We all know that babies spit up. Years ago, I used to laugh at this compilation from America’s Funniest Home Videos.

It’s all funny until every single one of those scenes happens to you because your baby has reflux. [karma? perhaps.]

Colin started spitting up from the very beginning. He’d spit up 7-10 times after each feeding, no matter how much time had passed since he ate. You were never safe. I remember my first call to the pediatrician: “He spits up a lot. I think maybe something is wrong.”

After his checkups, the doctor said Colin was growing just fine. Since he was putting on weight, was generally pretty happy & not screaming while he was eating, the doctor said we didn’t need medication. “He’ll eventually grow out of it.”

But since some kids take months to grow out of it, I compiled a few tips for living with infant reflux. Dealing with projectile vomiting is never fun or easy, but hopefully these things can help you maintain sanity.

1) Stock up on burp clothes. The really absorbent kind. Cloth diapers work best. [We found Gerber cloth diapers at Target, in a 10 pack, and those were our favorites!] Take them with you EVERYWHERE. The only time our poor kid was away from a burp cloth for 7 straight months was during bath time. You think I’m joking? Let’s play a little game then….

2) Become best friends with your Boppy. If your baby has reflux, you probably already know that laying flat after a feeding isn’t a good idea. We used the Boppy constantly for propping. [It may have delayed his ability to roll over, but he’s all caught up now. No worries!] We also tried putting his crib mattress at an incline (no help) & his changing table pad at an incline (also no help). Let me be clear that the propping didn’t stop the reflux, but I think it made things better.

3) Don’t let your baby overeat. I found the reflux was much less severe if I limited the amount of time Colin would nurse. Maybe some babies can cut themselves off appropriately. Not my baby. [takes after his momma for sure!] I used this app to time my feedings and make sure he wasn’t getting too much milk. I worked with my pediatrician to determine the appropriate amount of time to feed him. I also found it helped to give him a pacifier right after feeding.

4) Invest in cute bibs. At about 4 months old, I decided Colin would just need to wear bibs full time. It made things easier & decreased the required outfit changes. If he was going to wear them constantly, I wanted something that would be fun to look at & found a few favorites on Etsy: here and here.

 

5) Don’t cry over ‘spit’ milk. Really. Don’t let reflux or the loads & loads of laundry stop you from enjoying your baby. Don’t be afraid to put them in the cute outfits [even if it’ll only last a few minutes], pass them to your friends/family to hold [don’t forget to pass the burp cloth too!] and take them on outings [even if the carseat is a pain to clean out]. It will pass. I promise. Our pediatrician was right- Colin grew out of his reflux without medication. At about 6 months we saw a drastic improvement and it cleared up by just over 7 months.

Did your baby have severe reflux? Any other tips you have to share? [Please comment below!]