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Digestive problemsWhen K was first born I was breastfeeding for several weeks but it turned out he had a milk allergy (pretty much my whole fam did when we were babies), so hes been on soy formula for about 3-4 months. The soy formula constipated him so he started using karo syrup once a day to help soften it up and that seemed to work. Within the past week or 2 he has been screaming whenever he poops, even though it is not solid, its usually more loose than anything. He's been going around 5-6 times a day so I know hes not constipated but that all anyone keeps saying is why he would be screaming. He also has been spitting up all day everyday for about 2 months now. He spits up whether he just ate or not, and if he spits up a few hours before his next feed its sometimes clear like stomach acid. I have acid reflux, and I think he may too but he went for an upper gi xray last week and his ped told me he was normal. I really cant handle going out in public and being thrown up on like 5 times in 20 minutes anymore. The dr now is telling me to start putting oatmeal in his bottle, and I do not want cereal in a bottle, he does eat cereal once in the morning but hes 5 months old so I dont give him much. They also told me that I should try giving him 1mL of maalox to see if that helps and if after a few days nothing improves, to bring him in. Now I want to look and see if Maalox is something I should even use for a baby. His nurse initially told me he is spitting up so much because I'm overfeeding him. K is 15lbs 7oz and I was told he needs only 24oz a day which I think is ridiculous. He eats between 6-8oz every 4 hours and I dont force him food, he eats when hes hungry and stops when hes done. I just dont know what could be wrong, if any of you girls maybe have any idea? I just hate seeing him obviously in pain and having everyone pretty much tell me its caused by something Im doing wrong.
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I'm sorry you and your baby
I'm sorry you and your baby are going through this. I think you might want to start going to a different doctor.
How are things going with
How are things going with this? I didn't post earlier because I didn't have any real advice for you (beyond getting a second opinion/finding a doctor that you trust), but I am thinking of you guys.
Im guessing its a soy
Im guessing its a soy allergy/intolerance. You could try a different formula.. first step would be enfamil nutramigen or similac alimentum but it tastes awful. Both are covered by wic with a prescription.
If he wont take that try neocate.. its absurdly expensive and must be ordered through the pharmacy, but it tastes much better (my 2 yr old will even drink it, lol) and wic will cover it. If you weant to try it, pm me and I can send you a can.. its whats Nova is on and we have extra. For that matter we also have an extra can of alimentum from when he was on that.
We had similar issues with Nova and Tevian for that matter and the specialized formulas made a big difference. Te was on nutramigen then alimentum ready to feed due to a corn allergy, and Nova was on alimentum and then neocate for milk/soy intolerance.
We also have a very strong family history of milk allergy in our babies.. one spanning 3 generations actually.
The other thing I would consider is possible corn allergy.. Id back off the corn syrup for sure and use sugar water or watered down apple juice or prune juice for true constipation.
Oh and it does sound like
Oh and it does sound like reflux to me.. which may not show up on an upper gi if he isnt refluxing at that very moment. Nova is on zantac for his reflux. Thickening can be helpful for reflux and usually its only about 1-2 tsp of rice cereal to 4 oz formula for refvlux so it isnt much, though you may need a crosscut nipple. We had to thicken for a long time for both my boys due to swallowing/aspiration issues and reflux. Personally Id give it a try for a few days.. if it helps him stick with it otherwise say the hell with it. Good Luck and feel free to pm me Ive been through a lot with my kids in terms of intolerances/digestive issues/ formula issues, etc.
Re: Digestive problems
I never even thought about it being a soy allergy. So far hes been crying only about half the time he poops, and he seems to spit up slightly less but I've been trying to give him less formula &hes been having cereal in the am &baby food at night so I think that helps. We go back to the drs in a week &his dr said if hes still showing all the signs of reflux she will put him on something for it even if the upper gi didnt show it. Im also going to make sure to mention the possibility of a soy allergy so maybe I can get the rx for it so i can change my wic then.
Thx for all the advice mamas =]
Re: Digestive problems
No advice, just wishing you luck! Sorry you and your baby are going through this.
Re: Digestive problems
It also sounds like a soy allergy to me. And I would try and find a new ped if this one is telling you to put cereal in his bottle. It is dangerous. Babies can choke, and they can overeat because they will not notice they are eating more and it can set him up for more health problems when he is older.
Re: Digestive problems
See that's my biggest problem with his ped, is that it's actually like 5 or 6 &there's 1 or 2 I absolutely love, that seem to really agree with all my thoughts on what's right to do for K, but then there's 1 or 2 that I really wonder how they became drs at all. It just sucks cuz when I make sick calls I never know what dr is there or what advice I'm going to get. Stuff like 1 dr telling me that I should feed him 8ozs every 4 hrs, and then another dr telling me he should only eat 24ozs a day, thats a huge difference so I don't know where they got their information. I usually end up calling back when a dr I trust is actually there when I have a problem.
Re: Digestive problems
That sucks. I hate how medical "care" works in this country.
Re: Digestive problems
Soy allergies and milk allergies often co-exist together, the protein that causes the allergy is similar in both products, so if there's a milk allergy the chances that bub is also allergic to soy goes up for sure. I hope it calms down soon and you find a formula that works
Re: Digestive problems
We had a drs appt today, they switched him to nutramigen thinking it may be a soy allergy also. Hopefully this works out better, next step if this doesnt work is putting him meds &im a little hesitant about that.
Re: Digestive problems
I hope that works for him! I'm glad they changed him to something they think will be better for him.
Re: Digestive problems
Good luck mama, I hope this is the one that works for him.