to switch DS's formula AGAIN 'cause I'm a fecking moron!!

[DonnieDonDonnn]

Hey girls

I need some advice about my DS (6 weeks old), recently we had him on Cow & Gate comfort milk for 5 weeks and then switched to anti reflux when we suspected he had a touch of reflux. After switching to the anti reflux for two days I noticed DS started to strain and cry more when trying to poop and that his poos became less paste and fluid like but hard and play dough like but still yellow (so not sure if he's constipated) so fearing we'd done him more harm than good we switched again (I know very bad) to Cow & Gate first milk.

Ever since DS has got it he's been able to take a few sucks before he starts crying/choking and refusing his bottle. He arches his back and straightens out his legs when feeding and when I've tried to burp him, I can even hear an odd bubbling/gurgling noise when DS feeds....

my questions are is it the constant switching that's causing this or is it silent reflux? Should we put him back to anti reflux or comfort or preserve with first milk because maybe all the switching has annoyed him and he needs time to adjust? Feel free to slam me I know I'm an idiot just worried and need quick advice for DS

Miaow, was the problem reflux with your DD in the end? Should I chance my arm with a HV? Was there any way to help with the play dough poo?

Ask for help. It might be reflux, and the constipation is because of the thickened milk (seems to happen quite a bit). Or it might be cows' milk protein intolerance. Or it might not be much at all. But if you're worried enough to be posting on here, you're worried enough to be talking to your HV/GP.

Switching food in general is rough on a baby's digestive system. So it's hard to tell if it was just simply switching that is making him sick or reflux.

Can you get an appointment in? If he's not eating that's a big red flag to get him in to be seen. Babies at so young are delicate and get sick easy, so it's important to get him seen as soon as you can.

Your GP can probably guide you best after assessing your baby.

Oh, also what type of bottles do you use?

Do you have ones with the little straws in them to avoid air getting in? Dr. Brown's bottles are really great about that. DD never had a gas problem with them, we rarely needed to even burp her. We did, but she didn't have much to burp.

Ds sounded like this. Does your ds spit up a lot? We found the 'best of the worst' for us was Lactose Free even though ds was NOT Lactose intolerant. He was also on antacid drops (can't remember what brand but it was prescription).

Really the prescription was the only thing that really helped but like I said for formula Lactose Free was the 'best of the worst' for us.

My babies both had awful silent reflux as well As my niece so I am somewhat of an expert in it now!!

I found that all of ours got very constipated on comfort milk. Our paediatrician recommended Cow and Gate Carobel which is a thickening powder that you mix with their normal milk. It doesn't usually constipate, in fact often it makes them a little runny. This worked for my 1st child and niece.

My son was a different matter as he was very bad with the reflux and also had milk intolerance. He ended up on Neocate (don't be palmed off with other milk if you think this is the problem as all the other cheaper special milk has some form of milk in it) and omeprozole. Even this didn't work completely. I weaned him back onto normal milk with carobel and off his medication at 4 months and put him on solids at 5 months. The starting of solids and lessening of the volume of milk was what made the difference for him.

I should give carobel a try. Don't go down the infant Gaviscon route. It is basically just thickener like the carobel only it constipates terribly.

You can get carobel over the counter at the chemist although they usually have to order it in or online. If it works you can get it in prescription.

Hope that helps xx

Do not let them fob you off that infant Gaviscon is like adult Gaviscon which coats the throat and stops the burning/pain of reflux. Infant Gaviscon does not do this. It is simply a thickener. GPs often are unaware of this x

My son has silent reflux and the only thing that worked for us was ranitidine from GP. We used Hipp formula and Dr Browns bottles with both kids. My daughter was colicky and we tried a few formulas until we found she settled well on Hipp. So when my son came along we went straight to Hipp after a few weeks of disastrous BF attempt

I also agree, Infant Gaviscon was a waste of time

Gaviscon worked wonders for my dd. You aren't an idiot OP but I think some advice from the hv would be beneficial.

I really don't have time to read the replies, but if it's just the poo that's a problem on the anti reflux, my son is on it, but also has 2.5mls of pescribed lactulose which means he goes once a day and keeps him comfortable? Might be worth speaking to the drs if the anti reflux formula works for you