16 week old feeding. PLEASE HELP!

[Natalie3387]

Hi,
My little boy is 16 weeks old and weighs 15lbs 4.

He has always enjoyed his milk (formula fed as struggled with breastfeeding) he was drinking 6-7 oz every 3 hours.

Recently we have been told by the GP that he has a cows milk allergy due to his constant nasal congestion (since birth) and constipation (he was pooing once every 4 days)
Since being prescribed the new milk (SMA Althera) 2 weeks ago he is now only drinking 2-4 oz every 3 hours and it's a real battle to get him to drink more than 700ml per day which I know is no where near what he should be taking for his weight. The size 2 MAM teat was making him choke due to the milk being so thin so we have had no choice but to go back to the size 1. We've tried adding carobel to thicken the milk but he would still only take 2-4 oz.

I'm worried about him becoming dehydrated or loosing weight.

Does any one have any advice? Experience? Or anything we could try? It's really getting me down.

Firstly have the symptoms cleared up with the new milk?

Has anyone suggested adding vanilla essence or Nesquik to the milk to make it more palatable?

Speak to your HV - there are other CMPA milks you can try that might taste better to your little one. Mine was on Similac and it was awful! They all seem to be a bit different.

Thank you for replying.
The nasal congestion is still there however he has another cold so it's hard to tell if the milk has made any difference.
We thought it had solved the constipation issue as he was opening his bowels daily a few days after starting the milk however today it's day 3 of no dirty nappies and he's been straining a lot and managed to pass a hard small stool earlier 😔
I'm even more convinced he doesn't have an intolerance/allergy to cows milk now.
We haven't tried adding any flavouring to the milk yet, maybe that's what we will try next.

If he hadn't pooed for 3 days and then passed a small, hard stool it doesn't sound like he's getting enough milk.

He should be having 2.5 floz per pound in weight in 24 hours. If it's a lot less and he's not been pooing and then passing hard stools, I'd ring 111 as he could be underfed and dehydrated

Thank you @Ifiori
The HV just seems to nod along with everything I say which is really frustrating. She doesn't really give any advice or suggestions.
They seem to all taste pretty vile don't they! Did your LO take some time to get used to the taste of similac? I don't want to give up too soon because I know it won't do him any good to keep swapping and changing but I don't want to keep battling at feeding time, it usually ends in tears for us both.

Thank you @PritiPatelsMaker
When he was on his previous milk (before the prescription milk) he was having 900ml per day which is about right for his weight and even then he was pooing once every 4 days.
We've been to the GP so many times and all we get told is to give him lactalose. The HV said not to give it every day as his bowels will become lazy and will rely on it. Its such a constant battle.
He's having more than enough wet nappies and is not showing any other signs of dehydration but will get in contact with the GP again in the morning

He took it well ish, his issue wasn’t CMPA as it turned out so even though he drank it we didn’t see an improvement in his symptoms. Has anyone mentioned comfort milk? We’ve just started our 12 week old on it because she was really struggling with colic and constipation.

@Ifiori I really don't think my LO has a CMPA, the GP seems to think so.
He was on the SMA comfort milk before this milk, he loved it and would drink the full 6-7 oz bottles but he was very constipated on it

When he was pooing every four days, what was it like? Infrequent doesn’t necessarily mean constipated as long as it was soft.

They were mainly normal. The HV was thinking he has a sluggish bowel but the GP was concerned and prescribed the milk. It's been nearly 2 weeks on it and 3 days after starting he pooed once daily for 4 days and then nothing again for another 3 days. Not sure what to do next!

The symptoms of CMPA are here. Does he tick many of those boxes?

I'm non-ige so don't get rashes.

@PritiPatelsMaker not really but the doctor has put the nasal congestion down to CMPA as he couldn't say what else could be causing it. He said many babies suffer with constipation/irregular bowel movements rather than diarrhoea. We are seeing another doctor this afternoon so hopefully get a second opinion 🙏

F you get the chance, have a read of the article I linked from Allergy UK, it's pretty good and even gives tips on talking to HCPs.