Please help!! New baby in lockdown VERY unsettled

[Hopingforbabyd]

Hi everyone
I'm a new mum - right in the middle of lockdown! And I'm finding things really tough. My baby is 4 weeks old and the first week was bliss, we've had a few problems with feeding, I tried BF but this wasn't filling my little one so on the ward the midwife suggested formula, he was happy and full so I stuck with it with the mindset of happy baby happy mum. Firstly on Aptamil 1 which worked well to which he then became very unsettled, my dr suggested Aptamil comfort & infacol which turned his poo green, horribly egg gut churning smelling and he had such painful gas which woke him every 30 minutes from being put down. My health visitor was adamant he has a cows milk allergy as all symptoms pointed to that - arching back whilst feeding, scrunching legs, rash on face, painful gas/bowel movements, wheezing, coughing, sneezing, crying in pain and unsettled. We were prescribed nutramigen LGG 1 on Monday which made a huge improvement but I'm starting to see the same pattern emerging again - bowels and gas fine - feeding is so challenging, he again scrunches legs, arches back, difficult to wind unless using infacol but still screams half way through bottle until I give him a break, rock and burp him and then try again and again till he eventually calms and accepts the bottle. Using MAM slow flow teats as new formula very thin. My dr wants to trial for 2 weeks but I am so exhausted and so is my little one. As a new mum I don't know if this sounds normal? We have tried pedal legs, tummy massages, walks, bath - he is very settled when I walk him around the house. I do have a sling and that works fine but I do want to enable him to settle in his cot/basket during the day so I'm able to get a nap too. My dr also suggested giving him baby Gaviscon but HV wants to trial milk first before giving 2 things so we know what is working and what's not. I feel like I can't enjoy my baby and so guilty I feel that way, I have spoken to my HV, family, friends and partner and I know time isn't my own anymore but I can't even get things done like make tea or clean the house and it's really getting me down. Sorry if that sounds so negative, he's an IVF baby we've waited 4 years for and I just want him to be okay and to enjoy a day with him rather than be nervous come feed time.
I hope someone can give me a little guidance or just reassurance.
Thanks x

[Hopingforbabyd]

@PrincessBailey I'm a little taken aback they're wanting to do the test so soon! I was initially told 1 year but 4 months...poor baba 😢 apparently he won't feel anything but I just feel for him he seems so small lol. They're doing it this early so that we can jump on the milk ladder (introduce 1 bottle of normal formula a day to build up and see if he has a reaction). Then when he's old enough to wean hopefully he will be okay. I'll keep you posted though, he has his blood test on 22nd August xx

[Hopingforbabyd]

@uglyface haha I like her style with the minimilk 😄 so glad to hear she's okay now and that you were able to wean off okay. He's been on the neocate around 8 weeks now so I'm hoping he too will be able to grow out of it ready for being weaned. How did the plan go for you? Did they give you a milk ladder challenge? Xx

[uglyface]

@Hopingforbabyd I’d been weaning her from 4 months (paediatrician advice due to reflux) and gradually including more dairy with no ill effects. When we had the dietician appointment at 6 months I mentioned this and they said that it might have been the case that her gut bacteria needed resetting (can’t remember the exact words), and that she may have had a very temporary intolerance, not allergy, that was rectified by very quick introduction of Neocate. She went straight onto this at four weeks old so had very little actual cows milk protein/whatever was upsetting her to heal from and then her system matured. She was born little and early so that probably didn’t help.

We then slowly moved her over to regular formula - they suggested HiPP as it’s gentle - and she was fine. She still can’t tolerate full fat cows milk, and there was a lot of projectile bedtime puking at 12 months when we moved her onto that. She has semi skimmed still now and it seems better on her tummy,