Help! My baby won't feed well!

laura273 · 2023-01-06T07:33:28+00:00

After any advice please. My son is 10 weeks old and on Aptamil formula since birth. We have always had problems with him being irritable during feeding, lots of gurgles/bubble noises in his belly during and after feeding. He will squirm and stop during feeding too. Health visitors haven't been much help, suggesting changing positions and infacol, which he has been on now for 2-3 weeks. He has been a million times worse since his injections!! Before, even though he didn't seem 100% happy during feeding, he still drank, and was getting the recommended amount of ounces in in a day. He's now 5-10oz down a day! Since the injections, he is screaming during feeding, squirming and kicking after even a few sips. But then goes straight back to drinking (I'm guessing because he's hungry!) and after 5-10 seconds he's back to screaming. Doctors said that it's just because he's a bit off since the injections. When I suggested the problems we were having before them, she said she wouldn't want to change his milk as he looked healthy! After his bottle, he settles fine, no crying, sleeping great, generally happy! His belly does make lots of noises, lots of trumps! I don't know whether to try another formula brand, or should I be looking at lactose free incase it's that? I'm phoning the health visitors again today, but I'm not really having much help from them so I'm just after any advice possible to help him! Thanks x

Original poster

laura273 · 06/01/2023 07:44

Just adding all his symptoms here!

gurgling/bubbling wind sounds in tummy
irritable, uncomfortable and screaming during feeding
runny/watery poos, but going once to twice a day (so told this isn't diarrhoea)
occasionally spotted mucus in poo (doctor put down to being snotty, he's not snotty now though)
daily hiccups since before he was born
struggled getting wind up when he was younger, not so much now (but is on infacol every bottle)
sleeps fine, settles fine (so told it's unlikely to be colic)

OP posts:

CrazyEgg · 06/01/2023 08:02

Have you considered CMPA? You could trial Aptamil Pepti or ask for a Neocate prescription from your GP.

1994girl · 06/01/2023 08:07

Hi there. My son was the same - He had the same symptoms and was really struggling with pooing. Originally we had him on cow and gate. We tried aptamil just to see and he was so much happier. No longer any of these problems. He's now 6 months old and yes he's fussy with his bottle but I think it's his teeth (and the fact I've introduced solids). I'd try changing formula and see what your baby is like. I used infacol on every feed religiously up until about 2 weeks ago. Thought I'd try him without and he seems to be doing fine.

Original poster

laura273 · 06/01/2023 09:59

CrazyEgg · 06/01/2023 08:02

Have you considered CMPA? You could trial Aptamil Pepti or ask for a Neocate prescription from your GP.

From the start I've been questioning this or lactose intolerance. I was just told that if he was allergic he would have really bad nappy rash!

OP posts:

Original poster

laura273 · 06/01/2023 10:01

1994girl · 06/01/2023 08:07

Hi there. My son was the same - He had the same symptoms and was really struggling with pooing. Originally we had him on cow and gate. We tried aptamil just to see and he was so much happier. No longer any of these problems. He's now 6 months old and yes he's fussy with his bottle but I think it's his teeth (and the fact I've introduced solids). I'd try changing formula and see what your baby is like. I used infacol on every feed religiously up until about 2 weeks ago. Thought I'd try him without and he seems to be doing fine.

He's on Aptamil now, I wouldn't know what to switch him to for the best! But I do want to change him, whether it's a different normal formula or lactose free or cmpa formula - just depends on what he needs

OP posts:

Original poster

laura273 · 06/01/2023 10:07

He's just drank 3.5oz (while wriggling around and constantly stopping) and then sicked up.
He didn't poo yesterday, and now seems in pain (he's always been fussy and unhappy if he doesn't go regularly)

He used to drink 4-5oz before his injections, 7 bottles a day. While he wasn't 100% before, he was ok, a little fussy but never cried during feeding and never sicked up.
His injections were 8 days ago.

Can his injections cause him to have an intolerance? Or if he was mildly intolerant before, make it 1000% times worse?

OP posts:

CrazyEgg · 06/01/2023 10:47

Aptamil Pepti is a mild CMPA non prescription formula you can get at most pharmacies and online, definitely worth a shot so you can report back to the GP / Health Visitor. I don’t think the vaccinations would make a difference, more likely that the symptoms are getting worse due to the constant exposure to dairy. More and more irritation every day! It may not be an intolerance so it could get better with time…tho if it keeps getting worse then it should be ruled out for everyone’s comfort and sanity.

Original poster

laura273 · 06/01/2023 10:58

CrazyEgg · 06/01/2023 10:47

Aptamil Pepti is a mild CMPA non prescription formula you can get at most pharmacies and online, definitely worth a shot so you can report back to the GP / Health Visitor. I don’t think the vaccinations would make a difference, more likely that the symptoms are getting worse due to the constant exposure to dairy. More and more irritation every day! It may not be an intolerance so it could get better with time…tho if it keeps getting worse then it should be ruled out for everyone’s comfort and sanity.

The first photo is his milk intake before his injections. It was always really consistent pretty much. Second photo is from the day he had them. Obviously I knew it would mess him up for a couple of days, when he had a temp and a bad tummy from the Rotavirus one, but day 9 today of this screaming/fussing/wriggling/kicking/sicking up while feeding.

If he has a cmpa, could having a bad stomach from the rotavirus vaccine then make his stomach worse when drinking the milk?
I wouldn't fancy milk when I've had a bug!

OP posts:

Feedingnightmare · 06/01/2023 12:49

OP it's quite uncommon but my eldest had CMPA and her stomach reacted quite dramatically to the jabs in that she then developed intolerances to other things in my diet (she was breastfed). Probiotics really helped, but also I'd speak to your GP about getting a prescription for dairy free formula. Aptamil pepti is lactose free if I'm not mistaken. Lactose intolerance is not the same as CMPA and is a lot less common- however it's possible to develop it after the Rotavirus immunisation.

Original poster

laura273 · 06/01/2023 13:10

Feedingnightmare · 06/01/2023 12:49

OP it's quite uncommon but my eldest had CMPA and her stomach reacted quite dramatically to the jabs in that she then developed intolerances to other things in my diet (she was breastfed). Probiotics really helped, but also I'd speak to your GP about getting a prescription for dairy free formula. Aptamil pepti is lactose free if I'm not mistaken. Lactose intolerance is not the same as CMPA and is a lot less common- however it's possible to develop it after the Rotavirus immunisation.

Thank you, I'll get onto the docs.

I've just had a big chat with the health visitor/nurse. She thinks it's more likely reflux, as she said he would have had these bad symptoms before the vaccines too if it was cmpa or lactose.
And said it could be that he had silent reflux before, so he wasn't sicking up then, but just normal reflux now. She didn't say if vaccines can make reflux worse though.

His symptoms do sound like reflux too 🤷‍♀️

OP posts:

CrazyEgg · 06/01/2023 13:13

Just to mention - Pepti is not lactose free but it doesn’t matter as babies are very rarely lactose intolerant x