Tuesday, February 17, 2009

Bad Few Days for Danny & Me

Our poor lad Danny is not a happy camper at the moment. Immediately following a feed he spits it up. Not just regular baby spit but projectile stuff that comes down his nose and sprays everywhere and makes up at least half to 3/4 of what he just ate. Jack was a spitter for months but nothing like this. This worries me and is so draining because it means both Danny and me go through several sets of clothes every day and I'm going through burp cloths quicker than "Octomom".

I know he's getting some food down but it seems like he's extra fussy (but aren't all babies this age?). I've been checking his nappies/diapers and making sure he's not dehydrated but of course I googled "projectile spitting up" and then convinced myself he had all kinds of gastric problems and blockages. So off we toddled to the doctors today.

Firstly they weighed him. Two weeks ago he was just over 10 lbs and should have put about 14 oz on since then (1 oz per day is normal). Today he weighed ....... 11 lbs 8 oz., which is a gain of 24 ozs. Blimey!  No wonder he's wearing 3 month-old clothes.

Next, we talked about how much he's chugging back each time he feeds.  He should be eating about 24 oz formula/day. He's eating 32-40

Then we talked about how often Hungry Horrace is eating: well just about every time he gnaws on his fingers and looks at me pleadingly, which is every 2-3 hours. This means he's eating WAY too much too often. 

SO, the plan for the next two days is to only feed him 3 oz every 3 hours and try to make sure he's digesting it all before next feed. I'm also switching formula to Emfamil Gentlease.

I was all gung-ho about the docs visit, came home & fed him just 3 oz and he threw the whole thing up again. All over himself, all over me and the couch. He's sleeping now and I'm dreading the next feed. If he's not keeping it down by Thursday I have to go back and we'll take it from there.

Did anyone out there have this problem with their baby? If so, some help would be much appreciated.

7 comments:

Emily said...

Poor baby, and Mommy!! That spitting up is so stressful, and it seems like Danny's got an extra bad case of it. It's stressful and smelly and messy. Ugh. I remember thinking that "spitting up" didn't sound like a very big deal, but it was a HUGE deal.

We need to talk to you this week about swim lessons and I want to come over and finally meet the little guy - plus I have a gift for you from my mom!

Strawberry Jam Anne said...

Poor Danny and poor you Pam. It is so worrying when things don't go as you expect with new babies. But he is gaining weight really well. My son used to do that "projectile" vomiting but it was a phase that we worked through - sorry don't remember how! Hope you get it sorted soon though, very tiring for you. A x

Kelsey said...

I wish I had good/encouraging advice for you, but we haven't dealt with that particular situation. Michael is a huge spitter-upper, STILL at nearly a year, but it is more consistent little amounts and not most of the feeding.

It is so good that he's gaining! I hope you get things figured out soon. Maybe the 3 oz. at a time will be more effective after some time has passed?

Jen said...

Ellie had reflux when she was little and for most of her first year. She was on an antacid during that time and it did help some. Hopefully the new feeding schedule will help some, but if not, I'd definitely head back to the dr.'s.

How's the lip healing? =)

Eastendmom said...

Hope you don't mind a lurker putting in their two cents. My oldest son had a terrible problem with projectile vomiting. He is now 26 so I'm sure treatment is different these days, but at the time I was told to make sure he was propped up after a feed, that it was not uncommon for young babies, and that when he was more mobile it would abate. Luckily (depending on how you look at it!) he was a very early crawler, which seemed to solve the problem. I do know that as my son was still growing and thriving, as your Danny certainly is, the doctors weren't too worried.
By the way - my son's name is Daniel too!

Pam said...

Thanks guys for the helpful comments. It's nice to know it's normal and that it will pass.
3 oz every 3 hours has helped A LOT. Taking it slow and burping every ounce has helped too. Just a few times he's let rip but I'm not as worried as I was about it.

Expat mum said...

My nephew had terrible projectile vomiting so you need to keep the doc involved in this. My own middle one (huge) used to drink a lot and my doc warned me that it was too much. Meanwhile, my mother and all her generation were saying he needed thicker stuff etc. My sister is actually a baby specialist (not sure what her proper title is) and explained that their little stomaches just can't take more than a small amount.
I would advise you to listen to the doc in this case, - but the baby will be fine!