9 day old baby keeps bringing his milk up.

[Writerwannabe83]

Hi everyone, my 9 day old baby is exclusively breast fed and throughout the day he has continually been bringing up his milk. The worst though has been just now when after his feed he had 4 episodes of vomiting and bringing up large volumes of his feed. I know people say it always looks more than it is, but I'm pretty sure the whole feed has come back up. Whenever he is sat up after a feed he brings some up and whenever he is winded he brings some up. He also brings milk up when he's asleep. It isn't a projectile form of vomiting but his whole mouth will fill with milk and it will just pour out.

I'm trying not to panic but it's my first and I have no idea what I'm doing really.

I'm going to wake him two hourly for feeds to ensure he's getting something in him but I don't even know if uh is is the right thing to do. At what point do I need to start worrying that something is wrong?

[derektheladyhamster]

This happened with my first - there wasn't any problem with him. I do remember mentioning it to the midwives who didn't laugh but they probably wanted to

Lots of muslin and spare clothes needed, and I think he had reflux (which no one had heard of 14 years ago) he certainly had colic and was very uncomfortable

With hindsight, my breasts letdown very fast and quickly, which might have caused the problem. I leaked loads with ds1 in comparison with ds2.

Congratulations on your new baby

[Nosleeptillbedtime]

He might have reflux or food intolerance. Why not chat to your gp if you are worried?

[derektheladyhamster]

it is unlikely he's bought the whole feed up though (tip 4 oz of milk on the floor and you'll see how far it goes!)

[nldm1]

We had this with both of ours. Both exclusively BF. The MW and HV both called it posseting, which I had read was bringing up a small amount of milk. This wasn't small! It looked like the whole feed, but the MW and HV both saw the amout DS and DD brought up and assured me all was fine. Both of them kept on having plenty of wet and dirty nappies and kept putting on weight and these were the points I was told to keep an eye on rather than what they brought up.
Babies enjoy suckling in addition to their feed so it stands to reason that if they are suckling on you, they will take in more than their little tummies can handle. Keep plenty of cloths handy and keep an eye on nappies and weight gain, but try not to stress. Some babies are just messier than others :-)

[Writerwannabe83]

Thanks derek - When I'm feeding off one side the other breast leaks and when I express I'm able to get over 3oz in about 10 minutes so I do think I have quite fast flowing milk and do wonder if he's just taking too much in?

I'm just such a nervous wreck over it it, convinced there is something really wrong with him etc. Are we supposed to ring the community midwives for advice when we are worried about our babies?

I have a feeling I'm going to end up down the GP surgery tomorrow....I don't want to be seen as over-reacting but I'm just worried

[GingerRodgers]

Congrats on your baby boy writer

Dd was like this and I freaked out. Lasted until about 6 months (sorry) and basically I had a LOT of milk and she like to feed a lot.

Keep an eye on how many dirty/wet nappies there are. Also, how much he is sleeping. If you have to wake him all the time or if he seems drowsy all day and night.
If the sick starts to smell or look curdled also.
How's his weight?

If you simply don't feel this is right go and get him checked, better safe than sorry.
My brother had pyloric stenosis and needed an op but was fine after.

[NorthEasterlyGale]

My DS2 (5 weeks old tomorrow) suffers badly from trapped wind and has a tendency to bring up milk after a feed too. It got worse over weeks two and three and then I decided to block feed as I have oversupply and an over-active let down (had same problems with DS1 but didn't know how to solve it), and that seems to have helped a little over the last couple of weeks.

I worried myself daft with DS1 but this time I'm more concerned about the number of muslins I'm getting through and the fact that I constantly smell of second hand milk

We're taking the view that he's a guzzler - eats what he needs then takes 5% more just for the fun of it!

As long as he's gaining weight, having a good nappy output and his mouth is moist and his skin returns flat when gently pinched, you know he's getting enough to eat and his hydration is good. If you're worried thought, have a chat with your GP.

[Writerwannabe83]

He was weighed last Thursday by the midwives and he'd put on a good amount - but he wasn't having vomiting issues then. He is being seen by them again on Tuesday so his weight will no doubt be checked again but it feels like a lifetime away.

He is always sleepier in the day as opposed to night - he makes up for all the lost sleep that he doesn't get when he's wide awake for 3 hours every night. I woke him at 15.45pm for a feed and he's still awake now....gurgling away in his Moses basket.

He's having wet and dirty nappies. I think he had some diarrhoea overnight but his stools seem back to normal today. He cluster feeds a lot overnight and I do wonder if this is reflected in his runny nappies because he can be feeding off me for hours constantly.

Most of the milk he brings up is clearly the fresh milk he has just taken from me but there is also some bits of much thicker and whiter milk too as though it's been semi-digested.

