While half of my immediate family came by use of this phrase professionally--that is to say, two of them have a dental background--I'm becoming acquainted with it roughly every three to four hours. Personally.
The monkey really likes to spit up. It doesn't seem to bother him; perhaps one or two spittings a day catch his attention for longer than it takes for a "Who, me?" look to cross his face. Occasionally the fluid comes up with some speed and force, say, enough to barely clear his own shoulder while being burped. Other times he just leaks from the side of his mouth. Quantity is relatively limited, say between a teaspoon and tablespoon per episode. Weight gain is great, diapers still contain liquid so no dehydration...the really serious stuff is not happening, for which I am thankful.
Too much information, you say? Given the wonders of Google and the incredible number of anxious parents who want to know what is normal, when they should take the wee one to the doctor, how to make it stop, and so forth, I now know that our baby could have:
1) pyloric stenosis (unlikely, poor match for his symptoms)
2) food sensitivity, most likely dairy (I'll be investigating this over the next few weeks)
3) tummy bubbles due to insufficient burpage (unlikely, I feel like I wallop him for several minutes during and after feedings)
4) gastroentereal reflux disease (GERD--rhymes with "nerd," what I feel like for spending too much time today worrying about if there's enough spitup to qualify as problematic, and wondering how I could measure the exact quantity, really, except for holding my baby over a measuring cup for several hours to get an estimate.)
5) nothing at all, really, it's just part of growing up. Unsurprisingly Matt backs this one. He is always one for the inertia/ least complicated explanation is the most likely answer. He also gets spit up upon much less frequently than I do, so is willing to take the "wait and see if he grows out of it" approach a bit more cavalierly than I am.
And that's just the first fifteen hits. From reliable sources, of course, as opposed to overanxiousmommiespanichere.com. My fave is the source that admits, "There's really no way to figure it out except through trial and error, and waiting it out." As I start my fourth load of laundry today, due to emphasis on error over trial apparently, I'm seeking a clarity that is probably impossible to find. That is, no one's going to be able to answer this with a "Here's what's going on and here's how to fix it" answer.
I realized as I type this how odd it is that I would expect one. There's still an element of sorcery and divination in how I think about modern medicine, and judging from the parent message boards I am far from alone in this respect.
Anyone have song suggestions for a spit-up soundtrack? I'm going to buy some new tunes with a gift certificate next week and it would be a distraction from the gagging noises. Parenting suggestions also appreciated (FWIW he's already sleeping in the bouncy seat to remain more upright).
2 comments:
Hi. I hope the weekend went a little better than when you made this post. I think cutting the dairy might help, as loath though you are to give it up. We have a baby wedge you can borrow, if you want him to sleep in the crib but with his head raised. Feel free to call if you want to talk more about the GERD. Wow, that feels like a long time ago already. Good luck.
I have no real advice, but as a note of support, Marianne spit up after every feeding from about the time she was four days old on. And we never did anything about it other than to have burp clothes handy at feedings. And I switched to dryer sheets over liquid fabric softener because I found they helped with the smell some to the extent that I could get us all cleaned up and changed without gagging myself. Interestingly, I just took the "kids spit up - it just happens" approach without ever looking into it more. She survived. I feel okay about it :).
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