# difference between spitup and vomit?



## mama_daba (Dec 7, 2004)

whats the difference between spit up and vomit?


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## mama_daba (Dec 7, 2004)

bumping because i was to tired when i posted this morning so i rewrote my question.


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## mum4boys (Aug 10, 2005)

Okay I will try to explain this so it is understandable. Spit up just happens once but vomiting is characterized by the forceful expulsion of the contents of the stomach. IF that makes sense. You know when you are sick and vomiting how you repeatedly retch that is vomiting. Spit up is when it comes straight up and out. It might happen ever few minutes but it is not a series of rapid retching. Does this make sense at all?


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## mama_daba (Dec 7, 2004)

thank you that makes perfect sense


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## Alvenchrst (Feb 3, 2003)

I'd have to not agree, have 2 extremely productive spitter upers. I kinda get tired of some moms (mainly referring to relatives and a certain friend) who over dramatize something that I think is pretty normal in babies the first year of life and complain about how many times that day their baby had vomited when really they are just spitting up. (Not saying that anyone here is being dramatic at all







) My kids would spit up all the time and it would be a lot, and often multiple spit up was common. Till one day one of them actually vomited and boy could you tell the difference. It was extremely forceful, projectile, and looked much more digested than any spit up I'd ever seen. Oh and he only vomited once, so I don't think you can count how many times to define it.


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## IrisV (May 5, 2007)

I wondered about his too for several months b/c I had a big spitter-upper, but trust me, when it was vomit, I KNEW it was vomit.


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## mama_daba (Dec 7, 2004)

sometimes the spitup smells like milk but sometimes it has a vomit smell which is why i ask. he seems happy and healthy so it doesn't worry me ...

much


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## mum4boys (Aug 10, 2005)

Is it pretty much the same color.
When Maggie vomits she brings up bile so it is a different color then her spit up.


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## Twinklefae (Dec 13, 2006)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *IrisV* 
I wondered about his too for several months b/c I had a big spitter-upper, but trust me, when it was vomit, I KNEW it was vomit.









: We've had vomit here this week, and I wasn't in any doubt. The smell could knock you over, it looks very digested, and it isn't mixed with salliva the way spit up is (at least for us)


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## jillian+1 (Aug 30, 2007)

My dd was a daily projectile vomiter for the first couple of months of her life. I would say it has nothing to do with smell or how digested it is. She can spit up at any time -- right after eating or an hour and a half later.

A spitup is a little "urp" and she tongue-thrusts the ick out. It's basically a burp where some stomach contents got in the way of the air getting out and came up with the air.

A vomit is (was) forceful and "projectile" -- that is, shooting out of her mouth. It would be several ounces at a time. Usually more than one spasm but sometimes just one.

HTH.


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## EricaRain (Nov 9, 2007)

Have you ever burped and had some of what you ate accidentally come back up? That's spitting up. Every baby does it sometimes. Then there are babies referred to as "happy spitters" who spit up a lot and regularly, but it isn't forceful, doesn't cause problems with weight gain, and doesn't upset them at all.

When it's forceful, hurts, and usually is somewhat digested, it's vomit.


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## jillian+1 (Aug 30, 2007)

Quote:


Originally Posted by *EricaRain* 
When it's forceful, hurts, and usually is somewhat digested, it's vomit.

I'll just say, my dd didn't usually seem to be in pain when she vomited. Except when it came out her nose. (bleah)

And she didn't have any problems with weight gain, either, although that could be because I have wicked supply. (Actually, that and my OALD probably helped cause the vomiting in the first place!)


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## EricaRain (Nov 9, 2007)

That's good. I know when my projectile vomited it didn't bother him for long. He was more upset when spitting up because he was refluxing - he didn't have control, it bubbled around and irritated his esophagus, and he nursed constantly to try to soothe his throat. I don't miss those days when he was nursing and miserable 20 minutes of every hour. On the other hand, once he projectile vomited he complained for a few seconds and then was happy as a clam. It was like he was relieved just to have it out of there. Now that he doesn't have reflux symptoms, when he vomits it hurts and he gets upset.


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## EricaRain (Nov 9, 2007)

hah so glad to have somewhere to discuss spitting up and vomiting at length


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