Keep Breastfeeding or Switch to Formula?

Talk to a lactation consultant as well. Docs know some about BFing, but LC's know more - it's what they do. Good luck!

All five of my kids had that when I breastfed. I cut dairy out of my diet and it helped them. My youngest only had a BM every week or two. I posted a question about it and after researching found that breastfed babies use all their food don't go as often. With my youngest, if I even had a bit of dairy, even in breads etc., he'd be fussy. I had to totally eliminate everything that even thought about having any kind of dairy. I only had to be this strict for the first few months. Now I can eat bread without it bothering him but I still can't have cheese or ice cream. (He's 11 months).I only ate meat, veggies and rice. One of my children didn't tolerate when I ate corn, gluten or chocolate also.

You could try supplementing with a soy-based formula and see if there is any improvement.

My babies all cried and fussed, mostly in the evenings, from about six weeks until about 4 months. They passed a lot of gas and acted like they had upset tummies.

I would just sling the baby over my shoulder, so their tummies got direct pressure, and walk. I walked the length of the house for hours and hours. That was the only thing that made my babies stop fussing.

There's a good chance she may stop fussing. Sometimes, I think they are just getting used to using their new digestive systems.

I think doctors are so quick to say "milk allergy" these days. When I was having babies, they just called it colic!

http://keystosimpleliving.com/kids.php

My first suggestion would be to try a naturopath. They can help you plan an elimination diet for yourself, and teach you how to chart all this. Sometimes, it's true, formula can help. Other parents have found that some formula's only intensify constipation. One woman who ran a new mom's group (and who I greatly respect) stated that doctors often come to this conclusion (dairy) first, and it's not always true.

Another idea would be to visit a pediatric chiropractor for your little one. Sometimes, during birth and life, kids get "stuck" and need a little extra help getting their body's on track. An ND would refer out for this if they felt it might be beneficial.

To be honest, I would keep breast feeding...... (I am PRO extended breastfeeding. Our 2nd child didn't even get baby food till 9 months. Our 3rd is almost 7 months and I'm planning on doing the same thing..... )

My sister-in-law breastfed for 1 to 2 months and then switched to formula. My niece was EXTREMELY cranky and would scream because she had gas. (Or a burp "stuck".) She is still the same on formula as well. She is a happy baby except when she has to burp/gas but switching to formula (gentle type) didn't help....... She is now almost 5 months and is still this way.

Good luck!

My sister in law's 2nd baby had extreme allergies to milk, eggs, peanut (you name it) but her crying was almost non-stop. It was easier to count the minutes she didn't cry. Once her allergies were identified, my SIL eliminated them from her diet and was able to continue to nurse her. She was a new baby once the allergy was under control. Regarding the 7 days BM, my daughter's record was 9 days. Her pediatrician told us that every baby is different and that if her tummy wasn't hard or she wasn't crying (in pain) it only meant her body was using all the breastmilk and no waste was left; hence no BM. Good luck.

I have heard that some breastfed babies do not poop a lot. The breast milk is extremely digestible, so it may be that your daughter just doesn't produce much waste from the milk.

I'm not sure about the gas she gets though. Poor kiddo. My daughter, who was breastfed, did go through an extremely fussy stage, around 10 weeks, and I thought it might be what I ate. I finally figured out that I could not eat any deli meats or any foods that were heavily processed. She had terrible gas after I ate those, sometimes even the next day. Once I cut those out, she was much better.

It might not be milk, watch your diet for other things.

Whether to switch to formula or not is up to you, but I'm not sure how much it will help, if at all.

It is true that what you eat can bother your breastfed baby, such as dairy and soy (this doesn't mean that they will have a true allergy). If you want to continue breastfeeding, you might have to eliminate these and see if it helps. I really recommend working with someone, maybe try calling the U of M lactation group, near Briarwood. They have a pediatrician who specializes in breastfeeding medicine and also lactation consultants.

As for poop, usually they don't consider it a problem unless baby doesn't go for several weeks.

my son is 4 months old tomorrow and we had the same problem, he would fart all the time and was terribly fussy, would go days with no BM, but didn't seem to strain to go, and they were generally normal for a Bf'd baby, but sometimes really green. He also has serious eczema. Doc said it was an allergy, but try as I might I am either not eliminating as much milk protein as I think I am, or it's something else as well (my doc did say that if he has one allergy he likely has another) but nothing helped. Until I took him to see my chiropractor. He rarely has gas now and his eczema only flairs if I have a substantial amount of dairy, such as a bowl of icecream (my weakness). I was in tears at his 3 month well baby because I really thought my only option was to stop nursing him, and I am so thankful that I didn't have to do that. good luck!

Is she straining when she poops? Because even though it sounds extreme 7 days can be normal for a breastfed baby.
My DD was a spitter upper, she would do it all day long. I would change her clothes numerous times a day. But I kept BFing her.
Chances are she will have a bad reaction to formula too. I have a cousin who gave up on BFing because she thought formula would solve all her babe's problems...didn't help at all. I hear this a lot-quiting BFing to try 'miracle' formula only to still have the problems. (I am not knocking formula ppl!-just get tired of this particular situation among my friends.)
Do you drink coffee? Any caffiene? Caffiene used to give my DS really bad gas.
Chocolate can be another irritant.
If you want to keep BFing-you should.
How long has the 7 day poops been going on? Changes in cycles do occur. I know DD had a few times where there was this kind of big gap and then it went to every other day. It happens. It's normal. My only concern would be if she is straining.

