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Infant feeding

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

Original poster

At wits end with possetting baby

25 replies

Jane7 · 24/10/2008 13:47

Can anyone help? I'm caught in this gruelling cycle of feeding my three week old, hoisting him up on my shoulder to burp him and to try to help him keep the milk down, some of which always comes out as soon as i put him flat or not vertical. he possets all the time, then he says he's hungry again and i don't know whether to feed him all over again and start the cycle or try to soothe him. Lots of people have told me some babies simply posset more than others but this is ridiculous. It's hard to even go out because i have to keep him upright for so long after feeds. My arms and wrists are exhausted. Anyone else gone through this? He also seems in discomfort after a feed and makes a weird straining noise, almost like one an adult would make if constipated... Any tips or soothing words gratefully appreciated!

OP posts:
notnowbernard · 24/10/2008 13:49

Am not an expert in these things

But some babies do posset a lot... dd2 was a 'sicky' baby

Is he ff or bf?

ADragonIs4LifeNotJustHalloween · 24/10/2008 13:50

We never picked DS1 up without having a muslin cloth over our shoulder

wontbepreggersagain · 24/10/2008 13:50

get thee to the docs sounds like reflux- bf or ff? it could also be an allergy but does sound very refluxy.

nickymorris · 24/10/2008 13:54

Is he bringing up all of it?

I find that DS possets if I feed him before he's finished the last one - his body doesn't seem to like the mixing of milk vintages.

And how is he saying he's hungry - rooting behaviour or crying?

If it's crying it may be that he's crying for something else?

DS used to make lots of grunty noises which were him working on farts, not poos or burps! I've been giving him lycopodium 30c 3 times a day which has helped - particularly in reducing the fart-grunting at night - but suggest that you talk to your local homeopath before starting anything yourself - assuming you like homeopathic treatments...

geekgirl · 24/10/2008 13:57

I've been there too with the super-posseter - it's a pain, isn't it? Ds seemed to have a constant stream of sick coming out

He was prescribed infant gaviscon, but tbh it didn't really help, he just sicked it up along with the breastmilk. Solids didn't make any difference either...

It all improved by the time he got to a year or so (sorry that must seem like eons away for you at the moment )

Get lots of bibs & muslins and invest in a swing. Also, ds would posset a lot in his sleep - he ended up sleeping in the pram carrycot, raised quite steeply at the top end. And he slept on his tummy (on HV's advise as he would choke & gag on the sick).

geekgirl · 24/10/2008 13:58

'advice' even . I can spell, honest.

Original poster
Jane7 · 24/10/2008 14:34

thanks for all these responses. my ds is breastfed. he tells me he's hungry by rooting like crazy and head banging on my shoulder. sometimes i think he's just overtired and wants comfort.
also, geekgirl, interested to hear you mention a swing. sounds like a good idea. what kind do you mean?

OP posts:
notnowbernard · 24/10/2008 14:35

Ooh, I reckon a 3wk rooting bf baby probably wants feeding! And lots of it

Very normal to want to feed all the time at this age, IME

Egg · 24/10/2008 14:38

My 9 month old DT still puke after nearly every feed, usually just a little, but manage a full on huge one about 2 or 3 times a week each. I am reaching the end of my tether and so is my washing machine .

angel1976 · 24/10/2008 14:39

Hi Jane7,

Whereabouts are you? I have a really nice secondhand swing I want to give away to someone who needs it. I'm in London though. My DS used to posset a lot as well. He's 8 months now and till has a tendency to throw up if he coughs etc but the constant throwing up / posseting days are now finally gone. I used to go through several changes of clothes for both myself and him everyday!. It will pass...

Ax

Original poster
Jane7 · 24/10/2008 14:41

grr, notnowbernard, but the more i feed him, the more i'm stuck trying to keep him upright to stop him vomiting. it's just so exhausting. i wish there was a way of keeping him upright and unpukey without me doing it. the baby bjorn works pretty well at that, but i can't keep him in it all day. tried a hugabub sling too but for some reason he hates it in there.
Egg - my lo does a massive puke about every other day too, hard to tell how much of feed it is since i'm breastfeeding but looks like at least most of it.

