Conference moira::parenting

    
    I don't have any experience with the spit-up problem that you're
    facing.   BUT, I would definitely get a second opinion before
    I'd sign up for "same-day exploratory surgery" for a 9 month old
    (or anyone for that matter!).   There must be some non-invasive
    procedures that could be run (ultrasound, x-rays, etc.) before 
    doing surgery.
    
    Carol

    My daughter seemed to spit up all day long. I was always covered with
    the stuff. In her case, she gained weight rapidly so the doctors were
    not concerned enough to do any GI testing.
    
    When she was 8 months old, I was seriously considering a GI series. Two
    months later, I was trying to remember when she had last spit up. It
    just stopped. It may have been related to an increase in solid food
    intake and a decrease in formula intake. I did not change her formula
    but did alternate high iron (recommended by MD) with low iron (my
    recommendation) in order to deal with constipation. Maybe that
    contributed. I don't know. It just stopped.
    
    I hope you are as fortunate.

    
    I've had a problem with my now 7 mos old and spitting up alot. Just
    about as you describe. It sure is taxing at times, huh?  I get so sick
    of having to carry around "spit rags" everywhere we go. I've
    contemplated talking to the dr about it, but I haven't yet. Everyone
    tells me that some babies are just spitty.  ??
    
    The things that have helped us have been: (1)switching from powdered
    formula to ready-to-feed, it is more expensive, but it was worth the $7
    a week to us. This made a real difference in the beginning. (2) I also
    try to sit him up after his feedings (if he hasn't dozed off) either on
    the floor or tha walker (just keep him up right).  I find he'll spit up
    like clock work if he's put on his belly on the floor to play just
    after a bottle or meal. (keep trying to remind hubby not to do this).
    
    I always try to get a burp up, but that doesn't always seem to matter..
    
    Chris
    

Dirk spit up several times a day, before meals, after meals, during meals,
between meals, you name it.  He did this until he was 8 and a half months
old.  I can practically remeber the day when he stopped.

We were planning a trip to the U.S. to visit my parents.  I could not imagine
how I could carry enough clothers for all the changes I would need for BOTH
of us (he frequently covered me).  I never let anyone hold him because he'd
spit up all over them :-)

I was desperate.  I finally decided to sew him a suit for on the plane made out
of tissue lined plastic that I could just wipe off.  He quit spitting up two
weeks before we were due to leave.  From one day to the next he just didn't do
it anymore.

I think his digestive tract just needed that additional time to develop.  He
was a very small (just under 5 pounds) baby and had gastro-intestinitis when he
was just 4 weeks old.  He gained weight, albeit very slowly.

Fortunately he outgrew it.

I also would be hestitant about explorative surgery on such a small baby when
the spitting up doesn't seem to cause more harm than dirty laundry.  Now, if
he were losing weight, that'd be a different story!

Dirk always had such a nice smile when he'd do it, too !:-)

Cheryl

    My 7 month old daughter also seems to spit up all the time.
    According to my doctor, it's really not a problem unless she
    starts to lose weight.  As long as she's gaining, they think
    all is well.  She seems happy enough and is progressing right
    along side her twin brother (who rarely spits up) that I'm not
    too concerned with it.
    
    Jennifer
    

We had one of these Jolly Jumpers that Dirk absolutely LOVED.  The problem
was that he would spit up all the time he was in it (we had tile floors so
that didn't matter).  Then he'd trod in the mess before you could catch him.

Finally, we took to tying plastic bags to his feet.  Cleanup was real easy
then, just wipe the tile floor and throw away the plastic booties :-)

ccb

My Brad is a spitter, and he's a year old.  There's a name for that condition
-- it's called reflux and occurs when the stomach contracts to push the food
into the intestinal tract except it pushes it the wrong way, so the food gets
spit up.  There can be other causes of spitting such as when the muscle at the
beginning of the stomach (can't remember the name) is too tight in which case
they do surgery to correct the problem.  This is common in first-born males
and twins.

There are ways to treat reflux (I'm assuming that's what you're baby's got, but
I could be mistaken), and we've tried quite a few.  They can prescribe 
medication such as Reglan which can also be taken in conjunction with Tagamet
(that's ulcer medication) where the Tagamet reduces the acidity of the stomach
and the Reglan promotes faster digestion so the food passes through instead
of up.  However, there are some side effects.  Typically, though, they start
with standard reflux precautions which include adding rice cereal to the 
formula in the bottle (this may require cutting the nipple) to make the formula
heavier so that it is harder for it to come back up; tilting the bed up
slightly so that gravity helps with digestion; burping every ounce for at
least 5 minutes; and sitting up after each feeding.

