How do you know if your baby has reflux?

Is it something that they have from birth, or can they develop it?

Lately, Sasha has been spitting up more often-- but, it appears to be based on consistency, that she is just eating too much as it doesn't appear any different than BM.

Other times, when it's just a little bit-- it looks as if maybe it's come up and has been digested a little-- like, there is a little curdling. Sorry if too graphic.

Any amount that comes out-- mostly dribbles out of her mouth.

Also, even after she eats, when she is usually satisfied, she is starting to get a little fussy. She always calms down if I hold her, or attempt to burp her. Sometimes she is still fussy, even after she burps. I also sometimes have a hard time burping her. The Ped said, if she doesn't burp within the first few mins, it's ok and you don't need to spend all day burping.

Now, she can either be going through a growthspurt, she is going through a I want to be held phase, or something is happening after she eats.

Of course I was at the Ped on Monday, but with the mistaken fever and ER fiasco, I was more concerned about that and forgot to mention this. It's probably nothing, but I just want to make sure she is comfortable and that nothing is wrong.

I know, I am a headcase.

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

I think it's normal, only because my DD has been showing similar signs. We were at the ped yesterday and he told me something about certain digestive parts not being fully developed yet. Sorry to say I don't remember specifically what "parts".

My DD is 6 weeks now. I was concerned only because these signs were new. She seemed more content in her younger weeks. Although I have to add she does not show these signs at every feeding. It may be only a couple a day. GL

Message edited 3/11/2009 2:53:34 PM.

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

Posted by jaysee00


My DD is 6 weeks now. I was concerned only because these signs were new. She seemed more content in her younger weeks.

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

While every baby is different there are many common acid infant reflux symptoms. Your baby may exhibit few or many symptoms of acid reflux in baby. The number of symptoms he exhibits may be unrelated to the severity of baby reflux he may be experiencing. This is not a comprehensive list of acid reflux baby symptoms.


Poor weight gain or rapid weight gain
Frequent spitting up or gulping with a painful look on the face, as if heartburn
Projectile vomit, sometimes out the nose
Sour breath
Persistent hiccups or cough
Excessive fussiness, crying or colic
Sudden bursts of painful crying
Poor day and/or nighttime sleep habits
Constantly wants to nurse or refuses to nurse
Poor feeding habits - arches back, pulls up legs, stiffens or screams while feeding or refuses to eat while still hungry
Prefers upright or inclined positions
Always wants to be held

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

babies spit up... if she had reflux you would know. my DS spits up all the time. he is perfectly fine. its normal.

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

Posted by Blissful

ALexa has EVERY SINGLE one of these symptoms. At 3.5 weeks old she is still only 6 ozs above her birth weight...

My big indicator with Alexa was you could tell she was refluxing and that the acid was coming up and when it did she would SCREAM.......... she literally
had hiccoups 20+ times a day and she was constantly Arching her back....

You KNOW when they have reflux...the minute the spit up or vomit they SCREAM from teh pain of the acid....They are COMPLETELY inconsolable. Monday Alexa SCREAMED from 9 am until midnight....she DID not sleep and only took 2 ozs of formula in that time.......

If you are concerned or somethign feels "off" mention it to your Ped but most likely she is just a happy spitter, which is COMPLETELY NORMAL in babies

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

DD has done the spit up curdling before and she always has some "trickling" as I like to call it, I think its pretty normal..also DD had a growth spurt right around 5 and 6 weeks, you may need to up how much shes eating by half an ounce see what happens then....

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

Many babies are happy spitters and don't seem to be bothered by spitting up. Some spitting up is normal. DS has reflux, but is more of a happy spitter.

For the first month, he spit up during and after feedings, but it wasn't a lot. Then, his spitting up became more forceful and he even vomited. The amount of spit up also increased a lot. I use cloth diapers as burp cloths and they've been soaked with spit up after a feeding. DS has covered both of us with his spit up. He'll spit up even an hour after a feeding. When he burps, I can hear the milk coming up. He doesn't seem bothered by it though, which was why I decided to hold off on medication. He has improved a bit since I first discussed this with the pediatrician, but there are still feedings where he spits up a lot.

You should talk to your doctor about this, but from what you described, it sounds normal.

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

Posted by randella

Posted by SweetTooth

babies spit up... if she had reflux you would know. my DS spits up all the time. he is perfectly fine. its normal.

this is what i was thinking... but i had to post cause i am just so worried all the time!

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

Like the others said, you'll definitely know. The screaming after a feeding gives it away.

However, if you notice that the baby is getting more and more fussy after a feeding try sitting them upright for 30 minutes, it helps.

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

There are different degrees of it and I think the term is used loosely - I think it is only an issue if the spitting up is obviously and consistently bothering DC - if not, its not a problem... You will know this - they will need to be upright after eating or they will be miserable, they will hate being on their back again miserable, etc. etc......

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

Jake is kind of the same. I noticed more spit up and feeding fussies lately, but he is also eating more. I give him a binky after he eats since the ped says the sucking calms them...that usally does the trick. If not, I heard it could be b/c they're still hungry.

Jake also has the curdle spit up sometimes, but it mostly dribbles out of his mouth when he is on the changing table, mainly due to the fact that I'm jostling him around to get changed. Other times, it is more violent and comes up faster when I'm burping him...this happens, but not all the time, maybe 1x a day.

