Okay, so I had difficulties nursing my little boy who is almost eight months old now. He never really got the hang of nursing very well since we were in and out of the hospital the first two weeks of his life with various complications (mostly mine). So when he was three weeks old and still hadn't regained his birth weight I started pumping and we supplemented with formula until my supply had built up. I ended up with an oversupply and even ended up donating 750oz of extra milk to a milk bank for preemies as well as having a stash of about 250oz in the freezer. In the last couple weeks though I have actually now had several days where I didn't get enough in that day to meet his demand and have had to dip into my freezer stash.
All that to say that my husband and I decided to start adding in a little formula to his bottles once or twice a day to gradually get him used to the difference in taste from breastmilk...since it seems likely that within the next month or so my supply will dry up as it gradually diminishes. So yesterday morning we gave him some and he promptly spit most of it up. A bit alarming, but he does still spit up on occasion, so we didn't think much about it. Later, when we got him up from his nap he weirdly looked almost like he had a mild sunburn, but as his color normalized fairly quickly, we just thought maybe he was red from sleeping so deeply and maybe being a little too warm.
However, this morning I stayed home from church with the little dude (as he's been fussy from teething) while my husband went on to help in the sound booth for all three services. I gave the little guy some more breastmilk with a little formula mixed in and within 45 minutes of drinking it he looked red and rashy (even having a few welt-looking places)...all over his back, his diaper area, his underarms, his ears, and a little bit on his face (mostly his forehead and chin).
Could this be an allergy to his formula? It's the exact same formula he had as a little guy till my supply increased. Could that little bit he had then (for just a couple weeks) have triggered an allergy that is now showing itself? If so, what can I do? I mean, he's still too young to switch to regular milk...and what if he's allergic to that now too? UGH!! I will continue to pump twice a day for as long as I still have milk, and we do still have close to 200oz in the freezer...but that's not gonna last long when he drinks 28-32oz a day!!
Edited to add: I did stop with the formula immediately when I realized the rash was caused by the formula, the breastmilk that was mixed with the formula that he reacted to was fresh (not frozen), and the only med I've taken since I knew I was pregnant with him (except the meds they gave me in the hospital) is Tylenol. I am doing my homework before proceeding with goat's milk and I am consulting with his pedi...but since this reaction thing all went down on a Sunday, I was trying to figure stuff out and asking questions online since I couldn't contact his doc till today (and since the rash cleared up fairly quickly, wasn't ready to rush him to Care Now).
I wouldn't think he was allergic to the formula, but maybe the type of formula. What have you been giving him? Maybe he is allergic to milk. If so, you could try soy formula. If I were you, I would call his pedi before I gave him anymore formula of any kind. You never know how bad a reaction can be to something a person is allergic to.
My 3rd child who is now almost 3 was 4 months old and we started supplimenting with regular formula and I was still nursing and pumping. (He had weight gain issues). We would alternate a bottle of formula then a bottle of breastmilk. About a week AFTER he started drinking formula (about 3 or 4 bottles in a 24 hr period) He would develope these HUGE red welts all over his body. They would be there about 20 minutes after he drank it and fade over the next few hours. No reaction to breast milk...
We switched brands of formula, then switched to soy based formula. It cleared up. Keep an eye on it and try a different type of formula. There is soy formula, rice formula etc... At 1 yr old we started giving him dairy in small bits and he never had any reactions to it...
It could be that there is just something in the formula his system can not handle now... But it may not be an issue later.
I would stop mixing the regular formula in and try soy as a first step. Watch him closely... IE. Do the switch in the morning, not last thing at night so you can watch him thru the day...
My middle daughter was extremely allergic to a lot of formula's - we eventually found a formula by Similac that was a soy based formula with no corn syrups! She couldn't tolerate the corn syrup or milk based formula's...she still prefers soy milk today & she is 15. She has had eczema all her life & when she drinks cows milk or eats tomatoes - which she doesn't care for either - she gets a lot of flare ups. Also a lot of prepackaged foods with corn syrups make her react...so she has learned to eat other things. When she first started having reactions she would throw up a lot not just spit up & it was very sour smelling, she also would get rashy & red. We first switched to carnation which our pediatrician said was a very mild formula - it helped but there was still spitting up & rashy effects so we then switched to Soy formula but the spitting up/throwing up didn't improve but the rash did go away so we then talked to the pharmacists because the only option the pediatrician recommended was a super expensive prescription formula and he suggested the formula that was soy without any corn sugars. IT worked! She remained on that until she was old enough to start drinking out of a cup. Good luck & hang in there. You will find a good fit for your little guy.
