<![CDATA[Nourishing Insights Functional Medicine and Nutritional Therapy | Scotland

<![CDATA[Nourishing Insights Functional Medicine and Nutritional Therapy | Scotland | UK - The Baby Blog]]>Sun, 28 Jun 2026 03:45:58 +0100Weebly<![CDATA[Does my baby need Vitamin D?]]>Fri, 05 May 2023 10:18:20 GMThttps://www.nourishinginsights.com/babyblog/does-my-baby-need-vitamin-d

This is a question I get all the time from parents and the answer is yes, all babies need vitamin D. But how they get it will look different for depending on how they are fed.

In the UK the NHS recommends all babies get 400iu of vitamin D per day. If you are formula feeding then this is already fortified with vitamin D so you don't need to give any additionally as long as your baby is having at least 500ml daily. Once you start weaning and start to drop bottles you may need to top up with a supplement.

If you're combi feeding then you will need to work out how much vitamin D your baby gets from formula and then top up with a supplement if you need to.

If you're breastfeeding then you will need to give a supplement of 400iu per day.

What if I'm breastfeeding and I take vitamin D, won't they get it through my breastmilk?

It depends on how much vitamin D you're taking. Most multi's will only have between 400-1000iu and this isn't enough to pass sufficient vitamin D into breastmilk. A randomized controlled trial from the Medical University of South Carolina concluded that Maternal vitamin D supplementation with 6400 IU/day safely supplies breast milk with adequate vitamin D to satisfy her nursing infant’s requirement and offers an alternate strategy to direct infant supplementation.

Why do babies need vitamin D?

Vitamin D is needed to help our bodies move calcium from the blood stream into our teeth and bones which is important for growing babies. It also plays an important role in our immune system with numerous studies showing the link between vitamin D deficiency and increased risk of respiratory infections. If a child doesn't have enough vitamin D they can develop a condition called rickets which causes softening of bones and causes problems with normal bone development. Once thought to be a disease confined to the history books, cases of rickets are on the rise so it's critical to supplement to prevent it.

If you'd like advice on how much vitamin D you should be giving to your baby or taking yourself or would like to test your levels get in touch via info@nourishinginsights.com and we can advise you.

]]><![CDATA[What’s the best formula for a baby with Reflux?]]>Thu, 27 Apr 2023 13:14:28 GMThttps://www.nourishinginsights.com/babyblog/whats-the-best-formula-for-a-baby-with-reflux

What’s the best formula for a baby with Reflux?
This is a question that comes up a lot from parents just like you who are longing for a solution to their baby's reflux. Firstly, let me be clear that formula is not a magic wand that’s going to stop your baby’s reflux*. There are many things that contribute to reflux and diet is just one of them.

What is formula?
Infant Formula is usually made from cow's milk and it has been treated and fortified to make it suitable for babies. It differs from cows' milk in that it has been formulated with the addition of vitamins and minerals to ensure it meets the needs of a growing baby. For infants not receiving breastmilk it should be the sole form of nutrition up to 6 months at which point it should be continued alongside the introduction of solids until 12 months.

My midwife said they're all the same, is there a difference?
This is a great question because it’s partially true. All infant formula must meet infant formula compositional regulations meaning that the amount of vitamins, minerals, protein, fats and carbohydrates in all infant formulas must meet a certain standard. As all of the manufacturers have to produce their milk to the same standard they are all very similar from this point of view.

However, it doesn’t mean they all have the same ingredients. This is where you can find your baby is fine on one milk, but they can’t tolerate another - they are reacting to an ingredient in one, that isn’t in the other. Ingredients can even vary within the same product with powdered and ready-to-feed liquid formulas often having slightly different ingredients.

If you are swapping from one form to another it may be worth keeping a diary so you can track symptoms and see if you notice any differences when you use powdered vs ready-made.

What about anti-reflux/comfort milk?
These are milks that have been designed to support a specific ailment.

Anti Reflux milk is a thickened version of formula with the aim of preventing regurgitation. The idea is that if we make the milk heavier, it’s more likely to stay in the baby’s stomach. These milks are often thickened with carob gum or maltodextrin, however, some babies can struggle to digest these leading to increased gas and often constipation.

