Is It Safe to Give the Formula Fed Baby Breast Milk? Could It Relieve Colic?

Sounds like it could be acid reflux. Both my children had it HORRIBLY. Makes them very grumpy, cry, throw up/spit up a lot. Worth a look :)

Maybe but all three of mine are EBF my first and third are easy babies my second was very colicky. Gripe water helped some, I have also heard of a product called 'Happi Tummi.' Mine grew out of it by 3 months. You sound like a great person.

If you can produce that much-go for it!
It will not hurt to try.
What a awesome thing for you to offer! :)

I would be shocked if it would complicate things more. Breastmilk is typically the easiest thing for babies to digest. If you do it, I say go for trying to be 100% breastmilk for the baby as any formula might be bothering him. And, some babies, even breastfed ones, are just gassier and fussy while they are little...or he might be sensitive to things you eat that are in the breastmilk (like spice, chocolate, caffeine...those were things my babies were sensitive to).

I say go for it! I know it might seem weird to some women, but when you take into account the whole world (and past times), that was the only option for babies...breastmilk and sharing breastmilk if a momma had issues. My sister has nursed my baby before. Anyway, I say go for it. There is no harm to giving him breastmilk. Can't say it'll fix the problem, but any is good for him.

There are many reasons why your nephew might seem more uncomfortable or colicky than your daughter, and some of it might just be temperament. My son was exclusively breastfed, and he was colicky as all get out. My daughter was also exclusively breastfed, but she was just easier from the very beginning. Every baby is different.

So, don't get me wrong, I'm (I think pretty obviously) a fan of breastfeeding, but I don't think it's the cure-all that you seem to think it will be for your nephew. I'm sure it would be fine to give him some of your milk. I don't expect it would add any complications to his health. On the other hand, it might complicate things between you and your sister, so make sure you're both ok with the arrangement.

Safe? Likely. Will it relieve colic? Well, it isn't the magical, cure-all elixir that many seem to think it is. How do I know? I pumped and fed my first child breastmilk for the first 4 months and he was colicky the entire time. I even went so far as to eliminate all the "bad" foods from my diet and it didn't do diddly squat.

Think this a few steps ahead. I'm not saying it is bad, I'm just saying consider the long-term implications. Are you able and willing to pump/provide breastmilk for the child for an extended period of time? And, remember that in most babies colic seems to end after 12 weeks of age (using the due date) and fussiness seems to peak right around 6 weeks, which could explain his dissatisfaction.

The best thing for her to do would be to consult her child's pediatrician and get his/her take on what would be the best nutritional plan for his individual needs. It could be as simple as switching to a different formula (like Good Start or pre-mixed), or changing bottles.

colic is not related to what kind of milk a baby consumes. Have your sister research Harvey Karp's "Happiest Baby on the Block" and read up on the fourth trimester. I've breastfed both of my babies (neither has had any formula at all) and my first was extremely colicky for the first 3 or 4 months of his life and my second who i'm currently nursing (10 months old) is the chillest/happiest baby. It won't hurt your nephew at all but it also will not do anything to make him adjust to this confusing, loud, scary world quicker.

If the baby has colic, what type of milk he gets will not make any diffrence. She needs to try a slow flow nipple and stop after every ounce to burb. formula babies will spit up more, but if she slows down with the feedings it should help. Breast milk of course will not hurt him, both of my boys got both breast milk and formula, but he may not like the taste if he is used to formula. Since babies swallow more air from a bottle breast milk probebly would not fix the issue anyways, the best luck I had was burping after every ounce or so.

Also, I would not give a baby boy soy over a long period, soy has a lot of extra estrogen in it and is not good for growing boys over the long term.

What an awesome sister you are! If you can pump enough, it's worth a shot. Or maybe she should try adjusting the nipples or bottles she uses. Good luck to all of you!

It sounds like your sis needs to switch formulas. My own son couldn't tolerate anything but Enfamil Lipil PREMIXED (any powder, including enfamil lipil made him out and out miserable). Like many people who have to use formula, we went through "them all" trying to find the "right one". My friends' little girl, otoh, couldn't tolerate anything by Similac Sensitive PREMIXED, and I know several infants who had to have Nutrimigen.

