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Post by lemondrop on May 31, 2019 6:53:30 GMT -6
I’m so conflicted. Baby is 7 weeks tomorrow. He weighs 12ish lbs based on my very scientific guess of stepping on my scale with him and then without.
So, Max has a slight dairy intolerance (we think) so a few weeks ago, the pedi and we agreed to combo feed for a while to get the dairy out of my system, but he’d still have 1/2 of my milk a day. We tested a few formulas and ultimately went with Enfamil Gentlease because of how it did with his stomach. We had tried a low iron one that we had a sample of, and it wasn’t as good.
The problem: the formula is giving him super thick, dark green poop - which the pedi says is because of the iron. He also then started going poop maybe once every 36 hours and the poor thing is straining and uncomfortable trying to get it out. But, he’s been sleeping much better. (Like, a couple 4 hour stretches, which is the longest he’s gone since birth).
Yesterday I went back to giving him more breast milk - I think he got maybe 2 bottles of formula. He was more gassy but pooped 4x - the last time it was back to being mustardy and seedy looking. And he didn’t sleep like, at ALL last night.
I don’t know if I should keep giving him more breast milk so he poops more and doesn’t struggle through it, or more of the formula so his tummy doesn’t hurt.
He’s also eating like 10-11 times a day, 3 ounces at a time. I’ve tried to up that to 3.5/4 oz and lessen the amount of times he’s eats, but he just pukes up the excess and screams every 2 hours. COOL.
He also hatehatehates sleeping on his back and we got him a RX for baby Zantac in case it’s reflux but that doesn’t seem to be doing much.
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Eames
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Post by Eames on May 31, 2019 8:06:59 GMT -6
Ugh, that's a hard choice lemondrop. FWIW, the poops sound like what I'd expect. I think BM is easier to digest so 1) babies poop easier and 2) they wake up more frequently because it's all digested faster. My guys are still eating every 3 hours during the day and every 4ish hours at night (4 oz feeds), and they are 12 weeks. How are you doing with the frequent feeds? I would take that into consideration as well as baby's comfort since you need to be happy too! Maybe tweak the combo percentage amounts of BM/formula until you feel you have a happy medium of poop and sleep?
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Eames
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Post by Eames on May 31, 2019 8:11:52 GMT -6
orangehibiscus, can you wear something like these to bring your nipple out more amd protect your nipples? I liked them. Breast Shell & Milk Catcher for Breastfeeding Relief – (2 in 1) Protect Cracked, Sore, Engorged Nipples & Collect Breast Milk Leaks During The Day, While Nursing or Pumping (2 Pack) www.amazon.com/dp/B07B8DTGCX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Hxt8Cb6CS7A2MOr hand pump for just a minute to soften the breast? Besides these two things, I think it just takes practice for baby which can mean a lot of relatching, unfortunately.
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Post by lemondrop on May 31, 2019 8:40:11 GMT -6
Ugh, that's a hard choice lemondrop. FWIW, the poops sound like what I'd expect. I think BM is easier to digest so 1) babies poop easier and 2) they wake up more frequently because it's all digested faster. My guys are still eating every 3 hours during the day and every 4ish hours at night (4 oz feeds), and they are 12 weeks. How are you doing with the frequent feeds? I would take that into consideration as well as baby's comfort since you need to be happy too! Maybe tweak the combo percentage amounts of BM/formula until you feel you have a happy medium of poop and sleep? I think tweaking the %s is going to be the way to go, despite my hesitance to keep buying formula. BFing/ pumping was in my budget, lol. The # of feeds are killing me, esp since Max has been going through a growth spurt and it’s exhausting. But I asked in my BF support group what else I could do and the responses basically were “give up all dairy, soy and gluten”, which I’m... not willing to do right now. Which kind of makes me feel like an a-hole but I really limited everything I ate while pregnant and depriving myself for another year sounds really shitty.
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Eames
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Post by Eames on May 31, 2019 8:54:37 GMT -6
lemondrop, my pedi said that breastmilk is made from the mom's vascular system (blood), not digestive system, and that despite common thought mom shouldn't have to limit her foods with the exception of severe allergies. She did say that people anecdotally report improvement, though. I was relieved because like you, I am tired of limiting my diet! So we can sit on that bench together.
