Holly Willoughby's experience of weaning a baby who's had reflux
Nasty reflux left Holly’s youngest son, Chester, reluctant to eat…
When it comes to weaning babies from milk to solids – every single experience is different.
You might try one thing with one child, and it works a dream – only to find it’s a complete nightmare when it comes to the other ?
This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby took us through her journey with weaning, and says she found exactly that.
The mum of 3 says Harry (now 8) and Belle (now 6) were easy to spoon-feed compared to their younger brother Chester (now 2) – who found eating difficult after suffering awful reflux as a baby.
“Harry and Belle were fine with weaning – they’d just eat anything that came along,” Holly told us. “But Chester was a completely different experience, because he had really bad reflux when he was a baby.
“Weaning couldn’t come quick enough with him – as it’s really the only thing that solves the reflux.
"I’d had such a nightmare with him, with milk, holding it down and being in lots of pain – it wasn’t the nicest experience at all. So I was kind of counting down the days…
“Then that was different again because he wouldn’t eat off a spoon. He had this weird thing with anything you put near his lips - a breast, a teat, whatever it was.
“It was almost a kind of mouth-phobia thing where he just didn’t like it, because he had an association with it where he thought everything he ate would cause him pain.”
With her previous method of spoon-feeding no longer working, Holly wasn’t quite sure how to proceed. That’s when Chester stepped in and made the decision for her.
“He almost introduced himself to baby-led weaning,” she admits. “I didn’t do that with the other 2 but he chose to do that.
“I was steaming some broccoli once and he just grabbed a bit and started nibbling it. It was amazing because it was the first time I’d seen him take control and enjoy something.
“Again, it wasn’t a choice, it was just something he did.”
Sounds like that should be called baby-led, baby-led weaning to us ?
Holly says the experience changed her perspective and that, now, one of the messages of her new book (funnily enough, a guide to weaning) is to follow your instincts when it comes to your baby – you’ll end up knowing which method of weaning will work best for them ☺️
Thoughts?
Did you start weaning early because your baby had reflux - how did it go for you? Any tips you'd share with your fellow mums? Do let us know on Facebook!
Holly’s new book, Truly Scrumptious Baby, is out now
Images: Instagram/Holly Willoughby
Read more:
Authors
Create the perfect wishlist for your baby with MyCrib
Are you expecting and don't know where to start? Discover how MyCrib can help you build your dream wishlist. You can add products from any site with just one click and even use MyCrib's buying assistant to help get you started.