Starting solids - might it help reflux, spit up?
I really wanted to wait to start solids until 6 months since there is a history of food allergy in my family, but a few things have me thinking that I should start now (we have the green light from the ped.)
1. Baby has reflux. We give him formula that's one part regular Similac, two parts Enfamil AR with a little prune juice. 100% Enfamil made him really constipated. He still throws up a lot and often (but is gaining weight just fine), but at least he doesn't cry while feeding from reflux anymore (he also gets the maximum dose of Zantac). Sometimes he will get fussy and cry, I can hear some gurgling, then vomits, so I think that's the reflux.
2. He's getting more and more hungry it seems. I feed him about every 3-4 hours (4x/day, he STTN) and I tried giving him a couple of 8 oz. bottles today (up from 7 oz.) to see if he was less famished (he starts to freak when I sit down to feed him since he knows what's coming and is impatient I think, he also hates to take a break to burp now too and just wants to chug). I'm having a hard time figuring out how to feed him more often to see if that will help because he still takes three naps a day, is up for two hours in between.
I'm using Dr. Brown's # 2 nipples because this formula will hardly come out of the #1s.
Any thoughts or advice? Did starting solids help your baby with these issues? Sorry this is so long!
Re: Starting solids - might it help reflux, spit up?
Honestly, if I were you I'd wait and let his system develop a little longer and let him be more ready to digest solids. Also, I've always heard that a reason to wait is a history of food allergies.
My daughter spit up a lot from reflux (we used to say she had to wear a perma-bib all the time). Almost literally the day we started solids, her spit up just about disappeared. It was like flipping a light switch.
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- LH?
Butting in - this probably sounds dumb but do you all consider cereal as part of the solid food group? DD is about 4.5 months now and we've started experimenting with a couple of tablespoons of rice cereal. We're definitely waiting until 6 months for fruit, veggies, etc. but as OP said she seems to be really hungry. I nurse her and pump and she gets 4 bottles of 5-6oz a day at daycare, plus I nurse her 2 or 3 times before bed. She is STTN but she wakes up every couple of hours looking for her binky.
Anyone else start just rice cereal around this time? How often?
Thanks for your input! This definitely gives us some food for thought.
I would consider cereal "solids", mostly because it's stuff not found in formula (or BM for that matter), even if you make them really liquidy. I think the AAP and other orgs etc. considers them to be solids.
Dr. Browns made DD #1 spit up so bad, switching to PLaytex Drop-ins helped a TON.
If you have a history of allergy SO NOT start before 6m. Before that time the dogestive tract directly absorbs and does not digest, thus increasing the risk of attack.
DD1 9.24.06
DS 7.1.08
twins due 9.7.11 lost twin A at
DD2 4.7.12