One twin on breastmilk and the other on formula?

Stephanie2167 · April 2014

I'm in a conundrum. Nicole hasn't had any issues with drinking breastmilk. She has what I think is a tongue tie so she gets breastmilk from a bottle. Harper has been on breastmilk as well and she nurses well. We are suspecting that Harper has a dairy allergy and she is currently trying out nutramigen to see if it clears up her symptoms (constant congestion from 2 weeks on, ezcema, reflux, green mucousy poo). If the nutramigen works for her, I'll most likely continue her on it (sadly).

My issue is, I feel guilty giving one girl breastmilk and the other formula. I'm going to give a dairy elimination diet a try but having twins is hard enough that having to watch what I eat sounds painful.

WWYD?

4legsRbest · April 2014

I did a dairy elimination diet with my DS and I didn't find it that difficult, but my diet has limited dairy it in just by my natural likes and dislikes. That being said, after 6 weeks, he showed no changes so that wasn't it. We then treated him with reflux meds and that seemed to do the trick and he was weaned off those at 7 months old. BTW - ha had a tongue and lip tie too.

It really is up to you though and how important it is for you to have them both BF. Also, you just have to weight the pros and cons for you and her both in this scenario. It isn't an easy decision and I honestly don't know what I will do with these two should something like this come up. With one baby it is fairly easy to figure these things out and work on them, but 2? I can't even fathom that you have a ton of time to think about it!

GL with whatever you decide and I hope you find something that makes everyone happy!

gault530 · April 2014

My DD is on Nutramigen and DS was on BM (I stopped after six months). She has a milk protein issue and I didn't feel bad because BM made her vomit and cry non-stop. Yes, she didn't get all of the great antibodies that DS got, but she was able to gain weight and frankly just be happier. She never felt good on BM. Try to think of the positives.

SV917 · April 2014

I haven't had dairy in over 3 years and I honestly don't miss it at all. I don't think it's that hard to avoid it, especially because there are decent vegan alternatives to almost everything. I would give it a try to see how it goes.

I do understand the guilt in feeding different ways. E gets breastmilk but I've pretty much given up trying to breastfeed her. I worry that she misses out on some of the benefits, including the bonding.

carrotcake06 · April 2014

We had issues w one in the beginning and I gave up dairy until we figured out it was reflux and he got on meds. Had it been a milk protein allergy, I would have cut it out and kept BFing. That's just me - BFing is one of those things for me.

pillowass · April 2014

This will probably ruffle some feathers, but when you look at the science of breastfeeding and control for factors like education, socioeconomic status, etc, the benefits over formula end up being pretty trivial provided you have access to clean water. Also, many of the bonding effects of bf'ing can be mimicked with bottle feeding (skin to skin, holding your baby close, etc.) To me, it's not worth killing yourself or making your baby miserable, even for a little while. I respect that bf'ing is very important to many moms, and I hope that you find some support in whatever you choose.

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One twin on breastmilk and the other on formula?

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