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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

why would my 3 wk old baby suddenly start sicking up?

17 replies

AngeChica · 22/02/2008 07:37

Hi, my DS is 3 and a half weeks, and last 48 hours has suddenly started sicking up after each feed. Why would this happen? I am not eating or drinking anything different to norm. He seems to be taking more hungrily and making my nipples sore but he doesn't seem off colour and nappies are normal. Prior to this he has hardly spit up anything when feeding. Should I be worried?

OP posts:

KelaS · 22/02/2008 07:43

Sorry, can't help with advice, but will be interested to hear answers, as I have the exact same situation with my 3 week old - maybe it is linked to their growth spurt?

ladytophamhatt · 22/02/2008 07:45

reflux?

I'm not entirely sure but doesn't reflux become apparent at around 3 weeks of theyr're going to have it?
Actually....I might have just made that up but I'm sure I've read it somewhere.

KelaS · 22/02/2008 07:52

But if it was reflux wouldn't they seem distressed? My dd doesn't, and from what the op says it seems her ds doesn't either.

smallwhitecat · 22/02/2008 08:22

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

ladywombling · 22/02/2008 08:30

Reflux usua;ly presents at 2/3 weeks old, if nappies are wet/heavy & dirty, and weight gain is ok, and baby not distressed, they will prob not treat it, may just give gaviscon, if weight gain is poor/baby is distressed then you may be prescribed antiacids like ranitidine, metoclopramide etc as well. Just go to gp to discuss.

midnightexpress · 22/02/2008 08:31

Well, I'm not too sure, but I distinctly remember when ds1 was a newborn, telling people 'oh I don't know why we bothered buying muslins, ds1 is never sick', and then a couple of weeks later he was spewing like a pro, so I think it may just be a developmental thing. I'm sure there will beotehrs with mroe info. As long as he's gaining weight OK I wouldn't be too worried.

wobbegong · 22/02/2008 08:55

my baby sicks during and after every feed. Unless she is bringing up literally the WHOLE feed, my HV said to treat it more as a laundry problem than a health problem. As midnightexpress says, as long as the weight gain is OK then probably not to worry. I try not to jiggle her around too much after a feed and keep her upright for a while if I can. It doesn't distress her at all- she can vomit copiously and hardly notice.

Original poster

AngeChica · 22/02/2008 09:22

Thank folks. It sounds like it might be reflux starting then... what a shame. I thought we were going to get away with it .

The sicking up doesnt seem to bother him. But he does have discomfort crying after certain feeds (around the middle of the day and in the evening - but not all evening like colic). We had been giving him Infacol as I thought it was wind, he just wouldn't bring up a burp!

My only worry is he was 10lb 14 at birth. He was 11 lb 4 when the health visitor came this week, he had gained 8oz. He takes a lot of feeding and it's disheartening when he brings loads of it back up!

Midnightexpress, did your LO carry on with the puking permanently after that?

OP posts:

tiktok · 22/02/2008 10:00

The risk of 'reflux' as a diagnosis is that perfectly normal, healthy, happy and thriving babies start being labelled with a pathology....of course the condition exists in some babies, but the babies who are no more than 'happy chuckers' don't need to be treated with anything except a large muslin

This is a laundry problem, and a nuisance, rather than anything else - AngeChica, I am not 'diagnosing' your baby at all, BTW, but just being wary of labels!

'Chucking up' could be a way the baby ensures he/she takes what's needed, and the excess just comes up!

Clarabumps · 22/02/2008 10:11

it sounds the same as my ds. He didn't seem at all bothered that he was throwing up his entire feed but like angechica, he started getting really sore stomach pains like really bad wind. i too had been giving him infacol. this persisted untill he was five months when it peak with him crying in pain consistantly and, much to the annoyance of my health visitor, i begged the doctor to give me gaviscon and he was fine after that. not a solution for everyone and doctors are reluctant to give them gaviscon but it might be a solution if your son is in pain?x

Original poster

AngeChica · 22/02/2008 10:13

True, Tiktok. It's my instinct that he is thriving so not unduly worried - just assumed this tendency would be present from birth - didn't realise it can start after a few weeks.

My brother's LO had severe reflux for his first year, failed to thrive and referred to paediatrician etc. so that's why am a bit wary. But he seemed a lot more "delicate" than my little bruiser.

OP posts:

ontheedgeofthecliff · 22/02/2008 10:32

My DD is 10 wks now and didn't throw up at all until 6 weeks, then all of a sudden I'm washing muslins all the bloody time .....
Sometimes it's just mouthfuls, sometimes the whole lot. Doc at 6 week check said, yes reflux can start at any time. Only be worried if the vomiting is projectile and / or happening after every single feed.
One theory is that my DD gets a little constipated, despite being BF. It gets progressively worse the longer she goes without a poo ( like theres less and less room in there). I've also tried gripe water with some success to avoid the early evening fussing....

chiefcookandbottlewasher · 22/02/2008 10:57

hi AngeChica. Dd, now 5 wks, has been exactly the same from the time that my milk came in. It really distressed me at first, especially the fact that she can be sick at any time, whether its immediately after a feed or an hour later so i would end up staying up practically all night to make sure that she wasn't sick and then lying in it until her next feed.
Basically, my hv just told me to chill out and - as others have said - treat it as a laundry problem rather than anything more serious.
Looking at it now with a little time behind us, it seems that the worst sickness coincides with changes in feeding patterns, ie when my milk came in properly and now that dd seems to be feeding a little less often, especially at nihgt. As Tiktok said, I thought my dd might be getting more than she needs while my body adjusts its milk supply and just chucking the rest back up? She just went from 9lb to 11lb in two weeks, so she's obviously not starving!! The constant washing and changing is a pain, especially as dd hates to be dressed adn undressed, but if thats the worst of my problems, i'm happy to deal with it!

midnightexpress · 22/02/2008 13:41

Ange - yes it carried on for a while (more or less until he was sitting up and then it seems to sort of fade away iirc), but I wouldn't have called it reflux - like tiktok said, if the baby's not in pain and otherwise thriving it's possibly just normal possetting.

BabiesEverywhere · 22/02/2008 20:27

Looking back with hind sight, I think my DD fell into the 'happy chuckers' camp (love that phrase). She threw up after practical every nurse session for months. She was happy thriving baby and tbh it never occured for me to worry about it, I just carried a LOT of cloths for clean up. She out grew it around 6 months old I think.

BabiesEverywhere · 22/02/2008 20:28

nurseing session

runnervt · 22/02/2008 21:26

A bit like midnightexpress I remember saying how my ds wasn't a sicky baby when he was only a few weeks old. Then I was proved wrong!! He was always able to bring something up at any time without warning - definitely a laundry problem. I don't think it was reflux because it never seemed to bother him. I think it started getting better once he was sitting up more.

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