Does spitting up = reflux?

We recently switched my DD and DS formula from Similac Neo Sure to Similac Advance and since then DD spits up after almost every bottle. On the Neo Sure neither of my DC spit up at all. So I'm wondering, does spitting up = reflux? DD also seems to grunt a lot after eating, and then spits up. I gave her some Mylecon drops this morning and she didn't spit up as bad, but I don't know if it's the formula that she isn't able to digest as well, or if it's just gas and the Mylecon drops will help. But I can't give her Mylecon drops all the time can I??

If your DC has reflux, what is it like?

Thanks!

 

My DS used to spit it up after her ate and continue to spit up between eatings. If she is spitting up that much, I would definitely talk to my pedi.

 

My pedi told me that as long as they are happy spitters and gaining weight, not to be concerned about it. I took Kaylyn to the Dr last week for excessive fussiness (mainly because of my preemie paranoia), she had just eaten the Dr noticed she was grunting and arching her back and said that was a big sign of reflux. She prescribed Prevacid and it has made a huge difference in our lives!

 

You can give Mylecon with every bottle if you need to - at nearly 2 my daughter gets some before bed - she gets really gassy sometimes and the pain will wake her up until she can fart...

my kids were spitters - my son was a projectile puker but neither had reflux - they had issues with milk based formula...once we went to soy it calmed down

 

I have a happy spitter. He spits up a little with each bottle, a little inbetween each bottle, and usually an entire bottle about every other day. My pedi said the same things as a pp's, as long as he seemed happy and was gaining weight (which he is, he's a big boy), not to worry. We tried zantac for him, but it didn't make a difference so we stopped as he doesn't seem to be in any pain. Also I notice the spitting up increases if he eats too much at one sitting, his belly is only so big and if he eats more than he can handle, up it comes. I have also found keeping him upright after meals helps a little, he always goes in the bouncy for 15 minutes after eating before doing floor time or anything else. As far as a milk intolerance, if your babies are having watery stools or breaking out into a rash, that's more of an indication that you need to switch formulas than just spitting up. If it continues though you may want to call your pedi.

And yes, you can give Mylicon up to 12 times per day, we did that with both babies for the first 3 months for gassiness.

 

All four of my kids have spit up on occasion. But by far my twin ds and my current dd spit up way more than my other two dds. in their cases there did seem to be pain involved with it. I do think they had/have reflux. My peds are very hesitant to put kids on reflux meds unless they are in a lot of pain and are not gaining weight well. I know it's a controversial thing b/c supposedly damage can be done with all the acid coming back up....but there are other things that can be tried. And hands down, if my child didn't seem to be in pain with the spitting up, I wouldn't have them put on meds for it. It's just not worth dealing with any possible side effects from the meds.... most babies will spit up from time to time. It's just a normal developmental issue.

 

Both my girls had reflux, but only one was a big spitter. Meara didn't spit up but would arch and scream. Ana would scream and spit up for all orafaces (really just mouth and nose, but gross!). Zantac helped them both along with mylicon drops in every bottle for the first couple of months.

By 4 months we were able to wean them off the Zantac, but Ana continued to spit up a lot until recently. But she was a happy spitter (would spit up and then continue to play) and was gaining weight so it wasn't a problem.

If you are concerned call your pedi about this and how you think it might be connected to the switch in formula. Good luck and keep those burp cloths handy. -Leighann

 

Reflux was awful for us, one was a big spitter and the other was not. Coincedentally, the big spitter also tested positive for a milk allergy and needed special formula. But they were both the grunt, arch, and scream kind. We tried Myelicon and Gripe Water first and it did not help. We went to Zantac and that did nothing and then we went to see a Ped GI who prescribed Prevacid and after about day 3 we were seeing good results. The best advice I got and I am not advising this until you figure out if you are dealing with reflux or not, but adding 2 tsp cereal/ounce of formula was the best advice.

If you have questions talk to your Ped about it.