question about breastfeeding!! ??

[Rosa20]

So i am breastfeeding my lil man and thats all i am doing( no bottle feeding or formula) but how come he spits up all the time!! I thought a breastfed baby wouldnt spit up!! Could he be lactose intolerent to my breastmilk!! I dont get it..he feeds alot...the milk dont come back up sour just comes back up!! Im soo confused and i dont want to stop breastfeeding but it seems like it gives him a bad belly..and i watch what i eat so i know its not that!! What else could this be?

[AndiJ78]

As the others have mentioned, the infant digestive tract is still developing and maturing during the first 6-8 months of life outside the womb. As a result, it is very common for their stomach contents to back flow up the esophagus and out of the mouth. I used to swear if my kids kept down half of what I fed them they would have been in the 180th percentile rather than just being over the 95th+ ;-)

It does pass by about 6 months of age, some a little later. I can sympathize on this though, I remember how bummed I would be seeing all that hard work ending up on the carpet/chair/me/etc.

Sometimes smaller feeds more often, but I don't like to see nursing moms do that because of the complicated formulation of our individual milk, foremilk with the antibodies, hind milk with the filler fat. Too short a feeding and they overload of foremilk and miss that oh-so-important hind milk.

So my advice is the just keep a steady supply of burp rags handy and burp any time the baby breaks the latch during a feed and to keep upright for 30 minutes after a feed is possible.

Congratulation on nursing!

[GRose]

I agree with the above posters. I breastfed my son and he used me as his pacifier, all he wanted to do was eat, he would then of course spit up because his belly was too full. Your little guy will be just fine. Congrats and I applaud you for deciding to breastfeed :)

[cminamyer]

I agree with Michele, It's probably that he is overeating.  My daughter was also exclusivly breastfeed and would spit up sometimes.  I think they still spit up just not as much as bottle fed babies.

[Michele, Katy, TX]

It doesn't matter if they are breastfed as far as spitting up goes.  They will still spit up.  Remember that their tummies are very small and can't hold much.  Their digestive systems are also still very immature.  Overeating can also cause them to spit up as well.  

I'm sure it's fine.  Just keep an eye on him.  As long as he seems happy and satisfied and not too uncomfortable, he should probably be fine.  My doc did tell me once that breastmilk can cause them to naturally have more gas because it has more glucose than regular forumula, so you can use gas drops for that.  Mylicon is a good brand and you can find it on the baby isle in the store.

Good luck!  And congrats on your little one's birth!!!