doctor told me to do was cut out milk. This made a huge difference right away. He still spit up but not projectile. Hope this works and you don't have to use zantac.

My son had reflux pretty bad (he wouldn't eat until he was on medicine) at birth, and they prescribed Prevacid. IT was a compound i gave him with a syringe or in a small bottle with a little breast milk. HE was on it for a year and outgrew it. It worked wonders!
Good Luck.

Danielle-
I know what you are going through. Both of my kids were/are like that. My son did it his entire first year and my 8 mo. old daughter is still doing it. I would definitely not give him the meds. if he doesn't appear to be in any pain. I have asked numerous people (Dr., lactation consultants, etc) if its something I should worry about and I always heard that as long as they don't appear to be in pain than its just something they do. I never did anything to adjust my diet. It probably would have helped but I would have gone crazy trying to figure out anything that may have been causing it. I did/do everything that you have tried and I still have not found a solution. Some days are better than others. The one thing that I have found to be helpful is that I use those flannel receiving blankets as burp cloths instead of burp rags. You can open them up and cover yourself pretty well. I have a friend who's son was a spitter as well and she even sewed a few of the blankets together. That will at least help in hopefully reducing your outfit changes!! I know you were looking for a better answer than this but I just wanted to let you know that you are not alone. Good luck!!

Katie