Expert: ruth kraft - 1/25/2010

Question
My son is 7 weeks old and spits up large amounts after every feeding.  He is exclusively breastfed.  In the early weeks I had issues with oversupply, but have pretty much regulated those using block feeding over the past few weeks.  I feel like I'm doing everything I can think of to help him...I remove him for milk let down until the milk stops spraying so he swallows less air, I feed only 1 side per feeding, I usually feed in the side lying position so the excess milk can dribble out of his mouth, I try as much as possible to keep him calm and upright after feedings, I burp him, I've even eliminated dairy from my diet.  All of these measures have made only a small difference for him.

I usually let him nurse for as long as he wants (until he spits out the nipple or just stops sucking) so I'm wondering if I'm overfeeding him (or if this is even possible).  He spits up anywhere from 5 to 10 times after almost all feedings.  Sometimes they are milky, sometimes very thick and curdled, and some are clear like water.  He can eat, go down for a 2 hour nap, wake up, and spit up after all that time.  Sometimes he'll spit up so much after a feed that he's crying to eat again less than an hour later (he seems to be gaining ok though and is generally pretty happy).  He also cries when he spits up about half the time, which leads me to believe he has acid reflux.  I am going to ask the ped about possibly putting him on reflux medication to help with the pain (which I am not keen on but can't stand to see him hurting and don't know what else to do), but I figure that if he spits up less he will be in pain less.  Should I cut his feeding times down?  How long should a feed normally last?  It's clear he gets a lot of comfort from nursing so I hate to cut him off, but I hate to see him so miserable from the spitting up, not to mention all the dirty laundry!  

Answer
I think checking with the dr for reflux is a good idea.  You cannot actually overfeed a breastfed baby. I know it seems like you can but the reality is, he is determining how much milk he wants at his own pace. SO I would let him keep eating when he wants. Especially because he spits up. I think limiting his feedings would only make him angry, not stop him from spitting.

You can also try something called acidopholus. They make it in baby form and you can get it from a nutritional store like Whole foods. Live pro biotics will help settle his belly a bit so if it is reflux it can help. You can also take him to a chiropractor that SPECIFICALLY works with children often. Sometimes, while being born, things get thrown out of whack in their neck which can aggravate and cause them to be uncomfortable and cry, cause more irritability in general. Babies should not be adjusted manually with the cracking sounds that chiro's are famous for. There are gentle ways that are non invasive. So interview a few  and see who fits what you like best.

otherwise, keep going, do as much as you can. In the restless times, health food stores also make something called rescue remedy for babies and children as well that doesn't hurt them :)

I hope that helped!

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