Formula Dilema

[RC1985]

Hi all

Wondering if anybody can give me advice or had a similar experience.
My baby is/was on SMA first infant milk but she has really bad gassy pains where she’ll squirm and arch her back and takes a while to settle. Sometimes it wakes her in her sleep too. She was also spitting up a little too but not every feed. I was also having issues burping her as for some feeds she just wouldn’t burp. I’ve tried infacol and gripe water but it didn’t really do much. I sit her up for 20-30 mins after each feed and sit her up whilst feeding.
My HV suggested comfort milk, this helped with the gas but then she started to sick a lot more. I’ve now put her back onto first infant and she’s now in pain again and is being sick. I’m not sure if it’s reflux but I’m reluctant to put her on baby gaviscon as I know that can cause constipation and anti reflux milk might help with the sick but not pain.

Has anyone mixed formulas? Wondering if it’s worth mixing comfort and reflux?

Thoughts and advice? Just not sure what to do for the best?

Mix in the same bottle or alternate milks?

I have a baby who suffered on every formula until the doctor prescribe Colief which helps the baby to digest the lactose in milk, you can buy it over the counter too.

It sounds like a cows milk allergy to me. I would phone your gp and see what they say. They can prescribe special infant formula (you might have to ask outright for this)

all the best x

I was thinking of trying colief. And I meant in the same bottle as I’ve read some people do that but don’t know if it’s a good idea tbh.

I’m not sure if it’s an allergy as she is pretty good between feeds. She doesn’t cry constantly and sleeps quite well. Don’t allergy babies generally cry a lot?

You can read about it here OP, but crying isn't necessarily a symptom of the allergy. I would contact your GP and get their advice regardless x

No, I would say my lactose intolerant baby cried a lot but he was in pain after every feed, squirming, back arching, bringing milk back up almost constantly. He would go through 5-6 changes of clothes a day and I would frequently need to change my tops too. His nappies were often offensive smelling too. I spoke to the HV who advised going back to the doctor was we had already tried Gaviscon with little benefit, the GP suggested Colief and prescribed a small bottle to try, it made an almost immediate difference. He's 6 months now and off the Colief and managing well since we started weaning.

"I wouldn't say.."

How long did you try comfort milk for? It's took about 4 days to make a difference and 2 weeks for poos to go to normal. Stopped the pain though, nothing else worked apart from comfort milk for us x

@Anotherdayinmumlife I tried it for a week (basically the whole tin) As I say it helped with the pain but has made her throw up a lot more.

@bloodywhitecat thanks for sharing your experience. Did your baby get diagnosed as lactose intolerant? If so were you prescribed the milk free formula? If you are not what formula are you using? She doesn’t have foul smelling nappies but unless I cover her in a Muslin cloth she throws up all over herself, me and the surrounding area. thankfully I’ve been pretty good at catching it or I’d be going through probably 3 changes a day.

@sleepismysuperpower1 thanks I’ll have a read.

You might consider changing milk brands. My ff one is older now, so it's been awhile, but back then SMA was considered the brand that caused the most stomach issues. A lot of people avoided it. We used a different brand, but tried to switch because I didn't want to use the one we had started with. It caused awful issues - screaming and writhing in pain after every feed and projectile vomiting - like it would go 4 feet across the room every time we fed her. I changed to a different brand (not comfort or any special milk, just a normal first milk) and she was like a different baby. Every baby is different and some of them just don't get one with certain milks, so it's worth seeing if another is better for you.

@mindutopia yes I have thought about that but just cautious if not changing formula too often. I might try the colief and speak to the doctor when I visit Friday about how to transition to another formula x

My dd was very ill on sma and like mindutopia I was told it was notorious for this.

Try other brands but give them a chance to work/the old milk to properly leave her system.

We tried a few before we found one dd could tolerate.

@Graphista how long did you try each formula for before trying another?

There's no evidence that swapping brands causes any issues at all. I would say, like others, that it's worth trying a different brand.

My DN had Hipp Organic with Dentinox added into each bottle and they seemed to have very little stomach issues.

@RC1985 He was diagnosed with intolerance rather than full blown allergy, we were told he should become more able to tolerate lactose as he got older and he has so we just had the drops which the GP was happy to prescribe.

I used to work with neonates on a ward and we often found SMA seemed harsher on tummies than some of the other brands.

Depended on the reaction. If instant projectile vomiting on more than one occasion didn't try again, if relatively minor persevered for a few weeks

Bloody expensive trial & error!

@bloodywhitecat thanks for the advice. I will speak to the doctor Friday and see what they say. Just out of interest, how do they diagnose it?

@Graphista thanks I think I might do the same although expensive. Id rather try find something that works. It’s difficult though to know whether to do that or try and ask the doctor to diagnose something.

@RC1985 From how I described him being after every feed and the amount of changes of clothes we were getting through. I'd tried different formula, Infacol, sitting him upright for 30 mins after every feed etc etc to no avail. We'd also had Gaviscon from the GP and it hadn't really changed anything so the next step was to try medication for lactose intolerance.

Have you also considered what bottles your using and teat size?

Could help with the wind and sickness also

@girlmummy25 also has a point. My dd couldn't get on with the long bottles they made her windy she was better with short fat ones.

My DS had silent reflux until around 3-4 months and sounds similar to your baby. GP recommended baby Gaviscon and it definitely helped but he eventually just settled on his own. The back arching and struggling to burp was his biggest issue and he was soooo noisy.

Yes, we're better on fat bottles too.

Hi All, currently use Tommee Tipee anti colic ones and only the 5oz ones so they are short and fat :)

Thanks for all the advice everyone

I still think it's worth swapping brands and maybe trying Dentinox in the bottle. Especially as so many people on the thread are saying that C&G is harsh on their tummies

Hi! I went through something similar with my DD and ended up settling for Hipp Organic milk. We also changed her bottles to Dr Brown's. Biiiig difference. She was a much more settled baby after just a day or two. We went straight for number two teats, as she seemed a bit desperate with the first ones. Best bottles and milk we tried, and went through a few!
Good luck OP!

HIPP organic anti-reflux helped resolve many issues for our DS (although he had really bad silent reflux and was also eventually medicated) it’s a thick milk and seemed to help with a lot of his general discomfort.