Question about babies and formula....& adding things to formula

[momto1disneydiva]

I'm more of a lurker than a poster, but since there are SOOOOOOOOO many posters here, I hope some one can give me some insight. It's been quite a few years since I've had a baby on a bottle. But I know there's a REASON they're on a specific eating schedule and don't eat certain things until they're at least a year old.

A co-worker of mine has a 4 month old baby. She was in NICU for 3 months (born 3 weeks early) She apparently a rare genetic condition and she's finally home (feedings were an issue). Problem now is she won't take her bottle. They thought she might have reflux and have a prescription to add to the formula, but she still doesn't eat. They have to nose tube feed whatever she doesn't drink from the bottle. she weighs maybe 3 pounds at most more than she did at birth (which was about 6 lbs).

Anyway, they think she doesn't "like" the formula so to "try to get her to eat", the parents have been adding stuff to it. Like Splenda. And Strawberry Nestle Quick. And maple syrup. There was talk of honey. I about passed out. They've never asked their pediatrician about what this can do, as far as harm. And I hate to come across as a busy body - but don't know where to look for info on how bad this really is.

The baby is supposed to start daycare in a few weeks. However, they won't take her if she has to be tube fed (which I totally understand). Mom thinks they can just send her and let her eat whatever she'll eat during the 8-9 hours that she's there and then they'll "make up for it later" in the day. Does anyone else think this is insane??

 

[bumbershoot]

Insane. Definitely.

Splenda? An artificial ingredient? Yuck. Honey? Eek.

Honestly, and this is coming from one who believes in more natural living (therefore not injecting chemicals into the bloodstream and not going to MDs for much at all and rarely going to anyone for anything, so this is SERIOUS for me to think this way), I would be calling her ped and letting the ped know. The ped won't even be able to tell you that they come to the office, but you can GIVE them info about the patient...what they are doing is weird.

But just for your first paragraph, feeding schedules aren't really "done" anymore once kids are at home except for more old fashioned people or really different needs of the kiddo. Much better to do things on baby's own schedule so baby learns to eat when hungry and not force food when NOT hungry.

 

[mickeyboat]

Insane!

DD had trouble feeding, too (6 weeks early). It took a while for her to get the hang of nursing and then took a while to get the hang of a bottle from someone other than me.

She went to Grammie's house at 8 weeks and ate fine from a bottle. But she refused to eat when she started day care. The provider called every day because she was screaming and refusing to eat. Grammie would pick her up and feed her a bottle and she would be fine. I don't know what it was, but she just refused to eat for the day are person.

We ended up taking her out of that day care and finding something else.

In this situation I think there is something medically wrong with this baby so that she refuses to eat. These parents need to talk to their doctor, maybe a specialist, to work on what needs to be done. Adding flavors to the formula is not giving her the nutrition she needs.

Denae

 

[robinb]

I do think it's pretty desperate. Honey, corn syrup and maple syrup can contain botulism spores. Babies have immature digestive systems and are more susceptible to botulism food poisoning than older children. I know I didn't feed my baby those things until she was older. Maybe you can gently suggest that your co-worker ask her ped what to do about how to get the baby to eat.

 

[kpm76]

OMG, I have no idea how to respond to this. I usually refrain from passing judgement on other people's parenting decisions because I feel good parents do the best they can and always have their child's best interest in mind. I am wondering if these parents are just uneducated on what you give small babies? I would hate to think they are negligent parents. All of the additives you listed a few bad and could cause real harm! I assume the mom did not try nursing? I still have not given my DD anything with strawberries and she's 16 months. We do have some allergies in the family though. I would gently suggest she call her pedi and ask for suggestions. This poor child already has feeding issues and what they are doing is not helping! Good luck.

 

[momto1disneydiva]

As far as feeding schedules - they "feed" her every 4 hours or so because that's what they did in NICU for 3 months. They "just don't think she's hungry" because she never cries.....Out of 120CCs, she'll take maybe 20.

 

[mickeyboat]

DD was in the ICN and havng trouble feeding on schedule. One nurse suggested feeding on demand. The doctors agreed to try it, and it worked. She was able to come home just a few days after they started feeding on demand.

Denae

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Honey is a big no-no for babies. and I think the same for strawberries.

 

[robinb]

Honey is a big no-no for babies. and I think the same for strawberries.

Strawberries should be avoided because they can cause an allergic reaction. The same goes for peanut butter.

 

[WhatATreat]

Yikes. They should not be adding anything at all to the formula except on doctor's orders.

I work with infants in a day care center, and I can tell you that if a child was not eating close to the amount appropriate for their age we would be calling the parents on a daily basis. I would not let a child starve for 8-9 hours because she refused the bottle.

 

[NotUrsula]

If babies all refused formula because it tastes bad no baby would ever eat the stuff -- it is universally FOUL-tasting. Blecchh! (Not a judgment, but that was one of the things that motivated me to nurse so long; I wouldn't have wanted to eat that stuff myself, and I felt bad trying to get a baby to eat it.)

If the med they have been given for the reflux is liquid Zantac, they should NOT add it to a full bottle of formula. It's horribly bitter, and that would be a really obvious reason for a child to refuse the formula. They should give the Zantac separately in a syringe so that the child doesn't associate the bitterness with food or bottles.

Not only is it potentially harmful to add sweeteners to formula, but honestly I don't think it would help the taste/texture any. (Honey is absolutely a bad idea because of the possibility of spore contamination, and sweets of any kind are empty [non-nutrient] calories that are wasting the child's stomach capacity -- with non-eaters you have to make every calorie count.)

