To want to wean DD earlier than 6 months due to reflux/spit up?

[Tjsmumma]

I know this is a sensitive topic but, i want to know, if you weaned earlier due to spit up/reflux and what you gave first, when, why please.

My DD is nearly 4 months, recently she is spitting up a lot more, like nearly after every feed.

She's EBF and seems like she's so hungry she's taking more in that she needs due to this and then just spitting it up again so i really think she is ready for more than just my milk.

She shows all the signs for readiness, looks at food, put things in her mouth, sits really well with support, over double her birth weight, grabs out for anything we eat and doesn't have the tongue thrust.

I know other DM who have weaned way earlier and their babies are fine and really enjoy it and showed the same signs.

I know i should contact HV but, i cant gwt through at the moment, ive left multiple messages to no reply.

i have looked into every option, researched a lot and i know its advised from 6 months but, a lot of people i know have from 3/4 months and all the pouches etc say from 4

I'm just confused and know they advise weaning early if reflux is an issue, she goes very squirmy and irritable and then spits up but, isnt crying or upset.

How quickly is your baby feeding? I got a slower teat for DS2 which helped reduce vomiting.

I've started him tasting purees and baby porridge (5 months). He has horrendous eczema all over and I'm sure it's the formula as he didn't have it when I was bf-ing. So if I can gradually reduce the amount of formula he has, I'm hopeful the eczema will improve. It's totally the opposite of how I weaned DS1 but every baby is different.

I'm also going with my instincts this time, rather than by the book. It'll take a while and I'm not going to be removing any feeds just yet, but we've started teaspoon size portions and he's loving it.

OP, there’s a difference between acid reflux, causing the baby problems and just what is called a ‘happy chucker’ by some - just brings up milk due to a liquid diet. Mine is the latter, confirmed by a ph probe study into her tummy. If yours is gaining weight and happy I would suggest she is the same.

I have sort of weaned early under dietician guidance as mine was extremely premature, and they don’t wait for corrected age necessarily. This is entirely unrelated to the reflux. What I would say is that it has made little difference to the reflux, she will still puke on us all day long, it’s just a variety of colours now. As she’s happy, developing and gaining weight I’m not bothered by it, but weaning has certainly not been the magic cure.

I changed the way I winded my son by gentle rubbing clockwise whilst ds was up right on my chest with no pressure on the throat i.e. Head resting just below my clavicle. We also added in infacol. He was also ebf, but he was crying. He fed ferociously as well. We didn't introduce baby rice till he was 5 months but it didn't make any difference. It settled bit by bit the older he got. BF support group suggested it was to do with immature digestive system unable to cope with the demands placed on it. Check in with support groups as well as hv.

I wouldn't bother. My now nearly 14yr old had terrible reflux (he was a happy vomiter). I and he were permanently covered in vomit. He was born during the time of "wean no younger than 4 months, but fine to start before 6 months" I started at 5.5 months with him and tbh it made no difference at all to his reflux. He just vomited yo the food too!! He did eventually get better around 15 months old. I suspect he just matured somehow.

@Tessie87 thank you for your reply! Ah so the 19th of December?! Sounds identical then, she's always happy, nearly 18lb up for 6lb 12oz, and now thats what i assume, shes over eating adn and then chucking up the excess! She's never sad aboit it and infact smiles straight afterwards! Ive looked at every option and cant decide whats best really! Seems like a lot of people have a strong opinion eithr way! I really do want to hold off unless it would benefit her more, just seeing all my other friends (I'm 22 and FTM so a bit reliable to other mums for my judgement as they are slightly older than me) ill definitely hold out after yours and others responses but good to hear your first baby didnt have any allergies etc after weaning earlier!

@User202004 thank you! Ill definitely hold out :)

@Keeva2017 thank you! Ill keep assessing snd see what seems best but seems like a lot of people are stern on not giving until at least 6 months, all the mums j know have waited until at least 4 so!

I was in a similar situation with DC1 who had CMPA and we started solids (purees and soft finger foods) at 5months under Paed guidance.

I really liked this article about when to start because it summarised some of the global recommendations and the science on pros and cons (it's older now but goid info): scienceofmom.com/2015/05/14/starting-solids-4-months-6-months-or-somewhere-in-between/

Ultimately, intro of solids is a process, you're not suggesting stopping feeding milk in favour of solids, just a couple of spoonfuls here or there to see how baby gets on. I personally think that, as long as it's after the minimum recommended 17 weeks of age, then that's entirely reasonable. Have fun with it, and prepare for the mess! :)

@LittleAndOften she's EBF and i dont really make enough to pump as well (well without a lot of work!) my let down is/was very fast and that played a part so i learnt how to feed better for her. No, i definitely dont want to reduce feeds at all, just seen evidence that it can be beneficial to wean early :)

@Zombiemum1946 ill try that! Thank you, sje definitely doesnt scream in pain or anythimg like that so i think i was overreacting as such!

