Not much is written about how solid foods can react with some babies who have reflux. Most of the information on the internet is parents’ experience and what works and doesn’t work for some or others.
One of the key points to mention here is that the discussion over when to wean a baby 4 months or 6 months, whilst being relevant, shouldn't dictate your own circumstances. 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. Discuss it with your GP or HV. You know your baby best and you’ll see if it’s helping very quickly. If your baby is just 4 months old, go very slowly with it and keep a note of what amounts you are giving. When it comes time to introducing solid foods at 4, 5 or 6 months, discuss with your doctor what is nutrionally suited for the well-being of your baby. 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 foodstuff. Many parents are reporting that rice added to a small amount of veg works very well in the early stages of weaning. It’s easy to digest and can be mixed quickly and to differing thicknesses.
Rice or cereals can also be added to babies milk feed 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 weight of 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! We are using Dr Brown’s . Discuss adding cereals and rice to your babies feed with your GP before you try it.
Fruit Some babies with reflux who are already taking their medicine with 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 milkly food usually causes us some digestion discomfort. 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 tood 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 seem to have a calmer effect, perhaps because they are starchy?
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 babies ‘good’ times, 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.
Start off with one solid feed with an early afternoon feed. This is the best time because if your baby has a flare up, you can deal with it during your waking hours, whereas giving solids for the first time in the late afternoon, may cause a flare which goes on into the night which is not much fun for anyone. When introducing a new taste, always use this feedtime to do.
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. However, there is no rule about this, try when’s best for yourself – you are the best judge!
Method If you are going down the puréed route (some parents choose Baby Led Weaning) then consider the way you are going to give solids in relation to the sickness & reflux. Think of the solids as the weight that will keep the milk down. As the milk is very important and familiar territory, always give it first – either half or all the bottle (ensuring to keep up with the normal winding frequency) then give the solids to lay on top of the milk in the tummy, perhaps even finishing off with an ounce you have kept back which is quite a nice comforting finish for baby. This isn’t going to stop the sickness, but in terms of gravity it will help to thicken the milk and weigh it down, thus managing it better.
Keeping a note It can be very tedious to try and determine which solid food agrees with your baby and ascertain which ones, if any, disagree. To help minimize confusion and pinpoint a possible offending food, take your time and spread out introductions no shorter than every 4 days. Also a good idea is to keep a food diary. It makes it easier to pinpoint if something has triggered a reflux flare. What works for some people doesn’t always work for others!
Further reading
Listed below are some things to look for relating to solids with reflux:
- Rice may cause gas, constipation and cramping. Many refluxers battle constipation or slower-moving stools already, and the rice can really impact this situation and make the reflux worse.
- Oatmeal is usually next in line for cereal introduction and may work well with some refluxers or cause loose stooling or constipation.
- While Barley is generally the third in line, it may cause loose stools.
Each baby reacts differently, and of course major reflux flares from foods should be reported to your doctor.
Taken From: http://www.babyreflux.co.uk/knowledge/questions/43/Giving+Solids+%2...
