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Monday 23 January 2012

And so it begins ...

After 11 days of just breast milk we transitioned our little baby back onto solids today. I have to admit, this is a journey that fills me with trepidation. The last time he was weaned he was on omeprazole as well and with each new food his reflux symptoms seemed to be spiralling out of control. I didn't know what the culprit was - the medicine or the food. So we stripped all back and we are starting from the beginning. Meds free! We've not noticed a difference without medication. He's no worse, but he's no better either. Some days are bad, some days are worse. I've kept a diary of his symptoms so I'll hopefully be able to recognise if any foods are causing an increase in his reflux.

I'm dreading weaning again because I have to live with the consequences of what introducing a new food might mean to baby. My body feels like its running on empty on a good day, so I delve into negative energy on bad days. It just so happens that we are starting on such a day. My baby constantly fed and wriggled and squirmed till 2 am, unable to settle. Then once he settled it was the usual 30 mins - 1 hour wake up till morning. I'm not sure what caused this. I can only think it was the mild chili con carne I had for tea as that was the only difference to either of our diets. However, we plod on.

I've began weaning baby this time on Plum 4 grain cereal. The grains include quinoa and amaranth. Both grains I was allowed when following the strict diet for my ME. He ate it well and finished the portion I gave him. 3 hours later I've seen no difference to his symptoms. We'll carry on with this for a few days and gradually increase the number of meals, so that his delicate digestive system isn't over loaded. He got constipated last time and administering a suppository is something neither of us want to repeat in a hurry!

One other thing i need to mention is the miracle of the sling. Why had I not tried this before? A kind friend has let me borrow hers and what a difference it has made these past three days! Carrying baby in a sling has kept him upright (essential for a refluxer), allowed me to have TWO (yes, that's right TWO) hands free, and enabled me to shift the weight bearing from my arms and wrists, to my shoulders and torso. I still need to pace baby to sleep, but it has been easier and a few times he's slept while I've been doing other things! Needless to say, I'm searching eBay now for one of our own.

4 comments:

  1. sooooooooooo pleased that the sling is helping Jenny! Will pray that the weaning goes well and hope that this is the start of good times!

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  2. Good luck with the weaning. I know what a nightmare weaning a refluxer is. Harry so far has 4 safe foods and twice as many that upset his tummy. I just had the plum 4 grain porridge recommended to me, so Harry is going to try that next week (he had his injections today so nothing new until he calms down from that!).

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  3. I posted a link on little refluxers and a response was a food guide, it looks really good so will be following that. What have you found is good for your little one? The 4 grain these past couple of days has made him irritable, but I think it's because he's eaten too much and not pooed, so I've limited his portions and seeing if that helps!

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