((Premixed is a giant pain, because it's so expensive, but it's silky -almost oily- in texture and doesn't have all the tiny bubbles & granules that add to gassiness and constipation)).

Breastmilk is ALMOST always safe to add to a baby's diet (exclusions being certain medical conditions, medications, allergies, and sensitivities). I would suggest that your sister do the "formula magical chairs" before relying on donated milk UNLESS you both have the supply & pumping ability to provide at least half of what she needs AND are willing to go on exclusion diets if she starts getting sick/ eczema/ reflux/ allergic reactions.

I do think your breastmilk would very much help your nephew. Did your sister ask an IBCLC if her medications were not breastfeeding friendly, or did she ask the Drs - who generally have no clue whether a drug is safe or not?

What would help him most is probably suckling his Mother's breast tho... so if she didn't ask an IBCLC about the medications, I have the Medication Manual they have and can tell you/her also.

****ADDED****

CellCept (mycophenolate) is a L4 (not safe), due to the high levels in blood but has not been tested.

But an alternative med is Restasis/Neoral (cyclosporine) is an L3 (moderately safe and tested)

Medication and Mother's Milk by Dr T. Hale 2008 Edition.

I think it's great that you are willing to share with your sister and her baby! It's totally safe! It may help, but it sounds like she needs to switch formulas too. And true colic (non stop crying all day every day) can also be helped with a few trips to a chiropractor, helped my daughter and about 6 other babies I've known!

Breastfed babies can be and are colicky, so if he's truly colicky then your milk won't solve the problem. However, if your sister is willing to allow you to give him some of your breastmilk it won't hurt him in the least.

What she should probably do is change his formula to one that's more gentle on his stomach. Good Start was the best one for all of my kids, and is the one I ended up switching my breastfed babies to. My lactose-intolerant daughter (who we weren't certain was lactose intolerant until later but was VERY VERY refluxy) did very well on the Good Start Soy.

I do think it's very likely that he has GERD aka reflux so he needs to be seen by a Pediatric Gastroenterologist. They can diagnose reflux and if needed, they can also diagnose lactose intolerance. They can get him on medication if needed and suggest appropriate formula for him to go on.

I breastfed my daughter and she was extremely colicky and know many formula fed babies who aren't, it's really not related. What's happening is that the little guy is having problems with excessive gas building up and causing him pain. Why doesn't your sister ask her son's pediatrician for advice?

And, please advise her to calm down, the baby will pick up on her anxiety and that she is at her "wit's end" which will further stress him and cause more colic.

Well as far as giving her some of you milk, I think that's fine is you're both fine with that, but I'm not sure it will relieve his fussiness. What does her doctor say? He could be colicy, in which case not much will give him relief. It's possible he also has a milk intolerance, which giving him your milk will not help. We had some issues with my son and milk intolerance and the doctor said to try a new formula for 2 weeks before we accepted or disregarded it's effectiveness. My son was on soy and after a year was fine with milk and other dairy. Did you sister try new formulas for that long? Also, constantly switching can also make him fussy...I know b/c that happened to us too, even after the two weeks. It's really hard to know when they are this tiny, but I'd ask the pediatrician before switching to another new thing.

I don't see a problem with it, but don't guarantee that it will relieve colic/fussiness. My son was mainly breastfed for the first two months of his life and he was the fussiest, grumpiest baby ever! I had to eat the BLANDEST diet for it to MILDLY improve. He was also bad when I gave him any type of Enfamily or Similac once I went back to work. Those Mylicon drops NEVER worked on him, and he spit up a LOT no matter how I fed him. He finally did better with the Gerber Good Start formula and a certain set of bottles. Now, at almost 5 months, he's pleasant as can be and is not quite as particular with things.

Really, some babies are just pleasant babies like yours and some are grumps, no matter what you feed them. She may need to try different brands of formula. Also, it sounds like he might have reflux, which is not cured by breast feeding. My poor friends son has a BAD case of it and she is exclusively breastfeeding and eating a very bland diet as well. She has been giving him medicine prescribed by the doctor and it is helping a little, but for the most part, that part of his body just has to develop better.

