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.

If you want to do what every other single
parent you know has done, purely for the reason that it’s what they’ve done then go ahead, that’s your choice.

What I or anyone else on this forum says or thinks should not play any part in the decision you make. You’ve asked people for opinions, you’ve received them (on both sides of the argument) and now you can just do as you wish with what people have said.

You said you’ve read around the issue of early weaning and that don’t believe there are any risks so there you go, that’s your decision made surely?

You want to do it, so just do it.

Hey op, I weaned at around 18/19 weeks with my first on advice from my hv and gp because of horrific reflux. She was miserable, constantly crying in pain and projectile vomiting every feed, she never slept and couldn't be lay down. It was awful for everyone!

I stated her with a little breakfast, she had baby porridge or mashed banana. When we were happy with that I added in evening meal, puréed meals or jars/pouches for 4-6 months. By 6 months she was on 3 meals a day and having finger foods too. She was sitting independently by 17 weeks old and had pretty much lost the tongue thrust too.

In other European countries they wean from 4 months which is why we see 4+ months on baby food. I know the advice is around 6 months but some babies benefit from earlier weaning (I know my dd did!) if you've done your research and believe it's best then go for it. You can always try and if she doesn't take to it then wait a bit longer.

DS suffered from horrendous silent reflux to the point where he would scream for 18 hours straight and only stop when he was so exhausted he could t stay awake any longer. One of the options presented was to wean slightly earlier however this was recommended by a paed gastroenterologist and done under strict supervision and guidance. The purpose for this was not to give a lining to the stomach but because swallowing something thicker than milk would help to strengthen the easophagus to limit the reflux. Requesting guidance from an unqualified source is dangerous. The above worked for us as we were under the care of a very good Dr and a dietician. Just because it works for someone else doesn't mean it's ok for your DD. Every generation has parented differently and all you can do is use the guidance given to you by your own GP or health visitor

My ds as a baby had terrible reflux which was treated with a combination of gaviscon & ranitidine. The consultant paeditrician was very clear that I shouldn't wean him earlier. The reason he gave was that babies weaned earlier were more likely to develop food allergies later. They might look ready but internally their stomachs are not quite developed. Two months will make a huge difference, there's a reason why medics say 6 months.

What actual medical research have you undertaken? Have you spoken to a Dr. or a health visitor?

www.food.gov.uk/research/food-allergy-and-intolerance-research/eat-study-early-introduction-of-allergenic-foods-to-induce-tolerance

There is vanishingly little evidence that weaning an otherwise healthy, developmentally ready infant between 20 and 26 weeks has any detrimemtal effect at all. Many babies enjoy "tastes" at this age. DS was weaned at 4 months as per guidence at tbe time Dd snaffled her brother's third birthday cake off my plate at 5 months. I then considered her weaned !.

@InkogKneeToe it was never my intention to seem competitive in the slightest, i judt dislike being told they are normal milestones a child meets and its not a sign of readiness at 4 months but is at 6, ive read on multiple places that it is. My point that my other parent friends have is that im confused as to why lots of otjer FTM are doing so if it was so detrimental to their health without guidance is all. Definitely, i totally agree! Hence why i dont want to replace it and want to know what to do for the best interests of my DD. If starting it earlier than 6 months (evidently based) will have a negative impact i will not! If 4-6 would benefit her i would like to try. I'll definitely have a look into it, thank you for providing some factual evidence i can read rather than personal opinion :) I just got a bit irate being told the same thing via personal opinion rather than evidence is all.

Im very proud of DD and she is meeting higher milestones for her age, i did nlt mean to come across as competitive at all, just state that i personally think she is ready is all.

@dippyavocado so am i, the evidence seems to be ever changing as well

@QueenofmyPrinces That's not what im saying in the slightest, jf that was indeed true, i wouldnt of come here i would of just done what others have done :) I wanted some point blank evidence, which you arent giving me. But yes, i have information on both side and now will make a choice.

@DippyAvocado thats what i thought and had read as well but keep reading conflicting evidence (some out of date i may add!) thank you!

@goingonahairbunt, no i definitely agree, i just cant get a docs appointment or get through to my HV as its not urgent enough they say, so i wanted to see what others had done and why. People i know have made the choice of their own back not via a professionals advice or asking others just following guidelines on packets which i didnt want to do myself.

@ineedabreak19 please read OP and previous comments. Evidence now states that giving before 6 months is beneficial to reduce allergies so its ever changing also :)

I am still going to try get an appointment from a medical professional before weaning but, now, i have seen evidence from both sides, i dont thnk personally a spoonful or two of a porridge or cereal mixed witg my breastmilk will hurt her in anyway and may help to stop her bringing her milk up and being uncomfortable and hungry.

I weaned my (now adult) DD at 18 weeks. She was always hungry (BF), cried non-stop and was generally hard work. My HV was horrified. I'll always remember the conversation I had with the HV about it

HV "You shouldn't be thinking of weaning her until she's at least 6 month!!"

Me "Why not if that's what she wants?"

HV "Because that's what the guidelines say"

Me "DD hasn't read the guidelines so how does she know what she's supposed to be doing and when it's acceptable for her to be doing it?"

Op if you think your DC is ready then go for it, if she's not she'll let you know and you can try again later. When it comes to "the correct time" for babies to do things....they don't go by what's expected and neither should we.

I started DS at the end of 17 weeks, although he was born 2 weeks overdue. He could sit up with support of his arms - he started doing it that same week, but I used a highchair of course.I only started him on fruits, veg purées and baby rice. I've since seen that baby rice is not recommended now. This was 4 years ago.

