In Which Levi Spits Up

**Disclaimer!! This post could be very boring for anyone who isn't a parent!!**

All babies spit up. Some spit up more than others. Levi was one of those that spits up more than the rest. He spit up at least once (usually more) per feeding. And I'm counting anything that has to be interrupted by a burp as a feeding. So, he'd eat for a few minutes, stop because of air trapped in his stomach, burp with some spit up, and if I was smart and burped him again, he'd usually burp again, with more spit up before I started feeding him again.

Some people are lucky and they try to burp their baby, but he or she doesn't need it. They claim (and I believe them, those lucky ducks!) that their child burps all on his or her own.

Levi was not one of those.

Levi's spit up tie

Since Levi is my first child, I didn't really know what to expect. I'd heard people complain about spit up before, and more seasoned mothers would tell them that all babies spit up, just get used to it. So I figured that's what I had to do. I buckled down and got used to having a burp rag available at all times of the day, whether or not Levi was being fed. He really would spit up without notice. I had about 3 burp rags close by when feeding him because they would get soaked that quickly. I washed all 12 of those burp rags every week, and they were so full of spit up that I'd pre-wash them so Levi's wash didn't smell like spit up when it came out of the washer.

So here's what I did to minimize the damage:

• Eventually I learned that any milk that Levi ate after getting air trapped in his stomach would come back up with that air when he finally burped. When I realized this, I burped him as soon as I noticed that milk was dribbling out of his mouth, that he was having a hard time latching, or that he seemed fussy even after he started eating again (all signs that he had air trapped in his tummy). His spit ups became much smaller, and feedings somewhat easier (but it does take a lot of patience to burp a sad baby! Sometimes it would take 40 minutes or more to get one measly little burp out! That was the exception to the rule, though).
• I also learned that if Levi ate ANY food after he got air trapped in his tummy, it would take a lot longer to get him to burp, and there was always more spit up with it
• I gave time for the food to settle a bit after he burped. I fell like I fed Levi little bitty feedings every 10 or 15 minutes when he was awake.
• No one was allowed to hold Levi flat or tilted down a little, especially if he'd just eaten. I tried to imagine how I'd like to be treated if I was stuffed silly. Would I want someone tickling me? Would I want someone to try to burp me by patting my stomach (NO!) Would I enjoy being held upside down? Some of these questions may seem silly in this context, but if someone comes in and wants to play with your adorable baby, they remember that most babies like being held upside down or tickled. It doesn't occur to these wonderful people that the baby has just been fed and has a hard time keeping it down. Usually, they just want to help or spend time with this baby that means so much to them.
• Levi didn't get as much tummy time as the doctors ordered. I figured he could gain his muscle tone later, or in some other way. Laying on his tummy made him spit up more often and cry so much! (PS. Now Levi's 7 months and 2 days old. He's been crawling for almost a week now. He's ahead of the curve when it comes to crawling, so there! He didn't need that useless tummy time after all! [another side note: Levi started enjoying tummy time when he could roll over to his tummy by himself anyway. Also, I give him plenty of time to play with his toys while sitting or laying on his tummy.])
• Levi slept on an incline. Also, if he fell asleep while eating, I would burp him before putting him down.

He pulled up into this position all by himself!

I remember wondering when it would get better. It felt like it never would! I talked to the pediatrician about it at Levi's 4-month check up, and she said to just keep doing what I was doing, because they were all the right things. He had just started to be able to keep his food down a little better. He still had to be burped all the time, though.

For those of you that have babies that soak everything in range, it DOES get better! Now I only keep one burp rag nearby when I feed him, and I don't usually have to use it. Maybe once every two days or so. Levi still needs to burp multiple times during a feeding, but thankfully he usually doesn't spit up with it.

I've started Levi on pureed baby food, and he actually seems to get more burps that way than by nursing. Here are some things that I've noticed regarding that:

• If Levi doesn't seem interested in food even though I know he's hungry, then he probably needs to burp. Once he burps, he'll probably eat more of the food
• Levi gets air trapped in his tummy more often if he's eating a food he doesn't like (peas). Also, I've heard that most babies don't like peas or green beans.
• Levi still spits up, and that's ok.

I hope this was helpful for any moms out there who have trouble with spit up! Good luck!



EDIT: Also, if your baby ever cries like he or she is in pain as soon as they wake up from a nap, they probably need to burp. You can eliminate or at least reduce these incidents by making sure the baby burps before putting them down. This also makes it easier for the baby to stay asleep once you put them down for a nap or to sleep at night.