Baby constantly throwing up

[Spuddybean]

My almost 12 wk old is constantly throwing up. everything is covered in stinking cottage cheese type or watery vomit. Not just after he eats but all the time. He can't lean forward or lay down without it pouring out of his mouth. All the other mums i know comment at how extreme it is.

He has had bad reflux but the sickness even seems to happen on the days he doesn't have it.

His farts and poo are also really foul smelling and his poo is a greeny colour, sometimes with black flecks in.

I bf & ff. I was advised to change from cow and gate to Aptamil - which i have (1 week ago). This seems to have settled the reflux but the sickness is still there.

He is putting on weight, but this is slowing down now and i was disappointed at last weigh in, that after 4 weeks he'd only gained a few oz.

Should i be concerned?

Concerned, yes, but not worried.

It sounds like his reflux needs to be controlled by medication and not just formula alone (btw, is it Aptamils' 'Comfort Formula' or 'Comfortable Digestion' that you're using?) Maybe whilst seeing your GP abou this, ask about Gaviscon or another Ranitadine product.

Good luck.

Thanks - we've seen the gp about the reflux and we already give gaviscon when the reflux seems bad, but because it constipates him, we don't use it when he doesn't seem in pain.

Should we use it all the time? The aptamil is the comfort formula.

My dd is 13 wks and also has reflux, she is on Aptamil comfort with Gaviscon which we give every feed. She was having 1 dose but eventually the effects wire off so hv advised to give 2 doses due to her weight (see dosage on box). I saw the dr this week for a review and she advised that reflux wLk stay until at least 6 months. I found that dr didn't believe the amount my dd was vomiting and no one took me seriously until I measured the amount. I weighed her bid before and after feeding (soaked with vomit) and 1g increase roughly equates to 1ml of milk. When I worked it out I could show that she was bringing up around 20% of her feed and I was suddenly listened to.

I weighed the bib!

Yes - give the Gaviscon at every feed. You can always give 1tsp of freshly squeezed orange juice in 3oz of cooled, boiled water to relieve constipation.

Have you considered milk allergy? It sounds likely. Black flecks in poo are not normal and could be indicative of irrutated gut.

It sounds exactly like my Ds - gaviscon, and a goats milk formula (when not BF) and losec (oral medicine which reduces acid production I think)
One thing I didn't so is look at what I am eating - you could try that
DS also had bright green poo - I read later that this was supposedly b/c he was only getting fore milk , and then another theory that rubbished that..... Just make sure you are not switching sides too much and really emptying one side before you switch
Have you elevated the end of his basinette/cot/ Moses basket?
For dd I had specialist blocks for under the legs to keep head end elevated, but stable. I also slept both of mine on there sides in a wedge ( to stop them rolling onto stomach ) so if the vomited when you lay them down it cleared them so to speak.
Also used to feed the. When they got up and the. Either hold them upright over shoulder, or put them in a bouncer, for a little but, so they had a chance to digest a little bit before they went back to bed.
HTH

Losec/ omeprazole can be a wonder drug but better to rule out milk allergy first- goat's milk formula is usually unsuitable as the proteins are similar to those in cow's.

Losec has a fairly benign side-effect profile but has recently been associated with bone-thinning so should only be used where really indicated.

Thanks all. How would i check if he has milk allergies/intolerance?

I only feed from the right side (which is why he has formula top ups) so i don't switch. I originally thought the foremilk thing but he does drain the boob and the HV looked witheringly at me when i suggested it.

I keep him upright after feeds and he co-sleeps in my arms so does not lay flat in a cot/basket.

Only way ti diagnose milk intolerance is through exclusion of all milk products - both you and DS. You could experiment with a hydrolysed milk formula like Aptamil Pepti and see if that helps. You can buy it in boots on special order but it is ££££. If you have a willing GP he or she may prescribe it.

Other symptoms of milk allergy are : mucus or blood in poo; vomiting; poir weught gain ; either xonstipation or diarrhea; feeding 'struggles"; eczema- type skin rashes; v snotty/ mucusy.

I meant replace top ups with hydrolysed, nit to use it in place of BM. Sorry, not clear.

Thanks.

His weight gain has been quite good overall. but he put on lots quick then it has slowed. He was born 9lb and was 13lb 8oz at last weigh in when he was 10wks.

Obviously he vomits, he is constipated (only when gaviscon is used tho), his poos are a dark greenish colour and he tends to poo every other or third day. He struggles with BF as he is a 'nipple sucker', so i often have to relatch. He has always been slightly snuffly/mucusy.

I know that goats milk has the same protein as milk, but for both my kids, they had digestive issues on cows based formula (DS green poos, DD constipated) but were fine on a goats milk based formula - they weren't intolerant so to speak, but seemed to find it easier to digest. I tried it because I was told that the protein in it was closest in makeup to human milk protein (BM) - no idea if this is actually correct, but it is far finer in texture than cows milk formula (well the ones I used were) - so maybe something in it, and it made a significant difference to both of mine.
dS actually had terrible eczema - and transition from goats milk formula to goats milk at a year - I couldn't give him cows milk - or he would end up with big raw patches of eczema, I have no idea why - I know they both contain lactose, but sometimes you have to experiment and for some unknown reason you find something that makes a difference.