Weaning advice please

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Verity on December 31, 2011 at 7:05

Hi Emma, I struggled with weaning and reflux having one baby so having two must be very hard! I found when weaning that banana and oats Finley couldn't tolerate at all, so might be that they upset them. I did an Internet search on reflux and banana and it seems it is a problem when reflux is involved. 

Do Ella's kitchen or any other brand do just one I ingredient pouches, that way if you done one flavour for 4 days and saw a change on behaviour or reaction you could then eliminate exactly what the cause was. I know that when  my son reacted he was very moody and irritable. I started off with giving him new foods either in the morning or at lunch so I had the rest of the day to see how he was. I at first done things too quickly because he was being sick day in day out I found it hard to distinguish what was reflux and what was food based. It's a really frustrating time but I'm sure lots of the ladies on here will be able to help out.

X 

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Permalink Reply by Charlene Norman on December 31, 2011 at 7:16

Hi Emma,

It could be the apricot, banana and baby rice one that's causing the prob as banana us hard to digest and Dylan still struggles with it now
At 8 months and he is nowhere near as poorly as your LO's have been. I Used Ella's on him with no probs but only after trying all the veg separately in my own puree's first. Dylan actually preferred Ella's to my puree to start with now I can't get him to eat puree at all! Broccoli I think is sometimes a veg to wait on as well I think as it's a strong taste. The first ones I tried were carrot, Butternut Squash, Sweet Potato and Courgette and fruit wise apple
And pear. Ella's o ly does 4 individual flavours Apple, Pear, Bananna, Mango but there are other companies wh you can order from online who deliver who do single flavour veg I think Babylicious do and So Baby and Baby Deli as well. Plum baby do a pouch of just squash and sweet potato which would help you try just those 2 veg if not.


C x 

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Permalink Reply by Sara B on December 31, 2011 at 10:05

Emma,
I am so sorry to hear you are having a horrid time again. Is it possible the boys are still hungry, I am struggling to see the middle line of your list of pouches but the others all look very fruit and veg a based with no protein or starchy carbs. If I ate nothing but fruits and veg I would have that hungry acidy feeling in my tummy all the time. If I were you I would go back to basics, start with mashed potato, then add a protein, lamb is generally well tolerated, then if that goes well add in vegetables one at a time starting with the benign stuff like root veg. You will need to puree the lamb probably. I found the best way to do lamb for my little ones was to buy lamb neck fillets, braise it very slowly in enough water to just cover it, then when it's reallytender use the cooking water to puree it. Then freeze it in an ice cube tray. Organix do an oat free porridge which I am planning to start Tom off on. I know the pouches are easy, but it does make it harder to see what is going on.
As far as blw, it is great, but if you have big hungry boys food in may be a priority, so offer them finger food along side purses, if there are things they won't entertain it is a good indication it doesn't suit them. I found offering foods in their purest form the best way to gauge it, eg, hard boiled egg, rather than egg in pancakes. hope that is some help, though it is more work, and sorry I can't read that middle line on your post, it it a clash between the site and iPads!
Xxx

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Permalink Reply by Sara B on December 31, 2011 at 10:07

Sorry, just as an aside, anything that makes them windy can be more reactive, eg cabbage,broccoli, onion, lentils, beans etc. My daughter has issues with oats too.

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Permalink Reply by Alison C on December 31, 2011 at 11:00