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Post by orangehibiscus on May 31, 2019 9:40:08 GMT -6
That’s so frustrating lemondrop! I know you said you tried out a few formulas, but could you try a few more to see if you could find one he tolerates better? I agree with adjusting the ratio of breast milk to formula to see what the right combo is for y’all. Are you using gas drops? Do they help him feel better? Is there a reason you’re mixing breast milk and formula in the same bottle? Could you do feedings with formula alone and breast milk alone? I’m not sure if that would help or not. Don’t feel guilty about not wanting to limit your diet! It’s completely understandable. You devoted your life to growing your baby during pregnancy, and he could be totally formula fed and still grow up perfectly.
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Post by lemondrop on May 31, 2019 9:42:50 GMT -6
lemondrop, my pedi said that breastmilk is made from the mom's vascular system (blood), not digestive system, and that despite common thought mom shouldn't have to limit her foods with the exception of severe allergies. She did say that people anecdotally report improvement, though. I was relieved because like you, I am tired of limiting my diet! So we can sit on that bench together. ... really? Because regaining dairy would be REAL sweet since I’ve been craving ice cream since the moment they said I couldn’t have it. I am tempted to test Max on some frozen breast milk from several weeks ago against frozen breast milk from this week to see if there’s any difference. I know the amount of time “they” suggest to see if it’s out of your system can range from like 3 to 6 weeks. If milk from today and milk from when he was 10 days old are acting similarly, I could get on board the dairy train again.
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Post by orangehibiscus on May 31, 2019 9:43:54 GMT -6
orangehibiscus, can you wear something like these to bring your nipple out more amd protect your nipples? I liked them. Breast Shell & Milk Catcher for Breastfeeding Relief – (2 in 1) Protect Cracked, Sore, Engorged Nipples & Collect Breast Milk Leaks During The Day, While Nursing or Pumping (2 Pack) www.amazon.com/dp/B07B8DTGCX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Hxt8Cb6CS7A2MOr hand pump for just a minute to soften the breast? Besides these two things, I think it just takes practice for baby which can mean a lot of relatching, unfortunately. I’ve never heard of those breast shells before! Thanks for the recommendation. Usually if I’m engorged it’s because we’re out somewhere, and DD is sleeping past when she would normally eat. I don’t keep the hand pump with me then, and I don’t have anywhere to store the milk even if I did have the hand pump. I’ve continued relatching her, and it seems to be helping. The bruises on my nipples are going away!
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Post by lemondrop on May 31, 2019 9:49:56 GMT -6
That’s so frustrating lemondrop! I know you said you tried out a few formulas, but could you try a few more to see if you could find one he tolerates better? I agree with adjusting the ratio of breast milk to formula to see what the right combo is for y’all. Are you using gas drops? Do they help him feel better? Is there a reason you’re mixing breast milk and formula in the same bottle? Could you do feedings with formula alone and breast milk alone? I’m not sure if that would help or not. Don’t feel guilty about not wanting to limit your diet! It’s completely understandable. You devoted your life to growing your baby during pregnancy, and he could be totally formula fed and still grow up perfectly. Sorry for the confusion: I’m not physically mixing the two. I do full bottles of BM and full bottles of formula. Typically every other bottle I’d do formula. I was testing doing every 4th bottle or so as formula and keeping the other 3 as BM. We do use gas drops, it I don’t know if they’re really working or if it’s a placebo type of thing. We can try different formulas, but it’s a cost thing right now since I’m not working. I originally had budgeted not working for 6 weeks and then I quit my job, so I’m pinching pennies until I get something new.
