Switching from BF to formula after 4 weeks

[SassyPants87]

Hi all

I'm seriously at the end of my tether, 4 week old DD is EBF and has the most runniest poos and she poos ALL THE TIME. Nappy changes are the worst because I can be there changing her for an hour because she's constantly dribbling poo. Attached a pic of what nappy change looks like for me!!

She also has a really nasty nappy rash that just won't go! I think I need to switch over to formula so she stays fuller for longer, hopefully poos less and her poo thickens up more. This will hopefully give her bum a chance to heal

I just wondered what people's poo experiences were when moving to formula as I'm hoping it will improve for me

That doesn't sound like a breastfeeding problem to me. I have zero theories and no medical basis for saying that but the dribbling poo doesn't sound right. Early BF poos should be mustardy, liquidy and the snell shouldn't be bad. And i don't think it's unusual change 8 ish poos a day.

I've heard that lightly whipped egg whites smeared on the sore bum can really help.

@whitianga

That doesn't sound like a breastfeeding problem to me. I have zero theories and no medical basis for saying that but the dribbling poo doesn't sound right. Early BF poos should be mustardy, liquidy and the snell shouldn't be bad. And i don't think it's unusual change 8 ish poos a day.

I've heard that lightly whipped egg whites smeared on the sore bum can really help.

One theory might be over supply but I need to speak to HV about it. I'm also vegan so don't eat a lot of the foods that DD might have an intolerance too. Literally don't know what to do it's getting me and her quite down now ☹️

@whitianga also her poo is yellow mustard and doesn't smell bad

If you're enjoying BF and it's going well then I'd see what the HV says. I BF both mine for over a year and while i remember tons of dirty nappies in the early days (compared to other babies from a mammy group who used formula), it's the fact the poos are seeping out that sounds unusual. Very possible your diet affects baby (i don't mean that negatively) and maybe that's something that could be tweaked.

Mixed feeding or fully formula feeding could solve the problem but then it's hard to go back to breast if you do change. A red raw bum is awful on a small baby though.

@whitianga I was giving her a bit of formula in the first couple of weeks and her poos were fine didn't dribble out whilst doing a nappy change but now I'm EBF the dribbling has started to happen. I wanted to eventually move to FF anyway and glad I made it to 4 weeks. I want to try combi feeding again before ever sully moving onto just forumla. Honestly her bum is so bad she's on steroids at the moment

Before exclusively moving *

Are you using cotton wool and water? That looks like a pain in the neck. What about trying something like Cheeky Wipes -- basically just small flannels moistened with water. I use a damp one followed by a dry one to dry off the bottom thoroughly.

Re nappy rash, have you tried a) stopping using barrier creams and b) an anti fungal?

The good news is that whatever you decide, the number of poos a day should be decreasing very soon as your baby gets a little older.

@RyvitaBrevis yep using cotton wool with cooked boiled water with a bit of dermol 500 in it as prescribed by docs and yes using a steroid with anti fungal cream

My concern is how much she poos whilst having her nappy changed it doesn't seem normal and I want to move to formula now to help with that

Formula might not solve your problem. The dribbling sounds more like a weak muscle, formula won't solve that.

Speak to your GP.

If you want to move to formula though you can. You don't need a reason.