Help!

[cobweb1979]

I'm switching to formula. DS has been bootle-fed since day 4 due to jaundice. HV has suggested comfort formula as he has reflux, colic and stiff poos from gaviscon.

Problem is it is so thick DS has trouble drinking it. We are using the next teat size up, but I've just had him sucking for 15 mins and it hasn't gone down at all. Sometimes he can drink it, but he has to be really starving, and only my husband can stand the crying for long enough. I can't do it.

We tried a variable flow teat but he drowned.

Can I mix it with a bit of breastmilk to thin it down? Won't work forever, but might get us till he is a bit bigger (I have a freezer full of the stuff so he has enough for a bottle or 2 a day for a while)

Why not just try normal formula> NHS guide line's state that only stage one formula should be used till 12months.

There are other meds that can be tired for the reflux other then gaviscon.

Oh, he is on ranitidine as well. HV suggested it as we are also using coleif in the breastmilk. The gaviscon really stops him being sick, if we miss a dose we know about it! Just tearing my hair out, as we've been sat on the sofa for 40 minutes now and not got anywhere. He has given up crying when I take it out of his mouth, but it doesn't seem to be making him suck harder! I know he CAN do it, which makes it so frusrtating. I'm just getting so scared about the full switch... husband says if he is hungry enough he will eat but I'm the one who will be stuck at home with a starving baby...

Have you asked for another opinion? Like a GP? Like MigGril I'd try normal formula or just breastmilk. Surely any milk is better than a starving baby?

cobweb, this is heartbreaking. Babies and their mothers need to enjoy feeding, as it's an important part of comfort and love, as well as a means of actually nourishing them :( :(

I agree - get a 2nd opinion, and maybe see a paediatric dietitian.

Comfort formulas have not been around for very long, and (IMO) the evidence that they are as useful as their marketing suggests is very thin indeed. They are only useful if they 'work' ie make life happier and more comfortable, and this is not happening for you. Ask the HV for other suggestions.

tiktok, sadly feeding hasn't been a nice experience very often for us. Things are getting better but with his reflux he used to just scream through the whole feed - he was hungry, but the milk from previous feeds would be coming back up at the same time. Even before the reflux he was so ill with the jaundice that we had to almost shake him awake to feed, and it was so stressful trying to keep him awake long enough to drink enough fluids to help him get better. Then there was the battle (which we lost) to get him back on the breast - traumatic for both of us... Heartbreaking is the right word :-(

HV has suggested a peadiatrician, but as his symptoms have stabilised we both thought going to the hospital was a bit extreme. The GP has never mentioned it. Although they keep and eye on him and check his ranitidine dose they aren't as interested as the HV, as they don't care so much about the day-to-day aspect, they just see a baby who is doing OK, allbeit slipping down the centiles.

lilham I have a freezer full of breastmilk but I HAVE to stop pumping. It is affecting my blood sugars too much, and as I already have some diabetic changes to my eyes I can't afford to go on much longer, as long term it would make me very ill, and damage my sight. So we don't have a choice about introducing formula. I don't want to do a cold-turkey switch when the freezer runs out!

I'm a bit worried about using normal formula as he is already close to constipation with the gaviscon and breastmilk, and apparently formula is more likely to make him bunged up. ARGH! I wonder if I can mix normal with comfort half and half in the same bottle.

I'll have to try the variflow teat again, but if that doesn't work I'll have to talk to the HV again. I added a little bit of breastmilk to his bottle earlier in desperation, and he managed about 1/3 and then fell asleep :-(

Sorry, that got a bit long.

I find that breastmilk fed babies tend to do better with a No.2 Avent teat (these are typically marked as being 3 months+). The flow rate is faster on these, so they don't have to suck quite so hard. For other brands of teat, experiment a bit.

I would just use No.1 formula - it is designed for use from birth. It is fine to be used for the whole of the first year.

Temperature of the formula will take some experimentation. I find that often young babies like it hotter than you might imagine.

They can take a long time to drink a few oz of milk, so make sure you are in a relaxed position, all mod cons available within reach, and try to relax and position him such that is as upright as possible (I find it can help with reflux and colic) with his legs dangling between yours.