@onlyreadingneverposting8 thanks!! Seems like it doesnt always help then and just makes sick different colours!

With my first she had silent reflux so was given baby gaviscon at 3 months which did help (or so I thought) she is now 2.5 years old

2nd baby had normal reflux but they wouldnt give me gaviscon before 6 months as research shows that the babys digestive system is so young they need to learn to digest etc unless baby is not gaining weight or is in distress.

As baby was dropping on the percentiles but was a big baby they agreed to give me gaviscon but I only used it for 2 weeks before she settled. Yes is still sick but it doesnt bother her.

If baby is not getting visibly upset even though you read cues then I would suspect they are fine. My 4 month old is currently feeding roughly every 3 hours sometimes 2 in the day due to growth spurt. I feed on demand and if she bring loads up it doesnt matter. Not like it costs me anything apart from time and let's face it at the moment I have plenty of that!

I would perserve with getting a phone call with the HV or phoning the surgery and asking for a call back that you need advice regarding a small baby and feeding.

@SerBrienneOfHouseTarth ill take a look! Thank you for that info, yes, definitely, i think i have the wording wrong, i just wanted to see if a few spoonfuls here and there would be beneficial, never to not give a feed due to it! And, no, definitely not this week at 16 weeks! Id be waiting a few weeks etc to make sure she was completely ready! Ive seen others do the same, even younger with no issues i think me saying weaning has kicked up a fuss in some peoples replies as tbey think im trying to not give a feed which isnt what i was trying to imply at all! Thank you :)

@Oldfail thank you :) yes, she's going a bit longer between feeds now, on and off depending on the day and her mood really! Seems like the spit up is infact not reflux, but, since ive not been able to get a docs appointment and my last appointment he brushed it off completely and HV not responding (i know they are all under strain) its made me come to places like this for advice to see whats normal, whats not, what others have done. I have, they said unless i felt it was urgent not to as its a waste of time...

DD had reflux. Her paediatrician told me to start weaning at 5 months because she wasn't gaining weight. In all honesty, it made things so much worse and my HV actually put in a complaint about the doctor because apparently it's outdated advice and can worsen reflux.

Also those aren't weaning cues. They are normal 4mo stuff that you are describing.

In my experience weaning doesn’t help with reflux. I couldn’t get my reflux baby to keep down hardly any solid food until he was about 8 months. He hated purée and was only happy when he could feed himself. You could just be giving your baby more to sick up.

My daughter was 4 months I wanted to wait 6 months but she had bad reflux literally cried day and night and the doctor said start at 4 months and it helped! Took a while but she's very healthy and happy good luck hope it goes well x

I weaned at 4 months & offered random tastes of porridge (made From the milk) etc before from about 10 weeks. There are ellas kitchen pouches that say 4 months on them too. There are good Aptimil porridge’s for first tastes.

Have a private paediatrician who didn’t even bat an eye at the weaning as he was drinking SO much milk every two hours until he weaned it was signalling he was hungry.

Of course he still wanted his bottles in addition and we still had reflux - until I discovered the magical “MAM bottles” they are 5 pieces to wash and put together but wow, they were a game changer.

I wouldn't wean before 6 months unless advised by a health care professional. There is is a lot of information out there on the internet and some of it is people's own experience based on one baby, some is second hand medical advice, some is true some is not. Stick to what is advised by the WHO, NHS and any HCPs that you see and base your judgement for your baby on that.

@CheesecakeAddict im only going on what ive read on multiple sites, so if a baby was doing all those at 6 months, you would say the same? 🤔 www.medicinenet.com/7_signs_its_time_to_wean_your_baby_from_breastfee/article.htm www.aptaclub.co.uk/baby/diet-and-nutrition/weaning/signs-of-weaning.html

@mumme111 thank you! I think ill wait a big longer and start introducing and still give normal feeds!

@Marpan thank you for your reply! Yes i wanted to do some porridge or somethjng with some expressed milk and offer it inbetween our normal feeds not replace them! Seems like itll eithsr help or not! So all i can do is try, thank you

@tealandteal i dont want to replace her normal milk feeds just introduce a few spoonfuls to see if it will help which from what im reading it eitber will or wont. Evidence bases it either way from 4 months onwards it can be beneficial and not harmful in other aspects, totally depends on what you read. I'll wait a bit longer.

