# Newborn nurses too much-- then spits up



## westchestermom (May 25, 2004)

My newborn (6 days old) has been wanting to nurse non-stop. He screams and "pecks" as if he wants to nurse, and then nurses until I'm totally drained... and then more. And then he is spitting up and seems really uncomfortable-- I imagine that his belly must be super full and that's probably not pleasant. Anyway, seems like nothing else soothes him and he just wants to nurse even more-- to soothe himself because of his achey belly. We've tried to show him his hands... so that he can soothe himself (he doesn't really seem to have any interest in his hands for more than the second that we're guiding them into his mouth), and we offer him our fingers sometimes, to help him calm down (he'll sometimes accept this), but does anyone have any other suggestions on what might be going on with him?

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

~Jen


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Well, a newborn really can't nurse "too much" and your breasts are never really drained (they're factories, not warehouses, LOL!) so it sounds like something else is going on. Do you have a really forceful letdown? Is the baby gasping when the milk comes? Does he gulp alot? Is he gassy? Your description of him "pecking" sounds a lot like what babies whose mamas have an overactive letdown learn to do as a survival mechanism--it gets the milk flowing before they latch on and they're less likely to choke. If so, there are some things you can do to help minimize the air he's getting in his little system which will make him less likely to puke. Do you burp him? Have you tried infant massage on his tummy? How often are you switching sides? I bet we can help you figure this out. *hugs*


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## SusannahM (Sep 15, 2005)

I think some newborns just spit up a lot, too. DD spit up A LOT, and I don't think it really ended until about 6 months, but I don't remember exactly when. Nothing was really wrong with her, she would just nurse until she was too full, and up it would come. I didn't try to get her to slow down, she was perfectly happy doing things how she was doing them, the spit-up didn't bother her. Sometimes I wish it DID bother her a little, LOL, because she'd be happy and smiling, and then up it would come, no warning, then back to happy and smiling. How was I supposed to dodge all of that spit up without warning


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## westchestermom (May 25, 2004)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *annettemarie* 
I bet we can help you figure this out. *hugs*

Thanks, I really appreciate it!

He was nursing one side only (nurse for 20 minutes, burp, spit up twice, and then go back to the same side for 10-15 more minutes-- and then sleep for a few hours) and would spit up twice when burping. Now, he seems to nurse both sides (for 25 minutes each), burps and spits up between the two sides, and then spits up profusely when he has finished nursing both sides. But then he wants to continue nursing. He is not really unusually gassy, but he is definitely gulping air, and has frequent hiccups. The milk is always flowing before he gets on.
He seems to be more difficult to console, and only seems to want to sleep on his belly on our chests, when we're sitting in a reclined position.
Ugh... poor little guy just seems to be so unhappy and uncomfortable.


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## michaelasmommy (Aug 2, 2005)

Sometimes frequent spitting up and wanting to nurse "till he's sick" can be a symptom of a reflux or a food allergy or intolerance. There is a test your doctor can do for reflux. One of the most common food issues is dairy, so you might try eliminating it for a while from your diet, and see if that helps. I went through the same thing with my oldest, and I described it almost the exact same way. My daughter had a reflux and is lactose intolerant. But babies do spit up a lot at that age, too. You might try burping more often while you are feeding and feeding more frequently for shorter periods so his tummy doesn't get so full at one time. I also had a generous milk flow and had problems with both my children gagging at the breast. It will get better the longer you nurse and your body starts to regulate your milk production better. Good luck!


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## twinvillageiowa (Aug 11, 2006)

What about colic? My twins have it and they nurse for comfort but then get so much that they make themselves sick. Is there any other way to comfort him? Is he truly hungery or just needing comfort?


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Well, the good news is it definitely sounds like you have a great milk supply! Here's a page with some basic information of overactive letdown and overabundant milk supply:
http://www.lactivist.com/overmilk1.html
And another:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/fast-letdown.html

As a mom who has dealt with both three times over, I know how frustrating it can be. You and your little guy are still really new at your breastfeeding relationship, though, so it could be something as simple as just getting to know each other. Would you feel comfortable calling a LLL leader?


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## annekevdbroek (Jun 5, 2005)

My son did something similar when he was very newborn. He'd nurse and nurse - I had a very active letdown and oversupply. After nursing he'd seem to spit-up a TON of milk (I'd have a lake of spit up around me). At about 5 or 6 weeks he outgrew it and never had a problem after that. It seemed to me that it was mostly a matter of him learning how to regulate how much he ate and how fast the milk went into his stomach. Nursing sessions dropped to about 5 minutes in length.


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## ndunn (Mar 22, 2006)

My daughter did this too. Grew out of it. I guess its just a phase.


