Hello there you lot. I received this email the other day and thought you might find it interesting. I was lucky that Babybear didn't suffer from reflux or even colic, thank goodness, so it's not a subject I know anything about really.
So I'm really grateful to Hamstermum for bringing the subject to our attention, because from the looks of things it changes an approach to BLW quite a bit, not least because babies with reflux are often advised to be weaned earlier than the standard WHO 6-month guideline. But as you know I consider BLW to be a broad church, so feeding done with a BLW-head on, as it were, is all to the good.
Any other thoughts or insights gratefully appreciated. (I did consider cutting out the compliments by the way and then thought, sod it, why bother? They refect well on everyone who has taken the time to contribute their own experiences on here so I'm leaving them exactly where they are.) Thanks again to everyone for their help.
"Hi Aitch,
Just thought I'd drop you a line as I've found your blog absolutely invaluable over the last couple of weeks - the blog bandwidth being exceeded lately was all down to me, I'm sure! But I also wanted to pass on my experiences because I haven't seen anything mentioned on it about acid reflux, which my little one has had since birth and now at 11 months, seems to be getting over, thank heavens!
If you didn't know already, Gastro Esophagal Reflux Disease (GERD) is where the acid in the tummy escapes back up the baby's throat, irritating and potentially damaging the soft tissues. Babes had a lot of the classic symptoms of 'silent' acid reflux (no actual throwing up): screaming in pain several times during the night being the most troublesome for all of us, but also the car seat, nappy changing, and tight clothing could set her off - any time when her tummy was constricted in any way or she was laid flat. She also never broke free from the normal 3-month period for nightly colic, and was always fussy and agitated after 4pm til she fell asleep. She also seemed to have some food sensitivities. I tried BLW when she was 6 months but she got very worked up over her food, seemed to wolf things down without enjoying or exploring them, and her night waking got worse. It took me a long time to figure out exactly what worked best for her - pureed gentle veggies being the best and no baby rice or fruit (both acid) - and with other measures like sleeping her at an angle, she gradually got better and better (the most helpful web resources for us listed below). Babes' acid reflux was definitely aggravated by lumps or whole pieces of food, whereas purees mixed with breast milk soothed her throat. But much improved at nine months, she suddenly got really hungry, and one day refused to take anything off a spoon and only wanted to feed herself. Back to BLW!
I can't thank you enough for both the fun and the information on your blog - it's superb. Until I had a really good read of your blog I thought Babes was a terrible eater (only one proper meal a day at 10 months, rest just picking), but she is a BLW-er through and through, refusing bottles and formula milk til 9 months, and now healthy and happy to choose her own food when SHE wants to. I'm sure that some of the purees I fed her caused her pain (apple and baby rice being one) so I suspect she has a bit of food or spoon fear which only BLW can conquer.
It's SO reassuring to read the comments that everyone else has posted on your blog - after months of feeling miserable about feeding Babes, the honesty, humour and sheer depth of information (inc poo analysis!)have helped make feeding fun for both of us at last :-)
Lots of Love,
HamsterMum and Babes
Reflux info:
www.askdrsears.com has lots on colicky and fussy babies, and helps identify reflux - I would never have known about reflux as a potential cause of the night waking (she fed every two hours, small enough amounts that she rarely threw up)
http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/breastfeedingreflux/ great comfort when going gets tough. Also pointed me towards elimination diet which really helped. Babes would only take milk from the breast, and things in my diet were definitely affecting her - 3 weeks of eliminating all potential allergenic foods, and then introducing a new food every 3 or 4 days into my diet and hers. Was very slow but definitely helped. I know now that protein in my diet gives her problems. She's a fiend for Quorn - has it every day!
See Dr Sears above for the basic elimation diet.
www.reflux.org - very helpful site with diagnosis lists and advice on how to treat the problem
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What do we know about Acid Reflux?
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Re: What do we know about Acid Reflux?
by
kamikayzed
on Sun 14 Oct 2007 22:03 BST | Profile | Permanent Link
Wow, sounds very familiar...
