Hi All. My new Grandson, born on Thursday is home from hospital. Unfortunately I live over 500 miles away but my daughter phoned me tonight. She is having problems with the little one feeding. When she feeds him he regurgitates. She described it to me today as "projectile vomit". The staff at the hospital were concerned too on Friday but they allowed her and the baby home on Saturday. My daughter has been keeping an eye on him all day and she says he is gagging a lot. Another thing that worries me is he seems to sleep a lot - more than I would consider normal. He also doesn't seem to cry a lot either. I'm maybe being paranoid, but I know when my daughter and her brother were babies, they cried especially at feeding time.

I have told her to take him back to the hospital (or call her doctor) regardless of what time it is if she's worried but if anyone can throw light on the problem it would be very much appreciated.

I will add that she had a long labour and was given 3 shots of morphine so that could also still be in the baby's system and might be making him more sleepy than normal.

Is he breastfed or formula fed?

She's formula feeding. I've told her she may need to reconsider and breast feed him but she's not comfortable with the idea (don't know why as it's perfectly natural) :rolleyes:

I suggested that if she doesn't want to do that, she could express milk and still bottle feed him. Her midwife is coming to visit later today and she is going to tell her about the problems she's having.

Yes, that would be my suggestion. It's not too late for her to start breastfeeding. Breastmilk is much easier on the baby's tummy. Hopefully the midwife can offer some suggestions. I hope everything turns out okay. Congrats on your new grandson!

Has he pooped yet? DS was born with a bowel obstruction and started vomiting about 12 hours after he was born. Then we realized he hadn't stooled at all. There is something that my brother-in-law had as a baby that caused projectile vomiting. It was easily correctible with minor surgery, but I can't remember what they did. But my MIL said the formula would just shoot out. Could also be reflux...

Their doc should talk to them more about the projectile vomiting. A lot of spitting up is ok, but projectile type stuff can be a bigger problem. The baby may just be having some reflux problems. If she can't do the breastmilk thing, a different formula may be the answer. Or the baby might need some meds. He might also be having problems with the whole breathing and swallowing at the same time thing when he's eating. Some newborns do. As for the sleeping...I think that most newborns sleep all day long except to eat. 18-20 hours is normal. I'd say she's lucky that her baby doesn't cry much. DD rarely cried as an infant. Hopefully she's just blessed with a quiet baby and it's not the sign of a problem. I hope everything gets better soon. Congrats on your new grandson!

There could be many reasons, like an intolerance to cows milk in the formula. If this is the case, then breastfeeding would fix the problem (or switching to a soy-based formula).

One other thing which is serious. My cousin's daughter was born with a "too small" opening from the esophagus to the stomach. Because of this, the baby wasn't getting enough nourishment in and was vomiting up the rest. The problem was identified after the baby was determined to be a "failure to thrive" baby and the problem was corrected with surgery.

Oddly enough, her first child also was a "failure to thrive" baby, although they never determined why. She's almost four now, and is perfectly normal.

I would say that if the breastfeeding doesn't fix the problem, she should take the baby to the pediatrician and insist that the problem be taken seriously.

Finally remembered what my BIL had as a baby. It was pyloric stenosis 'cuz my MIL thought that might be what DS had when he was born.

My children both had this same problem. They had reflux--which means a different thing for infants than it does for adults. In infants it is often caused by an underdeveloped valve between the stomach and esophagus. My kids both outgrew it before they were a year old, but they were on medication until they did. By the way, I breast-fed, and everyone told me I should quit breast-feeding and bottle feed. The way I figure it, their stomach valve will still be weak no matter if how they are fed, so your daughter should continue doing whatever she wants. I hope this helps!