OP posts:
Original poster
Jane7 · 24/10/2008 14:42

angel1976 - i'm in london, in hackney, near hackney downs. i would love your swing thank you. where are you?

OP posts:
slightlycrumpled · 24/10/2008 14:43

You have my sympathy, (you too egg) my ds2 did this and it would also be full part digested feeds as he got a little older.

I used to sit with a huge bath towel over us to catch the sick as the furniture was sufferring. I did feel unable to leave the house actually.

I would recommend a visit to the doctors for advice. DS2 had a tongue tie and a problem with his palate that was causing him to take in excess air.

Saying that you could just have a little sicky baby for a while. Probably will pass.

Good luck.

nigglewiggle · 24/10/2008 14:50

it's really tough and in my experience HVs Drs etc won't take it seriously unless they are in pain or not gaining weight. I would reassure you though that although it looks like they've brought up most of the feed, there will be plenty more staying in! It does pass and you do get better at dealing with it.

Egg · 24/10/2008 14:54

Oh Jane7, I used to give DS2 Infacol before a feed when he was only little like your DS and it did help keep the projectile pukes to a minimum (once a week instead of once a day!)

Strangely after a night feed both DTs rarely puked, even though I lay them down as soon as they had burped (they have always been bottle fed btw).

DS1 was a puker too, but more of a posseter than a projectiler. He would crawl around after a solid meal and leave little puddles [bleurgh]. I think he stopped by about a year.

These two are just bizarre. It is often just random, and also they still gag alot on finger food, which triggers a huge puke.

My carpet is beyond hope .

Original poster
Jane7 · 24/10/2008 14:56

angel1976 - i'm popping out, but would love to hear from you my email is annashepard(at)thetimes(dot)co(dot)uk

thanks!

OP posts:
wonderstuff · 24/10/2008 15:02

DD was sick all the time, the washing machine was on constatly, we had hundreds of babygros. It is exhausting, I found that giving her ebm in a bottle at night time helped, otherwise i would feed, shed fall asleep then vomit, waking her up and want to feed again and we would spend hours trying to get her down. It does pass, by the time she was 14 weeks she would stay in the same outfit all day!

geekgirl · 24/10/2008 15:06

hiya jane, I mean one of those electric baby swings - we had an ancient Graco one with an adjustable seat. It was a lifesaver.

geekgirl · 24/10/2008 15:07

ds was a belly crawler/slitherer for a long time... he'd leave a snail-like trail on the parquet floor

Original poster
Jane7 · 24/10/2008 15:48

angel1976 - where art thou? i'm tantalized by that offer of baby swing...

OP posts:
angel1976 · 24/10/2008 19:34

Have emailed you! ;) Sorry, my LO has kept me busy all day!

angel1976 · 24/10/2008 19:41

Hmm... My email just got bounced back. Can you email me? angelineradley at yahoo dot com

neolara · 24/10/2008 19:49

My ds threw up large amounts of his milk 4 or 5 times a day for the first 12 weeks of his life. He was also very windy and spent large parts of the day and night screaming until he farted or threw up. Absolutely grim.

I ended up giving large amounts of infacol which I think made a difference. If I occasionally tried to stop it for a day, he would scream and throw up much more. I agree with the other poster who said that GP and HV might not be particularly worried if you ds is normal weight and putting on weight. However, it might be worth talking with them and seeing if they have any ideas.s

You have my sympathy. Before having ds I had absolutely no idea how exhausting and stressful it was to have a baby that threw up constantly. It does get better though. Promise.

Gronk27 · 06/04/2019 03:24

If your DH is back at work do you do the night feeds on your own?

Gronk27 · 06/04/2019 03:25

Sorry or DP!

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