8-week-old constantly spitting up, very unsettled – reflux or something else

[Jellybean200]

Looking for some advice or reassurance as we’re starting to feel a bit desperate and would really appreciate hearing from anyone who has been through something similar.
Our son is 8 weeks old and since about 6–7 weeks he has started spitting up milk after most feeds (sometimes curdled). At the start there were a few episodes of projectile vomiting, but now it’s mostly frequent spit-up after nearly every feed, sometimes a small amount, sometimes quite a lot.
Since around the same time he has become very unsettled and seems uncomfortable much of the day. He really doesn't like to be put down and will usually only settle if he’s being held or in the bath. He hates the pram, car seat, play mat and Moses basket. Overnight he struggles to sleep after the 2am feed unless he is sleeping on me or my husband slightly upright.
Evenings are particularly hard as he becomes very irritable and often won’t feed properly.
He’s exclusively breastfed apart from one formula bottle at around 10pm. He is otherwise feeding regularly and producing normal wet and dirty nappies. We haven’t noticed blood in stools or a rash. He had been gaining weight well, although I haven’t had him weighed in the few days which is when the symptoms have seemed worse.
We absolutely adore him and he is so precious to us, but we’re finding things really hard at the moment. He seems unhappy and uncomfortable so much of the time and we are desperate to help him be more settled. It’s also very exhausting as he needs to be held almost constantly to calm him.
Does this sound like reflux to anyone? Or could it be a cow’s milk allergy? Is there anything that actually helped your baby (positioning, medication, diet changes etc)?
We’re planning to speak to the GP but would really appreciate any experiences or suggestions in the meantime.

Mine was like this OP and it drove me half mad trying to get to the bottom of it - she had to be upright all the time, was constantly spitting up milk, I felt I couldn’t go anywhere or do anything because of it - the smell, the constant changes of clothes, the tiredness. No rashes or unusual stools.

I was unsuccessfully pumping about one bottle a day and she had formula for the rest (subsequently diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 16 weeks which explains the bf fail) we tried allergy formulas, every normal formula - settled on Kendamil as it smelt the least bad when it came back up, she was on omeprazole for a bit, we tried infacol, stuff to thicken the milk, saw a consultant, you name it we tried it and nothing ever worked except time. It just stopped, when she was weaned and only on one bottle a day, bang on 7 months. She’s only been sick 3 times since and she’s 4 in a couple of weeks 😂 we joke that she did a lifetime’s worth of throwing up in her first 6 months of life. She has no allergies at all and eats well, always has. I wonder if she was so enthusiastic about food because she was no longer spitting up and it felt good!

I was absolutely consumed by trying to stop it and it turns out it was just her little body needing time to strengthen. I wish I’d not driven myself so demented by it. I have met two other mums since with “pukey” babies who also aren’t allergic to anything at all and just grew out of it. I’m not saying you shouldn’t investigate the possible cause but if you’re not having any joy, just know that there isn’t necessarily anything you can fix and there is light at the end of the tunnel. ❤️

Adding - she has also slept well since about the same time, (unless she’s ill obviously). Those lonely awful days of being awake for hours from 2am (was the same for us - 2am feed and then you’re sat there with the baby upright on you) are like a distant memory now. You’re doing great. It’s so so hard.

@TinyHousemouse Thank you so much for sharing your experience! It’s really reassuring to hear from someone who’s been through exactly this...I can completely relate to the constant holding, the spit-ups, and the tiredness too. I just wish I could pop him down and he be happy once fed, burped, changed etc, but no good. He just needs to be held!

It’s so helpful to hear that things do get easier. ❤️

I’m glad your little one has thrived and sleeps better now after what overall sounds like a really difficult time - it gives me hope that ours will settle too in time! But goodness, I do want to solve it now, very tough. Thank you again for taking the time to write such a helpful response.

Like PP I also had a pukey baby. He threw up multiple times a day for his first year before how grew out of it. He would spit up large amounts immediately after feeds and curdled milk later on too. We also had a couple of projectile vomits in the early days (we took him to A&E and he was checked over as there was blood in his vomit once). Pyloric stenosis can be the cause if you'd like to research it. I assume my sons was reflux although we never had it diagnosed as he wasn't unhappy with it.

We tried Infacol which I do think helped a bit. I also contact napped with him for most of that year. I would feed him, wind him and he would sleep on on my chest. I would do the same on a nighttime except I would transfer him into his cot after 20 mins upright (he would puke instantly if i didn't put him down asleep).

I also think on reflection he was overfed. I breastfed and had an oversupply. I was constantly told by health visitors etc that you can't overfeed a breastfed baby but he was off the charts for weight and absolutely huge bless him.

