Which oat cereal brand?

[DobbyForever]

My son was just diagnosed with reflux, and he is having trouble breathing as a result. The doctor wants me to add 1 teaspoon of oat cereal to his bottles (3 oz bm, 1.5 teaspoons similac pro sensitive). He does have a lactose sensitivity. Target has four brands: Gerber organic, earth’s best, beech nut, and happy baby. I went with Gerber for today but i’m seeing mixed reviews across the board. So i’m curious to get some seasoned moms’ perspectives.

 

[lil' mole]

I’m not sure if I can be particularly helpful, I know things are different USA to uk. My dd2 had severe reflux which caused apneaic episodes. She also has a cows milk protein allergy (cmpa) which made the reflux worse. Is it possible your son has cmpa rather than lactose intolerance? Lactose intolerance is extremely rare in babies and they are usually very poorly when it is diagnosed.

If he does have cmpa then a cows milk protein free formula (or changing your diet if breast feeding) may really help his reflux.

Diet aside, my daughter was given infant gaviscon and lansoprazole from 8 weeks to control her reflux. I know reflux tends to be medicated less in the us but if it is severe enough to cause breathing problems maybe it would be something to consider for your son.

It’s never recommended to add cereal to formula in the uk and we’d have different brands anyway so I can’t really help with your actual question, sorry xx

 

[DobbyForever]

Ty! Yeah. She wants to medicate him as a last resort. It turns out she’s an idiot anyway and I was right that he caught croup at daycare. It wasn’t reflux interfering with his breathing r_r

I dob’t Really know what he has. Just at 6 weeks he suddenly started rejecting neosure. I tried three different formulas to fortify my milk before just going with pro sensitive. Any of the totally milk free ones have him awful gas which was just as bad as what was happening with neosure. So I figured a little spit up beat screaming in pain. I cannot eat even the tiniest amount of dairy or he screams in gassy pain all day. So for now i’m Dairy free

 

[lil' mole]

I’m glad that the breathing issues aren’t reflux related, not glad he has croup but at least that’s short lived. Sounds like it will be a cmpa if you are breast feeding, breast milk has way more lactose than formula and would make your little boy very poorly if he had lactose intolerance. (Doctors miss diagnose this quite often, which is appalling).

If you’ve found something that works then stick with that. My dd2 was medicated because her reflux was causing her to stop breathing multiple times a day, which was terrifying, so medication was def the lesser of two evils for her x

 

[DobbyForever]

Right?! I thought that seemed weird... like how can he be lactose sensitive but drink bm?! But I don’t ask questions I probably should. I’ll have to look more into cmpa. His usual pedi has to call me today to follow up so i’ll ask her

Oh no! Sorry to hear you had to go through that . It really is scary any time our kiddos have breathing issues. So glad the meds worked! He mostly just spits up a little and gets congested at night. Nothing elevation or a go with the nose Frida doesn’t fix. Just feel bad for the kid. He can’t catch a break but it could be way worse. I’m really relieved it’s just croup

 

[SonnyH]

My 6 month old has reflux & we’ve been on Gaviscon & Omeprazole since she was 3 months old.. she’s a different baby! I know not everyone likes to medicate but do push if you think they are really suffering! My doctor looked down my babies throat & said it was close to blistering from the acid washing back up her throat

We are very much advised to never put rice in babies bottles in the UK, I’m not sure why, choking maybe? but I’ve def read not to do it on official baby care leaflet type things/books several times!

I hope things improve, reflux is incredibly tough!

 

[DobbyForever]

Ouch! Yeah I would totally medicate in that case. I guess his was more mild than I thought. It just looks like a lot.

The cereal has helped a lot but he does still spit up some but now it seems more normal amounts and only when he burps

Rice cereal is not recommended because rice contains arsenic and it lacks any real nutritional. His pedi basically said it’s empty calories and to go with oat. But I heard in UK y’all don’t do any cereal period. Whereas here we’re super pro cereal as a stage one food lol

 

[noon_child]

But I heard in UK y’all don’t do any cereal period. Whereas here we’re super pro cereal as a stage one food lol

I think because the guidelines say not to introduce solids till 6months here, at which time a whole range of foods can be introduced, the cereal thing isn't as big. People still do use baby oatmeals but often not on its own but as part of a varied diet and never in a bottle.

 

[DobbyForever]

The guidelines here are 6 months as well. But I know some babies start between 4-6 months. My pedi actually gave me the green light to start. I thought she crazy. He had every readiness sign except showing interest in my food. And Kaiser policy is exclusive formula or bm for six months. But she examined him and, without me asking, said to start 1 tbs of cereal or avocado a day. Just for fun, I made an avocado bm purée expecting nothing but I was SHOCKED that not only ate it but was smacking his lips for more when we were done. Yesterday we ate it with a spoon and same thing. He loooves his avocado. So she was right, I was wrong haha

 

[noon_child]

He had every readiness sign except showing interest in my food.

Here in the UK showing interest in food isn't even one of the readiness signs *face palm* I wish there was some consistency as it really confuses everyone on international forums haha!!

 

[DobbyForever]

Seriously! I always forget this site is international and it gets so confusing because things aren’t standardized globally haha