I just recently switched my baby to formula, not by choice I just couldnt keep up with him. I did it gradually in hopes that he could get used to the formula and it wouldnt hurt his belly. Well he is pretty fussy now and I can tell sometimes he is in pain. Is it just gas or does his belly just hurt? Im wondering if gas drops might work?
I was really hoping its just gas because I dont want to go switching his formula and making it worse. I made my husband go out last night and get gas drops and it seemed it help. I am just confused with him. He is a big baby, he was born 9lbs and I have been giving him 4oz of formula at each feeding, sometimes he falls asleep while Im feeding him or he just acts full, so I think he got enough (I burp him every ounce). But then an hour or two (sometimes 3) later he gets pretty fussy. So Im wondering did he not get enough and is still hungry or is it just gas? I dont want to over feed him or give him more if hes got gas and make it worse. I just dont want him screaming from hunger and me mistaking it for gas or visa versa. If hes pecking around like hes hungry I feed him, if not I dont and just try to comfort him. Ugh so confusing!
PS. He doesnt really spit up and hes poopin just fine!
Hey Moms! So I took my little man to the doctor this morning. We have noticed that he has fussy times its occuring from like 6pm to about 9:30pm. He sleeps at night fine and is usually pretty content during the day. The doctor said he is at the age for colick (hes 5 weeks). That is a possibility. I just wanted to make sure has doesnt have allergies to the formula, which besides the fussiness he doesnt really have any other symptoms of that. Hes not throwing up or spitting up so that sort of rules out a reflux problem. She said I could switch him to soy if I wanted but I might give it a little bit before I go experimenting like that. As long as I know there is no serious problem that needs attention I can deal with the fussiness. I guess we will see! Thanks Moms!
Those simethicone (Mylicon) drops were a life saver for me with my oldest daughter. She had terrible colic. She was a breast fed baby that was supplemented with formula. My youngest had problems with gas too. My middle one was lucky, she never had issues with that.
I think I would talk to the pediatrician and see about a different formula, your little one may have allergies.
If it is gas pains and nothing more there is a drop called Milacon drops that are very mild that seemed to work for my babies.
Good luck a baby with tummy troubles is no fun for you or him.
B.
Enfamil Gentlease is a WONDERFUL formula!!!
Our son was premature and due to his significantly low weight they made us supplement some feedings with formula (Neo Sure). Then when that made him too gassy we tried a soy formula....that only made things SO MUCH WORSE! He switched to Gentlease and we never looked back. The drops totally don't work and neither does Karo syrup. Enfamil is really expensive, but I do think that there is now another brand that has something similar that is much cheaper. Goodluck! :)
Gas drops worked wonders for us. They get so much more air in their tummy on a bottle then they do breastfeeding. Stop him half way through the bottle and try to burp him and then finish the bottle and get out another bubble. This will also help prevent him from splitting up as much too if you have that problem. I would try this before you switch formulas. Sometimes changing formulas all the time can just make the problems worse.
We had to switch to formula with my daughter around 3 1/2 weeks and she too was very gassy. We tried the Enfamil Lipil and Gentlease, but ended up going back to the regular Lipil.
I asked a friend the same question, thinking it was a bad reaction to formula (her baby was only breastfed) and she let me know that he had the same problems around the same age...a few weeks to about 12 weeks, and occasionally after that).
The docs told me the gas drops (simethicone) wouldn't help and wouldn't hurt...but darnit...they worked!!! She was much more able to give big burps and toots (that often rivaled my husband's! LOL) and seemed to feel better quickly.
I'd go ahead and give it a try. Good luck!
Well if you are wealthy, by all means by the Mylicon drops. But considering the amount of bottles we went through, Little Tummies Gas Drops worked just as well and was less than 1/2 the cost (which meant you could buy 2 bottles: one for your house and one for the diaper bag). YES, I can say the Gas Drops saved my life! My eldest was extremely gassy and there probably wasn't a day that went by that I didn't use them at least once.