[GingerRodgers]

That does sound like dd as opposed to what my mum said about my db.

If you are worried, take him to see someone, even a&e. They will have seen people for less than this and they'd rather see a worried mum and baby and put your mind at rest.

[Sparklingbrook]

Are you getting lots of wet nappies? Has his soft spot sunk?

[Sparklingbrook]

Sorry you have answered the nappy one.

[RegainingUnconsciousness]

DS was like this. We were told many thrones that babies posset, and it's probably normal.

When he was 4 months he was diagnosed with reflux. He'd been fractious, screamy, angry and generally hard work. The gaviscon turned him into a different baby almost overnight.

If you think it's reflux, trying gaviscon won't cause harm if it's not. And won't disguise pyloric stenosis. Do insist on help sooner rather than later. We had a tiny baby in pain for 4 months.

[Sparklingbrook]

DS2 had Pyeloric Stenosis at 4 weeks. the vomiting got progressively worse and more projectile, then had specks of blood in. His soft spot sank and the nappies dried up.

If in any doubt I would ring for advice Writer.

[Writerwannabe83]

Who are we supposed to ring on a Sunday night though?

I've felt his soft spot - doesn't it have a natural dip in it anyway?? How do you know what's sunken and what isn't?

I've just put him back on the breast and he's suckling but not taking a full on feed - but it's only been 90 minutes since he finished his last one. I kind of thought he might be hungry again due to vomiting quite a bit up from his last feed.

I just wish they came with a manual

[GingerRodgers]

Are you still able to ring labour ward with him being so new?

[Sparklingbrook]

I would ring 111 and discuss it with them.

[Paloma12]

You can ring out of hours - just ring your surgery and there'll be a message with a number to ring, or ring paediatric a&e at your local hospital.

[NorthEasterlyGale]

It is nerve-racking, I know. DS2 lost a lot of weight after birth and they were talking about a feeding plan if he didn't gain enough, which he fortunately did, but I was on edge for the first couple of weeks; totally obsessed with feeding and weight gain!

I think newborns do sleep more in the day and will therefore feed more at night - think I read it was 'cause they're used to mum's motion lulling them to sleep during the day before they're born. He'll change it round eventually. Think there's also a growth spurt around 7 - 10 days so he might be cluster feeding for that.

Definitely worth checking out reflux if you think his symptoms fit it - in retrospect I believe DS1 had silent reflux and he was very miserable; really wish I'd checked with a GP just in case.

[NorthEasterlyGale]

You might find this worth a read...

LINKY

[Writerwannabe83]

Thank you for that link, it was interesting to read.

Baby has just fed for 20 minutes and fell asleep at the breast. No vomiting as yet whereas normally he does it either whilst feeding or straight after. I haven't moved him off me yet though, too scared to change his position in case the movement makes him be sick. I really want to check his nappy though...

I will see how things go following this feed and will ring for advice if he is sick again. Are out of hours doctors on call 24 hours?

[Sparklingbrook]

If you ring the Doctors out of hours they tend to have a recorded message saying to ring 111 Writer.

Round here you either then get a home visit or more often than not asked to go to the OOH place (attached to the hospital) or A&E depending. With your baby being so young they may suggest A&E as a precaution.

Please don't sit there worrying, just ring. x

[NorthEasterlyGale]

Don't be nervous about calling 111 if you need to - we did one evening when DS1 was a similar age (he wouldn't take his bottle and was hard to wake - think it was a case of us not realising how deeply babies sleep rather than an actual problem ) and they advised us to go to A & E (think they always do when young babies are involved) which we did. The staff were lovely and put our minds at ease. We've also been to a walk in centre with him at a weekend about something else - they were lovely too.

Hope you feel more at ease soon.

[Writerwannabe83]

There seems to be some improvement in that he didn't vomit following the feed I mentioned earlier and he fed an hour ago and has kept that down too. He's also had a wet nappy and two dirty ones. He's currently wide awake in his Moses basket and probably will be for the next 7 hours if his usual behaviour is anything to go by.....

[GingerRodgers]

That's good writer. Just remember, if at any point thought you feel really worried, take him up to a&e. Don't wait for the morning. Hope you manage some sleep!

[wheresthelight]

Definitely sounds like your milk flow is too fast for him to deal with, try expressing a little before you feed him to let down the pressure a little bit and see if that helps.

But I wouldn't worry too much about his weight, they tend to keep more down than you think! Dd had a really nasty virus which caused lactose intolerance for about 3 weeks and caused her to vommit a massive amount! iI was convinced that she must be like the magic porridge pot there was that much but she maintained her weight so she must have kept some down!

Hope you get some sleep!! If you are really worried ring uour out of hours service they will always see such a young baby!