Seeking Some Advice About How Much Formula I Should Be Feeding My Five Month Old

My Son was also put on Zantac in addition to Maalox. I took him to a gastrointerologist and was told he was lactose intollerant. He started the medicines when he 4 months old. I never really saw a difference with the Zantac and I felt like I was constantly having to give him medicine. He was solely breastfed and the doctor told me to start him on Nutramigin formula. I didn't notice any difference so after about a week and a half I switched him to soy and it made a world of difference. It took about a week of being on the Soy, but he was definately happier. I ended up stoping the Zantac and only giving him the Maalox as needed. Before the switch in milk he would scream and arch his back as if he were trying to get away from being fed. He absolutely refused to drink a bottle. He would go 10-12 hours between being fed and then only drink about 3 ounces before he would start screaming again. I was worried to death and was constantly calling the doctor. I felt like he was going to starve to death. He is now 19 months old and is a very active and healthy little boy. After formula I started him on Silk soy milk. I'm going to wait until he is old emough to tell me if regular milk hurts his stomach. He's only had it one other time and that was when he was a year old. I fed him Yo Baby yogurt and about 45 min. later he was screaming and having a fit. He eventually threw up and was much happier afterwards. So we are staying away from milk products. No one in my family is Lactose intollerant, so this came as a suprise. Hope this information helps.

I have a 5 month old and although he eats enough formula, I noticed that if I'm feeding him cereal or baby food, he barely takes the bottle. If he does take it, it wants to still be seated in the high chair and doesn't want me to hold him to give it to him. Have you tried giving it to her while seated in the high chair? Sorry I can't help any more than that.

that's interesting he put her on zantac because she's not eating. any other symptoms? like restless, not sleeping, crying for hrs?
if the answer to these other questions is no i'd go get another opinion and stop the medication in meantime. she should be drinking about 30 oz a day, that's true, and formula should be her main source of food. the rest is offered for babies to get used to different texture not as main meals.
the medication is what's concerning, bottom line.
good luck
vlora

I didn't see this mentioned so thought I'd throw it out there. Have you stared using a sippy cup yet? I start using one at 4 months to get her used to it. I know some babies won't drink much from a bottle because they're over it. Try giving her the formula in a sippy cup. Me and my silbings weaned ourselves off the bottle by 7 months and never took a bottle after that(not for lack of trying from my mom). So see if that helps.

maybe she is just letting you know that she wants some "real" food and not the bottle so much. Two of my 3 kids decided that they wanted cereal and teething cookies between 4 and 6 months when they statrted teething. It sounds like she is getting plenty of food if she is still gaining weight. I wouldn't worry unless she starts losing weight or is not gaining any longer. Teething can bring many changes as you know from your son, try getting intro'ing a new flavor in her diet and see where it takes you.

Good luck

Hi C.

I just wanted to add something differnet than the rest of your advice. When my son was a baby he always cried when i tried to give him a bottle, he would start eating it but throw it down and scream. To fix the problem all I did was use a bigger hole in the nipple and he was happy after that. It might not help but maybe you could give it a shot. Have a great day.

I would not force feed her. If she is growing and is happy, let her eat how much she wants. I was told by my pedi that the absolute max my son should drink is 32 oz when he was that age. Go with your gut feeling, most of the time what the pedi says is a guideline. All babies are different. Good luck. A.

P.S. I noticed alot of the other responses are in great detail talking about other possible medical problems. Again I really don't think if she's not throwing up its not a big deal. Think about it. 20-24 oz is alot of liquid. And the difference between what you dr is recommending and what she is drinking is really only 1-2 bottles daily. If she is growing, she is fine. She may just not like the formula. She may be ready for more solid food.

C.,
What other symptoms does she have? Is it just crying when you try and feed her what she does not want? If so, she should not be on Zantac. Doe she spit up often and in large amounts? Is she crying after feeding and straight as a board or curling her legs to her chest? I think too many doctors rush as a reflux diagnosis when it is not that at all. Zantec is a PPI. PPIs can cause increased rate of some infections, B12 deficiency, and iron and calcium malabsorption.Drugs designed to treat ulcer conditions are nearly the "perfect" drug for the drug companies. They are highly effective at treating symptoms but do absolutely nothing to treat the cause of the problem. Proton pump inhibitors (PPIs) like Nexium, Prilosec and Prevacid and the older H2 blockers like Tagamet, Zantec and Pepcid only drain your pocketbook at the expense of your health. The PPIs are even better than the H2 blockers because they actually get you "addicted" to them. If you go off of the PPIs after being on them for awhile your symptoms will actually be WORSE than before you started them. That is one of the reasons why never have patients go "cold turkey" off the PPIs, but gradually wean them off with the H2 blockers, which do not cause as much of this acid rebound effect.Please understand that none of these drugs do absolutely anything to treat the cause of the problem -- and they can be dangerous. Heartburn medications such as Prilosec and Nexium can impair your digestion by significantly reducing the amount of acid in your stomach -- this impairs your ability to properly digest food.

