reflux baby- apple puree and dairy seems to make it worse

[jeanini]

hi my 6 1/2 mth old dd2 has reflux and seems to be worse when i give her anything with apple puree in it. also ive tried her with fromage frai and cheese and both make her sick and very unsettled esp when going to bed

she is also unsettled and sick with hipp jars rice pudding and creamy rice breakfast.

do i hold off on dairy for a few months? when i got her weighed recently she has dropped off her line so i wanted to feed her yoghurts/cheese sauce etc to help her put on weight.

she is on enfamil a.r and has about 12-15 oz a day and i make homemade veg puree and chicken and veg puree. she has fruit puree but i try and avoid apple as this seems to aggravate her.

i just wondered if there was any yoghurts/fromage frais i could give her that wouldnt cause her any problems?

when my son was a baby danone did a yoghurt made with follow-on-milk and he wasnt sick with them but he was with petit filous.

he didnt have reflux but was sick on fromage frai until he was about 2.

any help/ideas anyone?

xx

reflux and dairy intolerance often go hand in hand ... not sure what to suggest except to avoid dairy for a while - sure some other people may have some suggestions. Try substituting apple with pear - less allergenic and sweeter.

HTH.

avoid dairy products for a few months.

there were very few things my dd could hold down especially in the first few months i tended to stick with veg rather than fruit due to acid levels she is now 11 months and has a litle dairy but nowhere near bed time has she brings it all back up again

We found that consistency was a problem when our ds had reflux - dairy definitely made him worse, but also things like puree seemed to come back up too easily (the hospital said this was something to do with the little flap at the top of his throat being weak - sorry am useless at remembering medical terms, but it was something along those lines) - but anyway - we found any acidic fruit, dairy and generally sloppy things made it worse. His milk was Enfamil AR (stands for Anti Reflux, I think) and this seemed thicker than normal milk and he was generally better with things that had a bit of texture and were harder to come back up - pasta, bread etc. Good luck - reflux can become quite dispiriting, but most seem to grow out of it quite quickly.

thanks for everyones comments. she is on enfamil a.r. formula and i also wonder how she will be when i change her to cows mik when she is 1 yr old.

i think i will def hold off on dairy for a few months. she didnt have any dairy or apple puree yest and was sick all over herself and mattress last night.( lovelly). so every day i dont know what to expect.

when do you start giving them toast? and is it best to wait till they have teeth? xx

I would not mix apple pure with dairy (if you are doing so), they mix as bad as lime juice with milk.

Jeanini - my ds2 is almost 7 month, on enfamil AR too and I weaned him at 6 months. I have avoided apple due to the acidity but have found my son is fine on petit filou.

I think it is just trial and error! I tend to introduce new things at dinner time so that any reaction (ie vomiting) happens in the afternoon and not at night. Also he does still sick up on the emfamil just not as much nor does he suffer from any pain anymore.

I tend to stick to potato and starchy stuff like pasta for night, bulky and tummy filling!

Avoid the dairy for a couple of weeks and then reintroduce, they tend to suprise you. Keep a food diary as well

I know the weight issue is always driven home, has your dd cut back her milk? I know you say she is on 12-15 oz but is that less than before she weaned? It doesn't seem to be a lot of milk to me. My ds2 is still drinking loads more than the tin says - 4 bottles??? I wish, he still drinks 5 bottles totalling about 35oz a day.

Since being on Emfamil for last 3 months he has gained back his weight and is now on 50th centile.

Jeanini

Just looked further down the list and there is another thread on high calorie foods - another reflux baby.

Goats milk yoghurt has been suggested!! Have you tried anything like that???

When we weaned ds who had reflux he didn't react well to apple so we didn't give it to him for a while and when we reintroduced it we did it with rice to dilute the acidity. They still have the danone follow on yoghurts although we never had many issues with dairy. You can give toast fingers from 6mths on but just keep an eye on them to ensure that any small bits are removed so they don't choke. I would keep a food diary and try and keep the main meal to the lunchtime and keep it light at tea time. Also still try and keep milk as the main food intake.

hi my ds2 had severe reflux and we took the weaning very slowly - as long as your dd2 is having her milk I wouldn't worry about her nutrition too much. There's a really strong link between reflux and reactions to cow's milk protein so definitely stay off dairy for a while and I wouldn't introduce cow's milk at 1 yr either unless you think her reflux is really getting a lot better.

Ds2 didn't really take to purees at all and was far happier when he could hold things himself and therefore control how much he was taking. I kept a list of things he was eating and didn't introduce new stuff too soon, only about once a week, so I could see the effect of each new food. I can't remember exactly what order we introduced different food but I think that at around 7 months he was eating things like soft sticks of carrot and pieces of cooked pear. Apple puree can be very acidic so I'm not surprised your dd doesn't appreciate it.

I'm sure you've read all about reflux - just remember that 'little and often' is easier for them to digest. Also even if you are worried about their weight, I wouldn't try to give foods that are too fatty or high in calorie, as again, it can be difficult for them to digest and you don't want to set up any feeding aversions.

This web page ('allergy dietitian' ) might be a good framework for introducing foods. The page says it is aimed at children with a high risk of developing allergies, so it may be over cautious. But from my point of view a child with reflux is pretty likely to have some sensitivities to food, so it's worth being careful.

thankyou so much everyone.. it helps to know that im not the only one weaning a reflux baby.

countstotenlordsaleaping- do you know where they still sell danone yoghurts with follow on milk?

hotpot-yes she is having a lot less milk than before being weaned, saying that though im giving her less at dinner and she is having about 15-19oz a day now. i think ill hold off on the dairy products for now.Also how do you give your baby pasta, is it normal or wholewheat and is the pasta in any sauce or on its own?

mummypig- thankyou for your comments i will look on that website thanks xx

Jeanini - I still think 19oz low for milk intake, can you cut back the amount of food you are giving to increase her milk intake???

pasta - I usually give in a sauce, just cook down some tinned tomatoes with some veg oil, some black pepper and when he was happy with that I added some garlic, onion, finely chopped peppers as my DS1 aged 3.5 eats it too. My DS2 refuses to feed himself although everything he picks off the floor tends to go in his mouth it seems that when he is sat in the highchair it is Mummy/Daddys job to feed him!! So I just cut the pasta up (i used the twirls - not sure what the proper italian name is)

It is normal pasta (I tend to give them variations of the things we eat as it makes it easier when they are older to all eat together) rice will be wholemeal because we eat that rather than white rice.

Have discovered my DS2 throws after having cheese!!! It was the first time I gave it to him so will try again soon to see if it has the same effect.

Anyone else wished they'd layed laminate flooring throughout the downstairs as wiping up orange sick from a light coloured carpet is just the pits.

thanks hotpot i will reduce the amount of solids and see if she increases her milk. but even when she was just on milk she only had about 23-25oz a day i dont know if enfamil a r fills her up more than normal formula.