Hi! I'm new one here so here it goes! My son is just recently 6 months (on Tuesday) has been dealing with eczema. I took him to the doctor and he recommended soy formula. So gradually last week we made the change. He had been sleeping well up until around Saturday, which is the same day he started getting full bottles of soy. Now he is waking constantly though the night. Not crying just waking and whining. He is gassy. But here is what is also throwing me off, his bottom tooth has just broke Through! I seem the doctor and he said I should continue with the soy for ten more days to see how is eczema is doing. When I mentioned he
isn't sleeping he just kinda shrugged it off and said maybe I need to rock him more. Any suggestions moms!!!!????
Omg! No I mean broke through! Just a tiny tip is out! Asking questions on no sleeping is maybe a bad idea!
I will add that he is currently on solids, had started at 5 months. He eats 5 8oz bottles and was still hungry. So he eats a ton. He is a big boy. Weighs 19lbs.
First and probably the last time I post on this website. I make my own baby food. My son is eating more then the recommended amount of formula. Which means he is ready for solids because he is hungry. This is not my first child. My first was not near as big or as hungry therefore she didnt start solids until after 7 months. My question had to do with formula and not anything to do with solids. I was looking for advice from people who have gone through this or had similar issues. People who preach and tell others what to do should be banned from sites like this.
I would research soy and from that alone I would make a switch away from it. I agree...it seems like its not agreeing with him. I would try hypoallergenic formula.....not cheap but with it when it works.
ETA after your SWH: Wow - what are you pissed off at? Is it over the baby food comment? NO ONE was dissing the baby food because you make it. Would you still be mad if it was store bought?
Take your personal pride out of the equation. Pride will not help your child. There is not a one-size-fits-all answer to your baby's problem. Sometimes you have to try a lot of different things to fix a problem. Are you SO sure of yourself knowing everything just because you aren't a first time mother, that you'd call the people on here preachy and "ban them from the site" because you don't like the advice they give you? The advice you DON'T like might actually be what helps your child. IF that is what matters the most, rather than you being right.
Original:
Yikes! I wouldn't be able to sleep if my tooth broke off!
I don't like your ped. He is being totally dismissive of you. Rock him more? What? He is ignoring that this new problem came on at the same time as when his feeding changed. That's not how a good pedatrician acts.
Please find another ped. And find out what to do about this tooth. Poor little guy - how is he to sleep with a broken tooth?
Has he always had ezcema? Or did this just start>? Did it start when you started feeding him solids? If so, it is possible that something in the food you are making he is allergic to. My son had ezcema, more in the summer months. turns out he is allergic to gluten, Canteloup and a few other things.
Not sleeping well is likely the teething issue. And gas could be combined. His system is still getting used to all this new stuff with the change in formula. I am not sure how it all works, but Try to keep him uprigh for about 30-45 mins after eating before puting him down, my daughter has acid reflux and we had to do that with her.
Hope you get to the bottom of it. Good luck
It's tough to know why they don't sleep from time to time - teething, food, .... just becuase. That is normal. Could be the teething for sure... makes them uncomfortable. I'd listen to the Dr. and follow through on the soy (which by the way can be just as problematic as milk...), but you have to try it first to see. I might ask the Dr. what other alternatives there are to soy... there are some other formulas that might be better. We tried nutramigen (expensive) but worth it... just ask the Dr. more questions and if he's not better after the 10 days, I'd look for another alternative. Might try some baby tylenol at night to give him some relief from the tooth... see if that helps one night. Hang in there... and enjoy the "little" guy! Sounds adorable!
Did you really mean that your six month old's tooth broke off (like he hit his mouth or something)? or did you mean it finally broke through (as in he's teething)? If the tooth actually broke, I think you should have the doctor examine him to see if he has an injury. If so, he could be in pain/discomfort which would be causing him to not sleep well. If you mean he's teething, it can disturb his sleep and should now get better since it's come through.
As for the formula switch, follow doctor's orders for now but go with your gut if you don't see a change soon.
As for sleeping, is he eating some cereal at his last evening feeding? If not, it may help. Typically you start with Rice cereal (but don't put it in his bottle, mix it with some formula and spoon feed him).
Do you put him on his back or stomache to sleep? When my son was born, it was suggested they sleep on their stomachs. By the time my daughter was born (15 years later) it was "Back to Sleep" campaigns. My daughter would NOT sleep on her back after about 2 weeks of age. She was happy, healthy and we watched her closely but we put her on her stomach and it worked wonders. My hubby was nervouse about it at first (she is his first) where as I had already raised a child to the age of 15 and he slept on his stomache since birth so he deferred to my judgement.
Well I do want to thank everyone. He is a very happy boy, until
I started soy. My suspicion is that it doesn't agree with him. He has had eczema pretty well from birth. So perhaps he just has sensitive skin. He slept through the night around 4.5 months up until I started the soy. So I'm thinking I will visit the doctor and talk to him about switching back to regular formula. I still swaddle him because he still needs the extra comfort. I wish I could've breasted but complications with my cesarean led me to bottle feeding this time. I did not start solids to save money on formula like someone mentioned, I can afford to feed him what ever he needs. But when the doctor says he is eating too much formula and to start solids that is what I did. But thank you all for your responses and I will definelty try them!