I would recommend starting by keeping a really detailed diet of what you eat, when she feeds and for how long, how much she's spitting up, and what she's doing in between (eg napping, rolling, tummy time, etc)

I had a 'happy' case of reflux, though she wasn't sleeping at all. She was spitting up more than twenty times a day though.

I was also EBF, and basically four days of writing down what I ate, and her patterns, highlighted she was much much worse when I had egg or dairy. I went on an elimination diet which helped but didn't make it go away- basically I was told she had 'classic' reflux, AND reflux caused by the allergy. So she was on medication.

In all honestly, nothing really helped, I weaned literally a week or so before six months with carrot purée but didn't make a difference. The only thing that eventually did was after she was crawling for long enough that her stomach muscles developed, so around nine months.

So, I really really wouldn't wean at this point. Especially not if she's only really getting sick during meals.

I'd consider seeing if you could get a lactation consultant to do a video consult, vomiting during feeds like that suggests to me she's swallowing air, esp if she isn't spitting up at other times. And I'd do a food diary for yourself to see if there's any link with that, though I can't imagine it's likely as I think you'd be seeing a lot more spitting up and some other symptoms, though really we were dismissed a lot because she was a 'happy spitter' and nobody really cared she was getting half the amount of sleep she was meant to. I'd also make sure you were doing lots of yummy tile to strengthen those muscles.

I know it's really stressful when it feels like there's lots of conflicting reports, but having seen loads of specialists and consultants and dieticians I'd say don't rush into weaning. There's less calories than milk, there's potential for more digestive discomfort, and until you're ruled out dietary issues, latch issues and maybe tried to strengthen tummy muscles a bit it feels a bit premature.

I began weaning my now 5 month old just before he turned 3 months and it has really helped his silent reflux, he's like a different baby now and he was suffering a lot. I started with baby rice mixed with breast milk then baby porridge and now he's on pureed fruit and Vegetables and pots of baby food and loves it.

Sounds like weigh gain etc is going well, I would wait. Lots of people rush into weaning for some reason and in honesty it's a pain in the arse. BM is all she needs right now, if you are concerned about the spit up keep trying to contact the HV, but sounds like you're doing great.

@worriedmama1980 I was initially and couldn't pin point it, its definitely not dairy as its not always every day it happens and it stkpped for a good while as we followed a similar routine to you and i have dairy every day.

Yes, she's now spitting up on the breast, not before or after really, occasionally when we do tummy time or play time too quick but is never sad by it or really bothered.

She has no rash, mucusy poos or any other symptoms of a dietary issue, literally just the past few days its happened, but, she's nursing a lot more due to leap/grows spurt so i assumed she just needed more etc.

We do loads of tummy time, she absolutely loves it so we are often either holding her or playing on mat etc shes been rolling for about a month now and just prefers playing on tummy but, also likes play on her back too so its not an issue of her hating/being in pain on her back.

She initially hated laying on ger back to sleep so she slept on my chest for ages, i contemplated putting hernto sleep on her tummy and even went and got an angelcare monitor, she then decided she liked sleeping on her back as long as she was sleeping with me and if she doesn't she wakes herself up.

I have worded it wrong i do not want to reduce the amount of milk at all simply add a few spoonfuls of it along side her milk intake.

We weaned early on paediatrians advise 16 weeks in 2006. No help at all. What helped was her learning to sit up crawl etc
She still has reflux at 13 years. Also a milk allergy that given more up to date research may have been caused by early weaning. Trying feeding more upright and keeping upright for as long as possible after feeding that made the bigger difference

@firsttimemum30 thats exactly what I planned on doing :) glad to seeit had bo negative effects!! And indeed helped i want fo still give her normal feeds on demand.

@Tattiebee thank you so much. I just wanted to see if adding a spoonful or two inbetween her milk would be beneficial or not. Seems its either worked or not for others

DD had reflux and had the Gaviscon sachets for it. I refused to leave the GP's office until he gave us the prescription.

She barely gained any weight.
She barely slept.
She screamed a lot.
I had to change her several times during the day because she would get completely soaked with what she threw back up.
She chocked in her sleep a few times which was terrifying.

Feeding upright,keeping her upright,lifting the cot etc didnt help.

We also swapped to formula once we started the medicine and life got a bit easier.
We weaned at 6 months as recommended.

@Random18 BLW can start as soon as the baby can sit well, pick up food and put it in their mouth.
Baby doesn’t know how many weeks it is!
All of mine could feed themselves before 6 months.