Formula Confusion

I'd look into gripe water. Most health food stores have it. We had a lot of gas issues and it was very helpful.
Also - we switched to Earth's Best formula. I liked that it was organic and felt like it made for less gas.

Good luck.

It does take a while to see how they really handle a new formula--maybe give it another day. ? Burp him often! Gently heat a small towel in the microwave & hold on his tummy if he has gas. Good luck!

It may have nothing to do with the formula. 6 week old babies are just fussy and cry often. I remember when my daughter was 6 weeks old and I looked at my husband and said "we made a huge mistake. We need to give her back!" It was a nightmare! She just cried and cried and I thought it was gas. The pediatrician said that when she saw me at the 8 week visit, things would be better. And you know what, the night before the 8 week appointment, the long jags of crying stopped.
While your son may actually have stomach issues (given the kidney condition), it may just be that he's in that bad infant phase. Obviously, given his medical condition, check with his doctor. Good luck and I hope this (and the gas!) passes!

From my understanding, it can take about 72 hours for all of the old formula to leave a baby's system. Make sure the bottles are really warm and, if you're using powder, mix instead of stirring to avoid extra bubbles. Also try feeding the baby upright and burping him for a long time post-feeding.
Is he constipated as well? If yes, you should ask the dr about brown sugar water or diluted prune juice.

Oh no!! That is tough when they are fussy like this! My daughter went through a lot of colic and issues, along with GERD etc.
The only thing that worked for her was Good Start. We started with the regular formula and she did better but not great, we switched to the soy and she was like a new child! We also switched to Dr. Brown's bottles and they were awesome!
I hope you work something out.

My sons were both premature and experiences severe colic and GERD. I went through all the same procedures until I finally insisted that the doctor prescribe Nutrimegin. It is the purest, most easily digestible formula out there. It was a life-saver for us!
Be advised... my doctors did not switch the formulas easily and kind of brushed off my comments as being an anxious first-time mother; so, be persistent. Insist on a formula switch and see a pediatric G.I. dr. if you haven't already.
Oh! And one more thing that I did not learn until I had my 2nd son, alternative formulas are covered by your insurance due to your baby's underlying G.I. issues. It could save you a lot of $ as those formulas are so expensive.
Good luck!

We went through the same thing! Tori was always way gassier than her twin sister. A formula would be fine for a few days, then she would start throwing up again. The one with the least amount of vomiting was Parents Choice Sensitive. When she went off formula it started to get worse. I was tired of being told that she had Reflux or GERD as it would be fine for a week or two and start up again. I asked the Ped. if she could be allergic and he said no, as she didn't have any other symptoms. I finally asked for a referall to a pediatric allergist. We got the referal, but the guy acted like he had never seen a child before. (He was NOT a Ped. allergist, just a reg. one) Someone I work with told me about a Gastroenterologist at Childrens. I called out of desperation and mothers intuition, but mainly Grandma's intuition had been eating at me and things just didn't seem right. It was a couple of weeks before we could get in and I couldn't stand seeing her suffer. I figured that trying goats mild couldn't hurt and would maybe help. By the time we got to the Gastro. we had been "on the goat" for two weeks with zero vomit. She, the Dr., said that we did the right thing and that she wouldn't even have to run tests as it was obvious that it was an allergy. (She even diagnosed a 'diaper rash' that I couldn't get rid of as an allergy to her diaper. Changed them - rash gone) She did ask about everything they had ever been given as far as formula was concerned. I told her that she didn't vomit everyday so I never was sure about an allergy and two other Dr.s said that if she were allergic that she would break out in a rash right away, vomit right away or show other symptoms immediately. She said that children are different and all respond differently. The reason Tori handled the formula as well as she did is because the Sensitive formula's proteins are broken down into smaller particles. The proteins are what my little one is allergic to. Goats milk has an entirely different protein and that is why it works. By the way Lactose intollerance is an allergy to the sugar in milk and goats milk has Lactose too. She had a delayed reaction to her milk because her body didn't want to absorb it. She would throw up between 5pm and 10pm. once she had injested so much that her body couldn't take it anymore. Delayed reaction from delayed absorbtion.
I hope you figure it out before too much longer. My daughter was 15 mo. old and from the time she was 8 or 9 mo. had quit eating. She used to eat a jar of food at eat sitting and just quit. The Gastro. said that her tummy hurt all the time tryin to handle the milk. Now she is the worlds pickiest eater, barely eats two bites even when she does eat, and I feel like the worlds worst Mom for not insisting on more help sooner.
I hope your little one isn't allergic, but it could be worse. We just have to watch what she eats, but there are lots of substitutes out there.
Good Luck and God Bless You in your search for an answer.
Oh, yeah- the Gastro. and the health food store both said that goats milk is the closest thing to mothers milk in the world. -----Don't forget you can always try soy formula if you want. If it's an allergy that should work too!

I used soy milk. when my children were babies, I could not breast feed. (Nothing came out) So, I gave my son milk. Come to find out, he was seriously allergic to milk. When my daughter was born, she had bowel problems. she had tons of diarrhea and horrid gas. So, I had to find special soy milk for her and it worked (now they don't sell that kind any more...well, at least in my area at the time).
have you tried the soy milk? He might be sensitive to the milk, which can cause him discomfort and/or gas bubbles.
Just a thought. Good luck!

I think you think if a card is worth getting in a fight for. I am sure he appreciates what you do for your child. Some men are not sentimental like that and if you do force him to get you a card for mothers day in the future, he will only be doing it because he wants to avoid a fight with you and it would not be coming from the heart.

One thing that helped my baby was to burp her half way through a bottle. then as she started taking more, I went to every 2 oz. Ex. when she was drinking 2 oz, I'd burp her after 1 oz. Driking 4 oz, I'd burp her after 2 oz. Drinking 6 oz, after each 2 oz. It does make feedings longer, but it made her happier.

M.

We had a bunch of issues with trying to find the right formula with our first son. Our dr told us that it takes at least 5 days to really see if the formula will/won't work. That is so hard when your LO is miserable!!! I hope you find the right formula soon!!!

EDIT - just wanted to comment on something Kate F said:
"And one more thing that I did not learn until I had my 2nd son, alternative formulas are covered by your insurance due to your baby's underlying G.I. issues. "
That is not entirely true. Not every insurance will cover Nutramigen/Alimentum. Ours would not - even after 2 dr appeals and all of the medical history showing that our son clearly had some serious GI issues going on!!! They would not cover them as they are OTC formulas. In the end, we needed to go to a prescription based formula anyway - that was covered, but we had to provide quarterly reports (weigh-ins and dr recommendations) to keep that prescription!