Bottles have various nipples.... which are slow or fast flowing.
Infants, do not necessarily know how to control the flow of liquid into their mouths.
Maybe... he is taking in too much too fast too soon. Hence, spitting-up and getting too much.
Hence, crying and pain.

Is she burping him?
Bicycle his legs.
Massage his tummy.

Providing breastmilk for her AND your baby, will be arduous.
Infants need to feed ON-demand and constantly. Unless she lives with you, you'd need TONS of breastmilk for that baby.

That is the most wonderful thing you could do for your sister! If you aren't able to get enough for her, there are breastmilk banks that she could get milk from as well. I think it's worth a try to see if it helps his tummy feel better (I think it will). But even if it doesn't cure his problems completely (some babies are just more fussy than others) the breastmilk you provide for her will be soooo much better for her baby than the formula she has to give him because she can't provide the breastmilk herself.

I think that the wet nurse idea is wonderful, if you don't have any disease that can be transferred to him. He will greatly benefit from the nutrients in breast milk. You could even mix it in with the formula if there wasn't enough. That said, is sounds like this baby has colic and even exclusively breastfed babies get that. I believe that colic causes a painful sleep disorder (a child that isn't getting enough sleep because of body issues and is therefore in double misery). Sometimes colic is a food issue such as a type of formula or something mom is eating (if breastfed), but it can be other body issues too. For example if the baby was sunny side up or cesarean born, it might not have gotten the spinal adjustment it needed during birthing and may benefit from cranial sacral therapy for infants. My colic baby did benefit from that, which is very gentle. One of the things that the woman did was hold the baby upside down and allow the baby to self adjust its spine, which my baby seemed to love. The best thing for a colic baby is to sleep more -- there is a great book called "happiest baby on the block" that demonstrates good methods for putting a colic baby to sleep. My baby loved getting wrapped up tight in a sling and having me take a walk outside or vacuum inside (very loud white noise). Good luck!

You can provide milk for two babies. In the 'olden days' wet nurses nursed their own children plus the children of their employer. Women who have twins can nurse both and many women with close aged children will tandem nurse if the older is still nursing. I do not know if it will help the baby's signs but if you are willing to try, I don't see a big down side (of course that assumes your sister is willing and she believes she will not feel defensive or in some way inadequate (not that she should but is seems to be a fraught subject)). I assume you would pump first and then feed yours - I have read that infants are more successful at obtaining hind milk than the pumps are - but I would discuss the technicalities with a lactation consultant. And of course your sister should consult her pediatrician.

The safety of most anti rejection drugs has not been assessed for breastfeeding (um, how could one ethically do that) and it is not even know whether mycophenolate crosses into breast milk. If your sister's medical team says no nursing, I would not take a chance.

it's fine. women have and still do breastfeed each other's babies all the time. your baby will be happiest with your milk but your sister's is good too!
good luck!

ABSOLUTELY! That would be a great gift for your sister and your nephew! It won't necessarily "cure" the behavior or discomfort, but you never know until you try :) I doubt it will complicate things unless your breast milk helps, then for some reason you decide not to provide it anymore, and he has to go back on formula.

If you aren't able to provide all he needs, there are donor organizations as well as the San Jose Milk Bank. $3/oz is not affordable for some families, so donors such as the Bay Area Breast Milk Collective could help :)

His gassiness could simply be due to the position he gets fed in. The best thing your sister could try is called Paced Bottle Feeding. Gravity actually works against a baby when they're in the traditional bottle-feeding position because regardless of how slow flow the nipple is, when you turn it upside down, the bottle will drip. With PBF, you sit the baby up, usually baby's back to person's chest, and have just enough milk/formula in the nipple that it covers the hole. Baby creates the flow instead of accepting it, and this helps control the air baby takes in (more like breastfeeding).

Here are a couple of great websites:
http://alliancebreastfeeding.com/docs/Paced%20Bottle%20Fe...
http://bfandsupplementing.blogspot.com/2008/06/frustrated... (I like this one because it describes the gasping most infants do with the bottle)

With my oldest, we used the premixed Similac. It really helped with the gassiness! It's worth a try, I guess.