Initially, I had hoped that our new baby girl Roisin would be breastfed and baby led weaned - but feeding problems arising at around 6 weeks would mean extra challenges for both these intentions. Her main symptom was screaming during feeds - not "just" fussing, but top-of-the-lungs screaming (she always had to be fed at home). Other posters' stories led us to suspect silent reflux (no vomiting), and it was eventually diagnosed and treatment commenced - but sadly, help came too late to rescue breastfeeding (thankfully I was able to feed her expressed breastmilk from a bottle for some time). She also had an overactive gag reflex, dysphagia (difficulty co-ordinating swallowing/breathing, so lots of choking during feeds), torticolitis (due to being cramped in utero, for which we tried cranial osteopathy with some success) and severe tongue tie (tongue tied down on both sides). Even though she responded well initially to Gaviscon then later Ranitidine and thickened feeds, Roisin was in and out of hospital with feeding strikes and two bouts of gastroenteritis (just what she needed!). We were advised by her paediatric team to wean her early at 4 months. I was disappointed because I knew this would mean mush, but ultimately her well-being was the priority. She had a pretty serious milk aversion, and I was terrified she would end up on a G tube. Weaning didn't start well. She just wasn't interested until she was well over 6 months, which was disheartening as I'd read many stories of reflux babies "not looking back" once they started food. But I kept offering her simple foods, mostly blended vegetables, sometimes commercial pots. I never tried baby rice. Yoghurt helped replace the milk she wasn't taking. Then one day when she was around 8 months she grabbed and ate a whole banana - I almost fainted! If she could do that, then she could certainly take some lumpier textures and easy to break down finger foods. We progressed to finely milled porridge oats, then to blended family meals with overcooked tiny pasta, and then thick soup with flaked Quinoa. Providing the "sauce" was thick enough to lubricate the lumps, and the lumps were fairly small, she did OK. Good finger foods were banana, cheese (left out of the fridge for a bit so it was softer) and overcooked pasta. She also enjoyed chewing on a large (for her) piece of lean steak - only the smallest bits would break away. By 9 months we had weaned her off Ranitidine, and by 10 months she was eating with gusto. She seemed to overcome all her problems at once - her neck straightened, her tongue tie detached naturally, and she even started taking more milk again. She also started nursing normally, no need for thickener. It's been a complete mystery to us how despite her feeding issues, Roisin has always thrived and is the most robust little girl imagineable. She started a good 4 months behind her brother with weaning, but once she decided to eat, she progressed at a fairly normal rate. Now at 15 months, she helps feed herself her porridge and evening meal, has a sandwich for lunch, and finger food throughout the day (e.g. oatcakes, steamed carrot sticks, halved grapes, even thinly sliced apple). She loves cheese on toast, but has gone off banana (note banana is normally a food to avoid for reflux babies because of its acidity, as are many fruits). Generally, she isn't fussy and will eat just about anything, she loves meat. The only time we notice she is a little gaggy is after illness (this is common for refluxers). Thanks Aitch for the wonderful resource that this blog is. Anecdotes have been as valuable (more valuable at times) as medical advice in navigating the early wilderness of weaning Roisin. If there's one thing BLW has taught me, it has been to have faith in The Gag Reflex, and that developmental readiness WILL come (OK, that's two things :-) Re: Re: What do we know about Acid Reflux?
by
kamikayzed
on Mon 15 Oct 2007 12:09 BST | Profile | Permanent Link
Forgot to mention that for many reflux babies, the main implication for weaning is difficulty with lumps (in mush). But from what I have often read anecdotally, and certainly in our experience with Roisin, these babies still seem to do very well with finger food, hence BLW can work really well for them. BLW can also help overcome food aversion, as the baby is in complete control of eating (rather than "being fed").
kami x Re: Re: Re: What do we know about Acid Reflux?
cheers, kami, i appreciate you posting that, always good to have as much info on these things as possible. it must be awful to see your child in pain at such a young age and not really be able to do anything to help.
Re: What do we know about Acid Reflux?
by
Witchandchips
on Fri 11 Jan 2008 16:25 GMT | Profile | Permanent Link
IME not all babies with reflux are the same. For my ds there were no issues with weight gain. He would simply vomit around 1 oz every feed and lots in between. He was also very much in pain when lying down flat or when feeding. These last symptons improved when his reflux was diagnosed gaviscon was given and i altered his feeding routine (little and often, changing breast only every couple of feeds etc. )
Anyway around 16 weeks, things started to get much worse. With hindsight I think he was going though another growth spurt but was taking the maximum amount of liquid his body could take (reflux is made worse on a very full stomach). He used to cry and scream at feeds but refuse to come off the breast. Think he was both hungry and in pain. HV advised weaning and given that he could sit up with support and was helping me with his medicine spoon, thought that she was right. So at 17 weeks I started Initially things got worse rather than better mistakes i made were a) offering solids and feeding at same time - too much pressure on stomach and b) not giving gaviscon before the milk feed and waiting still after. DS really started to feed himself around this time. Hand in bowl, hand on mouth etc. Started to give finger food (banana, avocado etc. ). By 26 weeks was on breakfast lunch and tea and feeding himself by eating with his hands. Used to put loads of things on toast. Started to drop breast feeds and by around 7 months was down to 5 a day. Reflux improved and was able to give up meds. by 9 months. hope this is of help Re: Re: What do we know about Acid Reflux?
thanks so much witchandchips, i really appreciate you taking the time to do that, any insight into how to deal with the ghastliness of reflux is great. thanks again.
Re: What do we know about Acid Reflux?
by
kelli
on Mon 21 Jan 2008 09:53 GMT | Permanent Link
Hi. My son has reflux, not the silent kind but the *huge* volumes of vomit kind. I was wet through and stank of sick for his first six months :-( I probably don't have to tell you all how useless the health visitors were through all this...
We started weaning at 5.5 months and did a mixture of blw and spooning in food. I am glad we did some spooning because the solidish food stayed down much better than his breastmilk. I had wanted to do solely blw but he couldn't get enough food in. Spooning helped him progress fairly rapidly to getting the majority of his calories and nutrition from food rather than milk, and teaming it up with blw principles helped to get him to feed himself as quickly as possible. We only had the blender out once at the beginning and he very quickly moved from lumpy mash to pieces of food. At 10.5 months I think we have finally beaten the reflux. We have weaned off the omeprazole and he is now seldom sick. He has one breastfeed a day and gets everything else from his food, which he mostly feeds himself. This means I really have to pay attention to his diet to make sure there is enough iron, calcium and other nutrients, but this is far preferable to watching him suffer with the acid. Reflux is horrible for the whole family. It doesn't stop you doing blw but getting the mix right is crucial. Re: Re: What do we know about Acid Reflux?
thanks so much for posting, Kelli.
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