My son has had diarrhea for the last 6 days..and I have spoken to the doctor who does not seem to be concerned.. He is still eating great and peeing like normal..so he is getting fluids..and we feed him Goodstart Soy.. He is on Zantac for reflux and we use Mylicon before each feeding.. He seems to be in pain when he does pass gas..and struggles to have a BM..and as I said before..that has been diarrhea for the last 6 days. I just didnt know if there was a different formula we could try..or anything for that matter..that could help ease his little belly... Everything I have read says soy...check.already using. He isnt dehydrated..or so I wouldnt think..because he is still eating like a champ. Aside from when he is trying to pass gas or have a BM he is smiling and seemingly very happy.. I just dont know if I should leave it alone and let it pass (doc says it is normal for infants although I dont remember this with my other son) or if there are other things that I could safely try. Any responses are appreciated.
He was taking breatmilk and the similiac from the hospital for the first week but has been on the Goodstart Soy since..so we haven't been switching his formula all around. As far as the Zantac..the doc prescribed it because he arches his back and coughs and chokes when feeding. We have the slowest nipples. This was all symptoms of reflux..she was not even concerned about the spitting up. The Zantac has made a huge difference for him which is why I say he is overall a very happy baby..where 2 weeks ago he was not. His diarrhea is (sorry to be gross) sometimes very watery..sometimes just regular old mushy.. But he will be straining and let out some gas..scream..and then when I check him there is a little in there. Or sometimes it sounds like he filled his pants and there is only a little in there. But other times he does fill his diaper. I was told also to try a little tiny bit of rice cereal in his bottle..not sure but I may try that. I will update once I try a few things. ***I wasn't producing enough milk and he was having a hard time latching and we were not sure if he was getting enough..which is why we supplemented with formula... I tried pumping but was getting nothing so i had to stop breastfeeding and he went to eating just formula. Sorry..I dont know how to respond to someone who responds to a question without going here and editing...
You don't say why you stopped breastfeeding, so what I would recommend is that you start breastfeeding again. That is the best thing you can do for him for diarrhea.
My child had reflux I tried the below solutions - per recommendations from a Holistic MD. They worked really well. I primarily used the the first two listed, but No. 4 & 5 are important elements. These methods would be worth trying with your child, and much better than being on a DRUG that will ONLY temporarily treat a symptom.
I was also advised to use only glass bottles. Plastic bottles are not good to use if you can avoid it. Another tip that helped was to hold child more upright when feeding. I found sometimes that resting her back to the middle of my chest was pretty comfortable for us both when my hands were weak and I couldn't hold her in the correct position.
1. 2 Tbsp Apple cider vinegar and 1/2 tsp baking soda is considered a food, hence, is given on a basis of per weight dose. If an adult is 100 pounds, and a child is 1/4 that weight the remedy is 1/4 of everything. Therefore 2 Tbsp ACV = 1/2 Tbsp, and 1/2 teaspoon tsp baking soda is 1/8 tsp. This mixture is is added to about 4 oz or water, or 1 oz for a child. Noted: a person with acid reflux will be sensitive to anything acid, hence foods or milk formulas should be neutralized with a pinch of baking soda (about 1/16 teaspoon) when eating, assist the digestive system and not cause further acid reflux.
2. Lightly dip bottle nipple into baking soda. This helps greatly with gas (much cheaper & more effective than buying the expensive OTC liquid drops) and further helps in balancing the alkaline in a childs system which out of balance and contributing to the reflux issues.
3. 1/8 tsp baking soda, 1/16 tsp potassium citrate, 1/16 tsp Celtic sea salt in 1/4 glass of water taken 2X's a day.
4. A Vitamin B complex - 1/2 weight is 1/2 tablet of B50 (which is B1, B2, B3, B5, B8 at 25 mg since it is 1/2 the tablet), while B9, B12 is 25 mcg. This is taken once every other day.
5. Certain amino acid missing from a child's diet should be added to help prevent reflux: whey protein in milk formula plus essential amino acid supplements; "non-essentials" amino acid should especially be added: carnitine, glutamine, arginine and taurine should be at least present.
At the very least start weaning him off the Zantac. It's NOT good for an adult to take - so it can't be good for the developing digestive system of an infant. Yeah, I know, it's what most Dr's advise. But remember, they don't know everything - only what they've been taught - and that is primarily to only treat system the root of the problem.
