Should I change her formula back to Aptimil?

[LouKate]

Hi -
I am new to Mumsnet and this is the first time I have posted a question - I really hope you can help me.

I have a 10 week old daughter (Tilly) and she was 100% breastfeed until 6 weeks when we introduced x1 bottle (aptimil) and added another each week and now I bottle feed during the day and breast feed at night. I have always been a little neurotic about what she eats after having a rocky start - she was pretty small when she was born and soon after we got home she had an 'unresponsive episode' and we had to be rushed into A & E. This was out down to 'just one of those things' and I am glad to say she is all happy and healthy now. She also struggled to put on weight but glad to say she is now 9 lbs 12 and has consistently put on weight for the last 3 weeks.

After her immunizations 2 weeks ago - she changed from pooing after every feed to being really bunged up for 24 hours and seemed to be rejecting the bottle. We assumed this was the formula not agreeing with her so switched to cow and gate - she took to the cow and gate immediately but now nearly 2 weeks in and she is only pooing every other day at the most. She doesnt seem overly distressed(aside from the occasional strain / red face) by this but I am worried that this change in bowel movement isnt good for her. I have tried feeding her a little cool boiled water but she spits this out...

Should I change back to Aptimil (because her bowel movements were more regular on this formula and maybe it was the immunisations that made her fussy rather than the Aptimil?)?
What else could I do?

Thanks so much....

Some babies do not necessarily poo everyday, as long as it's not really hard but is a good consistency (sorry too much info) I wouldn't worry.

Some HV recommend that you just add an extra fluid ounce of water to the bottles. Although on the back of the pack it says not to do that of course. But I've heard that recommended many times. As they don't like the cool boiled water.

You could try switching back to the other formula of course, always worth a try?

If no one else suggests anything, why not give your HV a call as they may have a better idea for you. As I'm no expert really with only 2 kids.

You'll probably get a few more tips from other lovely Mums Netters in no time though x

Hi LouKate, I dito what tea&cake says. Babies have different toilet aciticty every day so i really wouldnt worry as long as her stools are soft & easily passed then its fine.

Ive just started giving my 6 month old formular and have definatly noticed a change in this poop! He too is on Aptimal (blue one) but i did notice they do one for constipation & colic which may be worth reading about- it could help your DD id she is constipated.

Hope some more MN mums can give more advice
Good luck x

from 5/6 weeks both my lo's started pooing every 2-3 days but as it was still soft then they werent constipated. They dont have to poo every day.

Breastfed babies can poo multiple times a day or go up to 7-10 days without pooing - it's normal, please don't worry

I would definitely not water down the formula, perhaps this is advised if babies are completely bottle fed and won't drink water but I am not sure even then, it seems dangerous.

Hi, not all babies poo every day. My DS sometimes does about 4 poos one day then none for a day (lovely). He was on formula in the day and BF at night from about 6mths (alhtough I started to introduce the formula at around 8wks). It could be that your DD is very good at digesting the milk and that there isn;t that much wastage. If she is going every other day I wouldn't worry. My DD was totally breast fed and would go 3 or 4 days without.

Also, even though it is soft poo I am amazed and the noises and grunts babies make when going!

formula is completely different for the baby to digest to breastmilk and it will take a while for your LO to adjust. I introduced formula at 9m and my DD was constipated with it. I don't think switching brands all the time helps. Decide on one and stick with it, if you were happy enough with Aptimil then go back to that one.
You can also try baby massage, you can google and there are diagrams you can follow or you can do a short course. Even just gently doing a cycling motion with their wee legs in the air can help or very gently pushing the legs in (with your hands on their feet)stretching out again and repeating. It's horrible to watch them struggle to poo and you feel so helpless. If she isn't distressed then don't worry about frequency of poo too much as long as she keeps wetting the nappies.

Aptamil tends to make babies poo more by the way, according to anecdotal evidence. Not sure whether this is a good or bad thing (as it is more similar to BF poo, but how have they made it like that?)

bertiebots - love your name, I've heard the HV suggest when babies are constipated and FF and will not take cool boiled water on its own, to then add only 1 extra fl oz of water. Sorry should have made myself more clear here.

Also seen it on other threads people being told this by their HV's too. So I am hoping HVs are not trying to be dangerous by suggesting this

I do believe though that very diluted formula can be very bad for your baby though.

Loukate please disregard my suggestion if uncomfortable, of course x

Sorry re-reading my previous message it sounds confrontational. Sorry I do not mean to offend at all! So I apologise now in advance.

Just done a search on diluting formula and come up with some other people who were told the same my their HV or GP though, so I'm not feeling too paranoid mow about my suggestion.

Shame I cannot delete my previous post, as there's no option. Sorry to hi-jack your thread for a moment there Loukate

Hoping some more MN's though, have some less contentious suggestions though than mine

No it's fine don't worry You were only repeating what you had heard. I suppose it is no different to adding other things to formula like medications etc, I am just wary of advice to alter formula in any way