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Eames
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Post by Eames on May 31, 2019 12:01:31 GMT -6
orangehibiscus, can you wear something like these to bring your nipple out more amd protect your nipples? I liked them. Breast Shell & Milk Catcher for Breastfeeding Relief – (2 in 1) Protect Cracked, Sore, Engorged Nipples & Collect Breast Milk Leaks During The Day, While Nursing or Pumping (2 Pack) www.amazon.com/dp/B07B8DTGCX/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_Hxt8Cb6CS7A2MOr hand pump for just a minute to soften the breast? Besides these two things, I think it just takes practice for baby which can mean a lot of relatching, unfortunately. I’ve never heard of those breast shells before! Thanks for the recommendation. Usually if I’m engorged it’s because we’re out somewhere, and DD is sleeping past when she would normally eat. I don’t keep the hand pump with me then, and I don’t have anywhere to store the milk even if I did have the hand pump. I’ve continued relatching her, and it seems to be helping. The bruises on my nipples are going away! The shells are so nice but they will fill up with milk so be careful if you bend over because it will spill, lol. But I would periodically empty them into a bottle and save the milk. I'd say each could hold an ounce before it needed to be emptied. And I never got as engorged that way.
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Eames
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Post by Eames on May 31, 2019 12:03:17 GMT -6
lemondrop, you should try the frozen milk just to see! Ice cream is needed in the summer!
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pambee
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Post by pambee on May 31, 2019 15:04:00 GMT -6
lemondrop, my pedi said that breastmilk is made from the mom's vascular system (blood), not digestive system, and that despite common thought mom shouldn't have to limit her foods with the exception of severe allergies. She did say that people anecdotally report improvement, though. I was relieved because like you, I am tired of limiting my diet! So we can sit on that bench together. ... really? Because regaining dairy would be REAL sweet since I’ve been craving ice cream since the moment they said I couldn’t have it. I am tempted to test Max on some frozen breast milk from several weeks ago against frozen breast milk from this week to see if there’s any difference. I know the amount of time “they” suggest to see if it’s out of your system can range from like 3 to 6 weeks. If milk from today and milk from when he was 10 days old are acting similarly, I could get on board the dairy train again. I have also read about/been told that what we eat rarely affects baby, for that reason. What makes you think he has a dairy intolerance? Is it that he's spitting up or has weird poop/etc? I'll add, H used to spit up SO SO SO much, after every feeding and all night long. It was gross but he never really seemed bothered by it. Then one day, he stopped. A lot of what I read said that babies just need time for their digestive system to finish developing, and a lot of spit up is normal. I think it was about 2 months before he stopped. BUT, there is 100% an effect when I drink anything other than water. I would only drink Sprite or iced tea, so it doesn't even make sense that it was caffeine (not in Sprite) or the carbonation (? not in tea) but it was every. time. after I would drink one of those, he would spit up terribly for about half a day. A few weeks ago I stopped drinking anything but water, and we've had no issues. Basically I'm saying if it's because of spit up, and if he doesn't seem irritated by the "dairy", I wouldn't cut anything out yet. If it continues and/or he's obviously in pain or discomfort, then I might try it, but if you're really cutting it out to see if that's the cause I think you need to fully do it, all dairy for 3 weeks or whatever. Otherwise you won't really know. Also also (lol) E does have some sort of intolerance, but I have no idea what it really is because we've never had her tested, but we also didn't know about it until after she turned 1 when we tried giving her cows milk because she would have awful tummy aches and nasty poops. I nursed her until that point and ate any and all dairy and that never had the same effect on her. But now she can't eat regular ice cream, yogurt, or have any milk other than lactose free (we tried ALL kinds, soy, coconut, almond, etc etc and they all messed with her tummy too) but she's okay if say she just has a little cheese in a taco or something. It makes no sense. /anecdote(s) 😂
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Post by lemondrop on May 31, 2019 15:54:12 GMT -6
