Hi all, my now 3 month old (2nd son, 13 mo apart), is super uncomfortable, with gas, pains, tummy issues. always has been. three or four relatives have said he's collicky - but he doesn't cry for the 3 hrs a day pre-requisite! i've spoken to the dr., and since he was gaining weight well, she wasn't too concerned... they say some babies are just gassier than others, babies cry, etc. we were on similac organic, then after the recall, and after watching my son have more gas pains, or so i think, she suggested trying similac sensitive, it's lactose free. so we swithced. he was worse for 2 wks. then, i saw some improvement, but he was on zantac by then for reflux... no spitting up issues, though... just the arching, screaming through feedings, etc... anyway - i'm really unhapy w/the similac sensitive, and he has super mucousy, stringy poops... went from 1 every 3 or 4 days to 1 a day... but they are wierd poops! i just called the pediatrician and the nurse is going to ask the dr if i should try soy... but is soy easier on babies' tummy? not thrilled with that idea. and he had a milk protein allergey they say there would be lots of other symptoms... don't know if i agree, i've heard other moms say just the wierd poops and colic was enough to test the stool, and they found blood in their stool... but my ped doesn't think that's the case... should i switch to soy? carnation good start? or try alimentum? i just know that it will be worse for my son for 2 wks while we switch the formula, and i don't want to d
Hi -- I h ave to thank you all again... saw the doctor on wednesday before Thanksgiving. Explained the horrendous crying, pain, screaming, etc. Finally Dr suggested hypoallergenic formula. She said he doesn't show the classic symptoms of protein allergy, but he could have it, or he could just not be able to tolerate regular formula. so, I went to the store, and bought up Alimentum. He took his first bottle that afternoon - lots of it - had no problem adjusting to taste. And that night he was the worst he'd ever been. screaming all night, the crying fits, the tears, purple face -- it was too much. I wanted to give in and give him a regular bottle, I felt like I had poured him bottles of cement... My husband insisted that we stick it out. So we did - and by the next day at 3PM on thanksgiving, Luke started to change... or rather, blossom! He was happy. Content. Then we had about a week of on and off crying, but it was getting better and better. And, now, it's been about a week and a half on Alimentum... he's a different baby... well, I take that back - he's able to be the happy baby he showed pieces of before! But, now he seems like he's okay -- and he's not screaming, not freaking out -- it's totally better but I'm afraid to say it. Afraid to jinx it... crazy I know, but it was really a horrible thing to watch him go through. So, thank goodness for Alimentum. I just wish the dr and nurse had agreed to have me try it weeks, if not months ago.
We switched my daughter to soy,Isomil, and loved it. W/in a day or two she was so much better. Also, we started giving her the gas drops w/every bottle. (Mylacon, only we used the generic Wal-Mart brand.) After every feeding we gave it to her. It worked so well! Hope that helps.
My son had a milk PROTEIN intolerance... his poop became blood streaked and mucusy... and he was only colicky in the afternoon eve (4-11pm)... Sounds familiar... We had great luck with Nutramagin (Alimentum is the same - just similac's brand). Both have partially broken down milk protiens so the body doesn't have to. After 3 days he was SO MUCH happier. We did have him on rice milk for 1 year - 1yr until 2yrs. Now he's almost 3 and able to digest regular milk. No issues.... GOOD LUCK
Sounds EXACTLY like my son!! He is 8 months now and has been on Alimentum for several months. Within about 3 days on Alimentum he was a different child. They didn't test for the blood because he had a host of symptoms but I would try it and if it works go the doc and see what they can do. My insurance covered his formula because it was a medical necessity. Check it out.
My daughter had a LOT of gas and acid reflux. My ped put her on Enfamil GentlEase. She does really great on it. The other thing that they put her on was Bio Gia. It is a probiotic and comes in drops. We put in 5 drops in her morning bottle and she did great for the rest of the day! This helped to break things down for her so that she was not so gassy. Ask your ped about it. It doesn't hurt them at all as it is something that everyone should have. It is about $40.00 a bottle, but for us it was well worth it! Best of luck to you! I know that it's hard, but hopefully you will find what works!
C.
I switched my son at around 6 weeks to soy...helped him greatly. That and mylicon.
Hi A.-
I had the SAME issue with my twin daughters about 13mos ago. They had the arching backs, a ton of spitting up, ton of gas, screaming, etc., and I felt like I was giving them poison the way they were after drinking a bottle. My ped had NO idea what to do, he recommended gripe water, mylicon - but they didnt help. He also wanted me to try a ton of formulas before he'd prescribe medication, or recommend a gentler formula. I eventually went to a GI dr at Morristown Children's Hospital, they put my twins on Zantac, and also told me to switch to Nutramigen. All I can say is this was a blessing for them. Before this, I would run out at midnight and get different formulas, b.c it was just heartbreaking to see them like that. We tried a lot of formulas.
It seems like their poop was different in that they were constipated, not sure if from the Zantac or the formula, but I would have to give prune juice in their morning bottles every now and then. Is the zantac working since you started it? If there is still pain, I would highly recommend Nutramigen. Pricey - but found that Target has them cheaper. Hope this helps!! Good luck!
