Nursing - Fort Worth,TX

Good. You're doing everything you can.
But about pumping for a whole week w/no breastfeeding . . . .
I don't think so.
Have you spoken to anyone at La Leche League?
Have you tried eating very very conservatively for a couple of days?
No fats, no condiments, very lean proteins, mainly fresh fruits and veggies?
Please let us know what happens.

If you think it's a milk protein allergy you have to remove EVERY LAST BIT of dairy from your diet.

It means reading labels - there's a lot of hidden dairy - and you'd have to cut it out for at least 2 weeks (probably longer) to see a noticable change.

It's also a good idea to cut out soy too as the proteins are very similar so a baby with one sensitivity can also have a sensitivity to the other.

What kind of formula are you using? If it's milk based, you might want to at least switch that.

Also...some babies are just gassy. The only thing wrong is that their bodies are immature and still getting used to how food works. It took my son until about 4 months old until the gassyness really got under control - and the only thing that helped was time.

Good luck!

If it's a milk allergy - more likely it's the cow's milk formula and not your breast milk. I'd quit the formula and nurse him more. Your breasts and body ARE making 100% enough for your big baby boy - never worry about that! But, since you are supplementing, it's creating a blockage from your nipple to your brain that you need to make more milk. This is the time of growth spurts and you need to nurse on demand and as often as possible to get your production in a higher gear to deal with your growing infant.

Formula is NEVER better than breastmilk, but it can be an adequate source of nutrition even if most of it is synthetic and from a different species.

Just stop bottle feeding immediately and stop the formula. See how he does with one month of ONLY breastmilk - since it can take up to 4-5 weeks to get all the foreign protein and bacteria from the formula out of his little system.

Have you tried mylicon? I actually use the store brands and still do. Also wondering if some of the digestive health yogurts would be safe for your baby? Have you asked a lactation consultant for help? Look up La Leche league in your area or call the local health dept and ask whether they have a lactation nurse.

Ugh! Sometimes I get so frustrated with pedi's! It's probably the formula that you give at night. He really only needs breast milk until 6 months of age. You are doing great changing your diet (chocolate, onions and broccoli are other ones you can try), but changing him to formula to see if formula is better than your breast milk-Hmmm... You wouldn't have asked this question if you innately didn't feel like this was absolutely absurd at some level, so go with your gut instinct and just stay off the formula. If you're concerned he's not getting enough food, don't worry. You produce as much as he needs. If you're wanting him to sleep through the night, and that's why you give him formula at night so his tummy is nice and full, well that may be the biggest problem. Getting up to breastfeed a 2 month old is par for the course--several times even, but it's what tiny babies need. Not only do they need their mommy, but they need constant nourishment because their tummies are very small right now and need several feedings in a 24 hour period to keep up with the demands of being a growing baby.
Go with your mommy-instinct--its very powerful and almost always right! God Bless!

BF is best how is he during the day? If there is little pain then just nurse him more. I too had big babies and they all were only BF and were satisfied and grew just fine they all nursed at night. I was only told to stop BF once and then found a new dr for me if I needed to be on some meds for an infection to which I always had them give a BF compatible med. He is still very young and you need to trust your instincts so if you think that BF is better help dr brain storm for other ideas. Good Luck!

I would do the opposite and drop the formula at night and only breastfeed. That is the great thing about breastfeeding, it is based on supply and demand. Just because your son is 9lbs does not mean you need to supplement...unless you just want to. You can make enough milk, I promise. Breast is best! I would think that the formula is giving him gas before anything else.

I do not think he will go to breastmilk easily after having formula for a week, it tastes differently you might have to weine the baby off formula 1 oz at a time if necessary.

I have not heard of this myself and my 2nd child was lactose intolerant, we ruled out GERD w/ a Upper GI, so I had NO dairy in my diet for the 12 months I nursed. I am not sure how to handle this, I would ask if an allergy is thought to be the culperate then ask if a allergy panel can be done instead of deturring his eating and your production.

I understand the Doctors thinking and your fears too. all in all if you keep pumping during this trial period you can keep you milk up while seeing if something else works.