Another thing you might consider is trying another baby formula. Hit up the hospital or your pediatrician for some coupons (your Dr. may also have free samples you can try!!!). Similac and Carnation didn't work really well with my kiddos but Enfamil did. Sad thing about it is "testing" different formulas can get pricey. Another thing you might want to look at is if the formula is constipating baby? It did something horrible with my first born, so for every 3 "vanilla" bottles he got, we mixed one with 2oz of prune juice "chocolate" bottle. It kept him regular and kept the gas down.
And by the way, don't feel bad about not being able to keep up production...I couldn't either and my kids are fine. Good luck!
i would definitely try the gas drops - they won't hurt him and if you can find a quick and easy remedy, great. gas is so common in little ones. (if that is what's wrong, you might be amazed at how well it makes things better!) try that first, if it doesn't work then maybe talk to his dr. about switching formulas. we had to go through about three before we found one our son could tolerate. good luck!
Talk to your Dr. it could be the type of formula you're feeding him. I know in general most babies do fine on the regular iron formula, but both mine had to have lacto-free formula, but did fine on breast milk... So I'd get your Drs opnion, it can't hurt!
switching from breast milk to formula causes an increase in iron, since formula is fortified. that can cause constipation...glycerin suppositories can help with that and you can buy them at walmart. gas drops are ALWAYS an option, they don't hurt them a bit. it's possible that he's sucking a lot of air when he feeds. if you notice that he screams more when you lay him down flat after feeds it could be reflux. implement reflux precautions regardless....burp him every ounce, no matter how mad he gets, elevate the head of his mattress in his crib or basinette, and keep his head above his belly (just throw him over your shoulder) for 30 to 45 minutes after feeds. "wear" him if you have to in a little baby bjorn or something. good luck!
When my youngest was born we started her on Enfamil Lipil, then moved to Soy, then Gentlease, then Good Start with Natural Cultures, then Nutramigen and finally settled on Neocate. WOW! Come to find out Ellie has a severe milk and soy allergy (Neocate is amino-acid based and by a RX- DO NOT use it if you don't have to as it's $47 for a 14oz. can!). She also has other digestive issues but that's neither here nor there. Nutramigen was a great alternative for us (before we knew about the total allergy) as it's free of milk and soy proteins (which a lot of babies are allergic to) and partially broken down (easier on their tummies to digest, therefore causing much less gas, etc.). If the problems persist, I'd look into reflux (it can also be silent- meaning they don't vomit) and milk/soy intolerance or protein allergy.
I don't know how you are making your formula, but both of my boys had/have gas issues and shaking a bottle and giving it to them made it much worse. We pre-make 32 oz. of formula for the day and keep it in the refrigerator. It really helps cut down on the bubbles from mixing it. We purchased a formula pitcher at Babies R Us and keep it in there.
My not-so-little guy was 9 lbs. 10 oz at birth and is now a little over 15 lbs at 2 mos. and he takes about 5-6 oz. each feeding.
Hope that helps!
I used the gas drops with my kids, I could kiss the makers of Milacone (sp) drops!! I had the same problem and the drops did work. But when it became clear that our problem was more than occasional gas we had to switch formula's again (I was like you, breast fed but wasn't making enough for my oldest). We used the Carnation Good Start Soy Formula and that help a bunch. So try the gas drops and see if that helps and if it dosen't talk to your doctor. And I'll give Carnation a plug - I really liked their formula, it didn't get foamy when we mixed it, it just looked like milk. good luck!!
Simethecon drops definitely wont hurt your son to try, I didn't find that they helped with our little one, but just as the other poster mentioned, we also have a lot of soy/milk protein allergies that we're dealing with. My son was breastfed only, and he was getting the proteins through my breast milk. I recently spoke with an allergist who informed me that the majority of babies are intolerant/allergic to cow's milk for at the very least first 3 months of their life, so if the Mylicon doesn't work definitely try a different formula without whey/casein in the ingredients list (milk proteins). I did try to get a formula that my son could drink and we actually had to go all the way to Elecare... The neocate still hurt him. Worst case scenario though! Good luck.
