My son is spitting up MORE after being on Zantac..

[Anonymous]

Hello Everyone!!

I posted a couple of weeks ago, that my 5 wk old (he’s 7 wks now!) was recently diagnosed with reflux. His major symptom was the constant screaming in pain, with a little bit of spitting up and constant hiccups…His ped put him on .6mls of Zantac and by the end of the weekend (we started on a Friday evening), he was a ‘new kid.’ The screaming was cut back considerably (just the normal screaming of ‘hey mom, I’m hungry/bored/tired/poopy’) and he just acted like a happy baby.

So…that was about 2 wks ago or so. NOW, he seems to be spitting up WAY more than he did then!!! It happens mostly right after nursing him. He never, if ever, spits up formula (he’s breastfed 99%, but once in a while, we’ll give him formula, maybe one or two 4 oz bottles a day), it’s always my breastmilk. For example, this morning at his 3am feeding (YAWN!!!!), he was on my left breast for about 15 mins until he ‘fell off.’ I gently put him ‘over my shoulder’ to burp him and there he went, spitting up about a tablespoon-full. He pooped while I was burping him, so I changed him (I have him elevated on a pillow while I change him, and I’m careful not to lift his legs/butt too high while wiping), and he spit up again, about 2-3 times (not too much quantity, this time). When I cleaned him up, he still acted hungry, so I was about to put him on my right breast. I gently laid him down on my ‘breast friend nursing pillow’ (I LOVE that thing!!) and he semi-projectiled another tablespoon or two (nothing like warm spit up on your arms/shoulders, etc., huh???).

I just don’t get it…

I called his ped and spoke to a nurse on Saturday. She said that maybe he’s got the milk protein allergy and that I should lay off the milk for the weekend and see what happens. I don’t agree with this. If he’s ‘allergic’ to my milk (or the proteins in it, I should say), wouldn’t the milk have to settle and start digesting in his tummy for a ‘while’ and not IMMEDIATELY after nursing? I’m obviously not a professional, but that just doesn’t seem right.

Could it be his medication (Zantac) that’s making him spit up more? Again, he did spit up before he was diagnosed, but nowhere near the quantities he’s spitting up now. And again, it’s only when I nurse him. He’s fine when he drinks from a bottle.

Oh, the nurse also suggested thickening his bottles with cereal, which I’ve done, and he sucks that down! LOVES it!! And no spit up. Even when we give him just regular Gentlease, no spit up. Breastmilk in a bottle, no spit up. But just nursing…

Any suggestions? I’m going to call his ped again today. Just doesn’t make sense!!

Pam

[Anonymous]

I don’t have too much advice. I just wanted to tell you that my dd spit up more breastmilk then with formula. I think that my flow was fast and she spit it up like you might if you were drinking too fast. But my dd also spit up more if I pumped and gave it to her in a bottle- BM was thinner than the formula and so I think that was it for her. Laura’s really knowledgeable on this site about BF so she might be able to help you.

[hellbennt]

hi there!

I wouldn’t worry about the spit up if it’s not painful for baby & if baby is not having a problem gaining weight….

I also am not a proponant of thickening, especially thickening breastmilk- it really doesn’t thicken anyway, as it has enzymes in it that breaks down the cereal

the nurse is a bit off from what you’ve said she said…

if you think there might be something in your diet, you can try eliminating foods and then adding them back in- to rid your system of milk & soy proteins, though, takes a good 2 to 3 weeks- so if you want to try it you have to give it that long…or you can go full force & do the elimination diet…it depends if you think it might be food/protein related- how are baby’s stools? mucousy (stringy)? green & watery? green like shaving cream? these things along with excema and rashes might tell you more if it’s a protein thing or not…

easy for me to say about the spit up., but from what you write it doesn’t seem like voluminous (sp?) amounts….

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