Beware of goats milk formula's. They are not recommended for children under one year of age. Talk to your pediatrician before going with goats milk there are proven medical concerns with goats milk in babies. I don't know how the Dr. Sears formula is made - it might be approved but it's worth checking with your doctor.
It does sound like an allergy, and at his age, you should check with a pedi., but is it possible he's allergic to something in the breast milk from that stash? I guess to be clear, what if you were taking an antibiotic during the time you pumped the milk you gave him, he could have a reaction to the antibiotic you took way back when b/c it's in the breastmilk you froze...or anything else you ate at that time. But, I could totally be wrong too, I don't know if antibiotics get into breastmilk either!
an allergy to formula generally causes excessive spit up and colicc at least it did with my oldest one they eat and eat and never get full. He never had a rash but that doesn't mean it is possible. It could be possible he is allergic to something in the breast milk but that doesn't sound right either. Its warming up and if your house is to hot it might be a heat rash and the placing is right for a heat rash.
are you over dressing him?? heat rashes generally show up in the groin area,
armpits, folds of the knees, and could be other places but those are the first place that it shows up. I have seen heat rashes on the chest and back. dress him like you would dress yourself. heat rash is generally little red dots. allergies are usually welps I think but not sure on allergies only bieng welps.
If he is allergic to the formula which a doc will probably have to determine or where you get your wic could just switch him to soy formula that is what I did with my oldest and my sil did it with my nephew. They both did great on soy. but also spitting up comes with teething. hope this answers some of your questions.
The rash is a red flag--discontinue the formula immediately. Contact the La Leche League for help with keeping your supply up.
Many children who cannot tolerate the commercial formulas do well on goat's milk (can be found at Central Market and other higher-end grocers), or even raw milk from cows (hard to find, but it can be done; you'd have to contact a local farmer and work an arrangement.). Mother's milk is very low-fat. Goat's milk is very low-fat. Cow's milk is high-fat, but many people do very well on raw milk, because it still contains the living enzymes that help one digest the milk, having not been pasteurized. The farmer has his cows tested yearly and they are disease-free.) Could try soy milk, but I'd avoid all soy except organic (to avoid the Genetically-Modified version that almost all soy in America now is. )
The red rash that you are describing sounds exactly like a reaction to cow's milk formula, although soy can sometimes cause it too. I would highly recommend not putting him on formula as most of those products are 50% corn syrup. Dr. Sears has a goat's milk formula that's not only economical, but does not produce the allergic response. Goat's milk is the closest in make-up to human breast milk you can get from another animal. I'm assuming that since he's 8 months old that he's already eating solids, so you can choose the whole milk formula recipe provided below without the added carbohydrate. You can purchase the Meyenberg brand of goat's milk at Whole Foods for sure and I think Sprouts, and sometimes they have it in stock at Vitamin Shoppe. I prefer the powdered milk since it's cheaper, but I do know that if you're in a pinch, Tom Thumb and Albertson's does have the fresh in the dairy case. Be sure to buy the full fat brand, not the low fat. Hope this helps! Here's the link to the formula recipe:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/3/t032401.asp
I am not an expert by no means but you may want to see if you can get your son to nurse. It seems as if around 6-8 months, if you are pumping exclusively, you dry up. With my second child, I did a better job in maintaining my milk flow but had to resort to pumping during the day since I am a working mom but noticed after month 8, I was getting nothing out when I pumped but was able to nurse in the morning and at night.
Had almost this same exact issue and it turned out to be a milk allergy. Probably not getting as much exposure to it through the breast milk. Try soy formula and talk to doctor about it. The soy formula worked for us and then tried regular milk when he turned 1. Turned out he still had a milk allergy but grew out of it my 3 years old. The less exposure to milk, the more likely they will grow out of it.
It definitely sounds like an allergy, or at the very least, an intolerance to the formula you are giving him. Try giving him soy formula. He might have problems with the regular dairy formula. They also make allergy-free formulas, but they are very pricey. Good luck!