HI Emma,

Like you I had to start weaning Lily at 23/24 weeks as she was just so hungry. Prior to weaning she was sleeping through, however the minute I started the weaning the waking in the night begun again, first just waking then it quickly progressed to screaming. It got worse and worse until she was waking 15 times a night. I followed the usual advice i.e. introducing foods over  aperiod of days etc then started to mix then together when I knew she was ok. Despite this it had no effect on the screaming, even if she was ok with food she would still scream and I was told that night time waking was common once weaning began, however not the screaming. Her constipation went ten times worse despite shed loads of fluid. I harassed my Paed and dietician who said I was doing everything right and they put me in touch with a gastro dept, who advised me that your digestive system is at its most active of a night whilst you are sleeping. This can result in aggravation of exsisting reflux, as the body is going mad trying to digest food. Lily is on ranitidine however we had taken her off domperidone a few weeks ago , and this is when the night time screaming uped a gear. We have been advised to start her back on it and already the screaming/waking has reduced to about 2/7 times a night instead of 15!. Waking in the night is normal once weaning starts, however for reflux babies it can aggravate their reflux , so you have a double whammy waking /screaming to deal with. I think what Im trying to say is that Lily woke up even if she had foods that she was ok with. It has been every single night she started weaning at 23/24 weeks and shes now just over 7 months. Are your LO's on their max dose of Omep? I know every baby is different but my Paed said that it can be quite common for them to have to have their meds altered once they begin on foods as it puts a whole different type of strain on their digestive system and even the most settled of reflux babies can start to flare up again. ( Just like Lily- she didnt scream in the day anymore and slept through) Some times it can be related to reactions in food, but a lot of the time it can be due to the slow gut mobility issues associated with reflux. Hope Ive been of some help xx

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Permalink Reply by Catherine Walker on December 31, 2011 at 13:34

Emma ,
Cian can't eat oats either or banana, also I steer clear of pouches and purée my own as a lot of the pouches have other stuff in ie apple or lemon juice , think Ella's kitchen pears is ok as that pure pear but the mango has lemon juice in and it really upset Cian and made him sick, and the peach and pear one has apple and banana in !!!
He also couldn't tolerate any cereal so I didn't give them until he was over 6 months as he just couldn't digest them even the plums four grain one.
I know it's a pain puréeing stuff but if I was you I would go back to just pear for a few days until things settle. I use a glass grater they are brill just peel the pear and rub it against the glass instant purée !
Rob uses it For garlic and ginger in his curries too.
You can use it for carrots and courgette without needing to cook them.

http://www.ulula.co.uk/shop/baby-food-item.php?ProductID=612&Ca...
Link above so you can see but get them cheaper on eBay !
I purée them and put them in little pots and freeze them at least that way you know there's nothing in them and get them out as I need them.
The plums range sweet potato one is ok too.

It's a minefield weaning ! Hope things settle xx

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Permalink Reply by Beverley on January 2, 2012 at 19:16

Alison. Your post worries me slightly. It may be possible that babies wake a bit more when weaning (although I've never really heard mums say that and I have two children) but waking screaming several times a night isn't normal at all, especially not if it's begun with weaning. Are you sure Lily is ok with the foods she's eating? I'd be seriously suspecting age has food intolerances/allergies  especially if she's having motility issues and other bowel problems. Does she have mucous in her poo at all? It may be that your paeds are right and it's nothing to worry about but my LO has a condition called EGID and can hardly tolerate any food at all. He was biopsied at 6 months precisely because he was up screaming 15 times a night in pain. If things don't settle for Lily just be aware that there might be something else going on that your paeds are dismissing. Only one gastro paed in Sheffield understands the condition that Douglas has. The rest are pretty clueless. Don't want to scare you and hope you're on the right track but don't accept that waking regularly in the night screaming is ok. Lots of normal babies start sleeping through once weaned. Refluxers are different but with the right meds you should still be able to have a fairly settled baby in most cases I would think. X

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Permalink Reply by Sarah on January 2, 2012 at 19:32

Completely agree with Bev, Alison. My Lo also has severe gut issues and one of the key indicators is the night-time screaming (together with refluxing, vomiting, constipation, and mucous and blood in poo). She's allergic to protein and - like Beverley's child - can barely tolerate any food.

