I've been exclusively breastfeeding my 3 1/2 month old since she was born until starting to let her try a couple ounces of formula a day this week. She has had some tummy issues since she was born, and at 6 weeks was prescribed Prilosec for reflux by our pediatrician, although I'm not sure that's what the problem is. She often gets very fussy while nursing and especially right before she poops, like it's hurting her. Right before she was 3 months she went through about 10 days of having very watery green poops and I got worried she was sensitive to the dairy in my diet so I tried cutting out a lot of dairy, which may have slightly improved the problem but not entirely. I'm actually fighting getting too thin and I really don't need to be cutting out all the calories I get from dairy in my diet so I just started to eat more again this week, and I also have been giving her a few ounces of lactose-free formula per day. Now I don't know if it's the formula or me eating dairy again, but for the last two days she hasn't nursed very well and is fussy and not pooping as much. She even spit up which she almost never has done. She's also sleeping a lot more, then during the night has gotten up to eat a couple of times and then cried out afterwards like she's going to get up again, only to fall back asleep before I get to her. I'm just worried that something I'm doing is causing her more problems and am not sure what to do. I've decided I'd like to very gradually stop nursing but she's not taking bottles very well yet and when I tried to give her one in the night she screamed and screamed until I nursed her. I guess I'm just wondering if anyone else has dealt with this and I wish I knew if she's really having trouble with something I'm eating or the formula or if it's just an immature digestive system.
I had to breast feed my daughter on my side and her on her side because my milk came out fast and she has reflux and it helped a lot, that advice was given to me from a lacation specialist at the hospital and there are good pediatric gastrologist in the okc area.
I am sorry that I can not give you advice for this problem but when I had problems nursing I received some great advice from the La Leche League. Some of the leaders are really nice and many become leaders because of difficulties that they had. They have lots of training and advice and many are willing to help over the phone. To find one close to you, check out their website lli.org.
Two of my five kids had reflux so I understand what you are going through. It is hard to see them uncomfortable and not really know what to do to help them. I wonder if he needs his medicine dose increased. My 3 month old is on Zantac and the doctor had to increase his dose.It has made a difference.
I also cannot drink milk, but I am able to eat yogurt, cheese, etc... It could be a lot of things in your diet. With my son I have had to quit eating chocolate, broccoli, and anything spicy. It's not easy sometimes, but I know it won't be forever, just a few months and I can go back to normal eating.
As far as you needing to gain weight and not being able to drink milk, I was told by my kids pediatrician that Mcdonald's shakes are non-dairy. You might be able to put on a few pounds by having a couple shakes a week. Hang in there. It should start getting better soon.
Colic is the most common between 2-4 months. Sleeping longer is also to be expected as she gets older. She probably doesn't like the taste of the formula since she's used to mommy's milk. Have you tried mixing 50%b formula with 50% breast milk? That might help her adjust. Also try the baby gas drops ( you can buy them any where) before you feed. It'll help make the gas less painful. Good luck
J had lots of issues with formula, he was on reflux med's before every bottle and the Pediatrician had us put gas drops in his water before adding the formula powder. We sent the bottles of water already dosed to Mothers-Day-Out, the water looks slightly milky so we had to be sure and mark on the bottles that it contained medication. It helped with the uncomfortable pooping and when he did have reflux it seemed to help with the milk coming back up. The Reglan smelled yummy and he really liked it.
With breast feeding you could just make sure you give her the gas drops too, you could experiment and see if it works better before feeding or after.
Reglan relaxes the stomach and allows for the opening in the bottom to open and close better from what I understand. So I think that's why they want it before the milk.
My little one had reflux, though we didn't know at the time! It's hard to know for sure, and figuring out a medicine that helps can be tough.
I mostly wanted to comment on the weight issue, though. If cutting out the dairy did help, avocados, nuts, eggs, peanut butter, olives, and foods made with a lot of olive oil (like hummus)can be good fatty alternatives.
Good luck!
Im breastfeeding, my son is 4 months old and has had many similar things. when I asked my mom she told me it was a form of colic. he has also started teething which has made him fussier sometimes, which started at 3 months. and the waking up and then going back to sleep I have chalked up to bad dreams of some kind.
I hope I hsve some info that might help. I have a 6 month-old breastfed baby with some tummy issues too. I have found that I really can't drink milk, but can have dairy otherwise or if the milk's cooked. Babies with milk issues seem to have an easier time usually if breastfed, possibly because if they can't tolerate milk-based formulas then they often have soy sensitivity too. There are non-milk and non-soy formulas, but they are pretty expensive. Have you tried pumping breastmilk to get a break instead? My first child refused all bottles and I tried so many different ones. With this baby I got a new type...the Firstyears Breastflow bottle and they are AWESOME! Check out the reviews at amazon.com. I have recommended them to a couple of friends who were having bottle troubles and both of them had success with these bottles. You might also try having the baby sleep on a wedge in the crib. I bought one to help my daughter's reflux from walmart.com and had it shipped to our store. It wasn't expensive. I think it was about $15. The wedge goes the whole width of the crib, under the sheet and keeps their head elevated a little, which helps their food stay down in their stomach and helps with colds and teething too. I just had to take mine out because my daughter is rolling around a lot now and not staying on it anymore. One other thing I read is that frothy green poops may indicate a foremilk/hindmilk imbalance if you are breastfeeding. You might want to research it more, but I think it's more common in women who make a lot of milk (which i don't, so I didn't pay too much attention to it). My daughter went through some waking up issues around that age, but finally fell into a good sleep pattern around 5-6 months, so hang in there! Good luck.
