With infants, comes the high possibility of spit ups. It is absolutely normal. If you are a new mom, by now you would have experienced it. As an infant, my son spat up almost all the breastmilk he consumed. It was so frustrating to go over the entire process of tidying him up, with a change of clothes, and feed him again; hoping he doesn’t spit up again.
Acid reflux is also responsible for baby spit ups. It manifests around 2 to 4 weeks and peaks around 4 months. It usually subsides a few months later once your baby starts solids and starts sitting. It does increase before getting better though and sometimes using reflux medications can seem to be the only option.
However, it is important to note that not all babies that spit up have infant acid reflux. One clear indication that your baby has acid reflux is when they spit up repeatedly and arc their back and cry a lot. This is because of the acid that comes up after every feed and it can be very painful for babies. If your baby just spits up and is happy, it is a sign that your child doesn't have acid reflux.
Baby spit ups, and the associated mess, while not being totally avoidable, can be managed with ease. Yes mommies!! It can be managed with ease.
And here is how:
1. Keep Your Baby Propped Up To Prevent Baby Spit Up:
Keeping the baby propped up for at least 20 minutes after each feed, drastically reduces the chances of a spit up. I tried this with my son and believe me….it worked wonders!!
Laying them down just after you feed increases their chance of spitting up as propping them up can keep their food down due to gravity.
2. Burp Your Baby To Avoid Baby Spit Up:
Babies tend to ingest a lot of air while suckling or feeding. So, make sure to burp your baby after each feed to ease the gas out from their little tummies. The accumulated gas/air can get painful and can lead eventually to a spit up. So, burp your cutie.
3. Keep Burp Cloths & Wipes Handy To Catch Baby Spit Up:
I always kept burp cloths handy during the first year of my son. It helps to quickly react to and clean up spit ups, dribbles and all the baby mess that is always “on-the-way”.
It is recommended that you keep at least 5 burp clothes handy but if laundering them and keeping your infant from dirtying their clothes is becoming an issue, try our stain proof baby clothes, they have built in bibs and are non toxic and breathable.
Just keep some baby wipes handy and you are good to go. Keeping the baby clean and dry should be a continuing priority!
4. NO Tummy Time After A Feed Can Prevent Your Baby From Spitting Up:
Tummy time is very essential for babies. It helps them gain strength and also relieves the gas accumulated in their tummies. But it should NOT be done right after a feed. The baby is very likely to spit up if you do.
Allow for at least an hour, after a feed, to give your super-kid some “tummy time”. It is so cute to watch them during this exercise….and especially when they are not spitting up!
5. Feed Small Meals Frequently Helps Your Baby From Not Spitting Up A Lot:
This is one thing I wasn’t aware of when I had my son. I would overfeed him and felt overwhelmed when he would routinely spit up and cry after a feed. Till a visit to my chiropractor remedied my folly.
We mommies tend to forget, that our babies have very small tummies. They cannot accommodate the overabundance of love-filled-feeding which we subject them to. Spit up is the natural aftermath of such misplaced love 😊. Hence, the key to minimizing spit ups due to overfeeding, is to give small feeds at reasonable intervals. It works beautifully.
6. Make Your Baby Sleep On An Incline :
Usually babies don’t need this. But if your baby suffers from acid reflux, this is something I can’t recommend enough. My son had infant acid reflux and would cry a lot due to the extreme discomfort.
This also kept him from sleeping for prolonged periods. But then we were advised this technique to deal with it. Make the baby sleep on a slight incline; with the head on the elevated side. This method really helped in a better sleep quality for the baby, apart from reducing the discomfort caused by acid reflux.
7. Get Our Stain-Proof & Mess- Proof Baby Clothes:
Babies make messes and will continue to do so till they grow up. They spit up, drool and generally keep messing up. It is an exasperating non-stop process to keep them clean and dry. Right? So, we have just the solution for you.
How did you like our recommendations? Do you have an infant who spits up frequently? How do you cope with the messes that come with it?
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Try our Stain-Proof baby clothes. They can be wiped clean, have no chemicals on them, breathable, child friendly and are super soft. Just take a damp wipe and wipe off the mess….and Viola!! No need for a change of clothes!! An absolute “must-have” for your baby wardrobe.
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