Trust, Spit-Up, and Sleepless Nights: A Lesson in Ignoring the Internet (Sometimes)

For about a week, my son and I lived like tiny nocturnal creatures—awake through the night, blurry-eyed, pacing the floor under soft night lights. He just couldn’t seem to stay settled. Of course, I did what I thought was right: I fed him. Every time. Every cue. Every root, every fuss, every squirm, I took as a sign he was hungry. And according to the internet? That was exactly what I was supposed to do.

"Feed on demand," they said.

"Babies won’t overeat," they promised.

"He’ll stop when he’s full," they assured me.

So I fed. And fed. And fed.

Until he projectile vomited all over me. Twice.

Let me just say—when something hits the wall with that much force, you know it’s not just a little spit-up. And yet, he wasn’t sick. He was just full. Way past full. Like post-holiday-dinner, can’t-move full. It wasn’t reflux, and there was no fever. He’d simply overindulged. On milk.

Turns out, babies can overeat. And mine did. Because we were both new to this.

I started reading even more (you know how that goes). Searching at 2 a.m.:

“Why is my baby cluster feeding again?”

“Is it normal to feed every 30 minutes?”

“Why is my baby throwing up so hard it’s hitting the wall?”

“Why won’t he sleep when he’s clearly full?”

There was no magical answer waiting for me at the bottom of the rabbit hole. What we did do was start timing feeds. Weighing him before and after, especially when he seemed to have eaten a lot. Watching for the difference between hunger cues and comfort cues.

But more importantly? I learned to take what I read online with a grain of salt. Not every baby follows the same rulebook. Not every article applies to every child. Not every well-meaning blog knows your baby.

It’s easy to forget this is the first time both of you are doing this—you and your baby. You’re learning each other in real-time. And there will be mistakes, soaked shirts, long nights, and moments where the internet makes you feel like you’re doing it all wrong.

But you’re not.

You’re just learning. Together.

So now, when someone tells me “Oh, babies don’t overeat,” I smile, nod, and remember that one night my son’s milk hit the nursery wall with the velocity of a Super Soaker. Lesson learned.

With love from Mommy & B 🩵