Hi all, I had previously written in when weaning my newborn from breast to bottle/formula. I am glad to say that he is now consistently taking his bottle. We have even increased up to 5 oz about every 4 hours which leads to my first question. Is this too much formula to far apart? Would it be better for him to take 3-4 oz every 3 hours? Last week he did great and that is when it got uped to teh 5 oz. as he was consistently draining the 4 oz and was getting hungry again by 3 hours later, my stepmom was watching him last week (first week back to work) and thought increasing would be good. This week he started at the sitter and he has been really gassy and farting a lot. He is spitting up too. He will maybe spit up alittle with the bottle when being burped but now about 20-30 mintues after the bottle he spits up a bunch sometimes it will be "milky" in consistency but usually just clear but it is alot, usually have to change his clothes after. This can happen 20-30 minutes later all the way up to a couple of hours later. Not sure if htis is normal, he is currently on enfamil gentleease which is designed for fussiness and gas, should we try soy? Otherwise he is a happy baby usually.
E., it may be that he has some reflux. Have you tried Dr. Brown's Natural Flow bottles and or the mylicon anti-gas drops? Those things might help him. If they don't, it's possible that it is reflux that requires some stronger medication.
My son had gas/reflux issues really badly when he was born. Dr. Brown's saved our lives. Hope that helps!
...LF
I thought this was a great article on how colic and reflux actually DO have some underlying medical causes that can be fixed if the pediatrician and/or parents are willing to investigate:
http://www.wondertime.go.com/learning/article/interview-c...
Don't know if that article describes your situation at all, but I posted it here just in case.
HI E.,
First of all, I feel your pain about going back to work, I truly do! It was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do and it still isn't easy! The 2 days before I went back I was a mess - crying continuously. But, we have to do what we have to do and I just cherish the few hours I get with my daughter when I come home from work and on the weekends. Good luck with his first week at the sitters!!
My daughter had horrible gas since the time she was born which caused her a lot of discomfort and she was very fussy. After I stopped breastfeeding, which I thought was the culprit, I tried the enfamil gentleease formula too which didn't work. Finally, we just tried Soy and she was a different baby! She had very little gas and didn't spit up as much anymore. We use the Parent's choice brand from Wal-Mart which is about $13 and you can call once a month to get coupons. I think its actually made by Emfamil.
In regards to how much to feed your son - our doctor always said to feed babies whenever their hungry and as much as they will eat. When our daughter was taking 4 oz at a time at her 2 month checkup, he asked if she was finishing the bottles. He said if she was finishing the bottles, then increase to 5 oz and so on and so forth. I think its better to feed more in one sitting and have him eating further apart which will also help you at nighttime and getting him to sleep in longer stretches. My daughter now eats 8oz every 4-5 hours but sleeps 10-10.5 hours at night. We were getting 6 hour stretches out of her by 2 months old.
I have always been told that babies will only eat to get full. My daughter would spit up, almost projectile, at least once a day until she was about 3 months old. I just made sure that when she laid down, that she was propped up. The bobby pillow worked really well for us.
I frequently consult the "What to Expect" books when I have questions related to childcare, and when my son started farting like crazy I turned to the book, because I was baffled that such a little boy could make quite a symphony of sounds! Basically, loud and frequent farting is normal and will get quieter and less frequent as the digestive system matures.
As far as formula is concerned, gentlease and soy may not be necessary. Of course, always consult your pediatrician first. Definitely ASK your pediatrician before you go changing up formula. My son was colicky for the first 12 weeks (was feeding 80% breastmilk, 20% formula) and the colic just 'turned off'. I was so worried that we'd have to do Enfamil Gentlease, which is so much more expensive, but we switched back to Enfamil Lipil at 12 weeks and he takes it just fine (little farting, minimal fussiness and spitting up).
Congratulations on your baby. At 10 weeks I would feed your son less, more often. My baby girl is almost 4 months and eats 4 oz about every 3 hours. My son (almost 19 months) had reflux. He too spit up frequently, a lot, the same symptoms as your little boy. My daughter started to display the same symptoms. I spoke with our doctor and she wanted me to wait a while before treating her for reflux. To my surprise she did grow out of the symptoms around 14 weeks. It could also be due to the amount you are feeding him at one time. Maybe that is too much in his tummy at one time? Discuss this with your cdoctor at his 2 month visit.
C.
I would say that if he is happy and not fussy to not switch to soy. Soy can cause other problems such as constipation. Babies on formula spit up more than babies on breastmilk. Find out how the sitter is feeding him. Make sure she is holding him when she feeds him and he's not laying down to eat. Also, have her put him in a seat, either a bouncer seat or his car seat for about 30-45 minutes after his feedings, this will help with the gas. Make sure he's being burped every few ounces still. It is normal for a bottle fed baby to eat every 3-4 hours, so I wouldn't be so concerned about the increase in time and formula. If you feel that it may help him, try to decrease the amount again. But if he is still acting hungary after 4 oz. go for the 5oz. The other thing you can do to help for gas is to feed him in an almost upright postion, holding his head up, and have him almost sitting on your lap verses leaned back. This is a technic used with acid reflexe babies. Good Luck and Best wishes!
The other moms so far have great advice, but I would like to add one point. If this is just happening at the sitter, maybe he is not getting burped enough during feedings. I have an infant baby girl that we have to burp every 1/2-1oz at every feeding. We have seen a huge decrease in spitting up.
Our baby girl is about the same age, born at the beginning of March. From day one she was having digestive issues with formula and had to switch her to Similac Isomil Soy. It helped alot, but she still can get pretty gassy. Mylacon really helps!!!! We can tell that she gets pretty uncomfortable with the gas b/c she will start screaming and squirming around and toots will come out, but I would say within 5 mins of giving the Mylacon she is calm and can fall asleep comfortably. I would try the Mylacon first and if not maybe switch to the soy.... but I wouldn't switch formulas without consulting with your pediatrician. Good luck!
over the counter gas drops are great and you really can't give a baby to much to often, it's basically an as needed kind of medicne so it's great to send to a sitters and safe for baby, as a sitter myself it's one of the few medicines i don't stress over having to give. as for the soy if he isn't fussy, then he's not so gassy as to be uncomfortable and i wouldn't make the change just yet. and for the feeding amounts and times jsut remember formula will make him eat less often than when he was breastfed so jsut continue to follow his cues. congrats on teh new little guy and good luck going back to work.