I think it would be worth checking Lily out with the paed again because I certainly don't think that waking up 15 times a night screaming is acceptable and it's definitely not normal, especially in a baby that slept through before weaning. 

xx

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Permalink Reply by Emma Louise Evans on December 31, 2011 at 16:56

Thank you everyone for your replies and the help you've given me.  I've ordered a glass grater and will start doing my own purees of individual foods.  I knew the pre-packaged purees were not the best idea but we had so much going on (with Ché's appts for his Erbs Palsy) and they seemed to be ready for weaning before I was ready to get started!  I've bought some sweet potato and carrots so I'll start off with one of those and see how they go before adding in the other.  I really think I've done it all too quickly as they're having 3 little meals a day already...only a few spoons at a time but maybe once a day would be better for now?!  They seem to LOVE eating the purees and their eyes go wide while they kick their legs frantically!  So, I thought all was going well until everything went a bit downhill a few days ago.  Back to the drawing board it is!  Leo is doing a lot better than Ché...Ché is having an awful time today.  Screaming a lot and when he's not screaming he's growling and obviously bothered by something.  Would it be a bad idea to stop his food for a few days and just give milk?  Even though I think they were hungry before (my only evidence of this is that they were waking up at night and when I started weaning they woke less), they never finish their feeds and are never that hungry for milk.  So, I'm unsure about how hungry they actually are!  Do you think stopping Ché's food for a few days before starting again will help or hinder things?  Sorry I can't write more....it's been a killer of a day!

Oh...and are parsnips and swede ok to give as first foods?  We have lots here as I've been making us casseroles!

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Permalink Reply by Catherine Walker on December 31, 2011 at 18:03

I don't think going back to just milk will hinder at all and if you think they are hungry just give extra milk feed. For ages I only gave two meals until Cian was over six months and gave extra milk feed in the morning.
Maybe just do milk only for day or two then start with one meal to start with to get them used to digesting food. 
Cian was fine with parsnip in fact he loves it but think it depends on each case , do no harm to purée some and freeze in cubes to try in a week or so. 
I'd use ASW traffic light system of food , I bet someone could find it for you !!  Gives safe foods , foods to be cautious with etc 
Xx

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Permalink Reply by Jenny Rawling on December 31, 2011 at 20:03

Definitely ok to go back to just milk if things are unsettled. I found the BLW mantra "food is for fun until they are one" very useful. I think a slow introduction to solids is the way to go and breastmilk or formula have much more calories and nutrition than any of the early weaning foods that might displace them. Pureed carrot is a dieters dream! Starting solids is about different tastes and textures and exploring food, not about getting calories in. It's a double edged sword for a lot of refluxers so take it steady. Jen x

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Permalink Reply by Emma Louise Evans on January 2, 2012 at 17:22

That's my theory on weaning too Jen.  I like the idea of them playing and exploring with food rather than trying to fill them up on it.  The BLW book makes a lot of sense.  I really don't know if they're hungry or not as they're not taking their full amount of milk feeds but wake up for an ounce or 2 regularly through the night.  They didn't used to do this when they were around 3mths old but it's the norm lately!  They seemed to love purees so much at the start and slept so much better that it left me feeling guilty for waiting.  But now it seems that it was a honeymoon period.  They still don't take their full milk intake per day and never really have.  So surely if they were hungry they'd be polishing off their bottles.  I often wonder if it's the taste of the Neocate that stops them drinking much of it.  I'm not worried about their intake...just the fact that they seem to be waking for it at night (they only wake for a small amount but if they took more in the day I don't think they'd be waking for it). 

We had a day off food yesterday and Ché had a better night.  He's still been awful and was refluxing a lot at bedtime last night.  Today, we gave him 2tsp of mash and he liked it so we'll do that for the next week then add in some sweet potato maybe.  Leo hated the mash.  Gagged and vomited each time it went near his mouth!!  He's ok with the Ellas stuff though so not so worried about him.  In 2wks time they'll be 6mths old so we'll try some BLW then :o)

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