Reduction of acid in the stomach also diminishes your primary defense mechanism for food-borne infections, thereby increasing your risk of food poisoning.

Additionally, if you fail to digest and absorb your food properly, you will not only increase your risk of stomach atrophy but also nearly every other chronic degenerative disease. There's also a phenomenon associated with these drugs called acid rebound. Because they slam the brakes on the acid-producing pumps in your stomach, when you stop taking them that built-up acid can be unleashed.

Some infants just do not fit the norm! If she is growing, gaining weight and producing wet and poopy diapers, do not worry about her! Stop stressing if she is getting the "normal amount". As long as she is meeting all of the above requirements, she is getting what her little body needs. I would get another pied. One that is not so "drug" happy!! I BF my daughter, and she did not eat every 2-4 hours like she was "suppose" to. She ate every 6 and only from one breast. I would pump the other to avoid engorgement, and would only get out 3 oz. So, she was getting about 20-24 oz/day. My pied. told me it was fine because she was still gaining weight and producing wet and poopy diapers. It is normal for us mothers to stress because we want nothing but the best for our children, but I think you have nothing to worry about besides the med's. All of my children LOVED cereal and food, so she may just be one of those children. I would continue to give her the rest of the bottles in cereal each night. If she finishes the bottle... then mix up a little more formula for her. You are doing a awesome job! Keep up the good work and let us know what happens and what you decide.
HTH
Jenn
Mama to Bryce~9, Austin~6 Taylor~19mnths
Step Mama to Nich~15 Christian~14

If she's taking in the full amount just not in the form of a bottle, I don't think it's a significant problem. If she's throwing up after meals or waking u with a runny or stuffy nose and has developed a slight but fairly regular cough, consult a gastroenterologist...could be reflux or something else. If none of those things is occurring and the zantac doesn't seem to make a bit of difference, I'd stop the med. Continue with what you are doing and consult another pediatrician. As long as she's getting the right kind of nutrition (she's growing and healthy in every other way, right?), she may just be one of many kids who is ready to transition to more solid food earlier than "normal."

Good luck.

All three of my kids did the same thing. I just made sure that they ate cereal a few times a day, prepared with formula and my pediatrician was ok with this because they were all still thriving as far as growth goes (in the 90th percentile). I don't think that the zantac seems necessary either since she doesn't seem to have any other symptoms. Good Luck.

Hi, C.!

One of the things I've learned is that as great as doctors are, sometimes they don't really know what a mother knows in her gut about her own child. If your baby is growing and seems normal to you, you're probably right! Also, babies always seem to get enough to eat even when we don't think so. When my son was brand new, he was kind of skinny for a while and had only that "new baby bowel movement"-- you know, the dark, slimy stuff--even when he wasn't still really newborn. But I knew he was getting enough--I breastfed him and I my thought was that his little body was using every bit of what he ate and just didn't have alot of waste. The doctor thought otherwise and that perhaps his bowel movements were "stuck" inside of him and that he needed an operation he had to be awake for that included holding him down, using a probe and unsticking all the backed up bowels!!! Someone would have had to have held ME down before that happened. Turns out he was absolutely fine and just wasn't ready to have normal bm's yet! I wasn't surprised but there you go...
Of course, I'm not a doctor and this is just my non-doctor-educated opinion but I'd RUN from someone prescribing zantac for that reason especially if you know deep down that she's ok.

J.

Hi there,
It sounds like your little one is just ready for food! My daughter was completely on cereal and food by the time she was 6 months. She still took her bottle at night and in the mornings, but her daily feedings consisted of mostly food. You can still offer her water throughout the day so that she is getting liquids. She will get all of her nutrients out of food too! My little one was always in the 90th percentile on weight and length too. I think the larger babies want the real stuff sooner! :) Hope I was some help to you!

"smiling" stop worrying. Your daughter is fine, she is just growing up faster then your son did. I agree with you, I don't think she has AR either. But what I do think she has is a touch of "i want real food". Trying giving her more food then milk. As far as her milk intake just do what you started which is putting it in her cereal. She's fine.

hope this helps,
P.