September 2015 Moms

Formula question (kind of long)

Hey ladies.

My son is 4 mos and is strictly formula fed. I had initially nursed and wanted to EBF, but I got really sick and was in the hospital for most of Nov and unfortunately my supply dropped and he wouldn't latch when I got home. Anyway we've been through numerous formulas just to find one that works for him.

We finally settled with up and up sensitive and he was doing great on it. A couple weeks ago he started throwing up about 10-15mins after every feeding. Not projectile, but enough for me to have to change his shirt or his bib. His dr told me to switch to soy for a weekend and if that didn't work, he'd prescribe meds. I dunno, I felt he kind of jumped the gun on pushing meds because my son doesn't seem like he's in pain, and isn't really showing any other signs of reflux. Anyway I decided to try Kirkland brand formula before trying soy and for some reason the next day went back to up and up. Well I noticed he didn't throw up. I've now done it for 4 days- 1 day Kirkland, 1 day up and up (etc) and he has been doing GREAT. No throwing up whatsoever. I just don't know if I'm doing something wrong by doing this or causing him any harm? This is my third child, but I nursed the other two so I'm not familiar with formula so this is all new to me.

Any advice is appreciated!

Re: Formula question (kind of long)

  • The pedi told me it takes 2 weeks for the baby's stomach to adjust and not to keep switching frequently but y
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  • Your post cut off, but to respond to the first part of the post that's what I thought too! And when I mentioned that to the peds he said "oh no. It only takes a couple bottles to notice a difference". Everything that I've read has said opposite so that threw me off.
  • I too heard from Ped if can take a week for them to adjust and to not switch too often. Bur you know your baby so if babe seems ok I guess keep doing what you're doing? As long as there's no blood in poop.
  • Nope no blood. He seems fine? I'm just wondering if something will catch up to us in a week and he'll be miserable... Aye.
  • We had to switch to hypoallergenic formula because my son became intolerant to the gentleease we were using. When I started the new formula I saw instant results but it took his digestive system 2 full weeks before it went fully back to normal
  • @chelseajeanene what symptoms did your son have to know he became intolerant to the formula? Also, did you try soy before you went to the hypoallergenic?
  • edited January 2016
    @ItsmeR30 the doctor started out saying it was acid reflux because he had all the symptoms. Coughing, spitting up and arching his back and screaming while eating, etc. She started us on rice added to his bottle but there was no improvement. He started pooping once or twice after every bottle and that's when she had us try the hypoallergenic formula. She never suggested using soy because of how much he was pooping
  • Was his spit up bothering him? If he's not in pain while doing it or loosing weight then it's fine. My son spits up after almost every meal, but we call him a happy spitter. Does bother him at all and he's a big guy.
  • @amiller386 the spit up doesn't bother him at all. Someone in our church nursery told me the same thing. He's definitely gaining weight properly and he doesn't fight me while eating his bottle or doesn't seem in pain. That's why I was surprised the dr quickly pushed meds.

    I appreciate everyone's help!
  • Mines a happy spitter as well. We've noticed the AR formula helps a bit but he still spits that stuff up too.
  • @chelseajeanene Just a heads up, but the symptoms you are describing are also symptoms of aspirating. I would ask your ped for a referral to a speech therapist to do a swallow study or at least a clinical feeding evaluation. Our LO had that problem and was showing those same symptoms. We had to thicken her formula to honey thick with rice cereal and feed her on her side for a while. She's pretty much good now, but we watch her very closely and pace her when it sounds like she needs to catch her breath.
  • @missliz53 all his symptoms have vanished since switching to the new formula so I don't believe that's what he had
  • Reflux meds won't really effect the amount of spit up it just makes it less painful. If he's already a happy spitter than I wouldn't try meds. I don't think it's a big deal to alternate formulas aside from it being a pain in the butt to have both kinds on hand. I've formula fed all 4 of my kids and if it were me I'd just pick one kind and stick with it for a week or two. Unless he's losing weight, has blood in stool or seems uncomfortable he may just be a spitty baby. Or another thought, any chance he's early teething? If he has excess saliva that could be making him spit up a bit more or is it possible you're overfeeding him a bit? Especially since you have only nursing experience and it's much easier to overfeed a formula baby than it is a breastfed baby. Maybe try decreasing the feed by half an ounce and see if that improves things. He may just be spitting up the extra he drank that he didn't need, like he didn't realize he was over full until 10-15mins after finishing and up comes the excess. Hth!
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  • Also, our pedi and my son's pediatric nutritionist said it's pretty rare that babies truly need soy or hypoallergenic formula. Often times mom's will think it's working because in reality they just used it long enough for the baby's digestive system to mature enough that all the intial problems went away. Does that make sense? But by 4 months they should be mature enough to digest traditional formula unless there is a true allergy going on but if that were the case you'd likely see bloody stool, extreme bloating and pain in baby.
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  • @KYmama9286 you are right in that he has had mega drool lately and he is shoving his fists in his mouth trying to bite down. The dr said he didn't see any teeth yet but who knows. Usually during the day I'll feed him between 4-5oz, and at night we feed him 6. Thing is, is at night he NEVER throws up. It's only during the day. But this past week he's been amazing. It's only a little throw up here and there.

    I really am starting to think he's a "happy spitter".
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