QOD: My baby spits up the formula we started in the hospital. Does she have an allergy and should we change formula?
It's unlikely she has allergy, but there are certain signs you should watch out for and tell your pediatrician right away.
The quick answer is probably not. Spitting up is unlikely to be a sign of allergy or intolerance to a particular formula. But you should try to figure out why she is spitting up. Here are some questions to ask yourself before discussing it at your newborn's next check-up.
- Is the spitting forceful?
- Is the baby gulping so fast she is overgrazing and then vomiting?
- Is there a lot of spit-up? Does it happen with every feeding?
- Does she seem uncomfortable with feeding or when she spits up?
Some things your doctor would want to hear about immediately are: 1. Forceful vomiting with every attempted feed; 2. Discomfort with feeding or spitting; and 3. A decrease in the number of wet diapers over 24 hours (less than 5 in a baby that was previously having up to 7-8 diapers daily). If you observe any of these behaviors, make sure to tell your pediatrician right away.
Reviewed by Dr. Sara Connolly, December 2018
I have two different scenarios with my kids for examples to some parents- my first, now 4, spit up terribly (not a ton, it was just EVERY time) on breast milk and formula. He never acted uncomfortably though or was in pain. So, our pediatrician decided there was nothing to do for him except make sure he continued to not be in pain. Our second, 1, was a total different story. He screamed in agonizing pain on formula. I only breastfed for about a month b/c he just didn’t take to the breast very well. Eventually, he had blood in his stool. We tried nutramigen (over the counter milk allergy formula) and he continued in pain as well as blood in his stool. The next step was a gastroenterologist when a prescription formula was decided. Neocate was what finally worked for us. Thank goodness he has grown out of it and we slowly went to whole milk with no problems. The point is – you’ll know if your child is needing a change. They shouldn’t be in pain or uncomfortable when eating. Get them checked out if you think something’s wrong!