How to Control a Baby's Spit Up

Babies will often spit up some of their breakfast, lunch or dinner onto your shoulder at the most inconvenient time. While this is usually no cause for medical concern, the following steps may help you alleviate the daily spit up problems.

Instructions

1. Slow down your feedings. Babies like to gulp breast milk and formula; however, they have tiny stomaches. If you are formula feeding, give your baby a smaller feeding and burp him more frequently. If you are breastfeeding, stop at regular intervals or when you switch breasts and see if you can encourage a burp out of him.

2. Feed the baby while holding her in a more upright position. And, after the feeding, try to keep her upright for at least 30 minutes. This may help her keep the food in her belly and not on your shirt.

3. Try not to bounce the baby around for at least an hour after each feeding. While your baby may think bouncing around is fun play, it may upset his tummy. Think about how you would feel if you bounced on someone's knee right after a hearty dinner.

4. If you are bottle feeding, you need to make sure that the nipple hole is not too wide. If so, it will allow an abundance of milk through very quickly and will encourage the baby to swallow much faster.

5. If you've tried all of these different steps and you still have a spitter, you may need to take a trip to the doctor. Your baby may have a medical reason, such as reflux, which is why she is having a hard time keeping things down.

Tips & Warnings

• Most babies outgrow spitting up past 5 or 6 months.

• If you are breastfeeding your baby and you notice that there is a small amount of blood in the spit up, it is possible that it's from your nipple. Watch it carefully over the next few feedings.

• Call your doctor if your baby is losing weight.

• Call your doctor if the spit up turns into projectile vomiting.

• Call your doctor if your baby seems to be in a lot of pain while eating and spitting up.