BLW in baby with allergies/silent reflux?

[stopgap]

DS is five months in a few days, and I'm still flummoxed about the whole weaning thing. Basically DS has a dairy/soy allergy--and possibly some other food sensitivities, too. He had problematic silent reflux the first four months of his life, including two brief apnea spells, and even though the reflux spells don't make him scream like they used to, his gag reflex is still strong, plus there's a decent amount of wheezing/coughing that goes on when he lies flat. This is evident some days, not so much others.

Do I "play it safe" and go down the ultra-pureed route, sticking with single source fruits and veg for a while (I've decided to skip rice cereal)? Or do I venture into BLW land, and if so, where do I begin, being that his stomach is still ultra sensitive/he has had choking episodes in the past?

Incidentally, I'm starting to think I might wait closer to seven months to wean, to allow his digestive tract to further mature.

Opinions?

Hi. My twins are 19 weeks old and we have also struggled with reflux, probably due to immature digestive systems. I've heard that early weaning is the solution, although I'm not sure about it. It doesn't make sense that their gut is too immature for formula, but not for food. But purely anecdotally, it seems that people end up with much happier babies after weaning, with settled tummies.

This Sunday I am going on a weaning course after which I will make a decision. It would be good to hear if anyone else with a refluxy baby has weaned early with good results, although I'd imagine it would be frowned upon on here!

I've heard mixed things about early weaning with silent reflux, too. It's all very confusing, isn't it? Now that we've entered teething territory, however, I'm loathe to add anything new to the mix, as DS's tum has once again gone haywire.

My brother had terrible oesophagitis as a baby, which disappeared as soon as he was able to sit up and eat solids.

DS has silent reflux (he's 2, still has the odd episode).

I started BLW but found he was reacting to foods and I didn't know what so I had to revert back to very simple weaning (I could still take a "baby led" approach just not give him what we were eating).

I had to introduce one food at a time, watch for reactions and avoid trigger foods (acidic fruits eg tomatoes, oranges/harder to digest stuff like green veg) until he was closer to 1. It was agonisingly slow but now at 2, he's fine. His diet is basic (meat/fish with carb and veg) but all cooked from scratch and healthy. He has tummy trouble if he has anything too "fancy" so he obviously has a sensitive digestive system.

What I will do is raise some if these questions at my course... Whether to start early, what would be considered early (my GP says weaning should start at 4 months), and whether to start with purée and leave baby led weaning for later, when they are more able to feed themselves. I have heard that babies are more likely to choke on a spoonful of purée than a chunk of carrot, that they are protected by their gag reflex. Personally I am probably going to do a combination of the two. I'll update this thread next week if I find out anything interesting.

Sorry meant to say I started at 6 months. He starred showing signs a month earlier (sitting up etc) but I held off due to reflux

I have just started weaning with my 7 month old, also a silent refluxer. Through elimination diet while breastfeeding, we know she has food sensitivities, primarily gluten dairy, corn and soy and finds acidic foods like tomatoes and citrus difficult. We started by giving her breastmilk mixed with slippery elm powder as it coats the gastro tract and eases discomfort, and it has been excellent. It is slow going, and while we wanted to do BLW, we have decided to stick with puree with the slippery elm mixed in for the moment. I am glad we delayed it a little as her reflux has improved a lot since she was 5 months. Good luck with whatever you go with :)

Twolittlebundles, tell me more about the slippery elm. Sounds interesting.

I also do an elimination diet, but DS only seems to react to soy and dairy with any real regularity.

Slippery Elm works by coating the gastrointestinal tract, calming the stomach and it can help to heal problems in the stomach I believe. It comes in a powder form and can be used as a first food as it is highly nutritious and easily digestible. you can mix it into any puree, which is excellent. We started with milk and slippery elm, and now just mix a little into whatever she is eating.

I have also had success with taking probiotics- They are absorbed into breastmilk and have helped dd a lot.