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Advice?? DD HATES milk free formula!

coachswife24coachswife24
in Food Allergy

DD was just diagnosed with a milk/soy allergy - she will be 6 weeks on Wednesday and I go back to work in 3.5 weeks.  Doc told me it would take 2 weeks to get the dairy out of my system as well as with her.  They also gave me some formula - Nutramigen.  I thought our prayers had been answered and I was so relieved as nursing has been SO hard...I can hardly pump enough (i've been practicing for work) for a day's worth of bottles. 

SHE HATES THE FORMULA!  Oh my word - it's awful.  What can I do?  Should I mix BM with formula?  Or should I just keep on pumping and trying to make enough (I'm on day 3 of not having any dairy or soy and I'm so incredibly hungry!), or just wait until she gets hungry enough to take the formula and endure a couple of days of misery (basically where she finally gives and is like - ok, momma's only giving me this - i better eat!)? I'm at a loss.   If I were a SAHM, I would try to breastfeed and wait a few weeks to see improvement and then all would be peaches and cream, but since I have to work, I'm on a time schedule - I do not want the lady who is going to keep her to have to deal with this.  It's HARD to say the least and I don't want her to try to teach her to eat formula, but I also don't want her to fuss all day as we wait the 'dairy' to get out of our systems! :( This is really tough and I'm so sad because I feel like all I do is pump & pump and pump and comfort her so she won't be in pain. Her bouts of happiness are far and few in between and I was so wanting to just enjoy my maternity leave and bond with her...however, I feel like I'm trying to find the missing piece of the puzzle.. :(

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Re: Advice?? DD HATES milk free formula!

  • Bella_SBella_S
    My DD was diagnosed @ 1 year so I am not going to be a whole bunch of help.  BUT have you taken her to a naturopath?  They might have some ideas for you.  I found ours to be very helpful.  I know that she is quite young so I am not really sure what else to tell you.  Good luck!
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  • g_belleg_belle

    Are you the one trying to give the bottles?  She may take one better if you leave her with your mom/DH/trusted friend etc. and leave the house for a bit.  Also if your sitter has any experience with babies- she's probably had one before that wasn't a fan of the bottle.  Just keep offering and she'll get there.  My youngest didn't transition very well to the bottle but we finally figured out that if he was offered the bottle before he was super hungry that he did a lot better.  Now he switches back and forth just fine. 

    The elmination diet is hard- make sure you are eating enough calories and protein to keep up your supply (try coconut milk, oatmeal, avacadoes etc.).  Find some safe and easy snacks and stock up on those.  Also drink TONS of water.  My first few weeks of the elmination diet always cause a supply dip and the same thing happens if I dont' pay attention and eat/drink enough. 

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  • BC&MMBC&MM
    Have you tried the Similac version. DS was diagnosed at a couple months old. He would not take the Enfamil stuff at all. But he is better with the Alimentium.
    DS has acid relux and milk protein allergy, and had torticollis, used to EP, now we FF . April siggy 3-6 month
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  • coachswife24coachswife24
    Does the Alimentum smell better? 
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  • katxattackkatxattack

    I am about to switch to formula, due to the elimination diet. I have held on for 7 weeks, and I just cant do this anymore. I am STARVING. There is not enough choices for those dairy/soy free.

    I am at a loss of which formula to try. Enfamil version or Similac version.

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  • aniceucchikaniceucchik
    The alimentum smells like dog food, IMO...i think the nutramigen is so much better-but thats from my personal experiences with both. If it is a true allergy then there really arent any other options. From what I have read/heard, in the beginning they obviously hate the switch, but eventually they will take it.

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  • heyitsmeheyitsme member
    Alimentum smells like parmesean cheese gone bad, to me. When we started Alimentum we used ready to feed and that smelled A LOT less strong. I've heard RTF versions are sweeter, so could you try that? And then slowly switch from RTF to powder? (Like put 2oz of RTF + 2oz made from powder in a bottle.)
    Mom to J (10), L (4), and baby #3 arriving in July of 2015
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  • katxattackkatxattack
    hmm... dog food, bad parm.... maybe I'll try to stick out this mayhem a little longer. :)
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  • babyitsyoubabyitsyou
    Both smell awful:( My son prefered the taste of the Alimentum over the Nutramigen. Mixing it with breastmilk did help in the beginning. When we switched to the Elecare we had the same problem. Our ped said it was ok to add a small amount of vanilla extract and agave nectar. That really helped. GL!!
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  • magdusiamagdusia member

    I think at 6 weeks she just needs to get use to the different taste.  It may take a few days though and like you said, it may be a miserable few days but eventually she'll drink it..   You can also mix half and half (or start 75/25 and work your way up to 25/75 BM/FM)

    I BF'd my son until he was 13 months old and went to work full time and gave him formula at night and closer to the end i gave it to him before bed also. He hated it but learned quickly he had no choice since i was drying up and had nothing extra to spare.  I probably should have quit much much sooner (like as soon as i found out his allergies) b/c even though i was on an elimination diet,  he was still having major issues and i was just being stubborn to prove everyone i could do it.  I think formula would have made him a much happier baby with out the itchy pain of trying to scratch his eyes out.  Sometimes formula is better than BM.

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  • faith194faith194

    Nutramigen smells awful. . .DS was on it for a few weeks(we had to supplement from the get-go) while I still BF'd while eliminating dairy. After 3 weeks, his symptoms never cleared up. We went to a GI specialist, and he was put on Elecare, since she said he may also be reacting to soy. I eliminated soy for two weeks(along with dairy-this happened from Thanksgiving until after Christmas).  When we reintroduced bm, his symptoms came right back. We ultimately decided Elecare was the best for DS.  It was such a difficult decision, and I'm still mourning the loss of bfing.

     

    Good luck! I'd try the suggestions posted above!  

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  • sbmp10sbmp10

    We switched DS a few weeks ago.  I did the elimination diet for 4 months and just couldn't keep it up.  I am so happy I switched because DS is doing 100% better than he was with the elimination diet and I was meticulous!  Like the other poster said sometimes BM isn't in their best interest.

    He struggled with the taste as well.  I agree with pp ers.  We found that Alimentum Ready to Feed was the least offensive.  He is still not a HUGE fan but he is eating well and gaining weight. 

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