Let's talk about HIPP

[mummywingingit]

My babe is in hipp and has been since 4 weeks old. It's s nice milk that he enjoys. I think he may have a bit of reflux (ftm so not entirely sure)
He is more grumpy, brings up a clear like bile, dribbling so bad I'm going through 10 bibs a day (he is 12 weeks)
Spoke to HV who said they don't advise gaviscon or ranitidine as causes constipation, and my babe only goes once a day as it is and it's always quite paste like, so don't want to risk it.
She advised trying a comfort milk.

Does anyone here use HIPP comfort milk? And what is your little one like on it?
HIPP do a reflux milk but read a lot of bad reviews if it.

TIA

It doesn't really sound like reflux from what you've written here. What are all of his symptoms? Does he arch his back and scream during/after feeds? Ranitidine doesn't cause constipation so your HV is incorrect with that, but gaviscon can do.

Hipp does both a comfort milk and an anti-reflux milk. I think comfort milk is easier to digest for babies that have trouble with lactose and anti-reflux milk usually has some sort of added thickener (similar to baby gaviscon) so that it settles heavier in the stomach and is harder to bring back up. I personally don't think either sound that great, and I would avoid giving those types of formula to a baby unless they really had a problem.

Could it be possible that your son is teething?

@TheVeryHungryTortoise I did wonder if his teeth are on the move as the dribble is insane!
Being a FTM I'm not very sure on these things.
He coughs after a feed and brings up a clear, thick fluid that is sometimes speckled with milk. He is fussy with his bottle atm, and sometimes will arch back but not on every feed. He was awful to start which is why we swapped him onto hipp, and that has def calmed that down.
I suffer with GERD so know it is painful and tastes awful, so worry for him. I may speak to a GP friend and ask about ranitidine for him. It never helps he does not burp like ever at night!

I wanted to avoid the reflux milk as some reviews aren't great, but interested if anyone has used HIPP comfort milk to know what their lo is like on it...

Those symptoms sound pretty normal for a baby of his age, OP. I found my DD’s digestion and wind really calmed down between 12-14 weeks and she became much more cheerful (she’s now 6 months and no issues at all).

I do sympathise as i spent hours googling and convincing myself she had acid/silent reflux/cows milk allergy, but I think it’s easy to over-diagnose symptoms that are completely normal for small babies - especially with formula companies coming up with magic ‘solutions’ for you to spend more money on. We did toy with trying comfort or anti reflux formula but left her on the normal Hipp and I’m glad we did (although I’m sure you will get other replies saying it worked for them).

I agree if he’s really dribbly he may be an early teether!

Another thing to consider is whether he needs to go up a teat size?

The HiPP comfort milk is extensively hydrolysed unlike other comfort milk (aptamil/cow and gate ) which are only partially hydrolysed so it may help if a dairy intolerance is an issue but without allergy testing it would be hard to know. Worth a try if you suspect this. It’s lactose content is also lower than HiPP 1