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Early weaning and acid reflux

11 replies

DB1991 · 12/10/2022 14:17

I’d really be grateful for advice. My DS is almost four months old (next week) and has suffered from acid reflux since about 4 weeks old. It wasn’t too bad to start with but worsened at about 3 months so much that he didn’t gain weight and dropped two centiles. I wasn’t too worried given he is very long so I figured he’s going to be tall and thin but the Paediatrician prescribed Omeprazole to try and get him to put on some weight and to keep the acid reflux at bay.

It took a few days but once it kicked in he was like a different baby. I changed his formula from SMA to Kendamil as I thought it sounded much nicer and he seems to like it. He was taking full bottles then problems started again about a week ago. He was back arching like he was in pain and he does this pretty much every other feed.

I asked our GP and HV what I should do and they said just to keep an eye on it and give him his dose all at once in the morning rather than breaking it up into morning and evening - he’s on 10mls per day which is apparently quite high.

I asked about Carobel as I figured this might be better but they haven’t said much about it. This morning I gave him baby rice after he refused his bottle and he took it well. I followed it up with his bottle to try it again and he drank it all… so I’m wondering whether he needs something thicker to keep the acid from backwashing.

Ive read that it’s wrong to give your baby anything other than formula or breast milk until six months but I’m getting desperate here and I think that if he’s ok taking it why couldn’t I wean him sooner? I think I was weaned early as a baby purely because I was so hungry all the time and I turned out ok - I’m 31 now!

I want him to be comfortable eating and it’s really hard seeing him in pain and upset. I hate to think he sometimes goes hungry because he doesn’t want to try the bottle. Sometimes he takes the bottle ok but it’s not as frequent as it was - I feel a bit stuck and would appreciate any suggestions or advice.

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ForeverTired89 · 12/10/2022 18:30

I found Kendamil worse for my DD’s reflux. Has anyone mentioned CMPA?

As for weaning early, I was advised to wean at 5 months due to reflux but it didn’t help in all honestly, if anything it just made her sick a different colour. She didn’t grow out of reflux until 18 months.

Her reflux got much worse during bouts of teething and growth spurts.

SunshineClouds1 · 12/10/2022 18:33

We didn't wean early but did use Carobel.
It did help, you'll have to up a teat size

mummyh2016 · 12/10/2022 18:42

I believe they do occasionally recommend early weaning for reflux however because the gut is so immature it's weighing up the benefits as it could do more harm than good in long term. It's great that you had no issues being weaned early however that isn't the case for everyone - my DH has stomach issues which his gastroenterologist has said he thinks is because of early weaning from when he was a baby (which wasn't actually early back then - it was recommended).

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DB1991 · 12/10/2022 20:25

My friend’s baby is being tested for CMPA but it hasn’t been suggested for mine - I wonder if I should raise it with the HV or GP? My DS isn’t sick, he has silent reflux so he’s just straining in pain when I try to feed him. My thoughts are that maybe if he has something thicker then the stomach acid won’t come back up but I’m not sure.

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DB1991 · 12/10/2022 20:25

I think I’ll try Carobel. We have Mam size 3 teats so hopefully it helps.

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tedgran · 12/10/2022 20:33

When I had my DC over fifty years ago they were weaned much earlier, mine at about three months, they are both very healthy.

Hatscats · 12/10/2022 20:46

You need to find the reason for the reflux, allergies? Definitely look at changing to hypoallergenic milk before weaning early!

sageandbasil · 12/10/2022 20:53

@tedgran there's a reason they wait until 6 months now tho.

I'd also be on the CMPa thread OP

ijustcouldntthinkofausername · 12/10/2022 20:59

My DS was the same as your baby with silent reflux.
He was on Omeprazole from 5 weeks old to 12 months old, he also had to have carobel (I used half the amount of scoops per scoop of formula so for a 6oz bottle I used 3 scoops of carobel, then for 8oz bottle I used 4oz etc) but had to go from a size 1 teat straight to size 3.
He was also on lactose free formula due to chronic diarreah from birth.
All of the above sorted him out and he's a fine 19 month old now ☺️

I found GP didn't really know what was going on (with the diarreah) so I asked to be referred to paediatrician which she did the referral and they then referred to a paediatric dietician who prescribed the formula and she was the one who noticed the silent reflux symptoms too.

Ps- she recommended I weaned him from 5mo, but this was help settle his stomach/diarrohea from a failed milk challenge we did at 16 weeks.
He is a primary lactose intolerant baby

baxtersm · 12/10/2022 21:03

My little boy had terrible reflux and the Carobel literally changed him overnight, settled on it straight away.. it's a lifesaver.. he's six months now and we've just started to wean.

DB1991 · 13/10/2022 10:04

That’s wonderful I think I’m going to try it too - fingers crossed.

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