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

I wanted to chime in one more time. With such a new baby, I would be really reluctant to introduce fingers (yours or hers), pacifiers, etc. Babies use growth spurts and cluster feeds as a way to build up both your supply and their nutritional reserves. Good luck!


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## Shenjall (Sep 14, 2002)

My dd did this too. My sis nicknamed her "the puker"







She did outgrow it. This is a time where everything is new and not quite "regulated" yet.
In the meantime, try feeding when he's calm - maybe even still sleepy. If you wait until they're screaming, they're already gulping down some air.
This reallllly helped me alot!

And I kept my dd more upright too. Even though my mw said to keep her on her side, I made sure her head was higher than her feet and it worked wonders! I had a huge supply and strong letdown, so it seemed to help her swallow a bit easier. (I got that advice here.







)

Congrats on the new babe! Hang in there!


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## Yulia_R (Jan 7, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SusannahM* 
I think some newborns just spit up a lot, too. DD spit up A LOT, and I don't think it really ended until about 6 months, but I don't remember exactly when. Nothing was really wrong with her, she would just nurse until she was too full, and up it would come. I didn't try to get her to slow down, she was perfectly happy doing things how she was doing them, the spit-up didn't bother her. Sometimes I wish it DID bother her a little, LOL, because she'd be happy and smiling, and then up it would come, no warning, then back to happy and smiling. How was I supposed to dodge all of that spit up without warning









My baby was spitting up A LOOOOOOOT and nursing non-stop day and night too. But it didn't bother him a bit and he was gaining 2.5-3 pounds monthly for the first 4 months or so







: . Spit ups stopped completely at about 8 months of age.


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## Tofu the Geek (Dec 2, 2003)

I am glad this thread came up! I want to thank annettemarie for the links on overactive letdown as I have it and DD has to gulp away. She is 2 weeks old and gained a pound and a half in those 2 weeks (weighs 9 pounds now)! I had the same overactive letdown with DD1 and she basically gained a pound a month for her first year of life, so she didn't weigh 9 pounds until 3 months old! I am not sure why this one is gaining weight so differently.


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## Greenie (Sep 27, 2005)

Something that we did with our DS (little escorcist baby, for real) was nurse him semi-sitting up, and then burp him every 5 min.. Then when he's nursed for 20 or so, I'd let him rest for a few minutes, rocking him gently or walking him around.. It would settle his tummy and he'd go back to nursing and did better..

I also had to eliminate tomato, spicy, acidic, caffinated, foods.. And beans, broccoli, sweet potato, and plenty others.. It does end, and eventualy they'll grow out of it. Good luck, you sound like you're doing really well.


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## Zoeanne (Dec 4, 2005)

You mentioned that your baby wants to nurse again after spitting up--and I have been wondering about my own ds--if the entire contents of their tummy seems to have been expelled, are they hungry again? Or would more nursing equal more puking?


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## westchestermom (May 25, 2004)

Thanks for all the suggestions! Seems like we're getting more in sync already and we're figuring each other out. And we've been trying to make sure that he stays really upright for a while after each feeding... even in the middle of the night. Seems to help with the spitting up at least. Hopefully things are moving in the right direction now.... thanks for all the great feedback and ideas!

~Jen


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## Chronic Chrissy (Sep 4, 2006)

DD did the same thing. I know some will yell at me for this but I would always cut her short by like 5 minutes. Then I would wait 10 minutes to let her digest a little so I knew she wasn't puking everything up then feed her again. Then once we figured each other out I'd just cut her short 'til the next feeding. But the others are right your breast work with supply and demand if there is no demand the supply will drop. On the other hand I found introducing a paci very helpful at 9 days without any side affects. It didn't take her long to relize that boobs are different and she wouldn't take it when she was actually hungry. Anyways good luck and I hope you have help with all the laundry. All my furniture's been hit, I would run and change her while DH would run to save his couch.


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## AmieV (Mar 31, 2005)

Both DD's have done that, I do have a little bit of oversupply and overactive letdown. It may be unpopular around here, but I offered a pacifier for comfort sucking after she's nursed well and been burped. She's REALLY not into comfort nursing, she chokes and cries, and loves her paci. Plus comfort nursing just exacerbates my oversupply.


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## User101 (Mar 3, 2002)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *AmieV* 
Both DD's have done that, I do have a little bit of oversupply and overactive letdown. It may be unpopular around here, but I offered a pacifier for comfort sucking after she's nursed well and been burped. She's REALLY not into comfort nursing, she chokes and cries, and loves her paci. Plus comfort nursing just exacerbates my oversupply.

That might be a solution once nursing is well-established, but it's really not a good idea to give a paci to a newborn who is still trying to figure out nursing.


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