What? No Rice Cereal?!

Stephanie, I am going to be tracking this and I will give you an update when the guidelines are released from the American Academy of Pediatrics. I think doctors, grandmothers And the baby food companies are going to have to take some time to adjust to these new recommendations!

Jan

This is very timely! My baby is turning six months on Saturday and I gave her a first serving of Gerber's Organic Brown Rice Cereal two days ago. I haven't given her any sense. Her acid reflux seems to be worse. Could it be from the rice cereal?

Hello! Good luck with starting solids! My babies with reflux were never very eager to eat baby food. I think they were cautious about anything that went into their little mouths! Be sure to give it a few days and try again. Eating is so complex. There is:  taste, texture, how it feels in as you swallow and moves to your stomach as well as how your stomach reacts to the food. When you eat, your mouth produces more saliva to digest the food and your stomach needs to get used to a new food. A baby without reflux might do this just great but a baby with reflux may need a slow and steady approach.Don't worry about how much she is eating during these first few meals. Focus more on teaching her the mechanics of eating-opening her mouth, taking a taste and swallowing.

Certainly if you see a rash on the mouth, body or diaper area or an intense reaction (non stop crying), consult the doctor about whether or not to keep trying.

Good luck and let us know how she is doing! Oh and don't forget to take a picture of her eating her first foods! What a big girl!

Jan Gambino

The Reflux Mom

Thanks, Jan! Now I am beginning to wonder if she has started teeting and caused her to have more acid reflux. I went to the doctor for a fever, which was inconclusive. But the doctor increased her dosage of baby Zantac based on her weight.

Today I tried a quarter of a banana with 1 ounce of breastmilk. She did great, but now she is coughing a couple of hours later. She has never coughed this much before. Do you think I gave her too much to eat? She has nursed since I feed her the banana.

Do you have a book you recommend for starting solids for babies with GERD?

Hello! Since she has had a fever, it is going to be hard to tell if she has an illness, teething, a worsening of her reflux, a reaction to the new food or a little bit of everything! Give it a few days and see how she is doing. She might be coughing from the new food urping or from an emerging illness.

I have a lot of information about feeding a baby with reflux in my book, Reflux 101. In addition, I have posted a great deal of information on feeding a baby with reflux (one of my favorite topics!) on this site. If you search for my Shareposts, you can scroll down the list and see the other entries.

Let me know how she is doing! Jan