I disagree that breastfed babies don’t need treatment for GERD. The actual diagnosis of GERD means that the baby fails to gain weight appropriately and is not a “happy spitter”. It means they are miserable because of the acid that is burning their esophagus. Now, my son didn’t need early solids, he started at 4 months just with the occassional taste, but he did need medication to help his GERD and still takes it at 8 months. Breastmilk was not enough to “cure” his acid issues.

Otherwise, solids are really the parents’ concern. I wouldn’t really listen to the doc if they said to start based on size. I never heard that any size is a reason to start solids early. Although babies can display readiness at different ages. Anywhere between 4 and 6 months is fine, at that stage it is still “additional” to the formula or breastmilk and shouldn’t be considered a serious part of their diet. It is really not a staple until closer to a year (depending on the child depends on the age it is used nutritionally versus as an introduction).

I know with my nephew they had him on cereal in his bottle at about 3 months due to reflux..

other than that – none that i can think of.

if the baby’s breastfed, btw, rice cereal is not necessary – the breast milk contains stem cells that buffer the stomach acid and help heal irritated tissues. my daughter was a reflux baby, exclusively breastfed. never needed treatment, just happily puked away until she was about 13mo when it all stopped – fast, too – i’m talking within two weeks, she went from firehose, to dribbler, to nothing at all.

pippin: i got that “too big” one, too!!!! this crackpot doc temping for my regular paed said that because my exsclusively breastfed daughter was 5mo old and already close to triple her weight (she was 7lb10 at birth, 32lbs at one year). i looked at him and said “so… what you’re saying is that breastfeeding was enough to get her to this size… but somehow it’s not enough any more!??

thankfully i had the sense to ignore this bafflingly moronic statement and continue my merry way and my daughter continued her merry weigh all the way up to 50lbs at 20mo when she suddenly stopped dead and is now starting to roll backward (she turned 3 in march and is down to about 47 – 48lbs).

mum to 3.5yrold, 2.5yrold & 7.5 month old!

Beyond that — there’s really no medical reason. But some doctors seem to believe that a ‘big’ baby needs solids early (“he’s so big — breastmilk obviously isn’t enough for him anymore”) and that ‘small’ babies need solids early (“she’s so small, she obviously needs more calories to grow and thrive”) and that ‘average’ babies need solids early (“he’s so healthy and growing so well, there’s no reason to delay solids.”)

IOW, it’s usually simple ignorance, or dated advice, or going along with mom’s eagerness to start early.

EDIT: I wouldnt’ consider rice cereal in a bottle for reflux to be ‘starting solids.’ It’s medicine to treat a specific medical problem.