Day 30 - Why Does A Baby Spit Up And Ways To Prevent It

10:33pm



Freshly squeezed milk, straight from the boob.


Fill up an Anti-Colic Tommee Tippee bottle, with around 5 ounces. Her normal feeding amount.

Sit up, give her the bottle, and wait.

She drinks it quickly at first, but slows down towards the end. A few squirms in between.

A little milk spills down her chin, as she enjoys every second.

Milk is gone. Her eyes closed, and calm. She's at peace now, satisfied.

She needs to be burped. Sit her straight up, and pat her back until she does.

BURRRRRPPPPPP. Stronger than a grown man.

Wait? What's that? SPIT UP! It never fails.

She spits up about 90% of the time. Why is this? I did a little research to find out.



Why does a baby spit up? And how can you prevent it?

Babies naturally spit up because of air that is trapped in their stomach. While they eat, some air will be forced down with their milk. The air can't stay there so eventually it has to come out. Usually, most of it will be with a burp, but if there is food on top of the air, it tends to come out as well. This is pretty normal, more than half of babies spit up regularly.

It seems like the Anti-Colic bottles help a little, but she still will spit up.

Some ways to prevent spit up include sitting the baby upright while you feed. This allows the food to flow in a straighter, less obstructed path, avoiding trapping any air. Also if you are overfeeding, this could cause the excess food to come up. Brynlee is always hungry. She eats, spits some up, and then is hungry again. It gets frustrating, but what can you do? Try feeding them a little less, and see if they are satisfied after a burp. This could help.

Also make sure that the hole in the nipple of the bottle is the correct size. If it is too small, the baby could be getting frustrated, and sucking too hard, causing air to be mixed in. But if the hole is too large, too much milk could be forced into the baby's mouth, which isn't good either.


Most babies stop spitting up around 6 to 7 months old. This is when the muscles fully develop in the stomach, that allow the food to stay controlled. Although, some may go past their first birthday.


Have you found any routines, or practices, that have helped your baby prevent spitting up? I would love to know, and will include the tips in a future blog post! Email, or comment me!

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