Aptamil comfort to Hipp comfort - Help!

[carriejohnson2017]

My now 13 week old daughter started getting terrible colic from around 2 weeks old. Was originally supplementing BF with Aptamil Pro Futura (most expensive, so assumed would be best one!) as she had tongue tie which really affected our BF. She wouldn't poo for days (one time she went 6 days without going! Repeatedly told normal by HV etc as she was mainly BF - only topping up with one formula feed most days...) belly would be stiff as a board, she would scream for hours every evening until she tired herself out and the pain eventually passed.

(We tried gripe water (refuses to take it) infacol, colief, cranial osteopath, chamelia granules, baby teas's, bicycle legs, baby massage (all the obvious!) - The lot. Nothing helped. I went dairy free and she had nutramigen formula for 2 weeks and things got worse (even more constipated!) so def not a lactose intolerance.

We got the tounge tie sorted, started seeing chiropractor a couple of times a week for her which I think helped and changed her to Aptamil comfort. Things got about 40% better but still not great by any means, she was poo-ing more regularly (explosive nappies!) but would still have bad days every week.

In the past 4 weeks we decided to start doing a few more bottles in the day time, as daughter is such a snacker, she was permanently snack feeding on the breast and not really doing a full feed, 5 mins on then hungry/grouchy again 20 minutes later. I still BF her at night and for comfort during the day times, nap times etc. We hoped bottles might make her more contented and get her into taking a full feed.

Since then, things have been going backwards. Less regular poo's and very colicky in the evenings sometimes daytimes too, just generally more bad days than good.

Out of desperation, on Thursday last week I bought Hipp Combitoitic Comfort, having read lots of great things about Hipp - I just felt maybe Aptamil wasn't for her and this would be more gentle for her. Thursday we started her straight away on new milk, she was colicky Thursday night (no change), Friday night colicky again, Saturday night she was fine and no signs of colic. I got hopeful! But then last night was unbearable. I am at end of my tether as everyone has been telling me since 2 weeks it will just take time. I am so sick of seeing my daughter in pain and not being able to do anything outside the house without being so stressed about how she will be on the day.

She is having very dark green poo's since Friday. She is passing wind more and poo-ing more though, will this soon all settle down? Should I keep going and give it at least a week on Hipp? If anyone out there can give me their experiences of changing to Hipp (especially comfort version) I'd be so grateful! I heard it was a miracle milk but i'm worried i'm making things worse for my little one.

Cx

I can’t give any advice on the formula but just wanted to recommend a probiotic drop called Bio Gaia. My daughter didn’t poo for 10 weeks naturally, we would give a pessary once a week to induce a poo (breastfed). Saw an expensive specialist who said I should go dairy free (i didnt) give laxatives (i didnt) and try these drops. She pooed the next day and now poos most day, if not every other.
Read up online about it to see if you think it might help you. £11 from Amazon

Lactose intolerance is quite rare in babies from what I understand but has anyone mentioned Cow’s Milk Protein Allergy (CMPA). Using Nutramigen Won’t work if you are Bfing and eating dairy yourself. Have a read of this on Kellymom.

If fully Bfing and giving up dairy an option? It doesn’t sound like the formula is suiting her plus you wouldn’t have the faff or expense of the bottles.

Thanks but yes I gave up dairy, did so for 3 weeks whilst giving Nutramigen as top up's and breastfeeding and she became even more constipated and unhappy :(

Thank you, i've ordered these off of Amazon. I think it's a case of her digestive system still developing so we shall see if these help to make things a little easier for her! I will let you know.

So had you eliminated the dairy from your diet for two weeks before giving the Nutramigen? If not, she would still have been having dairy through your milk as it takes 2 weeks to clear from BM.

No, i was breastfeeding but supplementing with formula one, maybe 2 bottles a day as she had tongue tie and was struggling to get what she needed from breast. I was completely dairy free and supplementing/top ups with nutramigen for 3 weeks.

We saw no improvement whatsoever things just got progressively worse by the 3rd week - I'd expect to see some sort of change by then. She doesn't have any of the symptoms, no skin allergies, eczema, swelling or reflux. She isn't a sickly baby it's purely the wind.

Sorry to tell you but I’ve got CMPA and I don’t have those symptoms either

Have you read the Kellymom link? And has the tt been checked to make sure that it hasn’t reattached?

Green poo and bad wind is common with comfort formula. Have you tried just using normal hipp instead of comfort?

My dd has to have lactulose for her constipation. 3ml a day helps her go every day in conjunction with hipp first milk. Comfort milk made my dd more windy and in more pain.

You need to just stick with one formula and stop switching which won’t be helping things. Use a normal formula if you’re not continuing breastfeeding, and get your dr to prescribe lactulose - it’s really gentle and works quickly and will help with her constipation.

The first steps nutrition trust has great evidence based information about different formula milks.

Comfort milks are a con, there is no evidence that they help with colic or any other symptoms. They contain a different whey:casein ratio than regular formula, which aims to have a similar ratio to breast milk, so they are further from the biological norm. Comfort milk also contains added substances eg hipp and aptamil comfort contain carob bean gum, others contain cereals.

If you are using formula use a normal first stage formula. It doesn't need to be the most expensive as they are all required to contain the components that are shown to benefit babies.

However can you increase the amount you are breastfeeding? Seeing a lactation consultant will help figure out what can be done to help.

If your baby is constipated take them to see their GP.

Have you seen a GP?

Each switch could upset her gut so when you say it is "worse" you could just be dealing with the transition.

The 'Snack' feeding you describe is well within the range of normal for a young baby.

The ‘snackIng’ sounds ok, and maybe a result of something like reflux?

Both of my children have taken full feeds that are about five minutes from quite a young age, but feed quite frequently. It was their normal, and entirely fine for them.

Is the baby actually constipated (are poos hard?) Or is she very windy and poos infrequently (but still soft)? Many babies don’t poo frequently, and for breastfed babies they might get windy and grouchy, but it’s not bad news. You’re right - the their digestive systems are still developing.

Is weight gain ok?