We go on Monday for his 2 mo well visit , so I am going to ask the ped if this is all *normal*, but my gut tells me it is.

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

My DD has reflux and it was a nightmare when she was about 4-5 weeks..i mean, screaming during every feeding..she didnt always vomit but i would say we got bottles on us about 4 times a week..in addition, they do eat a ton..some say to soothe the throat..i can say that it is really rough and your child can scream the worst pain screams you have ever heard..i remember sitting in the Ped office for 4-5 hours so they could see what was going on..it was that bad..Her's was from a milk allergy but i will say she is thriving well.. it is a pretty rough situation to be in and she still has her days with fussiness..her nights have significantly improved but it took about 3.5 months...she still wont sleep in a crib..i bought an Amby bed and she loves it, sleeps through the night..plus, she will also nap in the swing..she likes being in a rocking type object..

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

Posted by Blissful

Posted by randella

Posted by Blissful

While every baby is different there are many common acid infant reflux symptoms. Your baby may exhibit few or many symptoms of acid reflux in baby. The number of symptoms he exhibits may be unrelated to the severity of baby reflux he may be experiencing. This is not a comprehensive list of acid reflux baby symptoms.


Poor weight gain or rapid weight gain
Frequent spitting up or gulping with a painful look on the face, as if heartburn
Projectile vomit, sometimes out the nose
Sour breath
Persistent hiccups or cough
Excessive fussiness, crying or colic
Sudden bursts of painful crying
Poor day and/or nighttime sleep habits
Constantly wants to nurse or refuses to nurse
Poor feeding habits - arches back, pulls up legs, stiffens or screams while feeding or refuses to eat while still hungry
Prefers upright or inclined positions
Always wants to be held

wow... i think EVERY baby would exhibit a handful of these symptoms

ALexa has EVERY SINGLE one of these symptoms. At 3.5 weeks old she is still only 6 ozs above her birth weight...

My big indicator with Alexa was you could tell she was refluxing and that the acid was coming up and when it did she would SCREAM.......... she literally
had hiccoups 20+ times a day and she was constantly Arching her back....

You KNOW when they have reflux...the minute the spit up or vomit they SCREAM from teh pain of the acid....They are COMPLETELY inconsolable. Monday Alexa SCREAMED from 9 am until midnight....she DID not sleep and only took 2 ozs of formula in that time.......

If you are concerned or somethign feels "off" mention it to your Ped but most likely she is just a happy spitter, which is COMPLETELY NORMAL in babies

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

just wanted to add that my dd was between 5-6 weeks old when her symptoms actually worsened..there was always an underlying concern though...she actually hardly EVER spits up..so relux can be shown in different ways..my dd's signs were, rapid weight gain in month 1...always wanting to nurse, but then pulling away and crying in pain when she did..constant hiccuping, and the big one for us was gagging..she would ALWAYS gag on nothing at all, and her eyes would get red and watery like she was gonna vomit, but nothing would come out..and then she would cry...im assuming these were what adults consider "throw up burps" lol

anyway we started axid at week 8 and she has improved IMMENSELY...she hasnt gagged ONCE in the last 2 weeks, and she looks much more comfortable, also nursing is becoming much easier and she gets through most feedings without the crying..
gd luck!!

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

Posted by kelsept

Posted by Blissful

Posted by randella

Posted by Blissful

While every baby is different there are many common acid infant reflux symptoms. Your baby may exhibit few or many symptoms of acid reflux in baby. The number of symptoms he exhibits may be unrelated to the severity of baby reflux he may be experiencing. This is not a comprehensive list of acid reflux baby symptoms.


Poor weight gain or rapid weight gain
Frequent spitting up or gulping with a painful look on the face, as if heartburn
Projectile vomit, sometimes out the nose
Sour breath
Persistent hiccups or cough
Excessive fussiness, crying or colic
Sudden bursts of painful crying
Poor day and/or nighttime sleep habits
Constantly wants to nurse or refuses to nurse
Poor feeding habits - arches back, pulls up legs, stiffens or screams while feeding or refuses to eat while still hungry
Prefers upright or inclined positions
Always wants to be held

wow... i think EVERY baby would exhibit a handful of these symptoms

ALexa has EVERY SINGLE one of these symptoms. At 3.5 weeks old she is still only 6 ozs above her birth weight...

My big indicator with Alexa was you could tell she was refluxing and that the acid was coming up and when it did she would SCREAM.......... she literally
had hiccoups 20+ times a day and she was constantly Arching her back....

You KNOW when they have reflux...the minute the spit up or vomit they SCREAM from teh pain of the acid....They are COMPLETELY inconsolable. Monday Alexa SCREAMED from 9 am until midnight....she DID not sleep and only took 2 ozs of formula in that time.......

If you are concerned or somethign feels "off" mention it to your Ped but most likely she is just a happy spitter, which is COMPLETELY NORMAL in babies

Have you had your DD tested for a milk allergy? My DD did this and it was horrible, screaming so much I thought i was going to have a break down. Mylanta and Axid have helped!

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

my son has EVERY single one of these symptoms as well..

i havent been able to put him down for more than 5 minutes everyday..

he is 7 weeks old today, and yesterday he started zantc and mylanta for his acid reflux.. - so far so good!!! - im praying it works...
- ps - he is hanging in his bouncey as i type!!

Re: How do you know if your baby has reflux?

Frankie is a week behind Sasha and I could've written this myself!