We've got a happy spitter

Nate is now four and a half months old. We were hoping that he would start spitting up less as he gets older. So far we have not seen a decrease in him spitting up. On the positive side the is a happy spitter. He often laughs after spitting up, as if it is something funny. So he doesn't seem to have any issue with stomach acid coming up and causing problems. Nate is also not having any issues with gaining weight and growing. He is growing very well.

So my take is the little valve at the top of the stomach is still immature and not working exactly as it should. This seems normal and may take until his first birthday to fully clear up. Nate also may just be taking a little too much food. Except for milk all over (his clothes, our clothes, floor, furniture, and I'm sure other places), it is much more of a problem in Nate's parents mind vs. a real physical issue for Nate.

Between Nate's pediatrician and some research there a few things that we may try in the near term. Put Nate on his stomach at an incline after eating, hold him upright after eating, or add some solids to the breast milk to weigh down the food a little.

Spitting up does seem to resolve itself over time, especially after baby can sit up on his own. Nate is getting very close to being able to sit up on his own so maybe we are close to being able to not carry around a spit up cloth everywhere we go.

Nate's Activities - Spitting up

Nate is now in his 10th week. He is starting to become more alert and active, but most of his activities are still centered around sleeping and eating. One of the other things that Nate seems to do plenty of is spit up. We have burp rags scattered all over the house to deal with those issues when he decides to let loose of a little milk. Of course, there never seems to be one handy when we need it. We often are walking around the house with an old diaper or burp rags on our shoulders. I'm thinking we should have clothes with built in burp rags.

Occasionally we worry about all the spitting up and that Nate could have problems. Everything we've read and feedback from the pediatrician is spitting up is normal. Almost every infant deals with some amount of reflux. The muscle that serves as a valve between the stomach and esophagus is still immature. Over the first year this muscle should start working properly and the reflux (also known as GER/Gastro Esophageal Reflux) should go away. If the reflux doesn't go away then treatment for GERD (Gastro Esophageal Reflux Disease) may be in order. Need for treatment is rare. The rule of thumb that we'll go by is as long as he doesn't complain or seem in pain after spitting up and he is still gaining weight then everything is probably fine. Nate is usually happy after spitting up. Usually he seems rather proud of himself or thinks it is funny. So I think he is fine.

So hopefully over time the spit up will go away. Until them we'll have little milk spots all over our clothes (and elsewhere).