My daughter is 4 1/2 months old. When she was first born, she was strictly on breast milk, but due to the fact that I didn't and still don't produce enough breast milk for her, I was forced to bottle feed her formula since the day she was born. She got mostly breast milk, but every now and then she would get formula. The hospital tried her on regular Similac Advance but said she was very gassy so they resorted to Similac Isomil Soy. They said she slept like a baby and wasn't near as gassy. So ever since then she has been on Soy. We have tried all different brands and all brands of soy are making her spit up.
She started spitting up at about 2 months old when I was not able to breast feed her as much because I had returned to work. Trust me if there were a way for me to produce more breast milk, I would do it in a heart beat, but I have tried everything possible.
Anyways her pediatrician put her on Xantac at about 2 1/2 months old. She has been on this for 2 months now and granted it has helped the spitting up, but it is not completely getting rid of it. What's even more weird is that she does not spit up for the babysitter. Granted she uses treated town water and we use treated well water, but still the same bottles have been used. I have used rice cereal in her bottles to help, that doesn't work. I have tried sitting her up for 45 mins after she eats per the pediatrician and that doesn't work.
Now I am at the point of is she allergic to soy or does she just have a bad case of acid reflux. If she has acid reflux, wouldn't she be spitting up my breast milk too? She does not spit up the breat milk at all. If she does have acid reflux, wouldn't she have developed this when she was first born? I never reduced my milk intake when I was breast feeding and she did fine with no complaints. What has changed?
Please any help!!??
I think I would try buying bottled water and see if the water is making a difference. I would think that there is a difference in well water vs town water, even if they are both treated.
Doesn't sound like acid reflux at all. Your baby would be in pain, arching their back, and forceful spitting up. My son is almost 3 months old and has it pretty bad. My son is on zantac as well (all it does it reduce the pain they feel...) and on similac for spit-up. he doesn't spit up that much anymore (maybe two episodes of forceful throwing up this week) it could be gas bubbles trapped in the formula when it's shaked to mix it. That can cause some spit up. Witht he breast, babies don't get as much air trapped in there. That's my thought, anyhow...
I don't think she has acid reflux.
I think she is just spitting up.
ALSO your baby is not fussy/in pain... which is what would happen if she had acid reflux.
You did not mention, your baby being fussy/in pain/uncomfortable at all. Just spitting up.
But I am not a Doctor.
Some babies, spit up a LOT... but it does not mean they have acid reflux. My son for example. He spit up a lot the 1st year.
I breastfed and later, I supplemented with Formula. It didn't matter. He was not allergic nor did he have acid reflux. He just spit up.
Get a 2nd opinion perhaps.
DO you and the babysitter mix the Formula differently???? Like, do you put in the water FIRST then the scoops of Formula? Or do you put the scoops of Formula first... THEN the water??? It is supposed to be, putting the water in the bottle first... THEN the scoops of Formula. For example.
I believe you are smart to do some investigating . . . you can't beat mother's intuition! To be honest, many pediatricians seem quick to diagnose reflux, try the meds, then it is up to mom to decide if it really was reflux. Please keep an open dialogue with your pediatrician about what you're thinking - especially with something like reflux, they are depending largely on your report to confirm their diagnosis (unless they have done a swallow study or the like).
A few questions your pediatrician should have asked:
1. How much is your baby spitting up each feed? Is it a few burps or 1/2 a bottle?
2. How uncomfortable is your baby after feedings? constantly fussy or consoled after a good burp? Arching back, apparent pain?
A previous post was correct, some babies spit up a lot. You say she does not spit up at the babysitter . . . does she spit up at all there? Is there a chance that what she determines to be very little would be a lot to you? Does this make sense?
But on a more helpful note, I do believe that if there was a true milk sensitivity, she would have reacted to your breastmilk as well and you would have needed to be dairy free in your own diet. My oldest two were sensitive to dairy - I removed dairy from my diet while breastfeeding and used soy when we switched to formula. No true allergy, but a definite sensitivity. I know you said you tried all types of formula - we found that Similac was the worst for fussiness/gas, and the best was Good Start (Nestle/Gerber brand now I think). My second son was able to switch to regular formula sooner, but again we found that Good Start was the best.
I would recommend:
1. Ask the sitter exactly what she does each feeding - try her methods/water (or nursery water) for a while and see if you notice a difference.
2. Ask you pediatrician his/her opinion on doing a trial OFF the Zantac - see if you notice a major difference.
3. If your doctor does not suspect an allergy to milk, try a regular milk-based formula for a while and again see if you notice a difference. When you say the nurses gave her soy in the hospital and saw a difference, was this just during the 2-3 day hospital stay right after she was born, or did she have a longer stay in the hospital?? I would be a little leary to stick on soy if only based on a day or two and a few feedings as a newborn when their whole digestive tract is just getting used to things anyway. If you haven't tried a regular formula and the doctor okays it, I would definitely give it a try. I know soy is "supposed" to be gentle, but every baby is different!!
You are doing a great job and asking good questions!! Don't be afraid to try some things different - you can always go back on meds or switch back to your current formula. You just might want to try one new thing at a time so you know what works! (personally, I'd try the baby sitter's methods while switching to regular formula for 2 weeks, then if things have stayed the same or improved, do a trial off the zantac).
Sorry for the lengthy rambling post, but I hope you can glean something useful from it!
~H.
Pediatric Nurse and mother to 3
Has her pediatrician tested her for allergies? My granddaughter was spitting up and fussing. A simple blood test showed that she was allergic to the protein in milk as well as to soy and peanuts. The doctor put her on Alimentium, a non dairy, non soy formula and she was OK. I'm not sure of spelling.
Babies spit up. Especially if they swallow a lot of air. It's harder for a baby to swallow air from the breast. As long as your baby is gaining wt, and not fussing, spitting up is only a laundry problem. My boys spit up all the time on the breast. The doctor felt it was from eating tooo much at a time. Could it be she is taking more from the bottle than she gets from the breast, overeating, and spitting up the excess? This could be why she doesnt' spit up for the sitter, she isn't eating as much for her? Just another thought.
If she isn't crying out in pain, arching, or otherwise fussy with the spitting up, I wouldn't worry, and just accept it as a part of your baby. Just be sure to have lots of burp rags/receiving blankets around to catch the spit up!
R.
It sounds like there must be a difference between what you and what the babysitter is doing. Maybe it is the water. You could ask the babysitter if you could bring home some to confirm. Maybe the chemicals treating your well water aren't sitting well with your child.
