Baby throws up everytime I offer solids...Help!

I am trying to introduce fruits & cereal to my DS, but he always throws up (formula and the food) whenever I try to feed it to him. I've tried rice cereal, bananas, apples, sweet potatoes....Doesn't matter what it is, he throws up the instant I put it in his mouth. I've tried a dozen times. He just cannot tolerate/doesn't want anything to do with it. He has a hard time taking a bottle due to reflux, so I hate it when he throws up formula (due to eating solids) because it takes so long for him to take a bottle in the first place. <_< He is over 6 months old.

Does anyone, or did anyone, have the same issue??

(DD is fed through a G-tube, so she doesn't take a bottle or solids yet.)

TIA

 

My pediatrician is great and I call everytime I have a question. I recommend that your doctor be your first line of defense. It could be something as simple as texture. Maybe the new feeling in his mouth just doesn't agree with him. I haven't necessarily had issues with throwing up, but we've just started solids and have only tried cereal, bananas, and peaches. One of my boys like his cereal extra thinned out. He seems to gag when it is even a little thick.

 

I'm not exactly sure what you mean by throwing up. Is he gagging, where it gets part way down and he gags and spits it out but it smells ok or is he actually throwing up where it gets all the way down into his tummy then it comes back up and smells sour and yucky?

If it's just gagging he may have a texture aversion. You might want to try thinning out his cereal until it's really soupy and then add a bit of cereal at a time until it's as thick as he can tolerate. Eventually he'll master that darn gag reflex.

 

QUOTE(Her Royal Jennyness @ Nov 29 2007, 04:43 PM) [snapback]514238[/snapback]
I'm not exactly sure what you mean by throwing up. Is he gagging, where it gets part way down and he gags and spits it out but it smells ok or is he actually throwing up where it gets all the way down into his tummy then it comes back up and smells sour and yucky?

If it's just gagging he may have a texture aversion. You might want to try thinning out his cereal until it's really soupy and then add a bit of cereal at a time until it's as thick as he can tolerate. Eventually he'll master that darn gag reflex.



Well said - it took my babies over a month before they "got" feeding. We experimented with thick v. thin mixtures and then one day, they finally understood (OH, we SWALLOW it!). If it's just gagging, keep at it. but if it's actual vomit, you really should call the doctor.

 

Were they preemies??? Mine were born 8 weeks early and it really took a long time for one of mine to stop gagging. He did throw up a couple of times if it was too thick. He is still on puree with some texture and some finger food but he is taking his own sweet time. I read that some early preemies can have some feeding issues with texture, so maybe your Ped can give you some support on the issue. GL!

 

If you want, you could just set the solids aside for a couple weeks or a month and see if he does better then. He won't be missing out on much - it's just for practice at this point. Who knows, maybe he'd be more ready for it then?

 

I should have mentioned that they are preemies. Born at 28 weeks. So they are 4 months adjusted.

What happens is full force vomit. For example, today he had a bottle at 12pm. I decided to give Rice cereal a try again one hour after the bottle. He didn't like it, as usual. I tried bananas and he swallowed a few bites and then all the formula he had from the bottle before came back up. At least 3 ounces of it, plus the tiny bit of rice cereal he ate and the bananas. This whole scenario happens all the time, everytime I try solids.

I am thinking of trying it again tomorrow, but this time do it 2 hours after a bottle. He takes a bottle every three hours, so when we are done, I can offer the bottle...I don't see any other way to do it since his stomach has to be decently empty so he (at least) doesn't throw up the previous bottle. If he throws up the solids, fine, I can deal with that. I just hate when he throws up formula because as I said before, he has a hard time eating due to reflux so it takes quite some time for him to finish a bottle and I don't like it coming all back up again after all that work getting him to take it in the first place.

I mentioned this to the Pedi at their 6 month appt. and she seemed not very concerned at all about it. She just blamed it on the reflux and told me to keep trying and that he'll get it eventually, or grow out of the reflux soon and that it won't be a problem.

Thanks for all the responses...I hope tomorrow goes better

 

QUOTE(two.heartbeats @ Nov 30 2007, 01:40 AM) [snapback]514553[/snapback]
I should have mentioned that they are preemies. Born at 28 weeks. So they are 4 months adjusted.

What happens is full force vomit. For example, today he had a bottle at 12pm. I decided to give Rice cereal a try again one hour after the bottle. He didn't like it, as usual. I tried bananas and he swallowed a few bites and then all the formula he had from the bottle before came back up. At least 3 ounces of it, plus the tiny bit of rice cereal he ate and the bananas. This whole scenario happens all the time, everytime I try solids.

I am thinking of trying it again tomorrow, but this time do it 2 hours after a bottle. He takes a bottle every three hours, so when we are done, I can offer the bottle...I don't see any other way to do it since his stomach has to be decently empty so he (at least) doesn't throw up the previous bottle. If he throws up the solids, fine, I can deal with that. I just hate when he throws up formula because as I said before, he has a hard time eating due to reflux so it takes quite some time for him to finish a bottle and I don't like it coming all back up again after all that work getting him to take it in the first place.

I mentioned this to the Pedi at their 6 month appt. and she seemed not very concerned at all about it. She just blamed it on the reflux and told me to keep trying and that he'll get it eventually, or grow out of the reflux soon and that it won't be a problem.

Thanks for all the responses...I hope tomorrow goes better


Maybe just do very thin rice cereal for a bit and not everyday. When mine were first starting out I didnt have the energy to do it everyday and they could have cared less about it. Maybe the fruits just have too much texture and are really aggravating the gag reflex. Or you could just abort the mission for a couple of weeks and then try again like the PP said. We did this too off and on. Happy Feeding!!

ETA to take my response out of the quote.

 

I would put the solids aside for a few weeks and come back to it. it just seems like it would be so frustrating for you and him that waiting a little longer might be the thing to do, esp. if he is 4 mo adj.age

 

I have always just waited until my babies have practically pulled the food from my mouth before offering solids. BM or formula is the only food babies need in the first year. The 4-6 month age start date for solids is the earliest they want babies started on solids. But it isn't the HAVE to age to start on solids. If your DS is throwing up the formula he struggled to get down, I would definately hold off a little while longer before introducing solid foods if it were me. Good luck on whatever you decide to do

 

I would also put it aside for a few weeks since he is really throwing up. It sounds like his gag reflex is super sensitive!

 

My DD has a very sensitive gag reflex, so we are waiting on the solids. I give her e tiny bit a couple of times a week to see if she is getting more enthusiastic. DS, on the other hand, would eat all day if I let him. I agree that you should just let it go for a while - most peds/medical recommendations now are to start solids at 6 months, so you have a couple of months before the *recommended* age. Because they were preemies, I would be wary of starting solids too soon and increasing their risk of allergies.