*Please note thickeners like carobel or medications like gaviscon should never be used alongside anti-reflux milk as this can can over thickening and lead to severe constipation.*

Comfort milk contains partially broken down (partially hydrolysed) milk proteins which are supposed to be easier for the baby to digest. There’s no evidence that they make any difference to symptoms.

My baby has lots of wind, could they be lactose intolerant?
True lactose intolerance (AKA congenital lactose intolerance) in babies is extremely rare affecting 1 in 60,000 newborns. Babies with this condition would even react to lactose in breastmilk and have severe diarrhoea which would always be picked up in the first few days after birth.

Some babies can struggle with lactose overload, particularly if they are overfeeding, which might be because they are in pain as feeding provides comfort. Although babies produce lactase - the enzyme that breaks down lactose, they may not have enough to digest the lactose in the additional milk. This can result in symptoms such as excess wind and watery stools that may be green in colour.

What about Cow’s Milk Protein Allergy (CMPA)?
If you suspect your child may have CMPA it’s important to speak with your healthcare provider to see if a trial of specialist formula may be appropriate and this should be assessed on a case by case basis.

There are 2 types of specialist formula which are commonly used in the management of CMPA.

Extensively hydrolysed formula e.g. Nutramigen LGG where the casein proteins have been broken down to make them easier to digest. However, there is still the chance of reaction due to residual cows milk peptides. It’s often used in mild to moderate cases of CMPA.

Amino Acid-based Formula e.g. Neocate which is 100% dairy free and based purely on amino acids. Amino acids do not interact with the immune system and therefore do not lead to an allergic response. Used in moderate to severe cases of CMPA.

Soy based formula’s are no longer recommended due to concerns around phytoestrogen content and its effect on later reproductive health. You can read more here.

So where do you go from here?
It’s important to remember that diet is just one of many factors that can contribute to the symptoms of reflux. The key is getting to the root cause and then taking steps to address that. Start by keeping a journal of all your baby’s symptoms. The most common cause of reflux is that babies are swallowing too much air (aerophagia). Are you seeing symptoms like hiccoughs, burping, positing, trapped wind, and gulping during a feed? It could be aerophagia - more on how to support this in my free Burping Guide.

If you do choose to change the formula then continue to track all symptoms and monitor any changes.

If you’re looking for tailored 1:1 support to help get to the bottom of your baby’s reflux you can find out how I can help you here.

*It’s important to say that if you’re currently breastfeeding and you wish to continue then please do. Breast milk never causes reflux. There may be latch issues causing air swallowing or possibly something you are eating that the baby can’t tolerate. But it’s never the breastmilk that causes the problem.

]]><![CDATA[Let's talk infant reflux...]]>Wed, 06 Jan 2021 00:00:00 GMThttps://www.nourishinginsights.com/babyblog/lets-talk-infant-reflux

Have you been told that your baby has reflux? Are you trying to get your head around what that means and what to do next? I'm here to help.

What is infant reflux?
Firstly let me say that for the purposes of this blog when I talk about infant reflux I'm also including GORD (GERD), GOR, Silent Reflux, the symptoms of allergies/intolerances and what may have been dismissed as "colic".

In simple terms a reflux action is when something moves from the stomach to the oesophagus. It is a natural process that our bodies are designed to do for a number of reasons, e.g. to remove excess air from our stomach - burping or vomiting to remove food/bacteria. The body's ability to reflux is completely normal and is one of the body's ways of protecting itself from pathogens etc.

What's not normal is when this action is happening over and over again especially when it is causing obvious pain and discomfort. It is not normal for stomach acid to be oesophagus all the time and it's certainly not normal for babies to be in distress.

The good news is that there is always a reason for your babies symptoms and we can work together to figure it out.

The most common causes of reflux
1. Build up of gas.
Those of us who can remember back to physics lessons at school will remember that things will move from an area of high pressure to an area of low pressure. If you blow up a balloon and then let go of it, it will deflate as the air moves from high pressure (inside the balloon) to an area of lower pressure (outside the balloon).

The same thing happens inside a baby's stomach. When the pressure inside the stomach is too great the body will try to regain balance by sending the gas into a lower pressure environment. In this case the oesophagus. The pressure level will determine the force of the regurgitation with higher pressure leading to projectile vomit and lower pressure as silent reflux.

The question we need to answer is where does the air come from?
More often than not it's because baby is swallowing too much air. Babies can swallow air when they cry, laugh, eat, drink (especially if there are issues with latch to breast or bottle), when they swallow saliva and if there are air bubbles in their milk.

