My newborn is spitting up all of the time!

by Belinda S.
(Panama City, FL)

Hi! My 3 week old baby started spitting up after every feeding. My doctor said it's OK, but my sister-in-law said that spit up is not normal and that I need to get a new doctor. This is really getting me upset because I like my doctor. Who is right?

Laurie's Answer:
Most likely your doctor is correct.

Some babies are just proliferous spitters, and as long as your baby is basically content (as content as a newborn can be), has plenty of wet diapers, and is continuing to gain weight, you should not worry about it. If your baby shows signs of distress, spits up "colors", or has breathing problems with the spitting up, please talk to your doctor again.

You didn't mention whether your baby is breast fed or formula fed. If you are giving your baby formula, you may look into switching to a different formula. Most formula manufacturers have a "gentler" version, but Carnation Good Start seems to have the best reviews by far, and is usually cheaper.

You should also consider a bottle with a venting system to reduce air intake.

If you exclusively breast feed your baby, it could be that your milk is coming too fast for him. You could try compensating for gravity by nursing him in a semi-reclining position.

Regardless of your method of feeding...

• Make sure that you are burping him well and often.
  
• Try keeping him in an upright or semi-reclining position for a while after he is done eating. (You could even have him sleep in his car seat, providing that you prop the foot of the car seat enough that his head doesn't fall forward and restrict his breathing.
  
• Make sure that he is not over-eating. Babies don't always know when to quit.

Spitting up tends to peak at 4 months, but is usually gone by 12 months - so unfortunately, you may need to keep that burp rag handy!