Sometimes it can seem like no sooner do you finish a feeding than your baby is spitting up—on you, baby’s burp cloth, the crib sheets—anything nearby. This is normal, but when is spitting up a cause for alarm?
Babies usually spit up because the small muscular sphincter that separates the esophagus from the stomach is not yet fully developed. If a baby overfeeds, eats too quickly, or isn’t held upright after feeding, some of the milk can leak back through the weak sphincter and come back up as spit up. More than half of all babies under three months will have spitting up incidents.
Simple solutions to excessive spitting up include:
Please see your pediatrician if any of the following occurs:
Fortunately, most babies will outgrow this stage—though Mom and Dad may lose a few shirts to stains in the process!