I have a 7 mo. old son who has been on alimentum since 1 mo due to colic and reflux. He has been doing great on all 1st foods and recently started 2nd foods. I wanted to try another formula since he is older, doing well with solids and alimentum is soooo expensive! I have been transitioning for the last three days with nestle good start and have noticed some spitting up after his bottle and soem non-productive coughing during the day. Does anyone have some experience weaning their child off of alimentum? Thanks much.
B.,
Weaning my son from alimentum was no problem--he hated it! We simply went cold turkey to Nestle Good Start. If he's spitting up again, he may not be ready for the switch. Talk to your doctor about Similar AR or Gentlease. If there sounds like there's gunk in his throat, you need to call the doctor right away. He may be inhaling some of his vomit.
A.
If he is spitting up again, i personally take that as a sign he's not ready to be off the Alimentum yet. I left my son on his very expensive formula til he was 13 months because of the reflux and feeding issues. I know it sux to have to pay so much for the formula, but I would rather pay than deal with the spitting up all the time. Maybe try again in another month?
I have an 8 month old who we just weaned from Alimentum. We are now giving him Similac Sensitive for fussiness and gas. This is my 3rd child we have had to wean from Alimentum and each one was different. We found it made a HUGE difference if we used a pre-mixed formula instead of powder. The powder NEVER worked, even if we mixed it a day ahead of time and let it sit. Plus, with 2 of my boys, to stop the reflux we put between 1 tablespoon to just 1/2 tablespoon of rice cereal in their bottle when we switched formula. Again, all my boys were different but the cereal helped keep things down and stop the spitting up and coughing. Hope this helps. I know what you are going through!
The nonproductive cough after feeding concerns me. I am a RN and a greatgrandma. If it was just the spitting up, I wouldn't be terribly concerned. Kids spit up at times. However, with his history of reflux, you want to make sure he isn't aspirating some of his formula. I am not familiar with the formula you have had him on, but I think it merits checking with your doctor.
A.
My daughter has severe reflux and food allergies. WE were able to switch from alimentum to Gentlease. It worked great. Does your son have feeding issues or sensory issue due to reflux ?
