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Thursday, April 23, 2009

Formula Help? Please?

Jack has been strictly breastfed since he was born, but someday I would like to be able to leave him for a bit and go out! :) We have been attempting formula here and there - but every time we give Jack formula he turns into a monster after. Like bloody murder screaming. I think the formula is upsetting his tummy. We have tried a few kinds, even soy formula. Any suggestions for babies with sensitive tummies? Please?

8 comments:

Ashley said...

Have you tried pumping and freezing the milk? My little girl never took a bottle because I started trying too late. (I was told to start around 5 weeks.) But he may take expressed milk in a bottle. Good luck!

Kajsa Farnsworth said...

This is my area of expertise :-)
Brady was on a hypoallergenic formula for 6 months which you can only get via prescription. When we weaned him from it we used Nestle Good Start gentle-something or other. It is the only formula that is 100% whey rather than a mix of whey and casein. Casein is a milk protein which is harder to break down in the digestive tract. We would also add probiotics (you can get them in the refrigerator section of whole foods-type stores) which aid in digestion. It's the stuff that's found in yogurt but it's in powder form and you can add it to any drink. Hope that helps!

Anonymous said...

I wonder if it's just because he's not used to it. When I switched my daughter from formula to whole milk, my doctor told me to do it in sections. For example, for one week you do 1/4 whole milk and 3/4 formula. Then the second week half and half. The third week 3/4 whole milk and 1/4 formula. The last week full whole milk. Maybe if you mixed the breast milk with the formula like that and slowly got him used to it.

Jenisa said...

Lindsay,

I just got off of my pediatrics rotation at the hospital and here's the deal...babies can have protein intolerances to regular formula. It has to do with the protein composition. If he was strickly formula fed, you would probably notice lots of spitting up (I know he has reflux so that compounds the problem, but it would be to the point he wasn't gaining weight).

Formulas with a different protein composition are either Nutramigen or Alimentum. The problem is they smell horrible, are really expensive and he may not take them because he's used to being breast fed, and breast milk just tastes better.

I would start with the Alimentum because Nutramigen tends to loosen their stools. Good luck and feel free to e-mail me with any other questions. :0) oberbeck@nova.edu

Brittanie said...

I just want to wish you good luck. I'm pumping and freezing the milk for the occasional outing away from Patrick (Husband and I are going to the temple on Saturday morning, for example), so I'm no help on the formula thing. I hope you can find something that works!

The Loesevitz Family - said...

Hey cutie! Glad you are enjoying your new little Jack! About formula... try pumping, and if you really want him on formula, check with your doctor, and they will point you in the right direction
;-)

Mary and Dean said...

My only questions is does he take breast milk from a bottle without the drama? If not, it could be the bottle you are using. Ethan had to have a slow flow nipple or he gulped in too much air while he ate and then screamed for hours after he ate. We switched to slow flow nipples and that helped, but the formula also made him a bit more gassy so we just added gas drops to each formula bottle and the combo seemed to do the trick. Just a thought. Good luck!

Adventures in Healing said...

I disagree about the Nutramigen loosening their stools. I've had 2 kids who've had to be on it and we've never had that experience. Just going from breastfeeding to formula may cause some constipation, and thus upset, though. I can tell you though that if you have tried soy and he is fussy still then PLEASE try Nutramigen. It is expensive but is like a miracle when it makes that difference. My two youngest have been very allergic to milk. Call me if you want 6 2 9- 2 7 1 3.