after feedings, pulling up his little legs in abdominal pain. Other parents
have an infant like little Micah, who vomited every meal for six months.
For these parents, the cause of their baby’s discomfort was baffling,
blending desperation and fatigue with the agony of concern for their
baby. Here are a few more details.
Asher’s Story
According to Ashley, Asher’s mom, it happened at every feeding:
Asher showed all the normal hunger signals, began to nurse
ferociously, and then suddenly stop. He would pull away from me
and just start screaming. I knew something was wrong, but what? I
tried everything. I changed my diet, fed more often, fed less often,
switched sides numerous times while nursing, and burped him often.
Nothing helped. Sleep was not the best. Asher took very short naps,
30 minutes, if I could get him to sleep at all. At night he would wake
four to five times. Nothing brought comfort to little Asher.Micah’s Story
Whitney provides a slightly different account, but one just as stressful:
Forester, my firstborn, was a big spitter (soaked a burp cloth every
feeding), but he was a happy spitter and a big baby (9 lbs. 11 oz.). He
remained at the top of the growth charts so I never thought twice
about colic or reflux. After my second child, Micah, was born, I saw
a similar pattern developing. By his second day of life, Micah was
spitting up large amounts after each feed. At first I just thought he
was a big spitter like my firstborn, but by the end of Micah’s first
week, my husband said, “This just can’t be normal.” At two weeks
Micah was spitting up 40-50 times a day. He spit up so much that I