Newborn spitting up and hiccups

[SunnyRain]

My little tiny boy feeds and attaches well (thank god, after battling mastitis as soon as I came home from hospital), but he fills up quickly (20 minute feeds are about all he can handle) and vomits sometimes quite large amounts of milk. THEN he gets the hiccups and he can't settle while he's hiccuping.

I'm sure this is all normal, but it seems really sad to me. I don't like to see him covered in milk and his little skinny rib cage jerking violently as he hiccups.

Is there some technique I can do differently to try to prevent these things from happening?

[Kmn]

Let him have another little suck when he's hiccupping - it may help calm them down.

[1MOREPLZ]

I was going to say exactly the same thing... my little man gets the hiccups quite often.. i simply let him have another small feed and the hiccups disappear...

[~clover~]

I used to do the same. Another little drink should help with the hiccups.
Sounds like he might have a little bit of reflux. He could just be possetting, but if you are worried talk to your MCHN or gp about it.

[belfie]

I get the same with hiccups (not the vomiting tho ). I've found he'll still drink when hiccuping - and I remember a middie at the hossie saying that some babies will & some won't. So saying, he will lie in his bassinet & hiccup away without being too bothered by it.

The only other things I tried (which you've probably done) was changing his position - as that could disrupt the hiccups mebbe? Good luck with it!

[SunnyRain]

I don't know, lately the vomitting and hiccuping has calmed down. I wonder if my milk supply has stabilised to what he needs so he's not overfilling. I'll see how it goes. The problem with giving him another topup is the hiccups came after a topup and he was already getting too much milk, it seemed.

[MantaRay]

Both my DS's were hiccuppers - they were in utero too. If it's any consolation, apparently it doesn't bother babies the way it bothers us. They can be quite comfortable even with hiccups. DS2 was also a chucker. At least once after every feed for I don't know how long - 4, 5 or 6 months. The paed said it was normal and one day would stop. It did eventually and a couple of days later I sat down to feed and looked around for the cloth nappy ready for the chuck up, and realised that he hadn't vomitted in a day or two!

So it does stop and it is normal. Please try not to worry, you are doing a great job. It is certainly possible that it would ease once the milk settles a bit. I hope it stays that way for you.

[~clover~]

Both my DS's were hiccuppers - they were in utero too.

I miss that feeling. My mum never experienced it with any of her pgs. She thought I was nuts when I told her about it!

[believer]

Hi Kuraiza,

My ds is a hiccuper too. And he threw up heaps in his first few months.
I fed him lying down, so the led down wasn't quite as strong and he wouldn't have to gulp down as much as he did. But that didn't do much good really, he still is a very quick feeder!
So it might help, feeding him lying down on your side, but it might also be something he will grow out of.

And of course: Congrats on the birth of your beautiful babyboy!

[MummyPig]

Hi there, my Freyja was a serial hiccuper from about 20 weeks in utero (I felt the hiccups before I felt her kick!) until she was about 3 months old. She still hiccups occassionally, but it doesn't seem to be as violent as before. It never ever bothered her, but I'm not sure if putting her on the boob stopped it or if it just wore off.

Anyway, the all but stopped once I got the hang of feeding her and kept to one boob until it was soft, rather than swapping so often.

The feeling of your baby hiccuping inside you is lovely and a really good way to feel reassured if you're not sure if you're feeling them move very much. I had a few days of panic because she didn't wake up within 30 mins of me waking like she normally did, but then I'd feel the hiccups and it would be such a relief!

[SunnyRain]

Yep Jude was an in-utero hiccuper also. I had a feeling he wouldn't be able to stop when he was born and I was right. It was quietly reassuring when he was in my belly to know he was in there practising.

It's true that it doesn't seem to bother him. He's putting on a bit of fat now so his little ribs aren't poking out so his hiccups don't "look" so bad anymore, too.