* Also, if you have flexible spending, they will cover this formula (along with dr note)
Hi A.,
I recommended a "homemade" formula of 2 parts goat's milk, 2 part's distilled water and 2 parts juiced carrots for my niece's 4 month old and EVERY problem went away. She does not spit up anymore or cry with discomfort and the carrots have enough fiber so it doesn't constipate like a lot of formulas. Goat's milk is the closest to breast milk and there are no added chemicals like store bought formulas. Most grocery stores carry Meyenburg Goat's milk (even Wal-mart) and you can get it in powdered form at the Vitamin Shoppe (www.vitaminshoppe.com if there are no stores close).
Hope this helps...
M.
PS Dodge soy if you can...
We used Alimentum for our daughter from 7 weeks until she was about 7 months old, then slowly transitioned to Prosobee. It worked miracles for her.
Hello A.:
The symptoms sound to be lactose sensitive, which is painful and can irritate the digestive system and cause tearing, resulting in blood in stool. The issue may have started in-utero. Research non-dairy formula and decide which one would be best. It may be a case of giving him a small amount of non-dairy formula and seeing what symptoms may or may not arise therafter.
All the best,
N.
Founder/Organic Mommy and Baby Healthcare Solutions
My daughter did not have blood in her poop and still had milk protein allergy. Signs were colicky, weird poop (although they found no blood in it) and what the NP said was the tell-tale rash on her head and face. I thought it was baby pimples or heat rash. We went on Alimentum and she got better! Never 100%, but quite a drastic improvement. Now she just turned one at the end of October and is over it and on regular whole milk.
Sounds like he's either allergic or sensitive to cow's milk -dairy. I'd stay away from soy since soy and dairy allergies tend to follow each other (you're as likely to be allergic to both as to just one). My cousin's baby was severely dairy allergic and she ended up having to give up breastfeeding because of it (couldn't eat enough calories to maintain her own weight and produce milk too) and finally put her little one on some sort of prescription formula and her baby started to thrive.
You might ask about having a blood test for allergies done for your little one. DO some research about it, as I'm not sure how effective it is, but it might give you something to consider.
D.
I would try switching formulas. I had my son on similac(2 yr ago) and it gave him really bad gas. His pediatrician even recommended trying the sensitive and it made it even worse. The similac formula also always had a spoiled smell to it. After a while being in it i switched him to Good Start and did not have a single problem. You could also try Little Tummies gas medicine or Mylicon. I used the Little Tummies and just put it in his bottle. good luck
Hi. I used Gerber, formerly Nestle, Good Start with both of my children. They were gassy and constipated from Similac. They adjusted well with the Gerber Good Start within a few days. I recommend Gripe water or Mylicon to aid with the gas pains. They all worked like a charm. Good Luck!
my son was the opposite, we were using Similac's Soy Sensitive formula and then switched to the Lactose Free product and noticed changed. Are you giving your son any breast milk at all? That can still have an affect on his gas if you're eating things that can cause gas. I was giving my son 1, 5oz bottle of breastmilk everyday and discovered that food that caused me gas caused gas in him too---even with just 5oz! I cut out certain foods and he is much better now. I've also tried giving him gripe water. He's been sleeping much better, less grunting like he's in super pain and less gas.
Hi! I went through a very similar situation with my son which started, unfortunately from Day 1 - he wasn't responding well to my breastmilk. I changed my diet - but i was drinking soy milk myself (and had all through my pregnancy), thinking it was ok. My LO was arching, clenching his fists, gassy but could hardly burp, basically crying and screaming all day/night and nursing but in pain. We tried Mylicon drops bc the ex-pediatrician (for a variety of reasons) said he was colicky...and in my sleep depravity believed her even tho the crying went on and on and on....3 hours was a joke. Eventually we saw a gastro who put him on acid reflux meds, we tried a few (Axid, Zantac) before really seeing a difference (with Prevacid - a proton pump inhibitor). But the MAJOR - made a difference in 1 day change we made, was starting him on Alimentum. It was wonderful for him!!! There wasn't any of the getting worse before getting better that I thought would happen too - he just (I'm talking the very first Alimentum bottle) seemed better....and we had just started the first of the acid reflux meds, so I know it wasn't the meds that made the difference. He wasn't a spitter, he had internal acid reflux, which meant the stomach acids were overproducing and basically going up and do his esophagus, without coming out - so it was on repeat...my poor little guy.
Alimentum (while foul smelling to us adults) is super easily digestable and easy on the (already hurting) sensitive tummy. I'd say definitely go with Alimentum. We did the ready-to-go liquid bottles, which are expensive, and you'll go through them - but they made such a difference that I'd happily spend that money again. We tried the powdered version (which, obviously is a lot cheaper and you have to mix it with water), but he actually started reverting a little bit to the old ways and I found out that the powdered version contains traces of corn - which, some infants can be sensitive to, so we stuck with the liquid version.
I would say no to soy - just trust me on that.
Don't wait another minute!!!! From a momma who knows the pain of seeing your little defenseless baby deal with the pain of acid reflux - Alimentum saved my sanity and made my baby better. I'd say I'm being dramatic, but that was what it was.
Good luck!!!!!