... really? Because regaining dairy would be REAL sweet since I’ve been craving ice cream since the moment they said I couldn’t have it. I am tempted to test Max on some frozen breast milk from several weeks ago against frozen breast milk from this week to see if there’s any difference. I know the amount of time “they” suggest to see if it’s out of your system can range from like 3 to 6 weeks. If milk from today and milk from when he was 10 days old are acting similarly, I could get on board the dairy train again. I have also read about/been told that what we eat rarely affects baby, for that reason. What makes you think he has a dairy intolerance? Is it that he's spitting up or has weird poop/etc? I'll add, H used to spit up SO SO SO much, after every feeding and all night long. It was gross but he never really seemed bothered by it. Then one day, he stopped. A lot of what I read said that babies just need time for their digestive system to finish developing, and a lot of spit up is normal. I think it was about 2 months before he stopped. BUT, there is 100% an effect when I drink anything other than water. I would only drink Sprite or iced tea, so it doesn't even make sense that it was caffeine (not in Sprite) or the carbonation (? not in tea) but it was every. time. after I would drink one of those, he would spit up terribly for about half a day. A few weeks ago I stopped drinking anything but water, and we've had no issues. Basically I'm saying if it's because of spit up, and if he doesn't seem irritated by the "dairy", I wouldn't cut anything out yet. If it continues and/or he's obviously in pain or discomfort, then I might try it, but if you're really cutting it out to see if that's the cause I think you need to fully do it, all dairy for 3 weeks or whatever. Otherwise you won't really know. Also also (lol) E does have some sort of intolerance, but I have no idea what it really is because we've never had her tested, but we also didn't know about it until after she turned 1 when we tried giving her cows milk because she would have awful tummy aches and nasty poops. I nursed her until that point and ate any and all dairy and that never had the same effect on her. But now she can't eat regular ice cream, yogurt, or have any milk other than lactose free (we tried ALL kinds, soy, coconut, almond, etc etc and they all messed with her tummy too) but she's okay if say she just has a little cheese in a taco or something. It makes no sense. /anecdote(s) 😂 It was spitting up (projectile vomit and quite a bit after he’d finished - it was chunky so it showed it had partially digested) and overwhelming gassiness - like his belly button would protrude out because his stomach was so distended. It was the pedi’s recommendation to give up dairy, so I’ve been off all dairy for close to a month now. Still spitting up some but not as badly, and his stomach isn’t as distended, which led us to believe there was some correlation. But it could be that his digestive system just needs more time to develop. The carbonation factor is interesting - I basically live off sparkling water and seltzer. Hmm.
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jacks
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Post by jacks on Jun 1, 2019 12:20:23 GMT -6
Just adding my unqualified 2 cents since we had some tummy issues. I went dairy free to test and have seen improvements. N had projectile spit ups after obvious dairy (aka ice cream). Since giving it up, she’s less gassy and spitty and her severe eczema is clearing up. However, her poop has recently turned a greenish shade and is mucusy, so I’m not sure if there’s something else. I read online to try the elimination diet, but as you said lemondrop, it’s just too much to handle right now. I’m hungry all the time as it is.
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Post by orangehibiscus on Jun 1, 2019 13:47:03 GMT -6
Just adding my unqualified 2 cents since we had some tummy issues. I went dairy free to test and have seen improvements. N had projectile spit ups after obvious dairy (aka ice cream). Since giving it up, she’s less gassy and spitty and her severe eczema is clearing up. However, her poop has recently turned a greenish shade and is mucusy, so I’m not sure if there’s something else. I read online to try the elimination diet, but as you said lemondrop, it’s just too much to handle right now. I’m hungry all the time as it is. Did your DD recently get a rotavirus vaccine? My DD’s poop turned green with mucus after her vaccines. I’m assuming the oral rotavirus vaccine is the culprit for the change in her bowel movements.
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jacks
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Post by jacks on Jun 1, 2019 21:04:36 GMT -6
Just adding my unqualified 2 cents since we had some tummy issues. I went dairy free to test and have seen improvements. N had projectile spit ups after obvious dairy (aka ice cream). Since giving it up, she’s less gassy and spitty and her severe eczema is clearing up. However, her poop has recently turned a greenish shade and is mucusy, so I’m not sure if there’s something else. I read online to try the elimination diet, but as you said lemondrop, it’s just too much to handle right now. I’m hungry all the time as it is. Did your DD recently get a rotavirus vaccine? My DD’s poop turned green with mucus after her vaccines. I’m assuming the oral rotavirus vaccine is the culprit for the change in her bowel movements. No vaccines yet. I keep trying think what I might have eaten, but remembering details from 4 days ago is next to impossible.
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Post by orangehibiscus on Jun 2, 2019 1:57:04 GMT -6
Did your DD recently get a rotavirus vaccine? My DD’s poop turned green with mucus after her vaccines. I’m assuming the oral rotavirus vaccine is the culprit for the change in her bowel movements. No vaccines yet. I keep trying think what I might have eaten, but remembering details from 4 days ago is next to impossible. For sure that is impossible. Keeping a food journal could help you remember though. I hope your DD’s stools go back to normal soon.
