You just fed your baby and now he or she is spitting up what was just eaten. Is this normal? How much is too much? When do you need to worry? What can you do to help your baby from doing this? These are all normal questions for a new parent to ask themselves. Don’t be alarmed. Here are some things you need to know about spit up and how to tell the difference between spit up and vomiting.
Why Is My Baby Spitting Out Food?
Your baby will inevitably spit up breast milk or formula sometime as they grow. It is something they do as a baby. During the first three months, the muscle between the esophagus and stomach has not matured. This allows the breast milk or formula to come back up. Until this fully matures, spitting up will happen and even then, it can still happen. This is normal until 12 months of age.
If you are just introducing baby food, your baby is still learning how to eat. It may take your baby a little bit to get the hang of eating something different than breast milk or formula. If your baby has been eating baby food for a while, it may either mean your baby is full or doesn’t like the food being given. Remember though, it takes 3 days for someone to get used to or like a new flavor of food.
How Do I Stop My Baby From Spitting?
There are many ways to prevent spitting up. Just remember that baby spitting up food is normal at a certain point. Make sure your baby is sitting up right when they are eating breast milk or formula. Make sure to take a break and try to burp your infant. Sometimes gas builds up and if you continue to feed your baby, when the gas comes up, so does the spit up. If you suspect overeating, give your baby smaller and more frequent meals using best baby spoons. Last but not least, slow the feedings down. If your baby is spitting up too much and you are breast feeding, you may want to eliminate things from your diet like dairy. If you are using formula, you may have to switch to one that doesn’t have dairy in it.
Should You Feed A Baby After They Spit Up?
Only you can read your baby’s hungry signals. Yes, your baby can be hungry after that spit up. The spit up could just be gas. If your infant is still showing signs that he or she is still hungry after waiting a few minutes, then feed your child.
How Much Spit Up Is Normal?
Spit up is normal to an extent. If your baby is spitting up constantly and consistently after you have tried the different ways to stop spit up you need to notify your doctor. Your doctor will let you know what else you need to do. Sometimes infants may have acid reflux or other issues. If the spit up is green or yellow, again notify your pediatric doctor. Now if your baby just ate green or yellow baby food, then this just may be the color of the baby food they are eating. If there is a lot of spit up and can be more on the side of vomit then this is not normal. Your baby shouldn’t be “spitting up” the entire contents of their stomach. Anything that is projectile is not spit up but is vomiting. It’s essential to understand the formula for baby vomiting, as this will help in addressing the issue effectively. This also means your baby may be sick. Contact your doctor. If you notice that there are fewer wet diapers, this can be a bad sign. If consistent spit up happens after your baby has become a toddler (older than 12 months) then let your doctor know.
When Should You Stop Spoon Feeding Your Baby?
Once your baby has the dexterity to hold their own utensils and can feed themselves, let them do it. Yes it will be messy in the beginning but remember, they are just learning the skills of life.
Why Does My Child Hold Baby Food Or Solid Food In Their Mouth?
The first reason your baby may be holding baby food or solid food in their mouth is because they are learning how to eat. They may not have mastered the skills to just easily swallow their solid food or even baby food. This is called pocketing. It may happen every now and then especially if your baby is tired or resting.
Your toddler may be holding food in their mouth because they are playing. This happens. Everything with a toddler is a game to them and so they may just be playing with their solid foods. They may like the way it tastes and want to savor it. Your toddler may just be full and not want to eat anymore. There are many less serious reasons. If your toddler starts losing too much weight, you may need to let your toddler’s doctor know.
How Do I Stop My Toddler From Spitting Out Water?
If your toddler is not drinking water, this is okay. Try giving your toddler watered down juice made with real fruit. Water is a thin drink and sometimes can be difficult to drink especially if you try to introduce water too early. Every calorie counts for your growing baby and toddler because those calories provide energy.
Why Does My Child Spit?
Your child doesn’t quite know how to communicate to adults what they do and do not like. Spitting of solid food or baby food may imply that your kid does not like the taste or texture of that food. It may also be their way of telling you that they are full or want to try something different. We adults eat multiple types of solid foods when we eat so why not let your toddler eat different solid foods for each meal instead of just oatmeal for breakfast or just veggies for dinner.
How Do I Stop My Toddler From Spitting Out Solid Food?
If your toddler is spitting out food because they are done with it or do not like it, teach them a different way to communicate this fact. If your toddler is done, the “all done” hand sign for ASL is pretty simple to learn. Infants can learn sign language months before they learn how to communicate with words. Their understanding of language comes before the muscle maturation of their vocal chords. Or teach your child that if they do not like the solid food, simply push the plate away from them. It takes three days for a person to grow accustom to a food so keep trying new solid foods for your child for three days before giving up and saying your toddler doesn’t like something.
Remember that if you are still worried about your child spitting out solid food or spit up, contact your doctor. They are professionals and they are there for you and your family when needing information. They are the best source!
Baby Spitting Up Food Other Resources
https://www.healthline.com/health/baby/baby-spit-up
https://www.verywellfamily.com/breastfeeding-and-infant-spit-ups-431719
Last Updated on May 9, 2023 by Patrick Magtaan
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