Solid Food and Reflux

Hi Everyone,

When did you start solid foods?
Was it rice Cereal?  In a bottle or with a spoon?
Did it help reflux? Help baby sleep longer?

I was going to wait 2 weeks for Cooper's 4 month appointment and talk to the doc about solid food.... but lately two things have made me think about starting sooner.

1.  He has started "refluxing" (is that a word?) way more often  these last two weeks.  He spits up half-digested milk about 1-3 hours after drinking it.  Sometimes it's a mouth-ful and he swallows it back down, but sometimes it's way more.   Maybe solids would prevent this ? 

2.  Since removing his wedge for sleeping (last week) he wakes up more often at night.  When he wakes up he thinks it's time to eat..... so what used to be 5-6 hours is now 2-3 and he wants a bottle.  I was hoping something more  solid might solve the nighttime feedings? 

Thanks, as always, for your advice !

Cindy

(Cooper has a new "toy" -- a saucer that he stands in like a big boy!  Found it for $12 at a garage sale!) 


 

Most doctors recommend waiting till 6 months and then star rice cereal. Cereal is going to be harder to digest, so it may make the reflux worse. It did not agree with my daughter at all. We actually had to take her off it all together and give her more time for her tummy to mature and she had bad reflux. Are you nursing, if you are nursing he might be trying to increase your milk supply by eating more. If you are bottle feeding you might try adding another ounce to his bottle. Also you might try buying new nipples for the bottles they wear out and then the formula comes out faster and that can cause reflux. 

Good Luck,
Emily

My son has reflux and is on Zantac and the GI doctor has us adding 1 teaspoon of rice cereal to his bottles.  It has definetly helped.  I was told by the GI doctor that thickening the formula will help them keep it down.

Patty

When did you start solid foods?
 he was 7ish weeks... on christmas day..banana


Was it rice Cereal?  In a bottle or with a spoon?

rice cereal in a bottle at 2 weeks because of the reflux...nope didnt help him sleep longer... he was is a giant and requires giant amounts of food....

enfamil makes a restfull formula.. its susposed to help baby feel full for longer....
http://www.enfamil.com/app/iwp/enfamil/productDetail.do?dm=e nf&id=/Consumer_Home2/Enf_Products/ForInfants/EnfamilRestful l&iwpst=B2C&ls=0&csred=1&r=3432578973

Well this has been a hot topic around me lately. All my other kids started cereal around 4 months. And that is how most everyone in my family did it with thier babies.

Jantzen will be 6 months next week. (I know...already?)

I have yet to give him anything but formula. Mostly because he is my last baby and "mommy" wasn't ready for him to move on. I realize that is stupid and selfish, but I am holding on to any baby thing I can.

However I have noticed that in the last week, bottles just don't seem to satisfy him. Soooo, this evening was his first time. And since it was, I used the next size nipple and used rice cereal with his formula. I want to make sure his belly seems to tolerate it. I will move on to cereal by spoon after a few days if he seems to digest the diluted well version.

OH PLEASE don't let my baby grow up! LOL

i have one that should be here around march.... all i ask for is 5 dollars and a diet coke..


ok people im just kidding...

It's not selfish! It's actually healtier for Jantzen that you are waiting, all studies suggest that the longer you wait the less risk of allergies, obesity and diabeties later in life! I waited with the triplets until they where 9 months old and will do the same with this little guy.

We started actual solids at 4 months.  But had rice cereal in his bottle from about 3 weeks on for the reflux.  It never helped with the sleep.  The rice cereal or other solids for that matter never really helped him from throwing up half his bottle.  Even now sometimes he throws up baby food and his bottle at the same time. 

I didn't start solids with the trips until about 9 months, and won't be doing it with this little guy until then either. In all honesty they don't NEED solid food until one year, and you should make sure that his tongue thrust reflex is gone before you start with food on a spoon. Also, I have found from talking to other moms that sometimes the solids to help them sleep ends up backfiring because its so hard to digest that they have more gas and pain so they are up MORE. It's a personal decision, jus****ch for his ques before you jump into it.

Talk to your ped about putting it in his bottle, for some kids it's just not a good idea, even with the reflux.

We started adding it to Kellen's bottles for reflux at about 6 weeks.  By 3 months he was eating it off of a spoon really thin and diluted.  He was on Zantac and Enfamil AR (thick like GRAVY) and none of it really helped but he liked the cereal a lot.  Then when he got constipated, I gave him prunes at about 4 months old - mixed with rice cereal.  Yeah, now he has a sweet tooth big time!

The cereal never helped him sleep longer, I don't think.  He started sleeping thru the night at about 3.5 months though, so who knows! 

Good luck!
Sandy