Other practical advice: buy waterproof bibs (Next sell them) to save having to change outfits so often, buy lots of muslins, buy a carpet cleaner, also a waterproof playmat. A carrier may be useful too although we didn't use one.

@ThatMintMember thanks so much for your thoughts here and useful advice...noted! Do you have to officially get a baby diagnosed for reflux? Any idea what a GP looks for to give that diagnosis? Very interesting to hear about overfeeding too. My DS always seems hungry, is putting on weight well but is also spitting up a lot I wonder if I'm overfeeding too...but it also seems to be one of the few things that actually settles him! :(

@Jellybean200 I just read your post out to my husband and he went “oh GOD that 2am feed then bring sat there in the dark for hours on end watching crap on your phone because you couldn’t put her down”. Then we reminisced about the wedding we went to in Cornwall where we ran out of clothes and muslins due to the amount of spit up and then DD threw up in my hair at breakfast and I just burst into tears in front of the woman who ran the B&B we were in and she just took all our stuff to wash 😂😂😂

Since she grew out of it she’s been the most happy go lucky lovely child - obv she has her moments 😂 but her temperament as a baby was no indication at all of her personality as a toddler/child.

She eats everything and there are definitely no allergies there, ironically one of our favourite things to do is go out to eat - when she was spitting up 24/7 I wouldn’t dare go near a restaurant.

As soon as I read your post it took me right back there. Hardest thing I’ve ever done!

My eldest was like this. The HV actually said to me "unless it hits the wall behind you it is not projectile vomiting". She clearly thought I was being over dramatic. I was not. After many sleepless nights we worked out that she had CMPA.

@TinyHousemouse goodness...note to self, bring a huge amount of muslins at any events coming up...!! 😂😂😂

@Vintagegoth thanks so much for this. How did you figure out it was a CMPA in the end? Can't help but wonder myself if we have that issue, but it feels such a long and complex path to explore. Any tips on how you figured out this was the issue please?

And however many you think you need PACK MORE 😂

(DD still goes to bed with a muslin- she calls them “cuddle cloths”. 🥹 I guess being permanently surrounded by them 24/7 for 7 straight months will have an impact on you 😂😂😂😂)

It can be really hard to understand and make sense of infant behavior. Unfortunately they aren’t designed very well which makes reflux very likely so rather than it being something wrong that needs treating, if they are gaining weight, it is usually normal. Challenging but normal. A liquid diet, short distance from stomach to mouth, reclined posture , under developed anatomy and a touch of over feeding increases a tendency towards it. He is still in his fourth trimester so won’t want to be put down. It’s the biological norm that he feels secure with you. Hard to change their behavior but understanding it can make expectations a bit more realistic.

I don't know whether they need diagnosed but I think a doctor can prescribe things like Gaviscon for it. My son would comfort suckle a lot once he'd fallen asleep which I think contributed to my oversupply. I'm not sure if a dummy would be any help? My son didn't take to a dummy but at least then he could suckle without taking on more milk.

My son is 3.5 years old now and we still use many muslins a day! We use them as napkins, picnic mats, tissues, dusters, towels, to dry wet toys when out and about, there's just so many uses for them! We had about 50! There's no pattern left on lots of them because they were washed so many times 😂

omg so do we, I had friends gifting me their unused muslins because their babies never puked so I’ve got more muslins than any other item 😂😂😂 only a couple still have the ghost of a pattern on and DD holds them up to the light looking for the one she wants 🤣 bahahaha I never thought I’d laugh about this in the trenches of it #muslinmania

Ah that's so funny!

I love when people say they never used muslins or that their babies haven't ever been sick!!! That always blew my mind. I feel like if I have a second child who doesn't have reflux it'll be like easy mode 😂 definitely some funny puke related memories now it's all in the past!

My daughter had severe silent reflux, moderate physical reflux and multiple food allergies.

She screamed for 16h a days and couldn't be out of my arms.

Removing dairy and soya from my diet and getting her reflux treated helped immensely but it wasn't until 18 weeks that this happened.

I don’t have much advice but my 5 week old baby boy is like this! Following the thread for any advice too! Xx

@Sunflower2478 it's hard isn't it! We booked an emergency appointment today with our GP and now have been prescribed Gaviscon sachets, quite a few people on this thread seem to say it helped so we will see how it goes! The doctor said this is classic reflux/colic, and may last until weaning at 6 months...gulp! Poor little guy 😥

It's usually hated to suggest this on Mumsnet, but you can start weaning at 18 weeks, and some children with bad reflux get benefit from that. Here's an NHS page talking about early weaning for reflux www.kingstonandrichmond.nhs.uk/patients-and-families/patient-leaflets/reflux-babies

Gosh yes it is! I have three older children and never had this with either of those, but my baby is such a fast drinker in comparison which I think is a likely contributing factor. Hope baby gaviscon helps xx