Just started solids and vomiting

[ntulipano]

Hi,

I'm new to posting a message, however use this site as an invaluable source of information. However, I cannot find anything on this problem that I'm having.

My little boy Micheal is 6 months, we have just started him on cereal/solids past couple of weeks.  He started throwing up in the morning immediately after his bottle.  About every day or every second day in the past week or so.  He had only done this about twice in 6 months till now.  I give him a bottle and a few minutes after this he throws up about half of it and scares me.  This morning he threw up so much he seemed to almost choke on it.  Scared me something awful.

Is this normal when just starting solids to have more spits up/vomiting?  He seems to be fine after and he hasn't had any solids in some 16 hours.  He doesn't seem to throw up after I gave him his food. 

Someone told me that when they start solids they will spit up more at first?  Any help would be greatly appreciated.  I'm a new Mom and I don't know what I would have done without this website and Tracy's book to help me learn what to do!

[tylersmommy]

Welcome to the forums!

How much solids is he eating, and how much formula does he take at each feeding? If you could post his eating and bottle routine, we can take a look and see what's going on.

[ntulipano]

Hi,

He is eating 27 -30 ounces of formula.  He just started on solids 3 days ago, getting about 2 tablespoons once a day at the moment.  I have done the cereal prior to this and the problem started when he started on the rice cereal.  Given his constipation problems we were urged to move to solids from the rice cereal.  He was having problems prior to food with constipation, but the banana solids I have started him on the past three days have helped extremely well, did try prune juice, but I don't think I was giving him enough to make it work.

27-30 ounces of Simlac per day
2 tablespoons of bottled bananas - once a day.

[Sarahboh]

Is he teething, the only reason I ask is I hear this a lot in my practice and typically the vomiting goes with the teething. Why? The excess saliva they produce makes there tummies fuller and sometimes can make them upset, due to this after they drink fluids in large amounts, ie. bm or formula they can sometimes throw some or all of it up afterwards. I would allow him to have breaks to drink it slowly and burp him a few times in between. It could be related to the solids but we see this a lot in our office to know it is related to teething. (I also experienced this last month for 1 week before Ella's first teeth came in and I knew what was up before they even showed). Good luck!

Oh yeah, and I know not many people know this but try some gripe water as this is not only used for gas but settling there stomachs when they teeth due to excess saliva.

[LŠuren]

ntulipano
What texture of 'solids' are you giving your LO? My thoughts are;
1. it is his gag-reflex because possibly theres a bit caught in his throat so it makes him sick or he just isn't used to solids - maybe you need to thin down the mixture a bit - it should still be runny and fall of the spoon.
2. there is possibly an allergy of some sort  DS did this as soon as eggs went in his mouth. Does the vomit leave red marks on his face, etc.

[ntulipano]

Hi,

Thank you both for your replies. I really do think he is teething, about 3 1/2 weeks ago he has a bump on his gum and was not himself for a week.  It did get better, but I do think he is going to break a tooth soon.  I hadn't been burping him in between as he would have a fit if I took the bottle from him .. however I think you are very right.  I should slow down his drinking.  Until you mentioned this I forgot that my husband put a medium flow nipple on the past week or so, normally I still have him on the slow flow as he didn't care for the faster flowing nipples. However, my husband did just change this and I completely forgot about it.

Perhaps the new flow nipple is causing him to drink to fast. I don't normally burp him between feeding as he wouldn't let me. I think I will switch back the nipple to slow flow for the moment, this might be the problem.

Thank you very much!!!!  I do have gripe water on hand as well and will remember that tip that you gave me.!

[ntulipano]

Regarding the food, it is fairly thick compared to the cereal.  I did notice this, perhaps I will thin it out a little better.  No red marks in the vomit,which is good news.  I have a lot of food allergies so I'm worried that he is going to have problems.  Trying to be careful and introduce everything slowly just in case he develops a food allergy.

[Gage and Sophie's Mom]

Hi I was just about to post a similar question regarding the same subject. Sorry to butt in

We have been struggling to get the solids going. I finally realized that Gage loves store bought food vs. my home made baby food Anyway, he has been chowing down and I am concerned he is now overeating. When he was eating my food he would only eat about 5-7oz a day and now he is eating around 13-15oz plus the same amount of formula 25-32. When he does eat solids well he sleeps right through.

I know from reading that these amounts are pretty average, but Gage is also gagging toward the end of the meal, but still wanting more. The other night right after his last bottle he vomitted something AWFUL! I have never seem a baby or an adult vomit so much and he couldnt breath as it was coming out both his mouth and his nose. I had to turn him upside down and pat his back. Needless to say I was petrified and welll Gage and his very sunny disposition was ready to play RIGHT AFTER Dh had to take him because I was so shaken.

