Help please for a first time mum !! My LO projectile vomits :(

[ambercake 10]

My son is 11 weeks old and has been formula fed from the start. He has been doing projectile vomiting probably since he was 1-2 weeks old - it can be any time of the day as in mornings/afternoons/evenings, so far has been around 2-3 times per week and can be any day of the week.

 

It's quite scarry watching him doing that - large amount of milk just shots out of his mounth and lands on the floor, and then he tends to carry on renching for a few seconds. He is quite happy afterwards (he is quite happy before it happens as well, i.e. he was not unwell before the feed), and can often carry on with the feeding after the vomit

 

He is having around 200ml every 3 hours during the day, and 120-150ml twice during the night, which makes it total around 1L-1.1L per 24 hours (the recommended amount for his weight, which is 900ml-1.2 L/day according to the pregnancy book given in the bounty package). He always has very similar amount everyday and some days he is fine, yet on others he vomits.

 

My questions are:

1. anybody has similar experience and can offer any advice?

2. I can't figure out what triggers the projectile vomit - it doesn't seem to be anything to do the temperature of the milk, whether he's just been burped or not, whether he is sleepy or very active while being fed. Any ideas? Am I overfeeding him.

 

I don't seem to get anywhere with the GP and the HV, they said as long as the baby seems fine and continues to put on weight it's OK, which he does. But is it normal for babys to projectile vomit, is there something I'm doing wrong?

 

Any advice welcomed, very concerned mum!!

[CHEZZFAYE 10]

what milk is he on hun my 1st son used to do this and it became quite frequent, the doctors and hv said it was reflux and it would get better on its own.

 

i changed his milk and it stopped immediatly, may not be the same in your case but you never know

[fisch 10]

I went through this with my eldest and he was even admited 2 the childrens hospital 4 tests, it turned out that the valve at the top of the stomach doesnt shut properly in some babies and can caus projectile vomiting, it closes as they get older, it was a very scary thing to go through but at least tests were done and my mind was put to rest, your doc & hv probably think this is what it is and as your baby is healthy & happy it most likley is, it is also possible that ur babie culd b lactose intolerant and a lacto free formular may work

[KELLYP 10]

I used to keep my daughter like sat up a bit in a baby chair after a feed for it to settle a bit seem to stay down and during the night she seemed ok to be laid down after a feed maybe because she was asleep & still.

[Bubble3082 10]

My daughter used to do this! I found it was better to give an ounce, wind her, wait 5 mins, give her another ounce, wind her, wait 5 min etc etc. Then she'd only vomit a 'normal' amount. Try gentle winding with upward strokes, and a very gentle cirlcle rub on the tum. As someone else has said, sit them up too, even during feeding as much as possible, to help gravity keep milk in the tummy. I think sometimes the wind is under all the milk, so in order to get it up the milk has to come too

[Strix 11]

 

i changed his milk and it stopped immediatly, may not be the same in your case but you never know

This'd be the first thing I'd suggest

 

my mum says I always brought formula back up, but was fine on breast milk (I'd expect formulas have improved in recent years though)

Did you try breast feeding at all?

[Audra 10]

Bottles too cold?

Change sterilisation method

Wind by not patting or rubbing the back but by straightening the back from a slouched to an upright position

[indiechick 10]

My daughter was like this and she had reflux. Does he generally prefer to be upright and does he 'spit-up' a lot as well as the projectile vomit?

We were prescribed infant gaviscon to add to her formula which helped to an extent but it only really eased when she started solids at 6 months

I tried different formulas and didnt see any difference, she also did it when I expressed

She put on weight ok as well but it obviously bothered her. I did other stuff like keeping her upright after feeds where possible, raised the head end of her moses basket which maybe helped a little too

[thecatsmeow 10]

My boy is breastfed but has done the exact same thing from birth. He was even prescribed infant gaviscon, which only slightly helped. He has been putting on weight and doesn't seem distressed - both are positive signs because the reflux doesn't seem to be having any adverse affect on his health. He's 7 months old now, and eating solids, and is throwing up a lot less. The GP has told me that ultimately, it is something that will go away on it's own.

 

Since your baby is formula fed, definitely try swapping to a different brand and see if that helps.

[minxymoo1 10]

its quite comon for a lot of babies to bring back milk - only a concern if not gaining weight or only a little weight then it sounds like reflux which the gp will diagnose and prescibe gaviscon. try changing formula first but if no improvement then head to gp after checking weight gain xx

[Ghostrider 11]

My daughter did this, we took her to the doctors, and they said to try "carobel".....never had a problem after starting adding that to her milk.

[sheff@ 10]

Hi my 1st son was like that my health visitor was horrible but it was many many years ago, I swapped his formula brand and it settled straight away. My 3rd was also like it tried the same method but it didn't work he was gaining weight ok and happy otherwise but as a third timer your confidence grows and I stood my ground and instead he was looked at for reflux, intolerance etc they kept telling me it was ok but you just know as a mum it's just not ok sometimes, it turned out after a referral to the hospital he was lactose intolerant. If you are concerned push and push for a referral it may be nothing but at least then you know and you will feel better for asking the questions. Hope it all works out ok !