OK, I am a HUGE proponent of breastfeeding. I breastfed both my boys exclusively for over a year and plan on doing the same when my daughter is born in a few weeks. That being said, I think moms who are big into breastfeeding can be as close minded as the doctors they criticize. Yes, breastmilk is best. Yes, your body makes just what your baby needs. But let's face it- some babies have sensitive tummies and no matter what you do as a mom they may still be very uncomfortable. As someone mentioned, there are traces of dairy in EVERYTHING you can imagine. You could try to completely control every aspect of your diet and see if that works. I also think that it's a good idea to cut the formula at night time for a week or so- unless he's not growing, there's no reason that breastmilk would not provide enough nutrition just because he's a big boy. But, if you're really concerned about his discomfort, what is it going to hurt to try Nutramigen for one week while you pump? Either you discover it works and then you can make an informed decision about what's best for your baby (the breastmilk or the formula that's easier on his tummy), or you find out that the formula does not help at all and you go back to breastfeeding. A good friend of mine had to make this difficult decision, and she switched to Nutramigen when her son was about the same age as yours, and she said he was a totally different baby. I know this is a difficult decision, and I would be heartbroken to have to give up on nursing that early due to a sensitive stomach, but I think you have to at least give it a shot and see if it makes a difference.

i knw breastfedding is best but i remember my son'd doctor told me to stop because he was making noses when breathing and he was told to have acid reflux but then my son didnt like bottles,i had noc hoice but to breastfed him..he had the problem for the first yr of his life.he is 2 n stil breastfedding,i have tried to wean hiut no luck,if he takes a bottle i would say he wil have hard time going to beastfed again.hopefully y 3 months his prolems goes away because that is the period of colic also.try to ut im to sleep on elevated angle.i used to use his bouncer for sleep and then i saw a bed for reflux babies on baby magazine but then since you have big baby ,i dnt think it would work.hpe this helps

Hi A.,
Boy, do I understand what you're going through. My son was in such terrible pain when he was tiny. He's almost 2 now and handles it a lot better but still has trouble with gas and stomach/intestinal pain. When he was 6 months old, we switched him from breastmilk to Nutramigen (a very difficult decision for me) to see if it would make a difference with his gas pain, and his symptoms improved about 75% within a week. We had him tested when he was 15 months old (they can't do allergy testing younger than 12 months, according to my doctor) and found out that he is allergic to dairy, soy, wheat, eggs, peanuts, and chicken. These are all things I was eating at the time, so no wonder they were causing him such pain. We just didn't know he was allergic to so many things.

If you'd rather not try the Nutramigen experiment, you might try what was suggested to me that I could not bring myself to do: go on an elimination diet. Basically, eat nothing but chicken, turkey, brown rice, fruits, vegetables, and water. This rules out the most common food allergens from your system, and thus from your milk. Give it at least two weeks to get everything out of your system.

I know breastfeeding is best, under normal circumstances. But realistically speaking, you have to balance other factors into that equation, too.

I have a lot more info on food allergies and strategies/solutions than I typed here, so feel free to send me a private message if you want to talk more about what you're going through.

Please keep us posted!

:) K.

Updated

This may sound condesending, so please don't take it that way...are you burping him well/enough? Neither of my kids would burp if I put them on my shoulder. Instead I sat them on my leg and supported their head, lightly bounced my knee and patted. If that didn't work, I would lie them down for a few minute then burp again - it's sort of like a soda bottle in that lying them down and then picking them upright can help the air come up.

It can take several weeks for the cows milk protein to get completely out of your breastmilk. Also, when we discovered my daughter was allergic to cows milk protein, I thought we would only need to exclude direct forms of dairy, but she still was getting sick. We also had to eliminate any foods that were made with milk/butter/casein/whey ingredients or cooked in butter. So, depending on how sensitive your son is, you might have to read food labels and exclude eating foods containing milk ingredients to ensure your breastmilk is cows milk protein free.

Your pediatrician probably recommended that you stop exposing him to breastmilk temporarily so you can see for sure if he improves when his diet definitely does not contain cows milk protein. If you keep breastfeeding him during this evaluation time, then you don't have 'test control' and you can't say if his condition is from cows milk proteins or if it's from something else.

Remember, any benefit from breastmilk will be lost if it contains cows milk protein that interferes with the ability of his intestines to absorb any nutrients and or causes his intestines to bleed.

A 2 month old is so vulnerable, especially if he has not been gain weight well or shows signs of dietary issues. If I was in your shoes, I would follow the doctor's instructions. Because you want to make sure the baby is getting adequate nutrition and daily calorie requirements (!). A food allergy can interfere with the body's ability to absorb any other food. (and yes, I am a breastfeeding mama, but you have to keep your priorities in line. Making sure your baby is getting the minimum food requirements should be a higher priority.)

A.,

Reading your question seemed like I had written it! My son will be 4 months in a week and went through the same thing. He also had a problem with burping, no matter what we tried whether it was gripe water or different positions it was hard to get him to burp which only made things worse for him. He never cried from pain but you could tell it was bothering him. He also had silent reflux and was given zantex for this. You made no mention of this but my son's stools was extremely mucousy which is usually a sign of an allergy and most of the time to the milk protein in dairy. I was told to cut all dairy, wheat, eggs, soy and gassy foods but after doing this for almost 6 weeks I found no change and stopped. I also stopped because he was still happy and content. Please note that I also cut out dairy and wheat in trace form too but don't think I got everything out.

