Does/Did your newborn spit up a lot?

Question

My three week old son was on Enfamil LIPIL with Iron but was eating every hour, not seeming satisfied, very fussy, and had what seemed like an awful lot of tummy aches. We spoke with the doctor about it and he changed his formula to Enfamil Gentlease. Has anyone else heard of this and/or tried it?

Also, my son's first day on this new formula was today. Now he eats approx. every 2-3 hours and eats more although when I burp him at his feedings he usually spits up, anyone else go through this? Is it normal for them to spit up?

Answer 1

Yeah, it is normal, your baby is fine. Your three week your old son is new to the world which means his digestive system is adapting. You are a good parent to worry! If you are extremely worried, you can speak to his pediatrician and good luck!

Answer 2

My son had reflux...so YES he was a spitter!! We changed him to soy formula and added 1 teaspoon of rice cereal for each 2 ounces of formula in the bottle. It really helped...he still spit, but not nearly as bad. We used Enfamil soy with lipil and at 6 months old we changed over to Target brand...it's the exact same and $12 cheaper per can. My son began growing out of the spitting around 11 months and now doesn't spit at all. He's almost 13 months now.

Good luck!!

Answer 3

Okay...my situation might be different because he is 5 1/2 months now and is breastfed only. Although he did spit-up occasionally starting at about 7-8weeks up until about 4 1/2 months. Exactly after eating while burping he would spit up...kind of like vomiting, eventually though it went away. I know there are formulas like from Enfamil that reduce Spit up and Colic. GOOD LUCK!

Answer 4

I have this problem with my son now, although I use Similac Brand formula. It started with an allergy to Similac with Iron, shown by congestion. We switched his formula and that is when the spitting up began. I have tried (advised by my ped.) Isomil, Good Start, Nutramigen, and Similac Lactose Free. We found out that he has Reflux, a disease that doesn't allow the flap in his stomache to close when he is full so all his food comes back up. He eats about every 2-3 hours and eats about 4 oz. at a feeding and he is 5 months old. I had the option of medication to help the reflux, but I feel he is too young to be on meds if I have another option. There are a few things that you can do to help ease the spitting up. First, when you feed him, hold him in a sitting position. This will help the formula go down to his stomache. After you feed him, keep him upright for atleast 15 minutes to allow the formula to settle. If you lay him down right after a feeding the formula will lay in his esophogus and will make him spit up. Try putting him to sleep on an incline. A pillow under the mattress works really well. I have Blake (my son) sleep in his swing so he is semi-upright when he sleeps. I had to stop burping Blake, because it made him vomit. I don't recommend this until he is atleast 3 months old and can burp on his own. Try these tricks and see if you notice any improvement. Reflux is actually very common. My doctor had me put cereal in his bottle to help make the formula heavier so it stays in his stomache. It worked really well, but your little guy is still to young for this trick. Talk to your ped about these options. He will tell you what he thinks is best in your situation.

It could also be an allergy to his formula. If you see no improvement or it gets worse, ask your pediatrician about allergies to formula. Ask about Allimentum or Nutramigen. These are formulas for very severe milk allergies. They are predigested proteins to be easier on the babies stomache. I recommend trying all different formulas until you find something that works well. ALWAYS ask your ped. before changing his formula though. I have a lot more experience with this Reflux than I would like to, so if you have any other questions about my experience, just email me. I will be glad to give you my advice. I am not a doctor so always check with your ped. before you listen to me, but I know lots of little tricks to help ease his discomfort without using meds.

Answer 5

My son never spit up, but my daughter, all the time. For the first 8 months she would spit up, most of the time a lot would come back up. We finally found that she couldn't handle the ready to drink formula(or the liquid). Once we switched her, she adjusted in about a week. Gentleease I don't know about. We used the formula that was said to be easier on her stomach. Walmart has formula now that is all organic, very easy on the stomach. I felt much better feeding her that, plus the cost is less. Some babies just have a tendency to spit, my daughter was one of them. Even when we switched to powder, she was still a spitter, but we could tell her stomach was a more tame on it.

Answer 6

Yes it is perfectly normal. My month old is on Enfamil Lipil also. she spits up constantly. It is because they either eat too much or didn't swallow before you burped. If he spits up more than an ounce or so that means he just threw up and will be hungry in a little while.

Answer 7

A little spit up is normal, but he could have GERD. Two of my children had that. With one, the drs put him on enfamil AR, along with medication(zantac and reglan). That worked great. With my last child, she was born 8 weeks early and even though she was extremely healthy, my breast milk was even hard on her.( I did nurse all 3 of my children for at least 6 months, I only supplemented with formula). Drs tried what worked on my son with my daughter, but it did not work. Finally they determined she had a milk protein allergy as well. So she got nutramagen (by enfamil, it is hypoallergenic) and she still takes prevacid and carafate. She just turned one and now has to drink soy milk and still takes her meds. My son was off his meds by 12 months and then took regular milk.
My best advice though is if your child's spitting up is a big problem, do not let your dr just ignore it. Gerd is just like acid reflux in adults. The acid coming up your baby's throat can cause damage. Best of luck!!

Answer 8

My daughter was put on Gentelease at 3 weeks and she started vomiting after every bottle. I switched her to Nestle Good Start and the vomiting stopped, she NEVER spits up and is not gassy. This along with Dr. Browns bottles has been my saving grace!!! Everyone I know who has used Enfamil has had problems with their babies getting too much iron which causes frequent spitting up and vomiting. Good luck!

Answer 9

Yes I have heard of this my daughter was on Simalac and she sone the same thing eating every hour spitting up all the time and always seemed hungery. I told the doctor and they changed her to a soy formula Isomel after that she did fine.

Answer 10

Most babies tend to spit up because their digestive system is immature. My friend had a baby June 19th and her pediatrician said that the baby was spitting up because she had mom's hormones on her body and these hormones that told mom's orifices to open up were what were causing baby's digestive tract to open up (hence the spit up). Interesting, I had never heard it explained that way (Our doc just called it digestive immaturity)but it is possible I guess. Anyway, the reason I mention it is because her doc put he baby on Zantac (for acid reflux) which is not uncommon. You may want to ask your pediatrician, and if they do prescribe this medicine, just be aware that it can have some negative side effects. I am sure some people have given it to their infants without incident, but my friend's baby was wired, NEVER slept, and cried CONSTANTLY. It is up to you whether you would consider medication for this problem, but I have also heard that a little rice cereal mixed with formula can be a more natural remedy. Good luck and enjoy your little boy!

Answer 11

My twins were that way, only they had projectile vomiting. My suggestion is let him try the new formula for a week. If the symptoms don't clear up try another one. Several things could be happening: lactose intolerance, faulty valve between the esophagus and the stomach, intestinal gas, etc. As long as he is gaining weight and isn't too fussy, then he should be ok. But check with your doctor just to make sure.