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danib
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Post by danib on Jun 8, 2019 11:32:39 GMT -6
I have also read about/been told that what we eat rarely affects baby, for that reason. What makes you think he has a dairy intolerance? Is it that he's spitting up or has weird poop/etc? I'll add, H used to spit up SO SO SO much, after every feeding and all night long. It was gross but he never really seemed bothered by it. Then one day, he stopped. A lot of what I read said that babies just need time for their digestive system to finish developing, and a lot of spit up is normal. I think it was about 2 months before he stopped. BUT, there is 100% an effect when I drink anything other than water. I would only drink Sprite or iced tea, so it doesn't even make sense that it was caffeine (not in Sprite) or the carbonation (? not in tea) but it was every. time. after I would drink one of those, he would spit up terribly for about half a day. A few weeks ago I stopped drinking anything but water, and we've had no issues. Basically I'm saying if it's because of spit up, and if he doesn't seem irritated by the "dairy", I wouldn't cut anything out yet. If it continues and/or he's obviously in pain or discomfort, then I might try it, but if you're really cutting it out to see if that's the cause I think you need to fully do it, all dairy for 3 weeks or whatever. Otherwise you won't really know. Also also (lol) E does have some sort of intolerance, but I have no idea what it really is because we've never had her tested, but we also didn't know about it until after she turned 1 when we tried giving her cows milk because she would have awful tummy aches and nasty poops. I nursed her until that point and ate any and all dairy and that never had the same effect on her. But now she can't eat regular ice cream, yogurt, or have any milk other than lactose free (we tried ALL kinds, soy, coconut, almond, etc etc and they all messed with her tummy too) but she's okay if say she just has a little cheese in a taco or something. It makes no sense. /anecdote(s) 😂 It was spitting up (projectile vomit and quite a bit after he’d finished - it was chunky so it showed it had partially digested) and overwhelming gassiness - like his belly button would protrude out because his stomach was so distended. It was the pedi’s recommendation to give up dairy, so I’ve been off all dairy for close to a month now. Still spitting up some but not as badly, and his stomach isn’t as distended, which led us to believe there was some correlation. But it could be that his digestive system just needs more time to develop. The carbonation factor is interesting - I basically live off sparkling water and seltzer. Hmm. Hi I don't go here so I hope you don't mind me giving my uninvited 2 cents. Unfortunately a dairy allergy is one of the very few instances where what you eat effects baby. The protein is passed through your blood stream (unlike "gassy" foods that people make claims about). Sometimes you can get away with having a very limited amount, later on when baby isn't nursing as often (so they wind up just getting trace amounts) depending on how sensitive the allergy is. *My son has a dairy allergy, it's a PITA* I definitely wouldn't jump to eliminating other food groups (gluten, etc) though without good reason.
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Post by lemondrop on Jun 8, 2019 13:42:17 GMT -6
It was spitting up (projectile vomit and quite a bit after he’d finished - it was chunky so it showed it had partially digested) and overwhelming gassiness - like his belly button would protrude out because his stomach was so distended. It was the pedi’s recommendation to give up dairy, so I’ve been off all dairy for close to a month now. Still spitting up some but not as badly, and his stomach isn’t as distended, which led us to believe there was some correlation. But it could be that his digestive system just needs more time to develop. The carbonation factor is interesting - I basically live off sparkling water and seltzer. Hmm. Hi I don't go here so I hope you don't mind me giving my uninvited 2 cents. Unfortunately a dairy allergy is one of the very few instances where what you eat effects baby. The protein is passed through your blood stream (unlike "gassy" foods that people make claims about). Sometimes you can get away with having a very limited amount, later on when baby isn't nursing as often (so they wind up just getting trace amounts) depending on how sensitive the allergy is. *My son has a dairy allergy, it's a PITA* I definitely wouldn't jump to eliminating other food groups (gluten, etc) though without good reason. Thank you! This is actually really good to know. I really hope it’s a “digestive system hasn’t caught up with his growth” issue as opposed to an allergy. I ate some cheese accidentally yesterday (picked up a wrong salad dressing) and he didn’t appear to have any more puke/ spit up than usual, so 🤞🏼
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