Do you struggle to wind your baby? Get my free burping guide!

2. Food Allergy or Intolerance.
Our digestive system plays a key role in immunity as you may have seen if you've read any of our posts on probiotics. One of the roles of gastric acid found in the stomach is to kill pathogens and prevent them reaching the small and large intestine. However, the infant digestive system is very immature and sometimes it's ability to perceive pathogens is a little off. For example, it may, rightly or wrongly, identify that a protein in cows milk, gluten, soy or any other food is a virus and trigger a reflux reaction to protect itself by vomiting out what it has perceived as a threat.

In these cases, reflux is a symptom of the allergy or intolerance.

There are of course other causes of reflux including pyloric stenosis, galactosaemia, intestinal blockages, etc which is why it's important that we assess each case individually.

If you're ready to start figuring out what's causing your little ones reflux then start with this free download to track all of their symptoms.

If you'd like more tailored 1:1 support you can find full details of my packages here.

Want to know more about why I started supporting babies with reflux? You can read my story here.

I truly hope I can help you on your journey to a reflux free life.

Harriette x

]]><![CDATA[Infant Reflux Specialist - Harriette's Story]]>Tue, 01 Sep 2020 23:00:00 GMThttps://www.nourishinginsights.com/babyblog/infant-reflux-specialist-harriettes-story

How did you get in to working with babies?
I have always loved babies. For as long as I can remember if someone had a baby then I would have been there offering to give them a cuddle or play with them. Even now if someone comes in store with a pram, I am straight over to say hello. When I qualified as a Massage Therapist 5 years ago, I knew I wanted to work with babies and so immediately trained as a Baby Massage Instructor.

What made you specialise in reflux support?
When I did my training we covered infant reflux and some of the massage techniques that can be supportive. However, it wasn’t until I actually started teaching and could see the distress being caused to both Mum and baby that I started to dig a little deeper. I had these women in my classes who were exhausted, who felt alone, whose concerns were not being listened to and were being brushed off. They were being told “you’re just an anxious first time mum”, “ reflux is normal”, “it’s not possible for them to cry as much as that”, “they are gaining weight there is nothing to worry about”. For these women, the cup of tea at the end of a class became a safe place for them to share what was happening. I was one of the first people who had listened to them, who believed them when they told me they had 3 hours sleep the night before, who believed that the only place they would settle was in their mothers arms, and who agreed that this was not “normal”.

Having worked alongside our clinically trained Nutritional Therapist Beverley for so long and being steeped in the idea of functional medicine and finding root cause I was watching these babies struggle and wondering why is no one asking WHY do these babies have reflux and WHAT is the root cause? I taught the Mum’s massage techniques to ease abdominal pain, to help them pass wind, to ease constipation which was a common side effect of the medications they had been prescribed for reflux. Those techniques did make a difference, they helped take the edge off but I knew that wasn’t enough. I knew that if I was to better serve these families then I had to learn more about what causes reflux and how to address that root cause.

So, what happened next?
I started to research infant reflux and learn about the infant microbiome. Slowly I built my knowledge and then one day I came across a book that had just launched called The Baby Reflux Lady and I thought YES!!! It was exactly what I had been looking for. Aine Homer had written this book because her children had reflux and she didn’t want anyone else to have to go through what they had. She had painstakingly pulled together her experience and all the research she could get her hands on and written this amazing book. Aine then took that research to the next level and launched a course for professionals called The REFLUX method which I jumped on and was one of the first to train with her.

I devoured that course. Suddenly all the pieces fell into place and I could begin to see what was causing the reflux for so many of the babies in my classes. I would sit with the mums at tea time and ask questions, observing feeding, looking for clues and making suggestions which, in some cases would include making them aware of other professionals who could support them with their specific group of symptoms: osteopaths, the infant feeding team, local breastfeeding groups etc.

Since then I stopped doing general classes and focussed exclusively on supporting babies with colic or reflux and their families in a 1:1 course setting. This allowed me to ask more specific questions and provide more tailored advice and solutions. I have since continued my professional training with Aine and am now a certified Infant Reflux Specialist. I firmly believe that reflux is a symptom of something else. It is my job to help you figure out what that root cause is, and provide you with the solutions so you can begin to work towards a reflux free baby.

You can find full details of my services here.

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