Seeking Advice on Nutrition Vs. Bottle Feeding

Updated on March 30, 2008
C.M. asks from Thousand Oaks, CA
5 answers

My son just turned 4 and has severe food allergies. In addition, he is extremely picky. His main source of protein and fat come from a corn-based formula called Neocate One+. Furthermore, he suffers major constipation which led to withholding (he has held BM up to nine days.) He takes a daily laxative (Miralax.) To date, he will not drink the formula from any cup, straw or sippy version - he only wants the bottle. He does not drink anything else in the bottle. He has approximately 3-4 bottles/day. On the other hand, he drinks plenty of water and some juice from cups, straws, whatever is available with no problem. The formula bottle is clearly a preference, not a necessity. The dentist sees no sign of orthodontia problems or tooth decay as a result of the bottle. He usually drinks a good 8oz of formula in the morning, mixed with the laxative, and I don't worry for the rest of the day. I want my son to overcome his attachment to the bottle, but am frightened he will refuse the formula altogether - which will prevent the necessary nutrition. My daughter gave up her bottle at 13 months, but refused to drink milk for the following year (through 25 months.) Fortunately, my daughter ate plenty of cheese and yogurt and I was able to give her calcium fortified juice. My son, on the other hand, cannot have ANY dairy, egg, soy, peanuts, treenuts, fish, shellfish. Even the rice-based cheese has dairy protein in the ingredients. I feel pressure from society (ie school, family, friends, books, doctor) to get rid of the bottle. Ever since the dentist encouraged him to get rid of his bottles, he has been waking in the night asking for them! Please help!!!

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C.L.

answers from San Diego on

Hey C. M,
How are you today. I was just reading your article about your son and remembered what my mom told me, I took the breast up to the time of my third birthday until she decided enough was enough. She weened me off. I think each child is different at different stage of developement. My baby brother, after 6 months gave up his bottle for a training cup. What I am trying to say is hide the bottle and find him one of those baby cup that they sell at Wal-mart. Write down the food he is allergic to, and see what other food he can eat. Don't feel pressured, children usually let us what they wants and and don't what to eat. Rule out the food that he is allergic to. I am not a mother, but I helped my mom rised my siblings when my dad past away. Now I am a second mother to my younger siblings and to their children.

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M.S.

answers from Los Angeles on

My daughter who is 5 now also held her poop (encopresis). She is on Miralax daily (I'm slowly taking her off it) and now poops every day. If you aren't there, yet, I just wanted to tell you that you will be so hang in there!

On the bottle question. Mine were both breastfed and never had bottles so I am no expert in this area, however, if you want my advice or opinion, I'd just put his formula in a cup and give it to him. He won't starve. Let him help pick out some fun cups, a cup with a straw would be best.

Maybe you could have a giving away bottle ritual? Tell him babies need his bottles, put them all in a box and set them out the front door before bed. In the morning he can go out and see what the bottle fairy left him or whatever you want to call it. I'd just buy a small toy and put it in the box and maybe a thank you note to him for sharing all his bottles!

I really wouldn't worry about him turning away his special formula. If he really wants it, he will drink it. If he misses out on it for a day or two I wouldn't sweat it. You don't mention if he is allergic to fruits and veggies. If you aren't already, make sure he is snacking on this stuff throughout the day. Even if you think he doesn't like it. Provide it on a regular basis, change it up and you'll find something he likes. In other words, I understand this formula he is drinking is important to his diet with all of his food allergies, but try to get him to also eat healthy foods that he isn't allergic to (if you aren't already).

Lastly, don't worry what others think. Even if you get any harsh comments here about him still needing a bottle. We are all going to be looked down upon at one time or another for something we are doing. Remove his bottles because YOU think it is time not because school, family, friends and doctors say so. You are the expert on your child.

Best of luck to you,
M.
** P.S. Sorry, I hit enter twice and my response is posted twice.
M.

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V.F.

answers from Los Angeles on

Was he born c-section?

