Does this sound like Reflux?

From the moment he started feeding Brock has been chucking after meals.

Early on it was either a decent spill over or projectile type vomiting.

These days it's more just a decent spill and the occasional projectile one (maybe once a week).

He brings milk up after pretty much every bottle but there will be the occasional mealtime where he doesn't bring anything up.

The amount varies.

He brings up milk at tummy time and when he's laid back to be changed or put in the capsule.

He's a very happy settled baby and it doesn't seem to be causing him any pain or discomfort at all.

I have tried feeding him less but if only give him 150mls he will usually cry for more. If I give him 200ml he'll either drink it all or about 180mls and then start chucking.

He seems to be growing well and putting on weight fine.

I will be having a chat to my MCHN on Tuesday but I just thought I'd seek some opinions from mums here.

Hi Satya

With my daughter her feeding pattern was very similar to Brock's. She just chucked all the time and I was so sure there was no way she was keeping anything in her belly to help her grow!!! However, she wasn't upset in any way either - and I think that is the key for a colic/reflux kind of diagnosis. He just sounds like a happy chucky baby!

His little flap in his throat might be a bit underdeveloped to more comes up than normal, or yeah, his belly might just be too full - 200mls does seem like a lot - is that formula or EBM? If formula, you can always try a soy or goats milk formula and see if it makes any difference. (But the soy ones stink in my opinion ;)).

If he is a happy, contented, sleeping bubba, I don't think it is colic/reflux.

Hope something in my ramble helps!

Thanks Sam. I'm pretty sure it's not reflux as he seems happy enough and is putting on weight but I just haven't come across anyone else who's baby is so chucky at this age. I'm sure they're out there though. My DF is starting to worry about it more than me to be honest.

It's formula - he's been fully formula fed since he was 6 weeks old and before that he was fed a little EBM a formula top up which he'd chuck as well. He had attachment issues which is part of the reason we had to give up BF. I read somewhere that can also be a sign of reflux. 200ml is the recommended amount for him for 2 to 4 months and most of the time he'd only be having around 180mls.

It's good to know there are other happy chucky babies out there. I'll stop worrying about it.

Hi There i have 2 kids who suffer reflux... I have always been told almost all babies have some kind of reflux...

Usually if bubs is a "happy chucker" and weight gains are normal and there not in distress then they dont really give you anything for it... You can try smaller more frequent meals... reflux babies will suck and suck to easy discomfort so you may think he's hungry for more but really is only comfort sucking... i would try 1/2 bottle give a good burp perhaps try the dummy for a bit... if he still isnt content give a bit more (say 50mls) then give him a break. i found with my DS when i changed from breast to formula he was doing the same feeding alot less frequent and chicking quite alot back up... it may take a few days to get to the less food more frequently but in the long term it can sometimes help. try raising the bed, rocker and pram when you put him down, also when its floor time maybe use a pillow to lift him up a bit. If ur concerned the see ur GP or a PEAD>

Thanks Jess. After reading your post I've cut back to 150 mls and I think he's chucking a little less. He always cries when the feed is finished now - as soon as I try to burp him. I then chuck the dummy in and he's usually OK after that. Until today he was still feeding at the same intervals as before but he's now wanting a drink quite a bit earlier. I guess I'll just have to see how it goes.

hi there,

I had a 'chucker' at that age, and it turned out to be the formula. I changed to a different brand and all was good (from s26 to Karicare). After about 3 days from the change, we haven't had a chuck from milk since.. Just thought I would add this as I thought it was reflux too, but in our case it was just the formula..

DS was a chucker. He would chuck every time he was burped and alot of the time when put on his back after his feed. If he sat upright he was fine. He didnt have reflux.. was just bringing it up with wind.
DD was also a chucker when being burped.. but the difference with her is she continues to bring up fair amounts over the next 4 hours until shes fed again. When she was bringing it up, her eyes would go red and water like it hurt. DD is now on AR formula and only brings some up with her wind when being burped. (i dont think thats a reflux thing, more just with wind).

Some tips maybe are to change the nappy before a feed rather than after if you can. As laying them down and bringing their legs up the change them can push the liquids back up and out. Another thing we do with DD is sit her upright for a good 20 minutes after her feed. Either we hold her or sit her in her rocker, sitting up. If your DS takes a dummy.. its also a good thing to give to them after their feed as the sucking can help stop the reflux also.

heather28 - we are already using Karicare. My MCHN says not to bother changing formulas as he'd probably do it with any brand - he's just very windy. It's so hard to know what to do.

Kellxx - I normally change him first - of course sometimes I forget and you can guess what that results in. We also have the problem that even if I have changed him and then he throws up and manages to cover himself despite a large bib we have to go change his clothes. I try to elevate his head on the change table and recently even resorted to changing him in his rocker to avoid the throwing up that will happen if I lie him down. I've been using his dummy after the feeds for about a week or so and it seems to help a little. We always try to keep him sitting up after feeds for as long as we can. Unfortunately he has a flat spot on the back of his head so we have to give him more tummy time than most babies to try and stop it getting worse so of course this makes him chuck too.

He's been really good today (so far, touch wood) so maybe the smaller feeds are finally starting to make a difference. Anyway I'm not too worried. He's 6kgs now which is normal. He's putting on weight at a normal rate so I'll just keep going with all the suggestions and see how we go.