I'm sorry...I started to ramble. But I hope this helps a little bit. :)

My son was like this too, and we gave him Soy formula along with nursing. It really helped his tummy, along with gas drops at almost every feeding, and exercises. Once baby is more able to move around then it will get better. My son is now one year old, and he is on lactose free milk and he is fine. For us, it was the lactose that was doing all that to him.

Hope you find a solution and things get better, best wishes!

It is completely normal for exclusively breastfed babies to go a week between bowel movements. A certain amount of straining is also pretty common...their little muscles just haven't developed yet. I wouldn't be concerned unless the bm was also dry and hard.

Babies fuss and cry. It might be something in your diet, maybe not. I did notice an improvment when I cut out dairy. However, it was about the dairy protein...not lactose. Lactose intolerance in infants is rare since breastmilk has lactose.

I am all about formula when needed, but nothing you're describing sounds all that out of the ordinary.

you could always keep pumping and easing her into formula slowly diluting breastmilk w/formula until she's all formula. keep pumping while she's on straight formula for a couple weeks to see if it makes any difference. that way if you decide you want to keep breastfeeding you're keeping your supply going. And if she's a different baby, then you know she does better with the formula. However I agree that breastfed babies just don't poop as much once they get to a few months. If she's not constantly fussy I would doubt it's an allergy. About the only thing to do is a complete elimination diet which I've heard is rough. Only about 5 things you can eat! The kids I've know with dairy allergies have not only been fussy, gassy, loose stools but all had rash's too and some severe enough to have epi-pens.

You are doing the BEST thing for you and your baby. Keep breastfeeding! What you eat will absolutely effect your baby. Dairy is ususually the first but some other culprits could be eggs, broccoli, cauliflower or chocolate, onions, peppers..anything that might bother anyone's tummy. Breastfed babies don't always have the "scheduled" bowel movements because there is so little waste in breastmilk. All babies are different. Your breastmilk is made especially for YOUR baby. Starting her on formula could make things worse. I had one that pooped every time she ate and another who would go every other day. No worries! You might call a Le Leche League leader in your area. I am sure you can find one online or call the hospital where you delivered and ask the lactation consultants for a local Le Leche League leader phone number. Those gals are wonderful, experienced breastfeeding moms who are literally "on call" to answer questions like this and help any way they can. "Breast is Best" Keep up the good work!

When my kiddo was a baby, she was a once a week pooper too. I think it's from the breastmilk.

J.---I'm sure you don't need me to tell you, as mostly likely many have already, that breastmilk is best for your baby. Having said that, if you are not willing to change your food choices to make digestion easier for your baby, then you might be best to give that up.

A couple of points, learned from health care practioners that I work with. First, cows milk/dairy is one of the most highly allergenic substances in the world. I know, we are told to drink it as it is nature's most perfect food...but no one tells us that the only animal it is perfect for is baby cows. Advice to drink dairy comes from the USDA, which is a gov't entity set up to promote US agriculture AND heavily influenced by industry. I won't even go into the ethics of the dairy industry and what they do to the cows to get as much milk as possible from them. Don't ask what they do to the babies, which of course, is an unfortunate 'side-effect' of 'farming' milk.

But please don't take my word for it. Please go to www.pcrm.org and put diary in the search box. There is also some information to read at www.notmilk.com and www.thechinastudy.com. Cows milk proteins are one of the leading causes of type 1 diabetes in children, among other, more obscure afflictions (sinus drip, anyone?). I highly recommend that you quit cows milk. It is not easy. Dairy contains components that cause addiction and acts on the same areas in the brain as do drugs. So, be kind to yourself, but, quitting might be worth it for the health of you, your baby and the rest of your family.

Please let me know if you would like me to supply articles supporting what I have shared here. I can also share great plant based sources of calcium. The calcium from plants is more easily absorbed than it is from diary, without the calories, fat and animal proteins that cause disease. Good sources are broccoli, kale, bok choy, sesame seeds and almonds.

Lastly, a pediatrician I work with says that if you can't/won't breastfeed and a baby has colic or other digestive issues (reflux?) a predigested type formula, available by prescription, is the next best thing. It is more expensive, but isn't the health of your baby worth it? I look forward to your questions. Be well, D.

Switch to organic dairy only - it will say USDA ORGANIC. You should also cut down as much as possible. Other diet culprits are food dyes, nuts, gluten and eggs/broccoli/brussel sprouts/beans.

Even with her gas... breastmilk is much more healthy and nutritional for an infant's metabolic needs.

As for the bm's... they should be soft, not loose. Even if she didn't poop for 7 days, as long as it was not hard and painful to pass - that is still within normal bounds for an exclusively breastfed baby.

My oldest is almost 36, I was told it a food gave me gas then it would give my baby gas. So I limited green peppers, onions, everything in the cabbage family, (broccoli-caulflour ect) for the first several months. No chili or spagetti or pizza, you can add them in once she is about 6 monts old. Add slowly one at a time so you know if a particular food gives your baby gas. I was always told that nursing mothers needed more milk than a non-nursing mother. The breast milk would leach the calicum from the mother's body and she could lose a tooth or suffer from osteoporosis or both.
I breastfed one child almost 2 years.