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.

@TheSoapyFrog where om earth did you get that? Ive since spoken to an extended family member who is a HV who said she seems ready and those are all signs of readiness. Everu baby develops differently, as long as she sits up well, swallows, can hold head up, has good coordination she is ready.

@HavelockVetinari yeah ive also spoken to a HV not my one but my DPs extended family member and she said shes ready for it. Oh yeah i knows about cluster feeding and leaps etc but this feels different is all! I do think ill wait at least til 20/22 weeks, no harm in waiting a bit longer then she'll definitely be ready! Im definitely not ready to start next week anyway! Wanted to see what others said more! I then made a FB post and had around 10 others i know say that they started at 17/18 weeks but id rather wait a bit more myself :) i personally dont think its reflux now, shes happy doesnt cry when on back etc literally just spits up or possets which is normal apparently! I just worried 🙈 thank you for seeking that advice tho!! Thank you :)

@pinkyxx thank you!! Sorry to hear you has all those issues with DC but puts my mind at ease. Just spoken to a family member whos a HV who indees thinks those are signs she's ready but thanks anyway!

@homeschoolchaos thanks for your reply! Its definitely not dairy, she has stopped pooing multiple times a day and goes between 1-3 days without it now, no rashes, no big amount of spit up/reflux or uncomfortableness.

I think if i was able o get a docs appointment id have gotten my mind put at ease and wouldn't need this to vent on :)

@Tjsmumma weaning for reflux reasons is a very different reason to weaning because you're convinced your baby is ready for food / needs food. My comments were purely related to your post suggesting you wanted to wean to solve the reflux. Glad if they were helpful. If / when you do decide to wean I can recommend Annabelle Karmel's books, lots of helpful guidance and recipes. I gave baby rice, vegetable & fruit purees first and encouraged lots of tactile feeding ( i.e. from fingers vs spoon). DD got that she'd dip her hand in the food, smear it on her face and then use her fingers to lick it off - its a lovely experience to wean!

ps. dairy was one of my DD's allergies, believe me you'd know it if she was its like the exorcist daily lol

@Tjsmumma I had no idea it was cmpa until I gave my child porridge made with cows milk at 6 months, and he was very quickly covered in hives. Until that point the only symptoms we had were reflux/spit up, a little bit of dry skin (nothing noteworthy)

Yes @pinkyxxx the foamy green nappies with cmpa are grim!

I weaned all 4 of my DC at around 4 months for various reasons, they are all thriving and happy.

DD now 9mo was a very hungry baby and milk just wasnt enough.

DD now 20mo started vomiting and refusing her bottle with every feed so I introduced solids and she started feeding normally again with both solids and her milk. Never got to the bottom of that.

There wasnt a minimum 6mo recommendation when my older 2 were babies. They are now in their 20s.

You know your baby

Actually, I started my 9mo at 4mo because she was a very hungry baby but after a few days she decided she wasnt ready and we went back onto milk. She was 4.5 mo when she was ready.

Feel free to try her with little things here and there. If she is ready she will take it, if she isnt she will let you know

@Pinkyxx what would be the main difference in that? She said she is following all the signs that babies have for usual readiness and some show them earlier i.e four months or 17 weeks minimum to start and some later than 6 months! Ah okay, ill try with fingers and stuff first! Literally anything that goee near her mouth she wants to have it so i dont think trying foods is going to be an issue! I was going to try rice/porridge mixed with expressed BM so she had a similar flavour, then try with other bits and pieces a bit later after that. I was initially going to pop her in the highchair and let her play around with it first, smear her hands in then pop it in her mouth first etc to see how she reacted then start trying myself sk sounds similar to what i plan on doing! Haha no, definitely no exorcist like poos or anything of the sort before she stopped pooing, now she goes a few days, they are quite big and explosive but definitely not froffy or green like @krakowdawn stated!

@homeschoolchaos ah was DC ebf? Ive read if she had an allergy id know about it now, she doesnt have dry skin or anything like that she's always v soft! Like me, but, my soft skin is due to a condition i have. Ill keep it in mind though!

All together i think ill wait a few more weeks and then try some bits on a tray and let her play before spoon feeding her bits! But thank you all for the well informed info!

@Pinkyxx what would be the main difference in that? She said she is following all the signs that babies have for usual readiness and some show them earlier i.e four months or 17 weeks minimum to start and some later than 6 months! Ah okay, ill try with fingers and stuff first! Literally anything that goee near her mouth she wants to have it so i dont think trying foods is going to be an issue! I was going to try rice/porridge mixed with expressed BM so she had a similar flavour, then try with other bits and pieces a bit later after that. I was initially going to pop her in the highchair and let her play around with it first, smear her hands in then pop it in her mouth first etc to see how she reacted then start trying myself sk sounds similar to what i plan on doing! Haha no, definitely no exorcist like poos or anything of the sort before she stopped pooing, now she goes a few days, they are quite big and explosive but definitely not froffy or green like @krakowdawn stated!

