Hi ladies! Any advice is greatly appreciated! My son is now 13 wks old. I've been breastfeeding and pumping excess breast milk this whole time. Actually I stopped breastfeeding at 6 wks and been pumping into bottles for him to drink. I've been lucky enough to produce alot of milk ( I have about 3 months worth frozen already!). Well, I've decided to start weening my little guy slowly onto formula because I don't want to pump anymore. He drinks from bottles great! Last week wednesday we started 1 bottle of formula a day and will probrably do that for a month or so before giving him 2 a day. My issue is that ever since we started the formula, he hasn't had normal bowel movements. He used to produce 3-5 bowel movements a day but now we are lucky if he goes once a day. and the 1 he does produce has been all liquid and water-like. He doesn't look, act, or feel constipated or bloated. but I feel he should be going more and they should be more solid. He is on baby zantac for acid reflux. The one bottle a day we give him is Similac sensitive to help with gas ( He is gassy alot). My question is should I be worried about his bowel movements and call the Dr.? It's been 6 days and maybe he is still getting use to the formula. Maybe its the formula reacting to the zantac. I'm not sure, but I'd hate to call the Dr. for no reason. Any advice would be great. Thanks!
My son is on zantac also, and we are slowing making the change to formula. His doctor said to put a little bit of pear juice in with his bottles to help with constipation, because constipation tends to come with a switch to formula. The bottles my son gets are 1/4 formula, 3/4 breastmilk, and 1/2 tablespoon of pear juice, and his stools continue to be the same as always. Good luck!
Formula has a lot of iron in it which can mess up their BM's and their whole tummy area. When we changed over to formula I mixed breastmilk and formula, half & half for awhile until they had no problems with their BM's. I would actually call the Dr or nurse to get some suggestions.
Good Luck!!
It's normal for formula babies to have fewer messy diapers than breastmilk babies. the formula isn't as easily digested so there's fewer diapers.
Why don't you go back to breastfeeding. It is the best thing for your little one....nothing can compare. It provides immunity and the long term benefits are unbelievable, and you won't have to worry about bowel issues. It is the best start you can give your little one.....even if you stopped at 6 months, that would be better than now. I breastfeed my children until they are about 2 (currently with my 3rd). It is a small price to pay for a great start for your child and I think a lot less hassle than bottles, formula and the like.
Just my thoughts....
My son is 10 weeks old and I am just switching him to formula as well. He had the exact same issue as your son. I called my dr about it and she said to start giving him Miralax. She said we could give 1/2 capful once a day. I tried it and he had several bowel movements the next day. I have backed down to giving him 1/4 tsp. every day and that seems to be the right amount for him. The Miralax will not make him go more often, it just makes it easier for him to go. We had to use it on our daughter as well and it worked great for her. Good luck!
You can always call the doctor's office. The nurse at my pediatricians office was great to tell me what to look for to help avoid an office visit.
I think it is great you have been able to pump and store enough for an additional 3 months! This means your son will get 6 months of breastmilk which is great. I know what a commitment pumping can be. And, I am sorry that you received a post that didn't attempt to answer your questions, but rather justs tells you to go back to breastfeeding. I am sure you know the benefits of breastmilk, especially given that you commited to pumping!
I have breastfed and exclusively pumped myself. I have also had a child on zantac. Be aware that the zantac they get is not baby zantac, but the same as what an adult receives, just a lower dose. Zantac can indeed have an effect on their bms. Also, since your son is probably getting around 1/5 formula, 4/5 breastmilk, my guess is that you aren't seeing fully how the baby will react on formula. Since the majority of his intake is still breastmilk, I would expect runnier bm's like breastfed babies.
Regarding formula, people often switch formula too soon, so you may want to wait a bit before doing that. However, in researching formula myself, I learned that Similac Sensitive is lactose free. It is very rare for babies to have lactose issues and it is in your breastmilk, so many peds don't recommend going with a formula without breastmilk. A couple of other ones to consider might be Nestle Good Start (it only has whey protiens, not casein and they are partially broken down so they are easier to digest) or Enfamil Gentlease (also partially broken with only 1/5 less lactose than normal). When/if I introduce formula, I also plan on starting with a bottle a day. I have heard some do 1/2 formula and 1/2 breastmilk, but the only bad thing about that is that if the baby doesn't finish the bottle, you are going to have to throw out breastmilk.
Lastly, I know that breastfed babies initially have way more bowel movements than formula fed babies, however, later on this changes where breastfed babies can actually go a day or two without a bm. So, it could be that your baby is getting to that stage.
Either way, I agree with another post that said you know when you should call a doctor. Follow your instinct!
You have already gotten some good advice, but I thougt I would add my two cents. I have three children the youngest being four months. I also switched with the first two at different points. When we switched them we would some formula to the breastmilk. We did 1/4 formula, 3/4 breastmilk, then increased it over time. I got something in the mail from similac or nestle that actually has a schedule of how to do it, although I'm sure it all works out fine.
Currently I am nursing the youngest one. He went from pooping at almost every diaper change to once a day, then to every few days. I asked the pediatritian and she said that is completely normal. It is because their digestive tract is developing more. Also if they are drooling more their poop will be more runny.
Our pediatritian recommended that if it is awhile and he seems like he is having a hard time to just add a little prune juice to their diet, either by adding it to a bottle of milk or just straight. You don't need much she said.
Your child could be allergic to the formula. My cousin had no problem nursing but had to use soy because he was allergic to milk formula. Be aware that formula feed babies end up having really stinky dark poop compared to breat feed. An that formula is not as filling for some babies as breast milk. I wouldn't be to concerned about the amount of bowl movements as long as he is having them and still wetting his diapers. If he is on zantac though from when you were nursing but know is on formula he might need a doses change. Always bother your doctor if you have any concerns that why you picked them. There is also nurse help lines or simply talking to your doctors nurse could help.
My daughter is on formula and starting babyfood more and more and still has loose runny poops. We've had 1 or 2 solids in her whole life. She's 7mos.old.
Runny loose is better than constipated hard.
Some babies go a week without pooping and that's their norm.
Call the doctor's office! When you have an infant, the rule is, if you are thinking if you should call the doctor's office, the answer is always yes! They are used to getting all kinds of calls from new parents all the time and they actually expect this. Your pediatrician's office should be encouraging you to call when you have any kind of question (otherwise, I would change doctors).
Does the formula have extra iron it it? That can cause babies to become constipated.
If it is constipation, you can try mixing 2 teaspoons of Caro Dark corn syrup into his bottle.
Another thing with the gassiness, he may be sensative to milk products. That also may be the cause of the acid reflux. Maybe you should switch him to a soy based formula. My granddaughter had this problem and when she went to soy, she was much better.
