Being a parent means you are going to spend your life surrounded by many things you thought gross as a young man or a woman. Poop, pee, mucus, and saliva are unavoidable in a parent’s day and you will do the things that you swore you will never do just to make sure your baby is fine. It is universal that every little change in the baby’s body concern the parents.
Spitting up clear liquid is one such change you will observe in your baby and then panic about. Babies spit up milk from the youngest days, but what is this clear liquid? This article discusses the causes of clear liquid spit-ups, what you can do about it and when to contact a doctor.
CONTENT
1. What makes my baby spit up clear liquid?
2. Should I give water to my baby to prevent dehydration?
3. When should I call my pediatrician?
1. What makes my baby spit up clear liquid?
The babies under 12 months will spit up frequently. Breastmilk, baby formula, saliva, mucus, or a mixture of these can form a clear liquid spit-up. There are several causes of it.
- Spit-up from breastmilk and baby formula
Your baby’s digestive system is still developing so they will spit up a lot in the first year of their life. Some babies need to be burped by an adult but some babies release gas by themselves before someone else helps them. The clear liquid you are seeing can be a liquid that came out while your baby burped by himself.
Most of the times spit-up after feeds will be milky white but your baby might spit up clear liquid too. Digested breastmilk or baby formula mixed with saliva can come out as a clear liquid. A little amount of white or clear spit up just after the feeds is normal in healthy babies.
- Vomit
The babies need time to learn how and how much to eat. In the first few months of their life, babies do not know how fast they can gulp or how much milk that their tummies can hold. Their digestive systems are also still learning to digest breastmilk. During this process, the babies may vomit. Now, what is the difference between spit-up and vomit?
Vomiting happens when the stomach muscles contract and push out the food in it. it will come out with clear digestive juices in the stomach along with curdled milk or cottage cheese-like clumps. If your baby does not vomit frequently and does not have other symptoms of an illness like fever, there is nothing to worry about.
- Teething
Your baby will get his first teeth from the age of 4 to 7 months. It is an important milestone in your baby’s life that makes him ready for solid food. When the teeth erupt from the gums, it will cause discomfort and pain to your baby. Most of the babies get fussy while teething. If a baby drools a lot of salivae suddenly, it is more likely that your baby is teething. The baby might even spit up excess saliva produced inside his mouth.
Babies need help to cope with teething pains. You can massage their sore gums with your fingers to ease their pain. Offering warm or cold washcloths and teething rings to your teething baby is another way to deal with the discomfort from erupting teeth. As long as your baby does not vomit and has other symptoms, this is not a matter of concern.
- Sicknesses
As same as the digestive systems, the immune system of babies are still immature. So they will get sick more often than big kids or adults. Your baby will be passed immunity to a certain degree from you but it will be faded away as they grow up. They will be developing their immune system and in the meanwhile, sicknesses will catch them.
Your baby will catch colds frequently. Remember that they do not know how to blow their nose to get rid of mucus. Therefore, the baby will swallow loads of mucus when he has a cold. This swallowed mucus will come out as spit-up or vomit which will look like a clear liquid to you.
The babies who have fever and diarrhea might vomit clear liquids. This happens when they do not have anything in the stomach to push out as vomit so digestive juices will come out as a clear liquid. It is important to call the pediatrician if your baby has these symptoms.
- Reflux
The medical term for this condition is Gastroesophageal Reflux. It happens when the food in your baby’s tummy is pushed out and comes out as a spit-up. More than two-thirds of babies experience reflux a few times a day. If your baby gains weight and shows no sign of pain, reflux is not a reason to worry. Reflux peaks at the age of 4 months and will fade away when the baby turns one.
But some cases of Gastroesophageal Reflux can be a sign of another health condition. If your baby does not gain weight, show signs of pain, refuse to eat, and vomit, it can be Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. GERD needs immediate medical attention. You will have to implement some lifestyle changes to your baby’s life feeding small meals, feeding frequently, or change of the baby formula brand.
- Pyloric Stenosis
Pyloric Stenosis cause to have a pyloric sphincter muscle that is thickened and narrows the pyloric channel. When your baby has a narrowed pyloric channel, it restricts food in the stomach from entering the small intestine.
Then the stomach will react by contracting forcefully to push the food through, but as the channel is narrowed, the food will come out with a strong force. When a baby has Pyloric Stenosis, his vomit will be splashed few feet away.
Although this is a serious health issue, it can be corrected easily with surgery.
2. Should I give water to my baby to prevent dehydration?
When your baby is drooling or spitting up a lot of clear liquid, it may look like your baby needs more hydration. But you should never give water to babies under 6 months of age. They have very tiny stomachs that will easily be filled with water preventing their hunger. If your baby does not eat enough breastmilk or baby formula, his nutritional needs will not be met.
The kidneys of your baby are also immature and are incapable of filtering out a large amount of water. A higher concentration of water will dilute the concentration of electrolytes such as sodium in the blood. So it is always better not to offer water. You can increase the amount of breastmilk or baby formula fed to your baby to make sure he stays hydrated.
3. When should I call my pediatrician?
If your baby is spitting up in large amounts with other symptoms like a fever you should consult a doctor. Frequent vomiting is also a reason to seek medical attention. If your baby shows symptoms of GERD or shows signs of pain, you should meet a doctor soon.