Did your baby grow up on Nutramigen or Neocate? Did they develop normally

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My 9 week old baby has a suspected cows milk intolerance and it's been suggested she go on an elemental formula, like Nutramigen.

Having researched it I can only find stories of toddlers with serious developmental delays and multiple problems after using it.

If you had to use it, how did your LO develop? Are they healthy and in line with other kids the same age? I'm really looking for reassurance.

TIA

I have a 4 year old who was prescribed Nutramigen at 12 weeks. At 1 he was retested and turned out not to have cow's milk allergy at all (has other allergies though), so had nutramigen from 12 weeks (actually he was mix fed, mostly BF until 5.5 months, then nutramigen only) and then cow's from about 14 months. No issues. Very bright little boy (obviously I would say that!). In fact I have never heard of any developmental delay link and I researched it all fairly thoroughly at the time several years ago.

fay2318 have you asked to be referred to a dietician? We were able to do this when we were prescribed nutramigen and it was very useful. You would be able to raise any concerns with him/her.

My DD was on neocate from 12 weeks as she had all but stopped taking ANY milk at all from the boob or bottle. Even at 4 days old she would SCREAM at the boob. It was awful and like a few of you ladies I was lead to believe I was just a depressed mad mother, until of course her weight plummeted and we saw a lovely consultant at the fabulous yorkhill hospital in glasgow. She was put on neocate. by this time her association with milk was pain and the damage was done but we managed to get her to take a little and weaned her very early. She is now 3 and a half and utterly adorable, polite, VERY active and clever. My DS is 10 months old and shows similar signs but less severe. As he is over 10 months now he is on soya milk as prescribed by the hospital. I should say my daughter now loves all things dairy EXCEPT milk. She has cheese, butter, ice cream, yogurts.....So there is hope! And also she is a wee joy. I have heard that children with severe reflux can have behavioural issues so perhaps it is more to do with the condition than the milk which would make alot more sense. Basically the protein the milk has been hydroysed - just broken down so the immune system doesn't recognise it and therefore cannot react. I can't see how this could affect development but what do I know. Best of luckx

Ds is 4yo and still has a bottle of Neocate morning and night. He had severe reflux and dairy allergy as a baby followed by a feeding phobia, and after the dairy intolerance had resolved he still would only drink Neocate as he'd got used to the taste (tastes vile!) He still has some now just because his diet is awful due to the eating phobia and I figure he is getting more vitamins from that than he would from a cup of cow's milk.

Other than the poor diet he is a lively, happy, tall, chatty and healthy little boy. He is 4 and can count to 50, knows all the alphabet and is well co-ordinated when it comes to kicking a football and throwing and catching. Nothing wrong with him developmentally.

I think the stories you read will be because a high proportion of premature babies and or babies with severe illnesses from birth will be on one of these special formulas. Any long-term problems these children have are due to their prior conditions, not the use of the milk itself.

Just to give weight to my point above, I am also a GP and used to work in Paediatrics and on the Special Care Baby Unit. I am certain there is no evidence to show that these milks affect development.