Starting cereal

[halloweenmommy]

My dd is 5 months old and exclusively breastfed.  She has reflux and is on Lo-Sec for that (just started that drug over Zantac yesterday, so not sure if it's making a difference yet).  She tends to be very gassy (the doctor says that that is due to the reflux).  Our doctor suggested tryin her on some cereal before bed since it is heavier and helps keep thigns down a little better.  We tried for two nights, but she seemed much gassier.  Does cereal cause gas initially?  Does the gas go away after their guts get used to it?  She suggested trying the cereal again and if it still causes her lots of gas to try vegetables.  Are there some vegetables that are easier to digest than others?  I got sweet potatoes to start with, is this a good choice?  Now, do I feed her after she has breastfed?  Will she be hungry for it after she has breastfed?  I am thinking of starting it in the morning instead of at night.  That way I have the whole day to see how her guts react to it instead of finding out that her guts aren't happy at 2:00 in the morning!
Any help would be much appreciated.  Thanks,

[Kate A]

I gave you this really long post and I lost it.  here's the sum up.

My dd is BF and didn't take to rice cereal.  BM is sweet and rice cereal is not, you could mix it with BM but on it's on with water, not too tasty

I would start with pear or avocado.  both are easy on the tummy and have a good consistency.  I would also try in the morning, helps for you to see if they are allergic.  If she doesn't take to those, put a banana or avocado in a mesh feeder to get her used to the taste.  we had to do that and it worked great.

It took us a while to transition and so we did bf one hour after solids for a while, seemed to get her a little hungry but not frustrated.  We started at exactly 6 months.  she wasn't too intrigued before that.

don't get frustrated in the beginning, they will get it.  Once they do, you will want to through a party.  it's pretty exciting.

I also used gripe water for tummy upset and that seemed to help.
this is short, but I don't want to type and lose it all again...let me know if you need more help

I have a friend who's dd had reflux and the rice cereal made little impact.  She just had to outgrow it...sorry not good help.

[*Natasha*]

Thanks for that info Kate i wasn't to sure with the breastfeeding side of things. I started my Reflux DD early to try and help it which it did however she only had a mild case. However it can also make it worse which it sounds like it might be doing for your DD.
My opinion would be to perhaps wait a little while until she is closer to 6 months and see how you go then.