Anyway sorry for rambling, but I think he overate. Gage doesnt hesitate to tell me he doesnt want my food and his formula , wouldnt he tell me he is full of store bought food? I am afraid to continue feeding him after 4oz of solids, but I dont want to starve him either. Help.

Ps. he is also teething, but could he vomit that much from that? Where do you get gripe water and what is it?

[ntulipano]

Hi,

Micheal vomited more than I ever seen and I'm sure he stopped breathing for a few seconds. Your right it was terrifying. 

Gripe water you can buy at a pharmacy or places like Wal-mart in the baby section.  Most places that sell baby items, will have Gripe water.  Just ask your pharmacy or not sure where you live ( I'm in Canada) however I buy it at Wal-Mart.

I'm thinking it is a combination of eating too fast, plus teething and probably throwing in the solids. 

[tylersmommy]

You've gotten some great advice from the other gals...just something else to think about here...2 tbsp might be too much for a beginning solids eater. Solids feel different in their tummies and sometimes new solids eaters have a hard time signalling that they're full and they overeat. Even if he does tell you he's full, he may be waiting until he's stuffed and uncomfortable...again, getting used to the way solids feels in his tummy. Most new solids eaters take 1-2 tsp per meal for the first couple weeks at least, so maybe cutting back will help until he's more able to "feel" when he's full. Does that make any sense?

Sorry you had such a scare...it's awful, isn't it?

[Gage and Sophie's Mom]

Thanks for the advice. I will go to Walmat and buy some gripe water and see if that helps. Good luck to you ntulipano, I hope things get better for you as well.

tyler's mommy congrats on the new baby! How exciting Is Gage still considered a new eater even though he has been eating solids since 5.5 mths?

[katriona]

That sounds like an awful scare, Gage's Mom. I'm glad that everything worked out. I'd have been terrified too!

Say, I had some difficulty finding gripe water in the US. Please let me know if you find it at Walmart, as we have one 20 minutes away! If you can't find it either, let me know, as there's a British food import website I can direct you to -- that's where I got mine from.

Fortunately Theron's taken to solids pretty well, though he was having some trouble with home-made avocados and bananas today. They were definitely more textured than he was used to! He's been eating for almost 2 months, and I'm amazed at the amount he seems able to put away 

Katy

[tylersmommy]

tyler's mommy congrats on the new baby! How exciting  Is Gage still considered a new eater even though he has been eating solids since 5.5 mths?

Thanks! Gage probably wouldn't be considered a new solids eater since he's been at it for awhile and can show you that he's full. For whatever reason, he must be ignoring his "full" feeling or getting so excited about the store-bought food that he's not thinking about telling you when he's had enough! Teething can do some weird stuff, but I don't think it would cause vomiting like that. I know you don't want him to go hungry, but you might try limiting his solids a bit. If he's ravenous by the next feed and isn't vomiting, you know you can give him a bit more. It's a delicate balancing act, and it might change from day to day, but you'll find that balance.

[Gage and Sophie's Mom]

Thank you.

[Sarahboh]

Hey Girls,

If anyone is having problems getting gripe water, I would be happy to send you some! Let me know
Sarah

[ntulipano]

You've gotten some great advice from the other gals...just something else to think about here...2 tbsp might be too much for a beginning solids eater. Solids feel different in their tummies and sometimes new solids eaters have a hard time signalling that they're full and they overeat. Even if he does tell you he's full, he may be waiting until he's stuffed and uncomfortable...again, getting used to the way solids feels in his tummy. Most new solids eaters take 1-2 tsp per meal for the first couple weeks at least, so maybe cutting back will help until he's more able to "feel" when he's full. Does that make any sense?

Sorry you had such a scare...it's awful, isn't it?

Hi,  I did cut back to 1 tbsp today, however he doesn't eat if he is not hungry. He definitely won't take it when he isn't that hungry.  I cut back on how much today and returned to the slow flow nipple and so far so good today. 

Was wondering how long I go feeding once a day before I can start feeding him at breakfast and lunch.  Should I stick with once a day and keep introducing new foods, or should I put the food I know he is okay with at breakfast and feed something new at lunch?

Thank you all so much for the help!!

[tylersmommy]

You can move him onto 2 meals (and then 3) as soon as you feel he's ready...once you haven't seen any vomiting for several days and you feel pretty confident that it's going smoothly. When you introduce new foods, you can do them at either breakfast or lunch and move the foods that he's had to other meals. This ensures that you have the whole day to watch out for reactions or an upset tummy.

Glad things are going better!