Looking for direction

[Anonymous]

My daughter spit up terribly since she was born. They switched her to a soy based formula in the hospital. She continued to spit up all the time – regardless of how long it had been since a feeding. The first time I spoke to the MD about this (at 2 weeks) he told me most babies outgrow it and to continue on the soy formula. I brought her back to the MD at 6 weeks because I was concerned with how often she was still spitting up and how much pain she seemed to be in. He put her on Axid and said again that she will probably outgrow it and all we can do is make her more comfortable. He recommended smaller feedings more often as well.

It is a week later and I don’t see much (if any) improvement. She is frequently fussy or crying, her face is red and her eyes are watery, and she is always spitting up anytime that she is put down. She is constantly hungry but I think she is spitting up at least half of each feeding – if not more. She always has formula in her throat and is coughing – I am terrified that she is going to choke.

However, she is gaining weight and has frequent wet diapers.

I guess my question is if I should be concerned and bring her back to the MD or if this is really all I can do for her. I don’t really know what separates common spit-up vs a problem that needs to be addressed. Would a different med make a difference or are there other things that I should be doing?

Thanks in advance for your help.

[Anonymous]

One more question – how do I now when it is vomit vs spit-up?

[Anonymous]

My son had terrible problems with soy. Can you change to Nutramigen or Alimentum? Also you could try thickening the formula with rice or oatmeal to help keep it down.

I always thought of spit up as being just small amounts whereas vomit would be like half or the whole feed. My daughter used to spit up very small amounts when she was burped or rolled over onto her stomach after a feed. I think if the amount of vomit is large or causing pain then you should go and see a ped GI doctor who specialises in these problems.

bree&tysmom2006-6-14 20:11:26

[Anonymous]

i always wondered that myself—-i don’t think there is a cut and dry answer. kevieb2006-6-14 20:12:53

[Anonymous]

I would find a ped GI. I think that they’re more knowledgeable about this and could better tell you whether or not more needs to be done.

[hellbennt]

I agree with getting to a ped GI as soon as you can. It can’t hurt to have another opinion…Maybe it’s the soy formula? unfortunately it seems that changing formulas is all trial & error & you need to give each change 2 weeks time…usually after soy formula the next ones that are tried are nutrimigen and alumentum…

[Anonymous]

Hi, and wellocme!! Read Laura’s wellcome intro and you will get some great info from that.

I always considered it vomit when it was large amounts and he was gagging and making “vomit sounds”. Before Sebastian got on Nutramigen he would vomit a couple times a day. He sounded like and adult trhowing up and it was milk and slimy stuff. (sorry so gross) My ped agreed it was vomit and not just spit up.

[Anonymous]

alicia—it is impossible to choke on formula—-but it is possible to aspirate formula—-this is one reason i feel it is safer to sleep a reflux baby on their stomach——but not everyone is comfortable with that. there may not be much you can do for the amount she is spitting up, unless her formula is part of the problem. however, when she is on the right meds with the right dosage, you should be able to get her comfortable. most people have to see a ped gi to be able to get their child treated adequately. it can take 2-3 weeks for the meds to kick in. not many people on this board have used axid for their infants. prevacid seems to be the medication that has worked best for the majority of the people on this board(don’t use the packets!) however, alot of people have also had really good success with zegerid, which is the same med as prilosec. it is made in a way that makes it really easy to give a baby.

[hellbennt]

here’s my welcome/intro: https://www.infantreflux.org/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID= 853&am p;PN=1&TPN=1

&

This is from the American Academy of Pediatrics & how they recommend that tummy sleeping is best for GERD babies. http://www.aap.org/new/sids/question.htm (thanks Sherry & Christine!)

hellbennt2006-6-15 14:10:57

[Anonymous]

According to the nurses at the NICU were I had my twins the difference between spit up and vomit is that spit up is only a few mls, very little, but vomit is alot…at least 25% of the feeding.

[Anonymous]

I consider spit up to be “wet burps” – basically just small amounts of formula that come up when they burp. Vomit is a lot of formula.

If you don’t think the Axid is doing anything, call the doctor back. There are other things to try. The first thing I would do is try a different formula. It doesn’t sound like the soy is helping much. I think I’d try a partially hydrolzed formula like Alimentum or Nutramigen.

[Anonymous]

Hello and welcome!

It sounds like your daughter may need her formular changed cus my daughter(who is now two)did the same thing when they changed her to soy milk.She threw up all her milk and was hungry right after.I think you should try a partially hydrolzed formula like Alimentum or Nutramigen.As for my daughter she had her formular changed and she did fine.As for her being in pain i agree with everyone else to go to a peds gi doc and find out whats wrong.

I hope everything works out and you get help asap so that you baby feels better.

[Author]

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