There are tests that can be done before any surgery is done.  I can't 
remember all the appropriate names, but one test involves putting a tube
down the throat and checking stomach acidity.  They can also do an upper GI
series, but reflux seldom shows up on that although Brad was that rare 
patient who actually had the reflux happen while they were doing the GI so
they could see what was going on.

I can't imagine a doctor suggesting exploratory surgery as the first option
when there are so many other less invasive procedures that can be, and usually
are, done first.

And they do grow out of it.  Brad now only spits after his 3:00 p.m. bottle 
(he only gets 2 bottles a day -- the other is at 10:00 a.m.), but once he
starts spitting, he continues right through til 7:30 when he goes to bed.
I have noticed that he spits less often and in less volume, and over the past
2 weeks or so, he's even had days with no spitting, so I guess he is finally
getting over it.

Hope this information is helpful to you.

Cathy

    My son, Nathan, was also a spitter.  He is now a year old and like
    others have said, he just quit one day.  We and the Dr. were not
    concerned because he continued to gain weight normally.  Nathan would
    take an 8 oz. bottle, look at me, and then bring the whole thing back
    up.  The Dr. called it gastrointestinal reflux which he outgrew just as
    the Dr. said he would.  The Dr. said that some children's sphincter
    muscle isn't strong enough to hold down their food.  We also found that
    as we started giving him solids, he spit up less.  Whether it was
    because the solids were heavy enough to stay down, or just that he was
    getting older when we gave him the solids and the muscle was more
    developed is hard to say.  
    
    Julie
     

    
    .7 My daughter had a blue spell back when she was 3 weeks old and it
    was due to her spitting up and losing her breath. And they hospitalized
    her and did several tests on her including a upper GI which showed her
    to have REFLUX.  Other than that, they would have never found out what
    it was that caused her to turn blue.  She was at Children's Hospital
    for a whole week.  She had everything from a spinal tap to several
    blood tests!!!!  They finally did a GI and found that was the problem.
    So, they can find out that way per my experience.  She eventually
    stopped spitting when she was 8 months old.
    
    Good Luck!
    Kim
    
    

   	 Count us in on this one.
    
    
    	Spencer spits up all (and I do mean all ) of the time.
    
    	He is 7 1/2 months old and weighs a robust 23 pounds everything is
    developing well.
    
    	They tell me he will outgrow it.
    
    	What can we do about it now?
    
    	Carry spitup cloths with us everywhere we go and wear NOTHING that
    needs to be dry cleaned. ;-)
    
    			
    			Wendy	
    
    
    

    
    I usually try to remember to change my shirt first thing when I get
    home, and also to have it be the last thing I put on before I walk out
    the door in the morning...
    
    

    Ah, this brings back memories.  In almost every picture we have of David
    for his first 9 months or so, he's wearing a bib.  I had a big stack of
    those terry cloth ones (look like they're made from hand towels) - he had
    them on from when I got him up in the morning until he went to sleep
    at night.  Fortunately, he outgrew the spitting up before he started
    walking (but not by much!).

			cheryl

    So many responses so quickly, thanks.
    
    Reflux is what the Dr. thought may be causing the problem.  We tried
    the medication and moving to cereal in his formula at about 4 months 
    and this seemed to help.  A few weeks after we stopped the medication
    it came back, but not as bad, and it continues.
    
    He's 8 months now and that sounds like a majic number to have him stop.
    Our only concerns is that it may be more than a typical infants
    problem.  But don't we all think our kids are the special one, good
    or bad.  
    
    By the way the surgury consists of putting a tube down his throat and
    move onto the stomach area.  The Dr. called it surgury.  Maybe they get
    to charge more.
    
    John

    Hi.  Jackie was 8 months old before her spitting up went away, and then
    after that it was rare (like with food reactions).  She spit up
    anything and everything, from breast milk, formula, water, food, etc. 
    For 8 months, we smelled awful!  I questioned the pedi on it and he
    said it was (sorry, I don't know terminalogy) the little flap in the
    throat wasn't fully developed so the food would come back up..
    something like reflux?  Anyway, don't worry, it will go away.  The one
    thing, though, he did tell me was that if she was *really vomitting*
    (ie, across the room like the exorcist), then that could be different
    and would require medical attention.
    
    Mary
    

    
    My daughter spit up alot less when we switched to a soy based
    formula after a gastroenteritis bout.
    

    I have not read the replies, but here're my comments. My first spit up
    substantially til he was 9 months old. I was very concerned about it,
    but he continued to gain weight and thrive. At 6 months we started
    feeding snacks, rather than full meals, every 2 hours during the day.
    Smaller portions, more often. The spitting reduced greatly and finally
    stopped by about 9 months.
    
    Definitely opt for a second opinion, especially if there is no weight
    loss etc.
    
    best of luck,