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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

To ask some mums for advice re: my newborn??

58 replies

TheHermitCrab · 01/02/2015 12:25

Sorry! being a bit naughty and asking for some advice on here as it's popular! That's probably unreasonable in itself! But any help would be greatly appreciated.

Vomiting!

My baby is 3 weeks old and is vomiting about 2/3 times a day. It is not spitting up, she does that too, this is vomitting up a full feed anywhere between 5 and 30 minutes after a feed. All over her face, body, my body. We've changed our bed twice because of it, she's covered the sofa. My OH's mum told me not to worry, then she did it on her and her reaction was "ooooh no that's not right, that really is a lot!"

She is formula fed Cow and gate exclusively (she was combination fed up until last week) She takes anywhere between 1.5 and 3 ounces a feed. I burp/wind her every half ounce I keep her upright during her feed and 30 minutes following the feed.

We mentioned it to the health visitor on wednesday and I told her I was considering taking her to the doctors. She said that a doctor can't prescribe anything and that I should make sure I am not over feeding (I thought this was not possible!!) but she has a small appetite anyway and is only feeding 3/4 hours. She told me to buy infacol, which I did, and it has helped her wind, but she's throwing up just as much.

She's gained weight since birth, was 6lb 11 and on wednesday she weighed in at 7lb. She's sleeping well, eating fine, and if she vomits she roots for a feeding immediately after (And usually won't throw up immediately after)

She cries only for a feed and if she has a bit of wind. But nothing close to colic, she's just irritable between the hours of 12:00 and 6am.

The only thing out of the ordinary is she has a spotty/rashy face, but I've been told that's normal.

I'm going to ring the doctors tomorrow, But I'm sure they will fob me off because she is otherwise fine.

Does anyone have any ideas of anything else I could try to relieve this or should I just wait it out??

OP posts:

NurseP · 01/02/2015 12:33

Maybe an allergy? I think a trip to your GP is worth it, if even to put your mind at rest if they find nothing. Hope it resolves - must be very worrying!

DorotheaHomeAlone · 01/02/2015 12:34

Firstly, try not to worry! It sounds like a doctors visit is in order but she's generally healthy so nothing to panic about. If it's reflux an early diagnosis will be really helpful (and they will prescribe) but it could just be her eating big meals on top of wind then bringing them back up again.

Until you see the gp probably best to keep on as you are, maybe just feeding smaller meals more often. My dd is ebf so your figures don't mean much to me but 3/4 hours would have been a long stretch for her. She are every 90mjns to 2hrs in the daytime at that age.

mullingitovermuch · 01/02/2015 12:34

I wonder if it's a milk issue. My son did the same but perhaps from 6 months. He was not lactose intolerant but one of the milk enzymes didn't sit well in his tummy. We went to doctor who prescribed milk free powdered milk which was pretty disgusting tasting. I see now they have soya versions of formula feed although not sure if they do it for earlier than 6 months. Defo worth a quick trip to doctors on Monday. Xx

skinoncustard · 01/02/2015 12:34

Not trying to panic you, but if it's after every feed I would see the doctor to rule out Pyloric stenosis. I was finally diagnosed myself as a baby ( many years ago) after my mother was dismissed as fussy !

It probably isn't, but it's worth getting your little one checked over .

ImBatDog · 01/02/2015 12:46

i know they say all formulas are the same, but my oldest used to throw up A LOT when on cow and gate, i switched to SMA gold and had no more problems with him being overly sick other than normal baby spit up.

it could be a sign of reflux, how is she generally? does she seem to be suffering from colic? is she fractious before being sick?

Jcandy · 01/02/2015 12:51

Pp is right it could be pyloric stenosis (thickening of the valve at the bottom of the stomach). Worth going to the doctor though 3 weeks is still quite young to diagnose it (5 weeks) is normal. If she starts to look dehydrated (sunken eyes, very sleepy(more than usual)) then there's more reason to be concerned. If not the doctor may just recommend more reflux solutions. Classic sign of pyloric stenosis is projectile vomiting, as in it will reach to the end of the cot!

mummymeister · 01/02/2015 12:52

all forumulas are definitely not the same. you need to have a go with some others maybe over the next few days to a week. if it is still happening on any formula then go and see your GP don't leave it. little ones lose weight quite quickly at this age. is her weight gain good? are you perhaps overfeeding at each feed? the amount recommended is the average and some babies just have very small stomachs and want less but more often. don't try too many different things at once but pick something try it and see if it makes a difference. my son had/still has severe reflux. my H/V told me to keep a diary of what I gave him and when it happened. this was useful for me to show that it was an issue and extremely useful later on for the consultant. not suggesting in any way that this is that serious but if you do keep a diary it shows YOU what is going on as well. we eventually switched to Neocate with my son which was marginally better but not brilliant.

Alwaysinahurrynow · 01/02/2015 12:52

Probably worth popping to the docs. It might be nothing but always worth getting it checked out. As posters above have said could be reflux, could be an allergy or pyloric stenosis (we were checked for this after an A&E visit for bright yellow vomit after being told a vomiting newborn was normal - turns out he had severe reflux). It might also be worth switching milk after the above have been checked, DS could only stomach breast milk or hipp formula until he wa 6 months.

however · 01/02/2015 12:54

They say you can't overfeed a breast fed baby, not formula fed. Plus I think feeding every 3/4 hours is about normal for that age.

Does she have plenty of wet/dirty nappies?

