Spitting Up--is this normal?

[babylove]

DS is 11 weeks old. Until last week he NEVER spit up. Ever. Suddenly he has started spitting up after he eats (not everytime, but close to it). Not much comes out, but it's still more than before. He doesn't seem bothered by it at all. Is it normal for this to start so late?

[Marisa]

Has he also been nursing more frequently? If so, it could be related to the 3-month growth spurt -- he may instinctively be nursing a ton, but taking in so much milk that there's not room for it all?

Is he still nursing exclusively, or is there a formula supplement? Have you changed anything about your diet?

[babylove]

He hasn't really been nursing more frequently. In fact, he still sometimes only eats from one breast and refusing the other. This happens at least once a day. I do notice that he is sucking a lot more forcefully when he eats, so maybe he is getting more? He is exclusively BF and has never had any formula. I haven't been eating anything different. I've never had to curb my diet in any way b/c of BFing (other than limiting salad). He just doesn't seem to be sensitive to anything I eat.

[Marisa]

Could be... could be stronger and therefore getting more in a shorter time, that's the way it's supposed to work...


Is he more active these days, do you notice that the spitting up tends to follow a lot of movement (trying to hold up his head, move around, roll over, etc?) The stomach muscles are still kind of underdeveloped at this point -- around 6 months or so most parents see a difference in that kind of spitting up (too much milk + too much movement after eating = milk comes back up).

[babylove]

Eh...maybe. He is as active as a 2.5 mo old can be...but I don't really notice a pattern to the spitting up. Sometimes it comes up with a burp right after eating. Other times it's an hour later, I'm buckling him into his carseat and he spits up.

[Sare79]

I'm finding the same problem in my 8 week old baby, and I don't think she's eating more, although she is getting much more efficient at eating.

It's frustrating because it seems like she spits up a lot of what she eats.

She is exclusively breastfed.

[lawgirl4]

sarah - at my daughter's 2 mo checkup our ped said to expect increased spitting up over the next month - can't recall why, but it seems to be normal at that age.

[thechick79]

DD is 11 weeks old and is spitting up a lot. She has been nursing more frequently so I'm hoping that is the reason. I would says she spits up at least every feeding minus one or two. It's worrying me because it seems like she spits up a lot of what she eats.

[Marisa]

If the dr. doesn't seem to be concerned, then it's likely something to just watch and take note of -- it seems that most babies go through this stage.

It does seem like they're spitting up most of what they're eating, but if you try spilling out just an oz. of water onto the countertop you'll see it looks like a lot. It's hard to say exactly what a breastfed baby is taking in at each feeding, but it's probably more in the 4-6 oz. range at that age -- an oz. of spit-up would be just a fraction of a feeding.

[thechick79]

Thanks Marisa! Our pediatrician said it was normal at our last appointment but since then it seems DD is spitting up more. Thanks for the reassurance :)