Baby's continuous vomiting after feeds

Though it's a common illness, you will probably never hear about it until someone you know has it. My son Jon was diagnosed with Pyloric Stenosis when he was two weeks old. He had to go through surgery because of this condition.

It all started with Jon vomiting forcefully (projectile vomiting) after each feed. During the first visit to the paediatrician, he suspected wind in the stomach and gave us some colic medicine. The vomiting did not stop and two days later, we went back to the paediatrician and he said it could be reflux or an allergy. He advised us to stop breastfeeding temporarily and recommended we give Jon the anti-regurgitation formula milk. We were told to monitor his urine and bowel movements, too.

Despite following all these instructions, Jon's condition persisted and, in fact, worsened. The forceful vomiting continued, there was no intake of milk and his urine and bowel movements reduced. He was restless and slept most of the time. He was losing weight and had sunken eyes. Seeing him like that, I was so afraid that I was going to lose my baby. I kept praying.

I looked through all the baby reference books I had and searched through the Internet but couldn’t solve this mystery puzzle. Day and night, I was not at peace when feeding him as he might vomit any time. Feeding became a phobia for us. I lost my appetite and lost weight during my confinement period.

I looked through Dr Spock’s baby and childcare book again, page by page and word by word. This is when I saw the subject Pyloric Stenosis. It is a condition where there is blockage from the stomach to the intestines which prevents the food from emptying out of the stomach and results in the child throwing up. I later confirmed this medical term on the Internet. Jon had exactly all the signs and symptoms mentioned. But to confirm the diagnosis, he might need to go for an X-ray, barium swallow or ultrasound. The first two procedures were too much to bear for a baby and so I was praying that the ultrasound alone could confirm the diagnosis.

The next day, we took him to the paediatrician and asked if Jon could be suffering from Pyloric Stenosis. The doctor was not convinced of that because he didn’t feel any abnormality during his physical examination and usually, the symptoms only appear when the baby is three weeks old. Moreover, it is unlikely to happen among those of Chinese ancestry, based on the statistics.

However, he scheduled an ultrasound immediately to rule this out.

While waiting for the ultrasound report, I was praying that the ultrasound could diagnose his medical condition and let it be Pyloric Stenosis so that our mystery puzzle would be resolved.

The ultrasound report came back and I was so relieved that it confirmed that Jon was suffering from Pyloric Stenosis. Immediately, the paediatrician helped us to make the arrangements to see a paediatric surgeon. Surgery was arranged for the next day to remove the blockage.

The doctor had to insert a tube through his nose to drain the fluid from his stomach before they could perform surgery the next day. Jon was wailing loudly as they inserted the tube and intravenous line. It was so heartbreaking to hear him cry.

That night, both Jon and I could not sleep. He was cranky because of the urge to suck. There was no food intake for him until the surgery. I could only pacify him and wet his lips with water. The next morning, the surgery went well and the surgeon confirmed once again that it was Pyloric Stenosis and he had fixed it!

The surgery left a scar on Jon's abdomen – just a thin and very light line about 5cm long. Now, whenever you watch him eat, you won't lose your appetite. We are so thankful!

Julie Ling