My husband asked if we cut out breast milk for a week and only give Alimentum formula to see if it made a difference. I was against this as I think breast milk is the best and also was afraid that he would not want to nurse from me again. His doctor told us not to do this as breast milk is far easier on a baby's digestive system and better thank formula. I was also told to take a pro biotic and give my son a pro biotic as well. I also found that the gas had troubled him the most at night. Right around 3 months things started getting better. With him being more active and moving more he was starting to burp better sometimes do it himself. We stopped the zantex but continue with the pro biotic. I have been eating everything except gassy foods but in the past few days I noticed he has a lot more gas which wakes him at night and he strains to pass it. Also his stool is much more mucousy and we think it is because of dairy which i have been eating a lot of in the past few days. I asked his pediatrician if I took gasx or something similar would it help my baby and she said to take an enzyme to breakdown the milk protein which would definitely help with the gas.

So in a nutshell I think continuing with breast milk is the best and do an elimination diet then re-introduce each food group back one at a time to see which one is culprit. Give him a pro-biotic and take one yourself as well as an enzyme to breakdown the milk protein and as hard as it is just be patient.

If it is reflux he would stop crying when you pick him up. The prone position causes pain. Try putting his bed up higher at the head. My granddaughter had this. Also,it is quite possibly a milk allergy. Try switching his formula to a soy one.My daughter had a milk allergy and it caused her to stop breathing.It took them forever to figure out what it was. I changed her to a different one but she was allergic to the corn base. So finally I tried the soy one and she was fine after that.

Other foods that attributes to my oldests sons colic were broccoli, peppers and cauliflour.

A., I really think the formula is the likely culprit. I would opt out of the Formula, NOT pump and risk your baby rejecting breastfeeding since bottle feeding requires much less effort for your Baby. If the formula you use @ night is cows milk based, babies can have problems not just from the lactose, but form the proteins; Since cows are much larger than humans, their milk proteins are also much larger. These are hard to digest, even for some adults, so the result is gas, pain...Keep in mind that cow's milk is breast milk for calfs, not people. Also, your body is designed to provide what your baby needs, whether a big baby or a small one. A big baby will nurse more often until your milk supply increases. Supplementing with formula will keep your own milk production lower. Drink lots of water, eat a really healthy diet, & get enough rest- forget if the house is messy...

Also, if your baby is on a soy formula, that can cause problems for some babies too. Google Dr. Sears (He's in CA). He has written many baby books, & his info on breastfeeding is the best. Most Pediatricians don't know as much about nutrition & breastfeeding as you would expect. Honestly, why assume that a large baby will need supplemental formula to begin with? Breastfed babies do tend to be more slim, and this is what nature intends. (How did millions & millions of nursing moms over the ages manage when there was no supplemental formula? Just a thought.) If you feel unsure still, I would consider contacting La Leche League in Ft. Worth via google. Ask to speak to a group leader. She should have very sound information, & if needed can refer you to a good lactation consultant. (I doubt you will need a Lac. Consult; It's more for getting the confidence that supplementing is not necessary, & in your case, seems to be detrimental for your baby.) If you do want to talk to a Lactation consultant, I received amazing help from Judy Eastburn In Richardson, Tx many years ago for an unusual problem. I don't know if she does consulting anymore, but she would know where to steer you. I applaud you. Breast is best, and it is a learned skill; So many women today can run into problems (Myself included) because we don't live in a society in which we are surrounded by many experienced Moms to help guide us. You are doing the best thing by exclusively breastfeeding your baby. (This is not to judge women who choose not to, or stop because of problems...The whole issue can be complicated with modern day issues. Bottom line, Trust your Mama intuition!

Seriously, your doc thinks you should stop breastfeeding and switch to 100% formula? Amazing. It sounds like he's only having problems when you are feeding him formula. Please know that the size of your baby does not mean you are not making enough milk for him! Your body makes milk on demand. If he's not demanding extra milk at night because he's getting it somewhere else, your body won't make it for him. Stop the formula and add and extra nursing or two to help recover your milk supply. Congrats on adjusting your diet for your son!!!

A.,

You have gotten great responses....love the Mamapedia Moms! The only thing I would add other than sticking with the breastfeeding is adding a probiotic to your supplementation. This will transmit through your breastmilk and give your son some good bacteria that he may be needing. Keep following your Mommy instinct.