Obviously, they need to find another solution. They can certainly try different formulas; certain babies will favor one over another for no apparent reason. Feeding on a schedule is an exercise in frustration with a child that won't eat, they should just try to feed her when she appears hungry, but to keep trying. It actually *is* OK from a nutrition standpoint if the baby won't eat while at daycare. Breastfed babies often do this; it is called reverse-cycling, and kids who do it tend to stay up all night feeding because they don't eat during the day -- it's non-stop nursing when with Mom at night to make up for not having taken any nourishment all day. Take it from me, it's exhausting, even if you're just getting up to give bottles, because they WILL want to eat ALL night to make it up. (You can't just give them extra-large bottles in the evening, because they don't have the stomach capacity for that.)

Above all, the ped needs to know about this. There could be something really wrong.

PS: Will the baby suck on a finger if you put one in her mouth? If not, she may need to be trained to properly suck on a bottle in order to get something out of it. There is a technique called finger-feeding that helps with this -- we had to do it for two weeks before my DS got the hang of sucking properly. Amazingly, the reflex is NOT always instinctive; some babies need to be taught how to do it correctly.

 

[TomLovesBecky]

Totally insane. Are they otherwise dumb people? If not, call it a huge lapse in judgment after the stressful time they've had. A preemie or special needs child with feeding issues isn't easy to deal with. Honey is an absolute no-no. Strawberries are something to be watched closely since it's a common allergen in young children. Splenda?? I don't even give my teenagers artificial sweeteners!!! The baby does not have the ability to break any of this down yet, so it's not helping her at all, and might be hurting her. Bottom line, they are not supposed to be feeding any solids to a baby so young with feeding issues, unless SPECIFICALLY ordered/approved by a physician. I'll bet their ped would FREAK OUT if he knew about this.

 

[minkydog]

As crazy as it sounds, sometimes they do recommend adding flavors to formula for babies with difficulty feeding. I used to work in a NICU and it was not uncommon for the OT or SLP to recommend aroma therapy (vanill or peppermint on a cotton ball under the nose). sometimes they would add a little powdered Koolaid to the milk to try to get them interested.

Being a premie in the NICU for 3 months is incredibly stressful for babies. the things they go through, the invasive procedures, can really be more than they can BEAR. Some babies respond by developing oral defensive behaviors, including nipple aversion. It's hard as heck to get them to take a bottle when they have determined that everything that goes into their mouth hurts!

This baby definitely needs some specialized care. NO WAY should he be in a daycare setting! He's immunologically a newborn. Neurologically, probably less than that at the moment. The ped needs to know they're continuing to have trouble with the feedings. Very likely this baby will require some feeding therapy to learn to eat normally and the parents need to stop fooling around with her formula.

 

[malibuconlee]

But just for your first paragraph, feeding schedules aren't really "done" anymore once kids are at home except for more old fashioned people or really different needs of the kiddo. Much better to do things on baby's own schedule so baby learns to eat when hungry and not force food when NOT hungry.

I took "schedule" to mean not giving solids until a certain age, or waiting until a year to give whole milk. Not to give honey until past xx age as well. Not Feed baby at 3, 6, 9, and 12 as in time of day.

I must agree tho that it's insane what she's doing.

 

[Judy from Boise]

I agree that this child has developed an oral aversion (she may have been intubated which really aggravates it) and needs evaluation from a SLP or OT that work with NICU graduates. This is a BIG deal, as proper nutrition in this critical window can have lifelong effects.

 

[HelenePA]

My DD#1 came home on tube feeds 24hrs a day. She was also allowed to take stuff by mouth. The only thing we added to her bottle was rice (now dont flame me the NICU Dr's are the one's who told me to do it), and micro lipids (extra fat calories) because she had a VERY VERY hard time gaining weight. She probably also did have oral aversions at first because she was NPO for almost 2 weeks after coming down with NEC. In the NICU they did give her lollipops to lick to help with the aversions. Anyway I never once thought of adding honey, sugar, or anything else to her bottles to get her off of the tube feeds, it just happened gradually. I think in total it took us 2 months, then one night the tube fell out and we never went back on. If they get her/him use to super sweet formula they are going to have a hard time getting her/him off of it.

 

[raysnkaysmom]

omg how scary...and to think I was hesitant at 5 months to put rice cereal in his formula!!
They need to go BACK to the dr and ask them what they can add... but the things they are adding are very dangerous to a baby!

 

[1rockinmamato2]

The baby is supposed to start daycare in a few weeks. However, they won't take her if she has to be tube fed (which I totally understand). Mom thinks they can just send her and let her eat whatever she'll eat during the 8-9 hours that she's there and then they'll "make up for it later" in the day. Does anyone else think this is insane??

If I knew someone doing this...all of the additives to the formula aside, if they did in fact plan and carry through with starving their child, there would be a swift, anonymous phone call to CPS from me.

 

[momto1disneydiva]

If I knew someone doing this...all of the additives to the formula aside, if they did in fact plan and carry through with starving their child, there would be a swift, anonymous phone call to CPS from me.

The girls at work said the same thing!

I asked him today if they mentioned the things they added to the formula when they were at the doctor yesterday. He said no & they weren't going to.

And the couple is actually fighting now - she wants to take the baby tailgating this weekend. He said if she wants to go fine, he'll keep the baby. She doesn't see what the big deal is.....I feel for this child.....