# Spit-up and Co-Sleeping?



## AnewMommy (Mar 6, 2007)

I'm a new momma, and have a baby who spits up frequently due to my abundant supply and sometimes forceful let-down. During feedings, I take a break to burp, feed him at a slight incline, and he still sometimes spits up.

So...how do you co-sleep successfully with a spitter? I've now changed my sheets several days in a row







But I love not having to get out of bed to feed. And he sleeps well when he sleeps with me.

Argh. Please help! I just can't figure out what to do.

Thanks,
Amanda


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## DQMama (Mar 21, 2006)

Hi Amanda,

Congratulations on your new little one! We also co-slept w/ our sweet little spitter







Well, we still co-sleep but she has outgrown the spitting up finally. She had reflux until 13 1/2 months (she's 15 1/2 months now) AND I had oversupply and an overactive letdown for the first three months. She was a projectile vomiter so we changed a lot of sheets in the beginning!

We kept two sets of sheets on the bed with a waterproof mattress pad under each one so we didn't have to actually change the sheets in the night. We'd just rip off the top set and hope she didn't spit up a second time! After a while I learned to expect when she was going to throw up and I could usually catch it in a receiving blanket. If she spit up too much for a blanket I would just let her spit up on me (I burped her with her face against my neck and the center of my chest rather than over my shoulder) and let it roll down my shirt (I know this sounds really gross). But I could easily towel myself off and change my clothes and then I wouldn't have to change the whole bed.

One piece of advice my LLL leader gave me was to nurse on just one side for most or all of the night, then switch throughout the day as usual, then use the other side the next night. This will cut down on your nighttime supply and may help! Let me know if you need any more advice about co-sleeping or spitting up in general.


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## littlemizflava (Oct 8, 2006)

my ds is a reflux baby so i know all about the always wet dirty sheets i fold a receving blanket or a think blanket length wise along the bed where ds head will be and my breast then if it is damp i can just take it off and swich it for a clean one i usually have more then one ready in the bed


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## alegna (Jan 14, 2003)

When dd was still in the spitty stage I slept with her head on a prefold to soak up spit. If it was really bad lately she might be on a couple, so I could pull one out and leave a clean one under.

-Angela


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## sallyg6 (Nov 10, 2005)

We put a towel folded in half on the bed and DD and I slept on that (my boob, her head). Then we'd just change the towel - she rarely spit up enough for it to soak all teh way through the towel (so we didn't have to change sheets all that often).

Sara


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## moondiapers (Apr 14, 2002)

I had a reflux baby, we slept on a beach towel and I just put a clean towel down on top of the sheet every night. Then washed my sheets once a week as usual. I used to also leak so much I'd end up sleeping in a puddle


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## The Lucky One (Oct 31, 2002)

My ds3 usually isn't too much of a spitter, but he's had a cold and sometimes he'll cough so much after a nighttime feeding, that he'll vomit a large amt. What I've done is to place a towel under the fitted sheet where we are laying and then we also lay on a towel. That way, if he spits up, we just change the towel and not the whole bed.


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## guest9921 (Nov 3, 2005)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *alegna* 
When dd was still in the spitty stage I slept with her head on a prefold to soak up spit. If it was really bad lately she might be on a couple, so I could pull one out and leave a clean one under.

-Angela

2-3 prefolds for overflowing breastmilk and abundant urine, (ds, not me







.)
Worked like a charm.


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## AnewMommy (Mar 6, 2007)

Thanks everyone. That was helpful, and quick! : ) I'll use a towel tonight underneath us.

I guess I also wonder if you all take the time to burp after a nighttime feeding or not...are you awake enough? And how do you do it -- like, prop them up on your chest or shoulder?

And now I'm suspecting my babe has reflux. Does anyone have links to sites with more info about reflux? After perusing some of the breastfeeding threads on this forum, I'm really suspecting he's got reflux issues. Sigh.

Thanks again!


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## ejsmama (Jun 20, 2006)

Both of my babes have been spitters, but neither have reflux. I was worried about it too, and did some research and talked to my pediatrician. If your babe has reflux, s/he will likely be quite fussy and show pain while spitting. If your babe is a happy spitter and isn't have any issues with growing enough, likely not to be reflux. Some babies don't spit up but still have reflux. You can do a google search on reflux and get quite a bit of info.


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## lilysmama1124 (Aug 26, 2006)

Just wanted to say that I have abundant supply, overactive letdown and a spitter. Like PPs said I put down aburp cloth. I also sleep with a purp rag stuffed in the breast I am not feeding with (I only nurse on one side usually at night) because I leak so much and kept waking up all wet and in a puddle!


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## richella (Nov 30, 2004)

We had a sheet protector, it's a little smaller than a receiving blanket but thicker fabric and moisture-proof. I would lay dd on it and maybe a prefold under her head, then we had protection from fluids from both ends.


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## dany (Oct 10, 2006)

Congratulations on the babe!

I also use a prefold under us to catch our dribbles (I'm worse than he is







).

Burping doesn't seem to affect whether or not DS spits up or how much, though it is quite apparent when he has a bubble and needs a burp - that's typically during his BIG feedings during the day at this point, when he's awake and excited about the boob being aimed at him. At first it was more frequent at night, but now at ten weeks he's only waking up at 12, 5, and 7 (when we're up for the day), and those are more like snacks that don't really need a burping... I DO sleep most of the night with him on my arm though (so cuddly!), so maybe the slight incline has something to do with that - would that be comfortable for you?

Enjoy the snuggles!


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