Good luck to you and your baby boy. He will be feeling better real soon if you following some of the suggestions above, and get him off the DRUGS which further compromise the digestive process in the stomach.
The perfect formula, is the free stuff, that comes in a pair of cute containers. It never needs to be bought, mixed, sterilized, warmed, or refrigerated. It not only contains all the essential nutrients your baby needs, it also has all the antibodies specific to your baby's needs. Babies are never allergic to their mothers milk, though sometimes they are sensitive to something the mom is eating. Proving yet again that you can produce the perfect formula for your baby for free, why pay money for 2nd rate formula? Did you think any man could design one better than God?
I would suggest maybe a lactose free from Similac. My son has the same problem except he'd either be constipated or had diarrhea for the past 4 months. I've had no help from my ped so i tried different formula's and have done the elimination diet with his solids. So far nothing, but the lactose free seems to "help" make it a smidgen more solid and less horrible to try and go out and travel with. Yeah.. . I usually would have to take 3-6 outfits for a day trip. Fun.
I'm wondering what you're conisidering "diarrhea." I have never known an infant to have a solid stool unless there is a serious constipation. Unless his stools are clear water, then there really is no reason to worry about his diet. That is probably why your pediatrician is not concerned about it. Sounds pretty normal to me :)
So he's 6wks old, on Zantac, being given gas meds, and his formula has been switched around how many times and he ended up on soy? Of course his tummy is having a hard time! I would stop the Zantac, put him on the most basic formula you can find (no DHA/ARA, etc). His stomach is likely in a total uproar over eating something he can't digest (soy and formula) and he's taking a medication that is probably wreaking major havoc on his incredibly immature system. He's only 6wks old, WHY would a doctor put him on medication?
I'm sorry to sound like I'm questioning so much, but good golly the boy has only been in the real world for a few weeks and he's being given things his body just is not mature enough to handle.
Soy is incredibly high on the allergen list, and many people have a very hard time digesting it. Zantac is probably causing more issues, and will in the long run too, than its helping. If he's tossing his cookies after eating, his body can't digest his food... Zantac won't help that. If he's just spitting after eating that is not cause to medicate, babies spit up, it just happens. Especially since you said other than trying to poop or pass gas he's a happy baby. True reflux babies are not happy babies, and reflux is totally overmedicated.
Anyway, off my soapbox now, but I would reduce his diet to only the completely necessary, breastmilk or very basic formula (consider relactating, it would be best for him).
My son who is now 3 had reflux and had gas the doctor put him on Zantac as well and we also used the Mylicon it took us a while to find a formula that worked well for him and we finally tried the Similac Sensitive and it worked great he was a totally different baby after starting that formula. He finally grew out of the reflux around 18 months so we just always had bibs, burp clothes and extra clothes. As for the diarrhea I don't know but baby's do have looser stools my 5 month old daughter is just on regular Similac and it actually says on the can that stools will be loose just like breastfed babies.
With my second child i tried the soy formulas on him since he had the same tummy problems and gas. I think the soy formula upset his stomach even more and caused more gas. Maybe try the regular Goodstart formula, we had the best luck with it.
my son also had diarrhea from soy forumula and as an infant was allergic to milk so we had to use enfamil nutramigen and it worked like a charm. helped with his painful gas too. good luck, this age can be hard since they can't tell you what is wrong.
I would try a different brand name soy. My 1st son had a similar problem and even had blood in his stool and he was breastfeeding AND I was trying to get him to switch to a bottle and we tried all the formulas including expensive Nutramigen and nothing worked. We went to soy and tried Goodstart (no change), then we tried another brand, still no change. Finally did Enfamil Prosobee and within a few days it all went away. This was over an almost 2 month period so I knew it wasn't a virus and fortunately I was nursing so the days he got no formula the diarrhea went away and when we did the formula feedings it would come back.... I had time to figure things out since that wasn't his sole food source. Try a different brand. My lactation consultant who also was a midwife and her husband is an OB told me do different brands since they are all made up of different inactive ingredients and compositions of ingredients. They even suggested I try a generic brand like Walmart - I never tried it but they had 4 kids and used the Walmart brand Soy on regular formula for them. Hopefully, he isn't allergic to Soy. I have a whey protein allergy and with a food allergy it will make you have diarrhea. I would be trying all different kinds over a 3-5 day period. I know that can get expensive but maybe you could get samples from pediatrician. Good luck and keep us posted.
