Not much is written about how solid foods can react with some babies who have reflux. Most information on the internet is parents’ experience and what works for some doesn’t work for others. There are some great discussions going on in Little Refluxers about weaning.
When to start…
One point to consider is when to wean a baby; 4 or 6 months. If you feel solids are going to help your baby keep their all important milk feed down, then consider using them as a ‘tool’ to help manage reflux. You know your baby best and if weaning is helping, you should see some results. If your baby is just 4 months old, go very slowly with it and keep a note of what amounts of solid you are giving and when. If in doubt about introducing solid foods at 4, 5 or 6 months, always discuss with your doctor. Keep in mind the reflux issues when you discuss solid food introductions.
At the weaning stage; baby is still getting all their nutrition from their milk, so the solid food is a taste and texture exercise, so don’t get too hung up on it if baby turns it away. Traditionally, first solid-food introductions are veggie & fruit based with some baby rice thrown in.
Rice
Rice has always been part of the first foods, but it’s more relevant with reflux babies as it adds weight to a meal and is a pretty inoffensive food. Many parents are reporting that rice added to a small amount of veg works very well in the early stages too. It’s easy to digest and can be mixed quickly and to differing thickness’s.
Rice or cereals can also be added to babies milk too and this may be suggested by your GP. Be aware of possible effects – In many cases when this is suggested, the reflux babies are younger than their non-reflux peers and the possibilities of a reaction may be greater. Essentially all the rice is doing is weighing down the milk a little to help it stay down. Note: also if you are using a normal teat and adding thickeners to a feed, you will need to upgrade to a larger teat. We used 6 month size teat with our daughter at only 5 weeks old, just to get the thickened milk flowing!
Fruit
Some babies with reflux who are already taking their medicine with puréed apples or pears move forward with fruits as a natural progression.
If you think about fruit in terms of your own eating – putting an apple on top of milky food usually causes us some indigestion. Imagine what it might do to a baby with reflux who has bubbling stomach acid – think about this when working out a meal plan for your baby with reflux. Some parents are reporting that fruit seems to make the sickness worse. Banana’s are great for thickening a meal, but can also be acidic and hard to digest. The key here is to try it and not be too concerned if it doesn’t work out, just move on to another combination and go back to it a week later.
Veggies
Root vegetables are an old favourite with weaning. An ideal first vegetable is a sweet potato or pumpkin. Root veggies mixed with rice seems a popular option that stays down. Sweet potato or pumpkin and then try courgette and carrot, perhaps combining with rice to add some weight. Gradually add more, for example: broccoli, carrot and peas, perhaps parsnip (although remember a parsnip is a strong tasting veggie, so mix it with another veg)
As it’s more about taste and texture I’d avoid putting more than three veggies together in the early days as the tastes can be quite confusing when mixed together. Bulky foods need to be watered down with formula or breast milk to a very thin texture.
Timing
If you think about the timing of introducing solids in terms of a baby’s ‘good’ time, you’ll stand a good chance of observing a positive reaction. Try to avoid times when baby is tired & fractious (late afternoons usually) or times when you are tired after a sleepless night – early morning. Pick a time when you are both calm perhaps lunchtime or early afternoon. Don’t rush the solid food, let baby move it around their mouth exploring it. More will come out than stay in in the beginning, but don’t worry keep putting it back in and watch baby’s reaction.
Start off with one solid feed a day and stick to this for about a week. We suggest from our own experiences that an early afternoon feed is the best one to start with. If your baby has a flare up to the foods given, you can deal with it during your waking hours. Once you have established this and you feel ready to move on to two or more solids meals, move next to breakfast time. If baby has taken solids in the afternoon consistently, they may start to become more hungry by breakfast time. Eventually you will begin to form your *three meals a day* structure with a milk feed at bedtime.
There are no rules about weaning, just lots of great advice – remember you are the best judge!?