By 5 months he would grab at stuff I was eating and put it in his mouth, bread things like that. So that slowly crept in, but didn't deliberately give meat or cereals ( weetabix / oat porridge) until 6 months. I think diary we did from six months in foods too.

I mainly did finger foods from 6 months, messy, but baby led.

I have a 3 month old now and I can't decide if I will do the same hmmm. Sorry nothing to add on spit up just saying ! Maybe I'll just wait until 6 months and skip purées.

The book is really good. It looks at weaning timing, but also the best foods and flavours to introduce early on to best shape the child's palate and develop more varied tastes later on.

We started weaning between 5 and 6 months with vegetable purees on paediatrician advice due to constipation (12 days was his record!). We followed the advice in the book about starting with more bitter flavours and he had things like spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, swede etc once then twice a day until 6 months. At 6 months we hit the ground running and he just ate whatever we ate, and has done ever since.

There will always be things to compare your baby to, next it'll be who breastfeeds the longest, or who can get them in their own room the quickest or sleep through the night first.

Once they get to starting school none of it matters, you can't tell who was breastfed or formula fed, who crawled first, who weaned with purees or who did BLW.

Take some pressure off and do things at your own pace and enjoy the ride

So long as she is at least 4 months old and sits well with minimal support (so can sit up straight in a high chair) then it's OK. Waiting until 6 months is outdated advice, 6 months is the very latest you should start not the very earliest (for allergy and iron reasons)

I found the Science of Mom article posted upthread very helpful at the time. My view was no harm at all in starting slowly anytime after 17 weeks.

Worked really well for us.

The HV isn't qualified to advise on this. Ask the GP to refer you to a paediatric nutritionist/dietician. Nearly all the things you have described are not indications of being ready. You really need a medical professional's advice on this because you could end up causing your child to have gastric problems later on in life.

Soapy I guess you are not based in the UK?

Weaning advice is exactly what an HV is qualified for

It's very normal for babies of this age to regurgitate an odd mouthful of milk. Their stomach muscle (the one round the top that keeps the stomach contents down) is just a little lax in some babies and you get a painless, effortless spitting up. It's possibly reflux, but it's not an issue. There's a lot of confusion around the painful reflux some babies have with a lot of excess acid, but this tends to be really distressing and painful.

The first is grown out of when the baby starts solids and get more upright (sitting more).

I'd stick with the breast milk for the 6 months if she's growing/sleeping etc and developing well.

If she comfort feeding, she will take in more than she needs, but she will just spit up the excess. Weaning is more work so why both until you need to? 😀

WHO say 6 months fully bf, so I'm sure that's evidence based.

All 5 of mine were weaned at around 4 months old. They are now aged between 18 and 27, healthy as you like and with not one allergy between them. Try your DD if you feel she's ready.

HVs here won't advise on weaning anymore (SW UK).

My baby had GORD along with multiple food allergies and would throw everything up, every time. She screamed night and day in pain. She lost weight and eventually went onto a special feed + various drugs, which she still couldn't keep down. Doctor prescribed some powder which thickened the feed - still no good.. he then said to wean at 17 weeks. It did make a difference and a lot less came up but it didn't solve the issue by any stretch of the imagination ( & as pp said the clean up was a lot messier :-) ) . It was a very complicated making sure to balance the nutrition properly to make sure she got everything she needed. A dietitian helped us with that. A course of steroids eventually got the inflammation causing the reflux under better control but overall it took years, lots of different things (including med's) for the issue to resolve, I recall it still happening when DD was a toddler! DD was still in < 12 months clothing at 20 months + as she hadn't gained weight due to the reflux.

If your DD is gaining weight & developing normally I wouldn't think this is anything warranting an intervention. Grabbing things is just normal developmental stuff, not a sign they need weaning. From your posts sounds like just normal spit up and not reflux which presents very differently and leaves a baby very distressed. It wasn't just a little or a dribble with a burp - it was virtually the whole feed, every time at the height of it - it was definitely not 2 teaspoons, that's a dribble!!! Used to soak her and me, and on 'extra fun' days hit the wall on the other side of the room !

I'd take advice from a doctor before weaning early for that reason as there's reflux and reflux and weaning isn't necessarily the answer or even part of the answer to that either.

I just asked my DSis (consultant paediatrician) - she says there's evidence to suggest weaning around 5 months can help avoid allergies, but 17 weeks (4 months) is generally speaking for babies under the care of a paediatrician due to prematurity or severe reflux. She also says the "baby is hungry" thing is bollocks, as breast milk/formula has FAR more calories by volume than purée or cereals - the reason babies often want loads of milk at 4 months is a developmental growth spurt. She reckons you should carry on bf only till 5 months, then if baby is showing signs of readiness (sitting up, grabbing at food) then go for it, but don't give dairy till 6 months and even then limit it as cow's milk can inhibit iron absorption.

Oh - she says if the reflux is worrying you, go to GP, they can offer first line treatments, and if it's really bad they'll refer you to paeds.

I did, but that was 6 years ago, and although the 6 month guideline was still in use then I think it was adhered to less in those days. Did it help? Sort of, it slowed DS digestive system down a bit (we were getting 10+ violent dirty nappies a day, including overnight). But what I found out later was that DS had a milk allergy, and the digestive symptoms were part of that. So I’d probably try and cut dairy from your diet first