@homeschoolchaos ah was DC ebf? Ive read if she had an allergy id know about it now, she doesnt have dry skin or anything like that she's always v soft! Like me, but, my soft skin is due to a condition i have. Ill keep it in mind though!

All together i think ill wait a few more weeks and then try some bits on a tray and let her play before spoon feeding her bits! But thank you all for the well informed info!

i have looked into every option, researched a lot

No, you haven't. Wait until 6 months, just read the nhs, it is very very very very very very clear

@Ispywithmycynicaleye thank you! Definitely, now ive spoken to a HV i feel a bit better about starting the process and she said they are definitely signs of readiness, not just normal developmental stages so ill give it a few weeks and try! Think we'll do some 'messy play' with it first and let her take the lead and see if she is ready! She's indeed very hungry! Had both sides of my boobs, twice now and still going!!

@stopfundinghate please read all comments before posting. I've just spoken to a HV and she said they are signs of readiness and theres no need to wait. Thats totally out of date information ::

I haven't rtft but my second baby was the same. I fed my first for a while into toddlerhood. Turns out I was holding my second child like a toddler so that's why he was spitting up loads. Simply changing position solved the problem immediately. Can you do a video call with a breast feeding advisor? So they can check your hold? Hope it gets better soon

Please don’t give porridge there is link between that and developing coeliac disease. My gastroenterologist told me that early weaning of rusks caused my coeliac disease.
I haven’t read the whole thread but I think you’re baby spits up due to fast let down. Kellymom can help you with that.

@stopfundinghate readysetfood.com/blogs/community/the-open-gut-theory-and-early-allergen-introduction - she works for the NHS, every baby develops differently 👍

HV give notoriously bad advice. The 6 months still stands. Anyway I hope it improves

Anything from 4 months onwards is fine. 6 months is a good recommendation for the WHO to make because it’s really imperative that babies in developing countries are exclusively breast fed for 6 months for obvious reasons. But in developed countries there is an allergy epidemic. The latest research is quite conclusive that earlier weaning lowers risk of allergy quite significantly, so it’s probably more beneficial to start weaning towards the 4 month mark and it certainly won’t harm your baby unless you are feeding them very inappropriate foods. Having dc 1 with a severe allergy I’ve discussed this with several paediatricians and an allergy specialist and they all said the research is strong and they would advise weaning before 6 months.

@stopfundinghate So you tell me to follow NHS guidance, i then talk to someone who works for the NHS and she's wrong because it doesnt follow your advice? Every baby is different, some are ready before some are ready after. Ive had our latched viewed by midwife and HV who both said i was latching brilliantly and shes gained weight great over her little life with no pain to my breasts. I follow advice as if she had reflux and its only just started happening again properly.

@peapod29 thank you! Ive read similar and since been told similar also!

Also CMPA affects only around 1% of babies. It seems to be the latest craze. It’s pushed largely by the formula industry to sell specialist milks. They even run the main info website in the U.K. on cmpa symptoms and sponsor training days for doctors and midwives. At our local b/feeding support group every other mum had come to the conclusion that their baby has cmpa, and was following an awfully restrictive diet. There is no research that has concluded that cows milk protein can even pass through breast milk in enough quantity to cause a reaction in most babies. I believe the latest suggests it can’t for most babies. The chance of your baby having cmpa is tiny, and tinier still that they would react to your breastmilk. Please don’t bother following some restrictive diet unless you have had instruction from a doctor or specialist.

@peapod29 thank you for that! Id read very similar and my aunt was told similar as well aftrr being told her baby randomly developed it, then being told that was bogus! She shows no signs of an allergy at all! Seems to be people's go to about it at the mo like you say

Wait until 6 months, just read the nhs, it is very very very very very very clear

The nhs is hardly at the cutting edge when it comes to general nutritional guidelines though.

Lots of Western countries recommend from four months. The most recent research makes a strong case for earlier rather than later for allergy prevention. Openness to taste and flavour is also stronger at an earlier age. There really isn’t any strong evidence to show that after 17 weeks but before six months causes any harm.

Lots of reasons to question the official stance.

A lot of individuals within the NHS are well aware of the limitations of the current guidelines, which is why they’re very open to earlier weaning.

I don't mean the latch, I mean the hold, as in, how you are physically holding the baby in your arms results in how well they can digest.

I don’t see what difference this would make. Mine always spit up, that’s what some babies just do with every feed and is nothing to worry about. The only difference weaning will make is that instead of spitting up milk, they’ll spit up food - more mess for you to clean up in other words. Mine did this until he was nearly a year old.

Well said. The nhs says ‘around 6 months’ so it gives parents quite a lot of leeway actually to make their own decisions based on their baby, knowledge, doctor’s advice.