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S.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

I am a mother of three grown children (18, 19 & 20 yrs. old) & former preschool teacher turned family health advocate & wellness consultant, so I understand the challenges you are facing & hope I can help. As I read through your request, I couldn't help but be concerned about your son's constipation issue & having to take a laxative every day at such a young age. If you can incorporate more fruits & vegetables into his diet, his issue with constipation & getting enough calcium can be resolved "naturally". One of the best sources of calcium is through "green, leafy vegetables"! Picky eaters are common at this age & can be a challenge, but if you are creative you can be successful! One idea I give parents is to put a variety of different fruits & veggies into a muffin tin every morning & let their child "snack" on it throughout the day. Start with the ones they will eat & ONE "new" one for the first week, then replace another favorite with a "new" one each week. Use a variety of colors to make it visually interesting. Make a veggie pizza "face" with pita bread & various veggies (red pepper "smile"). As far as the bottle goes, your dentist is right! Taking it away from him might be hard at first, but it needs to be done. You use a sticker chart to reward him. Every time he goes without the bottle, have him put a sticker on the chart, then reward him with something (trip to the park, movie, special treat, etc.) when he reaches a certain # of stickers. I have a lot of different ideas for you & would love to help you out, so feel free to contact me if you'd like! Helping families stay healthy is the greatest reward to me.

Your partner in health,

S. Cude
Health Advocate & Wellness Consultant
E-mail: ____@____.com
Phone: ###-###-####
Website: www.juiceplus.com/+sc57599

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J.L.

answers from Los Angeles on

Hi C.,

Food allergies are so hard. I wonder if your son is so attached to getting his nutrition from a bottle because he can derive so little comfort from the few foods he can eat. Just a thought. I have some nutritional advice (which I'm SURE you have not yet heard), and then some thoughts on his bottle habit. Okay, first of all, a little about who I am and why I know what I know about nutrition. I am half Scots and half Native American on my mom's side, hailing from the Chumash nation of Santa Barbara, CA, and currently living in Chino Hills. There are so many foods available that are not a part of the "standard American diet," and that are very tasty, nutritious, and kid-friendly. This could be an annoyingly long response if I were to go into all of them, so I'll just concentrate on the one I like best. Have you ever heard of a seed called Chia? Yes, ch-ch-ch-chia. Same seed as they use for those silly pets. Well, native peoples from our region all the way to South America have been using chia seeds for centuries. They are easy to get. Lookup Sun Organic Farms online and search for "organic chia seeds." They are packed with protein, both soluble and non-soluble fiber, they are anti-inflammatory to the intestinal tract (and everything else, for that matter), they are sweet, cooling, and kids love them. Best of all, they contain more omega-3 fatty acids than Salmon or any other plant food, even flax. They also help regulate blood sugar, which is soooo important for the treatment and prevention of diseases caused by the high-sweets diet of our culture.

They are incredibly easy to prepare. You simply grind them up in a coffee grinder, food processor, or other method, and then put a couple of teaspoons of the powdered seed in water. stir, and let it sit for 20 minutes. In that 20 minutes, the seeds will form a sweet-tasting, cool gel. Stir again, and drink them down. You can also add this powder to oatmeal, smoothies, or to whatever else you'd like to add protein, fiber, and omega-3's. I give them to my 20 month old daughter in her bottle every night after dinner. She is nice and full without being uncomfortable, and she sleeps happily through the night.

Okay, while I'm thinking about it, I'm also remembering tricks for getting as much protein from non-allergenic grains like oats, millet, quinoa, and others. It's a trick all our great-grandmas knew, but that our society has forgotten almost completely. This is the practice of soaking grains with water and an acidic element like fresh lemon juice, lime juice, or whey (which you can get by collecting the liquid that forms on top of your plain yogurt...you know what I mean, right?). All you have to do is put a serving or two of the dry grain in a bowl, put in enough water to cover it, and then add whey, or the juice of a half of lemon, and let sit overnight. In the morning you have a pre-soaked whole grain that will cook quickly. But the real magic is that the acid breaks down the lutein in the grain, which makes the protein in the germ much more accessible and digestible. This works great for beans, lentils, and tough wild rice, as well. This is how our Scots ancestors could practically live on oatmeal. Pretty smart, no?

So the last thing I want to say is just that if my daughter had as many food allergies as your son, and if she still wanted a bottle at age 4, and it was how she got a lot of her nutrition, and her teeth were fine, I would not give one single fig about anyone telling me what to do. Eventually, I believe, she would see that all the bigger kids and her peers don't use bottles, and would very likely ask to use something else. In the meantime, if no-one was teasing her mercilessly, I would let her have her bottle! I have always taken the advice that works for my family, and ditched the rest. Perhaps when there are more things in your son's life that fill up that emotional tank of his, the bottle will become less neccessary to him. That's just a thought. I'm sure that eventually, he will drop it when he's good and ready. I can't imagine that he'd be running around as a teenager with a bottle. I hope you listen to your supportive friends, and politely thank the people who mean well, but who don't know your son well enough to be truly supportive. This has been a good tack for me to take, so far. God bless, and write back anytime!

Love and support,

J., Chino Hills

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