My 3mth daughter has reflux. Do I need to take extra care or delay her weaning because of these problems? I also need advice on the 10pm feed
This is a question rather than a current problem. My baby has been diagnosed Reflux and we are managing with Gaviscon powder and Zantac. My question is whether I need to take more care at the time of introducing solids because of the reflux problem – I am worried if the problem will be aggrevated by weaning and if I should try to delay weaning until her stomach is a bit more developed (eg at 6 months).
Also, please can you review the daily progress report and comment on whether I should cut back the 10pm feed further with the aim to cut it out soon, as she is very unhappy to wake up at 10:30pm and it has the knock on of her not being interested in the 7:30am feed.
At present my daughter feeds at 7.30am 150mls expressed breast milk. 11am and 2.30pm, 200mls formula, 6.15pm 200mls formula and 50mls expressed breast milk, 10.30pm 50-100mls expressed breast milk which she is not really interested in at all. My daughter weighs approx 12lbs.
As your daughter is under medical supervision for her reflux, discuss your concerns and ask advice on when to wean from the doctors who are treating her. Often a baby’s reflux will begin to improve once weaned. Do ask for guidance as to which foods to introduce first and whether you should avoid certain foods.
The 10pm feed usually stays in place, even if only 50-60mls, until a baby is weaned. During the third month a growth spurt takes place. If your daughter is just having four feeds a day she will not be able to take in enough milk to satisfy the increase in her daily needs. If your daughter has already dropped this feed she may well wake earlier in the morning due to hunger. Take a look at the case study of Edward in The Complete Sleep Guide, page 92, which looks at the problems which may arise if this feed is dropped too soon.
Your daughter may well take this late evening feed as a “dream feed” and not need to be woken fully for it. She can be taken from her cot and stirred just enough to take the small feed whilst she is barely awake. She will then settle back to sleep again with little fuss. As your daughter is sleeping until 7-7.30am you can begin to move this feed back towards 10pm. Move it by offering it to her 10 minutes earlier every few nights, providing she continues to sleep well until at least 7am. This may help her be hungrier at 7am.