bf 4 mth old...pukey baby, but how much is 'normal' ?

[gardenshrub]

I would say on average dd is sick between 4-8 times between feeds. I know it probably looks like more than it is, but seems to me she must sick up at least 2oz. When she rolls over she is sick almost everytime she gets onto her stomach. She doesn't seemed to be bothered by it at all & just carries on as normal.

Last time dd was weighed (a couple of weeks ago) she hadn't put on any weight, hv advised not to worry. I, thinking that this can't be normal, came home & posted on MN for advice- again was told not to worry, so have been trying not to think about it.

Just wondering if its normal for babies to be this sick & when should i worry about it, if at all?

anyone??

I don't know what is normal but if this was my baby I would be making further enquiries within the health service. Why don't you ring NHS direct. Babies don't seem to be bothered by vomiting but with her not putting on weight it may be an issue and she might need some medication or another way of feeding. Just get it checked out for peace of mind if nothing else.

I can't give you much advice, although I can empathise with you. DS was very sicky and I had to carry around a cloth all the time. He would be sick every time he was picked up and it was a nightmare. He started to plateau with his weight and then started to lose a bit. I was so worried and stressed about it and no-one seemed to put it down to the fact that he was sick all the time. Now, I wonder if it was that or the fact that I was giving one bottle of formula...who knows?

Once I got him onto solids at 6 months it gradually improved and his weight started to sort itself out.

I think the main sign of anything going wrong is the nappies. If they are wet and she is doing lots of poos and she seems happy and alert, then you are doing well.

DD was quite sick for a while, but not as bad and it wasn't for as long.

So, all I can say is; babies are sick, try not to worry, (although that is easier said than done), stick with the bf and if you get really worried about it then see the doctor. This time round, I haven't had DD weighed, so I don't know whether she is losing weight or not. I just think she looks fine and alert, so I dont worry about her.

I hope someone comes with some more solid guidance and support for you, as I know how worrying it can be.

anna- dd's getting weighed again at the beginning next week, if she's still not putting on weight think i'll go see the doctor, as you say could just be to put my mind at rest.

mung- good to hear your ds improved once on solids, also good to know i'm not the only one who has to carry a cloth everywhere we go! She has plenty of wet nappies & poos probably once a day, she seems happy enough in herself its just me worrying.

I mentioned the fact that she is so sick to the hv, her reply to dd was 'oh have you been a poorly girl' & that was it, not very helpful!

DD used to throw up whole feeds, quite alarming, while very-experienced-with-babies MIL (God rest her soul) used to look on in horror and declare it not to be normal! But DD was/is fine (8 now).. she just had terrible wind a lot of time which she hung on to. A bit of wind "behind" the feed.. and up it'd all come!

I trained myself not to be alarmed.. and instead be quite impressed that I had produced all that milk!!!

DD often threw up far more than 2 oz in one go by the time she was 4 months! She'd usually go back on within half and hour.. have another lot.. and usually keep that down!

No wonder I reeked like a cheese factory.. I had SO much milk!!!

Can't tell you what's normal, as dd wasn't normal. She was sick lots. Turned out to be milk intolerant. I gave up eating dairy, she stopped being sick - voila!
She did poo pretty constantly too though, and was very miserable, so if your dd does have a problem with something you are eating, it sounds like it's only a slight problem.

I really wouldn't worry about her weight though. DD also stopped gaining weight, and iirc, weighed the same at 7 months as she had at 4 months (we sorted out the dairy problem at 4 months).

My dd used to puke all the time, posted on here loads asking for advice. Her weight used to sit at the same level for a couple of weeks then shoot up to the normal average. It did this so often I stopped weighing her and just decided, if she looked healthy then she was fine.

She was sick all the time because she had problems with wind. We used infacol from 3 months till she was weaned at 6 months. It didn't solve the problem but it certainly helped, every time we came off it she started being sick again.

A good way to see how much she is bringing up is to measure some cows milk in a bottle and spill it on the floor. I worked out my dd was bringing up 10-20ml on a small puke and up to 50ml on a big one. Sometimes it was normal milky, sometimes all clear and sometimes chunky.

Are you bf? It's hard to see how much they are getting. We bf too.

I know it's hard when you have a sicky baby. Firstly your worried she's not getting enough, then there's the looks you get from mothers who's babies don't ever puke, then there's the smell and the constant clothes changing.

I think you know your baby best so you can see if she's getting enough. I used Vanilla essence to cover the smell and always carried extra clothes.

DD now 7 months and no longer pukes.

shiny- i like that sentiment don't be alarmed be impressed! My mum has said the same as your mil, i think she thinks i'm overfeeding her or something so her little tummy is overflowing!

csws- i hadn't considered it could be something to do with my diet, though she seems to have got worse over the last month or so & i don't think i've been eating anything different?

sp- good idea re measuring it out in cows milk, i'll give that a go. my dd also has an interesting variey of puke types like yours, milky, clear, chunky- i suppose it must be to do with how long its been in their stomach before they bring it back up. i am bf, so as you say its hard to know how much she's taking, though she does have a bottle of ebm as a dreamfeed & she makes light work of 9/10oz then. oh yes & the looks from mothers who's babies don't puke- get lots of those, also not good when people ask to hold her & she pukes all over them!!

my DD has always been very sicky, would projectile vomit everywhere, usually when out, which was awful...she is 1 now and has 99% grown out of it, unless she is self feeding and puts too much food in her mouth of course

My dd1 was so sickie. If I fed and burped her, and then lay her down it was like tipping over a bottle of milk. I used to have to hold her upright for 20 minutes after every feed.

I was told she had infant reflux - the valve at the top of her stomach was leaky and that this was common in babies. Because she was gaining weight and was otherwise healthy no treatment was prescribed. It was a lot of hard work though, and a lot of washing.

Weaning helped and by the time she was crawling things had much improved. It did totally clear up in time.