Weaning at 4 months question

[Missamyturtle]

Sorry I know this comes up a lot and being a contentious subject the old threads are always pages and pages long!
We've been advised to start weaning our 19 week old as he has awful reflux and cmpi. He's not doing very well on neocate hypoallergenic milk, drinking the bare minimum and gaining a tiny amount of weight along the 2nd centile (he was born on 9th).

Anyway justification over! We have a referral to a dietician which is taking forever but in the mean time the paed very vaguely told us to start some solids.

My question is what foods are best to avoid? I've read I should stay gluten free but am confused about baby porridge.

He's not interested in baby rice made with neocate as it tastes the same. He has happily lapped at the juice from a very ripe pear. I really wanted to blw again and feel a bit lost!

Any understanding advice much appreciated!

[Mummyreindeerlegz]

I'd have a look at annabel Karmel and do some first taste purées. The problem is they are so low in calories and fat it won't help that much that quickly. If you can hide neocate in purées that will help.

Baby led weaning is great but not that suitable for early weaning as the swallowing and chewing reflexes aren't as developed as at six months when you'd start Blw.

My dietician was happy for us to give soya unless it caused an obvious issue which it didn't. This made weaning easier as there are lots of soya yoghurts and cheeses available that help with calories. Sainsbury do a coconut based cheese my baby and toddler will eat.

Go slowly as you may find other sensitivities as you are havjng the cmpa to deal with.

[ImYourMama]

Mash one type of vegetable at a time, so any allergens are easily identified, mash some milk into it too to help ease the transition

[Missamyturtle]

Cool I think I'll hang on for my appt before trying soya. I don't want to do this. I had a lovely experience blw my dd 😞

[ButtfaceMiscreant]

My twins had/have CMPI and I was told to avoid soya (I was breastfeeding so went dairy and soya free from 10 weeks to 6 months, although one of my twins dropped to 0.4th centile but because he remained there they were happy to delay weaning). I used Oatly oat milk in their porridge (baby porridge) as that is ok to use in cooking/preparing foods just not as a main drink until 12 months. I didn't get to see the dietician until they were nearly 11 months (despite referring at 11 weeks) so I basically went in blind. I did do baby led weaning mixed with some purees, just annoying I had no fall back of cheese/yoghurt/other dairy products that are useful to have for when your lovingly prepared meal is rejected!

They are 14months now and not yet on plain cows milk or cheese but can have it cooked now with limited/no reactions, so hopefully not long until they outgrow it, and I hope it is similar for your little one

[EstelleRoberts]

Have you tried SMA Alfamino? It's hypoallergenic, same as Neocate, but is much more palatable. It is nowhere near as bitter. My DD took to it no problem, and is still on some at 17 months (multiple food allergies and intolerances means she still has a limited diet, and needs to drink some formula).

In our area Neocate is no longer prescribed or recommended by the allergy clinic, as it is so foul tasting. Could you ask to try that? Weaning at 4 months will be a major faff.

[Missamyturtle]

Our gp is kind but knows very little about it all so I asked for neocate when pepti junior caused a v bad reflux flare. I'm sure I can ask for an alternative providing it isn't hugely more expensive.

I would definitely prefer to delay weaning until I can give more foods and finger foods. My baby weighs 12lb and can barely get a teether in his mouth so it just feels really wrong.

My paed said don't go at it fully fledged but lay some groundwork in texture and swallowing so that he'll pick it up quickly when he's really ready and then the bare min milk will be enough.

He is at least interested in food and seemed to enjoy tasting the sweet pear so I'm happy to very slowly build on that. To be fair it's only six weeks now and it took me a while to get dd used to food in her mouth.

She then quickly rejected purée and wanted to feed herself 😁

[Missamyturtle]

ButtfaceMiscreant
If he has an intolerance I do think it's fairly mild. He doesn't have any allergic reaction, he has reflux and digestive discomfort so it makes him pretty grumpy but he doesn't have any eczema or anything like that.

I truly feel for you and your experience and hope that we have a quicker response from the hospital. I feel completely abandoned x

[EstelleRoberts]

Miss, I think the Alfamino is a bit cheaper, though still expensive, so hopefully the GP will prescribe it. It is recommended over Neocate by the paediatric allergy team at St Mary's Paddington. They have been invaluable to us. Could you get a referral to an allergy clinic near you? They are far more knowledgable than GPs, and it gives you access to a dietician, too.

[Missamyturtle]

I have no idea but I can ask! Thanks you for all the info! X

[EstelleRoberts]

No worries! I really hope your LO's symptoms ease soon. Reflux and intolerances suck. Feel free to pm me if you have any more Qs you think I might be able to help with.

[Missamyturtle]

You know diagnosing a teething baby is a nightmare! We've had an awful day today. I can't tell if he's grumpy because the thin hypo milks make him reflux more or if it's something else. He had a bit of normal formula yesterday so it could be that but I'm not sure if one day is enough to give him days of misery. So now I'm wondering if it was the milk yesterday after all.

I'm going to give the neocate a few more days (it's been two weeks) with no interference and unkess there's a marked improvement I'm going to challenge him again to see if it really is cmpi.