tummy ache

[abbynmonique]

i have started my nearly 5 month old on rice cereal last week, i went from once a day (1 tspn) for the first 3 days , slowly adding more , to twice a day, and the last 2 nights, added about a tbspn of sweet potato in the evening feed. Both nights she seems to have woken up with a tummy ache,, squirming and crying, and im wondering if i should
1..stop and start again in a few weeks, or
2.. go back to plain rice cereal or
3.. just offer her less as she will happily eat as much as i put in front of her.

is 2 tablespoons of food too much after 1 week?

i guess its all trial and error but she does seem ready for it , and is 7 kg but hasnt gained more than 100gm per week for about the last month. she is breastfed . looks healthy,has chubby legs and is generally a content baby.

[the pero clinic]

Dear Abbynmonique,

It will probably continue to be trial and error for a bit longer while you and your daughter come to a happy agreement on what works best for her. If she is happily eating the purees that you are offering, I would be hesitant to stop solids altogether. It is possible that she is a bit too full, is not agreeing with the sweet potato, or is just a bit unwell at the moment - and it just happens to coincide with the timing of the new food.

Perhaps you should try plain rice cereal again for the next few days, gradually increasing the amount from 2tspn to 2tbspns. If this doesn’t seem to bother her, reduce the amount of rice cereal each day and replace it with a small amount of the sweet potato. It is always a good idea to introduce one new food at a time (for 2-3 days) to test for any reactions. If babies are exposed to too many new foods at once it can be difficult to determine if / which foods have caused a reaction. If you again find that the sweet potato results in an upset bub, it would be best to avoid it for some time – even until after 12 months.

Finally, if it just so happens that your little one is just not well, continue to offer 1 or 2 tspns of rice cereal (if she is happy to take it) and wait until she is feeling better again to resume your venture into new foods.

the pero clinic