M.N. asks from Sunfield, MI on March 06, 2008
Questioning Doctor's Recommendations for Infant
I am having serious concerns over my 5 week old nephew's doctor. At 2 wks. his mother was told to put sugar in his formula to help relieve constipation. Last week, we were told he wasn't growing fast enough and he was to be fed 2 oz. evry 2hrs. (he was eating 4oz. every 4hrs. and is gaining weight). Today, I was told that he is to have cereal added to his bottle because he is spitting up! These recommendations have had me concerned, but the last is sending up major red flags! If this were my child, I know I would be looking for a new doctor, but he isn't mine.
I am trying to figure out how to get the right people to question these recommendations. I get the information second hand and so am not totally sure what the reasoning is or what questions have been asked. The mother is 16 and is very quiet, so we haven't gotten much chance to get to the point where we can discuss this. At 33yrs. I know I was naive and tended to accept what the professionals told me without question...so I can't imagine that she would think to question the doctor. My brother is a very protective dad and would be very upset, yet powerless to do something, if I talked to him. My mother seems to go along with the recommendations without question, but perhaps she feels it is not her place.
As I said, the baby is only 5 weeks and I'm concerned about what this could do to have food introduced so early. My brother suffers from several allergies... including food allergies and don't want to see my nephew have similar problems. Any ideas on what to do would be appreciated...or am I just being an over protective Aunt.
So What Happened?™
Thank you everyone for your responses. I was amazed at how differently everyone reacted. My nephew's doctor was old school and while many of us survived on the old ways, things change...after all, it used to be recommended that babies were put to sleep on their sides and now we are told backs only.
Anyway, my nephew is going to a new doctor (started just last week) and I am more comfortable with this one. He stopped the sugar in the bottle (he said to use Karo's syrup, but to contact the office first) and stopped the cereal in the bottle (he said it will only make his spit up thicker). My nephew is gaining weight in spite of the spitting up and is a healthy eater. We suspect this might be a case of GERD since there is less spitting up if he is upright. Thanks again!
More Answers
L.O. answers from Detroit on March 06, 2008
karo syrup is an easy way to treat constipation in babies.
for babies that spit up.. feeding them smaller meals more often helps them keep the food down.
cereal added to bottles is also supposed to help with spitting up.
They do sell a formulas with added rice in it to make it thicker to stay in babies tummy.
the dr sounds old fashioned but probably fine.
2 moms found this helpful
V.A. answers from Grand Rapids on March 07, 2008
I had to give my son cereal in his bottle (verrry little rice cereal mixed with formula) when he was about that age because he was a big boy 10.5 lbs. 23" long at birth. He was always hungry and wanted to nurse every hour or so. He is now 27, really tall but not overweight and VERY healthy with NO allergies of any kind. I have 2 daughters, 23 and 25 and they are also very heathy and no allergies. I was also told to put just a little dark karo syrup in their bottle for constipation, it didn't hurt them and it worked! I know that this sounds "Old School" but I have worked with children every day for over 20 yrs and it seems to me that there is more illness, allergies and syndroms in the kids out there now then there was with my generation and my childrens! Kinda makes you wonder if "Old School" is so bad!
2 moms found this helpful
A.B. answers from Grand Rapids on March 07, 2008
The thing about adding rice cereal to formula is pretty common - it is even in the Baby's First Year book that you get from the pediatrician as something to ask your doctor about possibly doing if your baby spits up a lot. So I wouldn't worry about that one - not sure about the other parts. I can't imagine being 16 with a baby and questioning my doctor either though! Do you think they would read a good parenting book if you gave it as a Mother's/Father's Day gift or something?
1 mom found this helpful
M.M. answers from Lansing on March 07, 2008
I know that in the days before commercially prepared formulas, the traditional formula was 1 can pet milk 1 can water and a little dark Karo syrup. The syrup was to help keep the baby regular. I have recommended it to my daughter for the grandkids when they get a little constipated.
As for the cereal in the bottle, I have a nephew that would also spit up badly and they did some tests and there was a problem that the muscle at the top of the stomach that holds the food down was immature. They told my sister to add some rice cereal to the bottle as the thicker formula would help it stay down.
Good luck and God Bless!
1 mom found this helpful
M.I. answers from Grand Rapids on March 07, 2008
These recommendations probably sound wrong based on what is the norm for today's infant care. When my children were infants, we started feeding them cereal around 6 to 8 weeks old, in fact we started my son at 4 weeks because he needed the extra "fullness" to sleep longer at night, we added a pinch sugar to a water bottle to aid digestion almost from the first few days. Neither of these practices proved harmful to my children or any others that I know of. I know this is not the way things are done now, I have five grandchildren who I babysit for so I know things have changed. I don't believe any of these recommendations are harmful to the baby, they are just not the norm for today. The mom needs to understand that she knows her child better than anyone and the more information she can provide to the doctor, whoever it is, the better. Communication is key with any pediatrician. Relax and enjoy the baby!
1 mom found this helpful
C.B. answers from Detroit on March 06, 2008
I was told similar advice with my son who is now 6yrs old. I was told to give him sugar water to help with constipation in between feedings and he also started cereal at 2 months because he had reflux and both suggestions helped the problems they were prescribed for. Our pediatrician has been in practice for 35+ yrs so I think he goes with more "old school" remedies but we also have some younger doctors in the practice that offer newer schools of thought. Either way my son was just fine and has been very healthy-thankfully. Best of luck. I hope this was helpful.
1 mom found this helpful
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