Please help breast vs formula and reflux - asap!

[WidgetWB]

I need help urgently, well advise too if possible. I have been breast feeding my 4 month old till Saturday just gone when I went cold turkey. I was on two feeds a day having dropped the third a month earlier and the fourth a month before that. Every time I drop a feed he gets more and more 'sicky'. Now he is totally bottle fed (Aptimil) and it just keeps coming up. My problem is that ds1 had reflux, apparently, but exactly exactly the same happened to him. I just listened to the experts and put him on the drugs they recommended. But now I am really not sure that it is that. Should I start breast feeding again if I can? What does anyone think it is? Any ideas that could help me with what to do? I have done everything they suggest, changed milk to the thicker one, didn't work because it made it harder for him to burp and therefore the bubbles stayed in longer and made him sick. The sick isn't big big amounts, they vary, no projectile, but some come with a certain amount of force, sometimes with a burp, sometimes not. I thought it was only when there was a bubble stuck but now that he is totally bottle fed it is just all day long, up to 4 hours after the last feed - same as ds1. He is a big baby now, 80th percentile so no worries on that front, he sleeps beautifully and always has done, it doesn't seem to hurt him at all. THis is why I think I am coming to the conclusion that its the formula. What can I do, please help as soon as possible because I have now not breast fed him for four days and if I am going to have to get all four feeds back then I need to do it tomorrow morning. Thank you in advance for all your help - the doctors don't help at all!!!

why not start breastfeeding again and see if he gets better? Then you'll know if it's the formula, and you can go from there with the future decisions.

Widget, is it just possets of sick?
do you want to stop breastfeeding?
It is normal for babies to have some poosets ofsick, esp when they o from breast to bottle. On the breast they can control the flow of the milk much better than a bootle, Milk from the breast is also much easier to digest. The thicker mild can make him feel fuller quicker. Providing that he is putting on weight well, you dont really need to worry about this being bad reflux. You could try a really slow flow teat and the stage one milk again.
If you want to stop b feeding then do, if you dont, why not try a mixture of bottle and breast. My ds get b milk morning and night and bottles during the day.

Widget, if your ds is being sick after every feed, and wasn't with bf, I would definitely think it was the formula and agree with xxxvii that you should start bf again and see if it helps.

I have loads and loads of information about babies with reflux, whether breastfed or not, but if you think it is reflux then breastmilk is definitely the best thing for him as formula is so much harder to digest. Plus if he has any intolerances to the ingredients then they will be worse the more formula you give him.

There's a very good document on reflux on \link{http://www.pollywogbaby.com\pollywogbaby.com}. Click on the link below the picture of the red-faced baby. And even if your baby is only possetting a little, it might still be reflux. My ds2 has very bad 'silent' reflux where he hardly ever throws up but it still hurts him a lot.

If you want help with re-establishing breastfeeding, as well as people on mumsnet the La Leche League helpline will be good

0845 120 2918

I won't be on mumsnet much today as I'm supposed to be working but I'm interested to know what happened with your ds1, what medications did they put him on? You are right, the doctors are very little help, but there is loads of help on the internet from other mums. If you have the time and inclination, there are probably other links that might help in old messages from me in the breast and bottle feeding section. Thinking of you, hope you sort it out soon.

Actually the pollywogbaby.com link is the one entitled 'Living with Infant Acid Reflux', not the one immediately under the red-faced baby.