Help! Need advice from moms.

[beautybelle]

I am at my wits end and so is the rest of the family. My daughter just turned 6 weeks old and we have had her on 6 different types of formula and nothing seems to be helping her. She screams all the time, and is broke out on her face and spits up very badly. I have had her to her ped. 3 times lately and he keep telling me to change her formula nothing is working. What should I do? This last formula seem to help a little but the crying is killing us all.

 

[Christine]

Have you tried Neutramigen? Sounds like an allergy.

 

[justhat]

Did your dr mention reflux or GERD? She sounds just like my cousin at that age and once they got her on Zantac (and the Nutramigen formula too) she did much better. Still cried a lot, but the spitting up wasn't nearly as bad and the crying wasnt' constant anymore either.

 

[stm61]

have you tried soy or lactose-free? Those are cheaper then nutramigen and I'd start with them before trying nutramigen. There's another special formula, like nutramigen, but I can't remember the name. Not all stores carry them, you might have to special order, that's another reason I'd try the soy first. My dd's were on the special formulas, then were able to switch to soy when they were older.

 

[hlbtimes2]

Have you tried Carnation good start? My kids both did very well on it. YOu might also consider the soy based good start. Or, give the current one another day or two if you are seeing some improvment. It will take a couple days to get it all out of her system. I know when my dd was a newborn I was breastfeeding. When I would give her a bottle of formula it would give her a tummy ache for a day or two. That went away with the good start. But, my point is, one bottle worth was enough to upset her for a couple days!

Its either an allergy or GERD. If its GERD, having her sleep in a semi upright position will help. Google GERD for some other recomendations on it.

 

[EthansMom]

It could be a problem with lactose -- try switching to a soy formula and/or eliminating milk/cream/cheese from your diet if you're nursing.

Also, the screaming may be from gas. Try some Mylicon (Simethicone is the generic) for gas.

Both of my kids are lactose intolerant and had to have soy formula. With DS, he had loose stools and spit up A LOT. With DD, I knew ahead of time about the lactose and she did much better with stools and spit up, but she still had colic (nearly constant screaming from gas pains). Luckily, simethicone worked well for DD and she eventually grew out of the gas.

Good Luck!

 

[Stacey2grls]

I had the exact same problem with my daughter. It started when she was 3 weeks, the non-stop crying, vomiting, rash. We tried about 5 different formulas. Than her Pediatrician told us we had to take her to a specialist to find out if it was GERD. Well, at the checkup, the Dr. said to try Enfamil A.R., it is regular formula with an added rice starch. He described it, as when the formula hits the acid of the stomach, it expands almost like mashed potatos, so it stays down. And within 1 day of being on that formula the 7 week nightmare was over. I know that this might not apply to your daughter. But, if you haven't tried that formula, I would give it a try. Best of luck to you.

 

[Christine]

Can you tell us more about the rash on her face? Does it come right after eating, or is it there constantly.

My son had eczema (still does) and it showed up two days after I brought him home from the hospital. It was on his cheeks and it was there constantly. I did all sorts of formula changes because I thought that the formula was causing it. None of them worked but his stomach did feel better on the Nutramigen because we had no fussiness. After a short while, I was able to switch to a soy formula. I never had any luck with the milk based formulas, even though he did not have a milk allergy (he has other allergies though). For some reason, they seemed to make him fussy.

 

[YoungCruiser]

Have you tried Neutramigen? Sounds like an allergy.

Yep, was just gonna say that! Also, my DS suffered from colic (or rather, WE suffered from his colic! ) But the Neutramigen worked for DS #1 & then 6 years later, I had another boy & same thing. Every formula Ped recommended, we tried but didn't help. I tried Neutramigen on my own & it was like a miracle!

Good luck....one day this will all be a bad memory!

Sorry ~ just noticed that my DS(10) didn't sign out & I posted under his name (yet again!)

Mishetta

 

[YourMajesty]

There is a forumula called neocate. It is very very expensive but for some babies that are extremely allergic to cow's milk and soy it is a lifesaver. Nutramigen and Alimentum are considered hypoallergenic because the milk proteins are hydrolyzed. For some babies even the small particals can cuase a reaction. Also, like some others suggested a medication for relfux might be helpful. Good luck...keep us posted.

 

[becka]

The other formula is Alimentum and we had DS on it because he had problems with the milk-based formulas but with a family history to soy we didn't even want to try those so we were left with the hypoallerginic formulas (Nutramigen or Alimenum). The formula is expensive but between it and the Mylicon drops for the gas it really helped.

Good luck...I know how difficult, frustrating and heartbreaking it can be.

 

[Desnik]

DD had a similar problem with the sreaming and we had her on every formula. Nothing worked, until we tried the lactose free! She is still lactose intollerant at age 8!! Also the mylicon drops really help with the gas. I use to put some drops in every bottle.