Don't mix forumla types. Avoid adding anything to formula. Give medication either immediately before, or immediately after (depending on the instructions on the medication).

cobewb, this is not something you should be making-up-as-you-go-along. Trying half and half. Adding breastmilk 'in desperation'. Wondering about teats. And all the time dealing with a distressed baby and the memory of what sounds to have been a really difficult several weeks.

Please get your GP or HV to make an appointment with a paediatric dietitian who can take an overview of the whole situation. I can understand why you may not want actual medial involvement and I can also understand why if your baby is not actually acutely ill why they are not all that concerned....but you need some support and a proper plan :(

He can't use the no. 2 teat with breastmilk - it just goes everywhere! He is 3 months old as of monday but I tried him with a no 2 teat again yesterday and it was a disaster. We are using the no 2 teat with the comfort formula, but it only seems to be big enough sometimes.

Do you use the Tiger In The Tree hold position whenever he is experiencing tummy pain? It can work very well to help ease his pain.

I second Tiktok's advice that you really need to see a doctor. There are other formula options like Nutramigen for reflux babies - mine is on this and it has made quite a difference. I get it on prescription.

No.2 teat tends to be too big for breastmilk. Formula is thicker I find so works better with the No.2. It does drip and it does spill all over the place whilst baby adjusts to it. So cloths at the ready! No1 teat requires them to suck more, which he might not be doing. You do need to experiment to find something that he is happy with - same goes for formula brands.

Does he still have jaundice or has that cleared up now?

Does he take the breast milk in a bottle with No1 teat fine?

Have you tried any other formula milk other than the Comfort?

Sorry tiktok we must have posted at similar times and I didn't see your post.

My husband just thinks he will drink it when he needs to and is very chilled, whereas I always planned on breastfeeding so have The Guilt about stopping pumping, so the fact that he is struggling to take the formula is really hard for me. I have left a message with the HV office and will hopefully talk to them at some point. Meanwhile I will try the variflow teat again at the next feed as it was a couple of weeks ago that we tried it.

lucy101 no one has mentioned prescription formula to me! Various GPs have seen him and discussed with me stopping pumping, so I'm a bit surprised that given he is on medication for the reflux no one thought to mention that there were special formulas.

nannynick he is definitely a lazy feeder. It used to take him over half an hour to drink 4oz - so with winding etc a feed would take an hour... then I had to pump... then it started again. Fun times. I tried a faster flow teat early on becuase of that, but he also has a bad latch (if you can call it that on a bottle) and he'll just spit and dribble milk out of his mouth around the teat if you use a faster teat, so you can't win! He even did that the odd time I got him breastfeeding, my BFing pillow would be soaked through!

Oh the jaundice has long cleared up, that was when we were still in hospital after the birth, he is 3 months old now.

Yes, now he drinks BM with a no1 teat OK, but see above for how messy he can be.

He has had some ready made no1 formula when I've been out and about - about 3 times - (comfort doesn't come ready made) and takes that OK.

Yeah, I'd call it bad latch. Baby I nanny did the same, is better now that she is older though can still be a messy affair.

If you do go with normal formula you can always offer a bit of cooled boiled water to help with constipation. However I agree you need to be seeing some-one about this. Swapping teats all the time is going to confuse the issue more I think.
How about alternating your EBM and formula to help things along until you get your appointment?
Good luck.

Baby I care for hates the ready made stuff (so it's our emergency backup) but is fine with the Cow&Gate No1 powder.

As he has taken No1 formula carton, I would suggest you try the powder version. You could use Infacol to help with colic. To me it seems easier to use than Coleif, as with Infracol you just give it to baby just before the bottle.

Thanks Twit, I had forgotten water can help in that department.

At the moment I am still pumping twice a day, so he is only on 2 bottles of formula each day, so its not an immediate worry. Its just that I will be stopping pumping ASAP.

I managed to get the rest of the formula mixed with BM into him, and he went out like a light! I don't know why but the formula always seems to send him to sleep! I really should be doing something more productive than reading the internet while he isn't screaming...

Alternating EMB and Formula feeds can work well.

I think that the issue here could be that your son does not like the comfort milk, does not feed well from it. Stop using it. Replace it with No1 formula, as he has take than ok in the past.

How did the next feed go?