Spitting up is common in healthy babies—almost all babies spit up now and then. Good news! Most babies outgrow it after only a few months. Only 1 percent of babies are still spitting up after their first birthday.
What is the difference between spitting up and vomiting?
Spitting up is the easy flow of a baby’s stomach contents through his or her mouth, possibly with a burp.
Vomiting occurs when the flow is forceful — shooting out inches rather than dribbling from the mouth.
Does my baby have reflux?
Reflux is short for gastroesophageal reflux or GER. Normally, a muscle (lower esophageal sphincter) between the esophagus and the stomach keeps stomach contents where they belong. Until this muscle has time to mature, spitting up might be an issue — especially if your baby is relatively full. Babies may spit up more if they are fed more volume than their stomach can hold.
How can you feed your baby if he had reflux?
If your baby had reflux in the NICU, the nurses may have shown you how to feed and position your baby to minimize spit-up. These tips may help:
- Hold your baby upright during feeding unless you have been instructed to feed your baby in a specific position to help them safely eat.
- Try smaller, more frequent feedings
- Burp your baby often, especially if you are feeding him with a bottle
- Keep your baby still and upright after feeding
- Keep a stack of cloth diapers or burp cloths handy. Use them to protect your clothes, your baby’s clothes and your furniture.
Will reflux cause problems for my baby?
Spitting up is messy, but it is normal during your baby’s early months. It rarely involves choking, coughing, or pain. As long as your baby seems comfortable, and is eating well and gaining weight, there is little cause for concern. Keep in mind it is easy to overestimate the amount your baby has spit up based on the size of a spit-up stain.
When should you call your baby’s health care provider?
- Your baby is not gaining weight
- Your baby arches his back or cries during feeding
- Your baby refuses to eat, or is very irritable after feeding
- The spit-up looks like something other than formula or breast milk (yellow or green color)
- There is a large amount of spit-up (more than 1 or 2 tablespoons)
- Your baby vomits with great force (projectile vomiting)
- Your baby has fewer wet diapers than normal
- Your baby seems very tired or lethargic
- The spit up or vomiting is new, or is accompanied by other new symptoms (fever, loose stools, fussiness)