Now DS was another story! He had severe reflux, and couldn't tollerate any of the above mentioned formulas! He had drastic weight loss, and was hospitalized 3 times!! At the last hospital visit he was put on the Enfimil AR and we had to add rice cereal to that too!! His bottles were like shakes! He was also put on Zantac, feedings every 2 hours through the night and we had to keep him in an upright position for 30min after each feeding! When he slept he had to be on his side with the mattress on an incline! Needless to say I never slept and my son, now 3 still has problems that stem from early childhood and feeding issues!

It sounds like your baby has an allergy. The allementum might help. Try the milicon drops too. If the spit up is projectile, then it could be reflux and the acid could be what is causing the screaming.

 

[mickeyboat]

I don't have much advice, I breastfed, and still had cranky, colicky babies, who didn't sleep well. I wasn't sure I was going to make it through their babyhoods.

All I can tell you is that as tough as it seems now, there is light at the end of the tunnel. My babies are now 6 and 5, sleep well through the night in their own beds, and are fairly good eaters.

Denae

 

[redshoes]

My youngest had acid reflux (I should say he still does, but that is a whole another can of worms) and it showed up about at your daughter's age. Anyways, the doctor diagnosed it by the way he spit up. This is rather graphic but when Breckin spit up it was rope like and projectile. Another telltale sign is if they arch their backs at feeding time, I use to say that Breckin looked like he was literally uncomfortable in his own skin. Under his mouth he developed huge painful blisters from the acid in his drool.
My son has an extreme case of reflux, but the things that worked for us were: elevating him when he went to bed (there would be nights that he went to bed in his carseat and on really rough nights he would sleep in his swing), smaller more frequent bottles (this is tricky because babies with GERD like to eat and eat before the formula coats their throats and makes them feel better but creates a full stomach that can cause major vomitting), soy formula (that worked for us but doesn't for everyone and I still have the stink of soy formula spit up burnt into my mind), and finally Prevacid. For us the vomitting never stopped, it was so bad that alot of Breckin's baby clothes have holes in them from where the acid actually ate through them. But happily the crying was less and less frequent once we figured out what worked for us.
If it is acid reflux babies typically grow out of it by the age of two (we sadly are not that lucky). Hopefully it is something simple to fix, if not there are things that can help them and it will get better. I'm just sorry that your daughter is in pain and that you are having to go through this.

 

[ceiligh1]

I dont have anything really to add. I just wanted to say I have been there too. It does get better and they do not hold it against you as I felt he might one day. What worked for us was zantac and time. I hope you find your solution soon.

 

[DisOrBust]

First are you breast or bottle feeding?

Sounds like bottle feeding.....

Also sound slike an allergy/intolerance with possibly some reflux. Any blood or mucus in the stool?? That is the gold standard for intolerance.


Soy help if you the baby is intolerant to the milk protein.

Lactofree helps is intolerant to lactose.

Nutramgin/Alimetin help period if they just have a hard time digesting proteins.

One thing not mentioned is low iron formula. I know the peds don't considerate it but I have had sucess with difficult children in the past. Ten years ago in this state we had no problem handing it out for the first 6 months of life now its not in vogue. If you have tried everything else ask/beg your ped to give low iron a try....if they say no have them babysit for an evening,lol!!

Keep us posted!! Hang in there it gets MUCH better!!!

 

[FreshTressa]

I had the exact same problem with my daughter. It started when she was 3 weeks, the non-stop crying, vomiting, rash. We tried about 5 different formulas. Than her Pediatrician told us we had to take her to a specialist to find out if it was GERD. Well, at the checkup, the Dr. said to try Enfamil A.R., it is regular formula with an added rice starch. He described it, as when the formula hits the acid of the stomach, it expands almost like mashed potatos, so it stays down. And within 1 day of being on that formula the 7 week nightmare was over. I know that this might not apply to your daughter. But, if you haven't tried that formula, I would give it a try. Best of luck to you.

We had to add rice to DD's soy formula (under the advice of a ped, and she was not gaining weight due to vomiting). Worked like a charm! Like you said, within a few hours of using it, the crying stopped. She was suddenly able to sleep, quit crying, and became a happy little girl that gained weight!

 

[Stacey2grls]

We had to add rice to DD's soy formula (under the advice of a ped, and she was not gaining weight due to vomiting). Worked like a charm! Like you said, within a few hours of using it, the crying stopped. She was suddenly able to sleep, quit crying, and became a happy little girl that gained weight!

Isn't it amazing how that stuff worked? My daughter was an entirely different baby afterwards. I actually had some older family members ask me if I had taken her to Church to be blessed, because they couldn't believe how much she cried.

 

[poohluvrs]

I have twins, 1 of them was borderline colic, until I switched to Dr Browns bottles....have you tried switching up her bottles?

 

[punkin]

Look at Dr. Sears' Baby Book (I think that's the name) He claims a lot of this stuff is reflux. My niece had the same problem. Her ped kept switching formulas until my DSis swiched peds and got one who perscribed zantac syrup. It was like a different child afterwards.