I really don't think you got crappy answers here at all. I've seen crappy answers, and these aren't it!
Why don't you take some of the advice here, as there are some really good ideas on what the problem might be.
1. Teething affects each kid differently. None of mine had any trouble with teeth erupting. Until baby #5. I didn't consider teething as a cause for his fussiness at 5 months. As a result of me "thinking I knew it all", baby was uncomfortable for FAR too long (and not sleeping well). Tylenol helped a ton.
2. Baby food affects them all differently. Your first may have been fine with all types. My first 3 were. Then came number 4 with a vague reaction to some dairy. Took awhile to make the connection. Eczema is a KNOWN side effect of a lactose/dairy sensitivity. Yogurts (including the Gerber melts), regular formula, baby food with cheese in it (yes, its out there) could all cause the eczema. The soy formla may help.
3. Has this been since birth? If so, you probably have a baby that just isn't tolerating formula well. Maybe would've been better off breastfed, but hindsight is 20/20, huh? Can't go back, so must move forward. Try the most hypoallergenic formula out there and see if it helps. Yeah, I know its expensive, but this is your child. No expense spared when it comes to his health, wellness, and comfort, right?
4. Last, I agree that at 4-5 months, baby food just shouldn't be on the menu. The AAP has already switched their position to nothing but breastmilk or formula exclusively for the first 6 months, so you really should reconsider. I know jars of baby food are cheaper than extra cans of formula, but again, they aren't a substitute for adequate nutrition. But you already know that, since you are already a mom. :)
Huh?
I was going to comment, but then read your SWH, and followed up by reading the posts you received in response. I am not seeing anything negative or "preachy" or anything at all that I see as worthy of your response in your SWH.
Rather than give any advice (which IS what this forum is about and can easily be described as telling others what to do), I will just say, if you are THAT easily offended, then you are probably wise to not ask questions in the future.
I'll just try to be helpful. When my kiddos teethed they didn't sleep well I did Hyland's teething tablets and that helped, as did the tylenol. My first got her bottom 2 teeth at 4 months and had even her 2 year molars at 12 months. But, she was still fussy when it wasn't the teeth. She was allergic to milk and soy made her constipated, so we had to mix soy and Alimentum half and half.
My son came out allergic to milk and soy. He cried and complained all the time until we just put him on the alimentum all the time. He doesn't have any skin problems still at 2 because he is still allergic to dairy, goat, and soy.
My daughter is 3.5 and she has battle eczema all of her life. We finally took her off of all dairy except goat milk, we make ice cream, yogurt, etc for her with it. She has recently been breaking out from peanuts as well, but only if she eats a lot of them. She gets dots and welts all over her backside and thighs and it HURTS so she is very careful to make sure she doesn't eat dairy. So sad, but SO proud of her!
I couldn't breastfeed my kids because I didn't make enough milk, and what I did make they were allergic to and screamed! so I quit and life was much better.
He really shouldn't have solid food until at least 6 months, but cereal in his bottles is a good idea for sure! and, I found that if you load them up on a couple of cereal bottles before bed they tend to sleep longer and better because they aren't as hungry. For the gas you can try some gas drops and Hyland's colic pills as well. I hope this helps. It is frustrating to be on the comforting end of this.
Just one more thing... my pediatrician would not give my son soy because he is a boy and it mimics estrogen in the body and he was concerned about what kinds of research was turning up about it! He said it wasn't so bad for girl babies, but he still didn't like it so much.
Probably just coincidence. Teething and soy formula. I think it is the teething
Did the eczema get better after you switched to the soy? My son had slight eczema when he was that old. I switched his soap and laundry detergent for natural ones, and started using lotion after baths. Also gave him baths only every few days (they were really drying him out, which always made it worse). I personally would not want to use soy formula, so unless it dramatically helps (a week is probably more than enough time to determine if it does help), think about switching back, and try some other things.
His sleep issue most likely is due to the tooth, with more to follow and many more long nights in the future. It's part of having a baby and just comes with the territory.
Try some pain reliever before bed, you can even try teething tablets. They worked great for a few of my kids, and not at all for others, of course some were worse teethers then others.
This is one those things in motherhood where you have to just suck it up, and know that 'this to shall pass'.
Hi J. M., just curious what kind of formula you're giving your son? Every formula on the market is filled with gmo's with one exception and that is Earth's Best Organic. I'm not saying for sure this is why your son is being fussy, but I've heard many stories of babies having issues with their formula due to the gmo's. Soy formula poses issues as well due to the fact that it is full of hormones (phytoestrogens) and the gmo's in it as well. If you're going to use formula please look into switching to Earth's Best Organic, and if possible, stop using the soy. His teeth could be causing irritability as well.
