vomiting through nose, gargling noises... reflux?

[time4tea]

hello

my baby is 5 weeks old, bf a struggle at first but well established for the past 3 weeks, he's gaining weight and doing well. he does a weird thing sometimes - he vomits up milk some time after a feed (one hour plus) sometimes through his nose, which makes him pretty hysterical (normally a very relaxed baby) Sometimes I can hear him breathing through milk/mucus/vomit in a gargling sort of way, which doesn't seem to bother him, although of course I hop out of bed and pick him up and clear it out pretty promptly.
however I wondered what might be causing this...

any ideas, before i go to the GP - I think reflux is the kind of thing that they don't diagnose unless there is constant vomiting..

thanks
T4T

hi - could be reflux as that can make a baby sick during and up to an hour or more after feeds. Reflux can be silent i.e no vomiting which is what my DS had, vomiting after every feed, or vomiting off and on ... there is a difference between bringing up some milk after a feed whcih most babies do and full on vomiting ... i would mention it just to rule it out if nothing else

Hmmm it does sound a bit like Reflux.
My ds has is quite badly and he always makes the mucusy noise you describe. His chest is always rattling.
He doesnt do it as much now but he does the vomiting through the nose thing. I think they just get very panicked because its coming out of everywhere and they struggle to catch their breath.

sounds like reflux - my ds had and still has that nose thing, esp if i don't give him gaviscon after every feed. seemed to start at about 6 weeks. also got very distressed - though hv disnmissed it to start with because gaining weight very well. was advised to try one box of infant gaviscon to see if it would help, and huge improvement so went armed with evidence to gp. keep going - if you feel something is wrong stick with it - good luck

bumping this for you as my dd has exact same symptoms and often projectile vomits which is v worrying. thinking of going to gp tomorrow

thanks for bumping and thanks for responses. would it be reflux even if it doesn't happen all the time? he's ok today.

yes - can still be reflux even if it is sporadic. My DS was an occasional vomiter but had all the other symptoms (he has silent reflux) - he would get very violent hiccups for example as well
Reflux can be treated really easily and lots of babies grow out of it

not sure if you have done this yet, but after feeds is it possible to keep him more or less upright for a while? so stomach empties a bit before lying him down?

or possibly you have a generous supply or forceful and can be causing him to take more than his tummy can comfortably handle so the rest is coming up?

i am not sure so i will defer to the 'experts' when they come along.

look at kellymom here for a better understanding of what i am trying to say.

forceful letdown and oversupply

DS2 has reflux, and also vomits though the nose. It used to happen once or twice a day as a baby (now nearly 9m). He also possetted (little bit of dribbly sick) quite a lot. Gaviscon didn't help him (hard to get it down a bf baby), so don't presume it isn't reflux if Gaviscon doesn't help. Do mention it to the GP so it's on the record, but be prepared for them not to take you very seriously, especially if he's gaining weight well. It's only in the last few months, that they have started to listen to my concerns properly, and they're still not particularly worried as he's gaining weight well.

I'm concerned about effects of reflux/reasons why it is dangerous. Torin doesn't seem to be in pain - baby heartburn seems to be one concern; and he is gaining weight visibly, so is obvisously taking on board enough nutrition. Is choking a risk? the breathing does sound really alarming.

good tip on holding him up - I have been doing that more, and also taking more care on doing burping.

thanks again for support.