Aspiration & Adding Cereal to Bottle
Becoming a mommy is one of the best things that have ever happened to me in life. But the second (and I do mean the exact second) Dawson was born, I learned two things that continue to shape this parenting thing for me as I go along. So, here they are, in order:
- As a mommy: I want to do what is best for my child.
- Also as a mommy: Doing what is best for my child does always mean doing things the way I’ve planned.
I’m glad I was taught such a valuable lesson so early on; so that when things like adding cereal to baby’s bottle at 15 weeks arise, I do not feel completely overwhelmed or immensely saddened by a swift change in plans. Okay, now I’ll actually explain. Let me start by saying that Dawson’s Pediatric GI is amazing. He truly cares about the well-being of my child and my family as a whole, which is a very important determinant for me when choosing providers and not something that one comes across every day. One of his main concerns for Dawson is that he may be aspirating or even worse that he may aspirating silently. If you have no idea what this means, you are not alone. We were completely clueless until it was broken down for us.
Basically, aspiration can occur when baby has issues swallowing. Some of their food can sometimes go down the wrong tube and ends up in their lungs. When children aspirate silently, this means that food may be going down the wrong tube BUT they are not crying when it occurs or even making any real fuss that would notify a parent that something is wrong. They don’t have any symptoms.
Alright, so the GI is concerned because Dawson constantly sounds congested even though he does not have a cold (his nose is cleaned regularly, in case you were wondering). Dawson also makes wet sounding noises throughout his feedings and sometimes seems to maybe have some difficulty breathing during a feed. These symptoms may not mean anything but they could also be indicators that some aspiration is occurring. We have been working with a speech language pathologist for feeding therapy for a few months now in an effort to help correct Dawson’s issues; however, although sometimes only mild, they are still there.
Dawson’s GI explained that with the symptoms still occurring he would rather be on the more conservative side, so he ordered for Dawson to have a feeding study completed. During the feeding study Dawson will drink liquid barium from a bottle while being x-rayed, in order to determine where the formula is actually going after being swallowed. Unfortunately, the soonest the study could be completed is mid-December, meaning that Dawson could possibly continue suffering until then if an issue truly does exist. For this reason, the GI has prescribed cereal to be added to Dawson’s formula. It is to be used in every bottle as a thickening agent, because if the formula is thicker there may be less likelihood of it going down the wrong way.
This is where number 1 and 2 from earlier come into play. I had planned that Dawson would not have any solid foods or cereal until 6 months, as recommended by doctors and organizations throughout the United States and Canada (for reasons that make complete sense I might add). But as you can see, it was either stick to my guns (refuse to compromise or change) and hold-off on cereal, or allow my baby to possibly suffer in silence for even longer than he already has. I chose the latter. And when it comes to choosing between what I have planned for my baby and what is best for my baby I will always choose the latter. Although I know that this decision could be argued either way.
I’ll admit, this hasn’t made it any less difficult for me to deal with. I’m concerned that the cereal could further compound his stomach issues and that there may be some long-term effects of starting cereal so soon but my husband and I have weighed the pros and cons and decided to try the cereal for now.
Dawson started cereal today and seems to absolutely love it so far. When I gave it to him this morning for the first time, he had to stop drinking so he could smile and did this a few more times before finishing off his bottle. It was the cutest! After doing tons of research we ended up going with Earth’s Best Organic Whole Grain Oatmeal Cereal.
I can only pray that we have made the right decision for our son but I would love to hear from other mommas going through similar situations and about the decision you ultimately made for your child. I will keep you updated and let you know how the feeding study actually goes!