And, congratulations!

sdaisy26 · 01/02/2015 12:55

Some babies are just sicky babies. Both of mine were projectile vomiters, dd especially. Luckily it never bothered either of them so we just got used to carrying lots of muslins around & smelling faintly of sick all the time.

However, you are doing the right thing getting it checked out, I hope your gp listens to you. Maybe worth trying to video a vomit so they can see exactly what it's like.

BertieBotts · 01/02/2015 12:55

No - I think HV is assuming that your DD is vomiting smaller amounts and that as a new mum you are anxious. Your MIL is right that it's not a normal amount to be vomiting - probably something perfectly simple and treatable - but she needs to be checked out by a doctor and you need to emphasise she is throwing up the WHOLE feed, regularly, and with a measurable amount of force (ie, rough idea of area/distance).

Silvercatowner · 01/02/2015 12:56

If she is contented, is gaining weight and has plenty of wet/dirty nappies then probably nothing to worry about. Best to ask your doctor though, rather than a bunch of strangers on a forum (especially AIBU where there is a tendency to catastrophise....)

BertieBotts · 01/02/2015 12:57

Spotty face can be your hormones coming out of her system post birth, rashy face less normal, can be a sign of milk allergy.

You don't have to answer, but I wonder did you have problems breastfeeding and that's why you have switched to FF? Again milk protein intolerance can cause problems with BF.

BertieBotts · 01/02/2015 12:58

Silver, really, vomiting up full feeds several times a day? I'd say that needs checking out. If nothing else it can't be very nice for the poor thing!

DisappointedOne · 01/02/2015 12:58

Any chance of getting her back into breastmilk?

DisappointedOne · 01/02/2015 13:01

Eta at this age her tummy is smaller than a walnut. Look at 3oz of formula and ask how much of it could fit into a walnut!

StormyLlewellyn · 01/02/2015 13:01

I also think it sounds like it might be a milk allergy. Sounds similar to my dd, she had similar symptoms at the same age, was also advised to give her infacol and was told as she was gaining weight and was generally a happy baby she was fine. In the end she was diagnosed with reflux and a Cows milk protein intolerance after she started bleeding. I would go to the docs just to put your mind at rest, my docs were great and said that at that age they would rather see them and all be fine than something get missed.

tobysmum77 · 01/02/2015 13:04

They can take more than 3oz at 3 weeks, ime. Just another possibility a friend's ds used to vomit whole feeds up and it was caused by tongue tie making him gag.

Nanny0gg · 01/02/2015 13:05

I would go to the doctor to put your mind at rest.

But - is she a 'greedy' baby? My b/f dc would really gulp her feed down, very noisily, then bring it all back up. Trying to get her to slow down a bit helped.

fairgame · 01/02/2015 13:10

Definitely go to the doctors. DS was the same (also c&g fed) and I was fobbed off by the hv. He is now 10 and they are still trying to get on top of his reflux, it's been a nightmare trying to get anyone to sort it out. Its only because school have complained that the gp finally referred him to a paediatrician!

Purplepoodle · 01/02/2015 13:24

I would try a different formula first. Is it certain feeds she is throwing up or random?

kbbeanie · 01/02/2015 13:28

My ds was the same....from he was born he was a very sicky baby but still gaining weight. He was very unsettled in the evening up till about 10pm and the hv kept telling me it was colic. He was fed on cow and gate as the weeks went on the sickness got worse and by the time he reached 7 weeks old he was forcefully projectiling every feed and then screaming with hunger only to do the same with the next feed. His lips would regularly turn blue when he was vomitting and it would go from one end of our long living room to the other. The doctors kept dismissing me every time because he was still gaining (all be it very very slowly)
I had enough one day and i fed him in the docs waiting room knowing what would happen and i took him in and sure enough he projectiled in the docs room ...to which the doc then agreed it wasnt normal. We were sent straight to hospital and he was investigated for pyloric stenosis. They would feed him a liquid (it may well just have been water i cant remember) and then scan him while i fed him to watch what happened. That ruled out any complications with that. They then tried gaviscon which made him a lot worse followed by a milk thickner. In the end he was diagnosed with severe reflux and was put onto a perscription formula and medication and althoigh he was always sicky right up until he was 2 after feeds it was a lot less and he was gaining weight really well and was also so much more settled
It is definetely worth a trip to your doctors and keep on at them until you get satisfaction (i was going almost every day for about 3 weeks before anyone acknowledged there was an issue)

Good luck and i hope you get it sorted xx

Whippet81 · 01/02/2015 13:34

Def ago to the dr - I was fobbed off by the HV - my baby was never sick but had what appeared to be terrible colic - I kept being told to change his formula - spent a bloody fortune trying everything going - kept asking if maybe it was the lactose as I am intolerant myself - took about four drs visits to see a sensible one who prescribed lactose free - he was 12 weeks by then and was not keen to change as the lactose free isn't very nice so I have only managed to get him on half and half but even so he's a different baby.

It's ok for them to keep saying 'oh they're ok' but they're not stuck with a projectile vomiting or screaming baby all evening.

I was a but wet to start with but have started being a bit more forceful as you begin to know your own.

Good luck

Silvercatowner · 01/02/2015 13:39

Bertiebotts a little bit of sick goes a long way. If she were really vomitting up several feeds a day I doubt the OP would be asking for help on here - failure to thrive would be very evident.

Both of mine seemed to vomit up twice as much as they ingested. It didn't bother them and they both piled on the weight.

buzzybeess · 01/02/2015 13:42

sounds like reflux, both of mine have it. go to The gp and they can prescibe medicine which will help.

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