Started Solids Question

THe best way to pinpoint what it is is try each food for 2-3 days at a time just one food at a time and then if none of the foods seem to be triggering it switch to the soy formula or you can switch to that anyway and still do the foods the same way and see if you can pinpoint it

Hi boo, Starting on solid foods before 1 year of age can make some children develope food alergies. I would stop the solids and talk to her doctor. Good luck boo. W.

Those are all signs of teething as well. If she is teething it may be a cooincidence. However, I would not rule out that it is the food. I would stop the formula and give her only one kind of food for two or three days in a row and see what is causing what.

you are giving her to much at one time for her lil body to get adjusted to...do the rice ceral in a bottle mixed with breast milk and the formal...I breast feed my last baby...and we had to do the same thing...you might have to make the hole in the nipple a lil bigger...we also had to use a soy based formula...I cant remember the name of it...I can remember it had a red label on it...worked out great...Isomil was the name of it....then in two weeks we tried different kinds of baby food every 2 weeks and watched to see her reactions....if she broke out we knew she could not handle it...Dr.Key at Sumter Peds was the one who told me how to do this and it worked....try it..or call Sumter Peds and ask them...
J. from Sumter

First, I would recommend trying to eliminate the formula. Breastfeeding is all about supply and demand so if you suppliment with formula because you think you have low supply you are starting a downward spiral because you are telling your body it does not need to produce. Their are many ways to increase supply. Pumping after feedings (even if you don't get anything - the stimulation will help after a couple of days), feeding more often are the two best that come to mind.

I was on antibiotics that made my supply take a severe hit. I was producing about 20% to 30% of what I normally had produced. With a lot of work and diligence, my supply came back in about a week.

If you want to continue breastfeeding, then I would recommend this first to see if it is causing the issues. The symptoms you listed could also be alergies common with the colder weather we have been having or maybe your Christmas tree if you have/had a real one.

It is very possible the formula could be a problem, also any of the foods you are giving. Try the one at a time suggestion, then also try mixing foods you know she is not allergic to with breastmilk for a couple days and see how she takes it. I always think it's very interesting people will suggest you stop breastfeeding in an instant, but if a baby has trouble once they start formula, no one suggests not giving that anymore! At 6 months you should have a pretty well established milk supply and if you are giving solids, you shouldn't really need to worry too much about your supply, as the baby will no longer be relying soley on breastmilk.
Is breastfeeding something you want nothing more to do with at all? Did you only stop because you were recommended to? If it's something you'd be okay with continuing, then do just that. If she wasn't having any problems with the breastmilk, then give her that. Then cut out any foods that are causing problems as well. You can feed a baby breastmilk alone for a year, but the baby will need more than just formula as she gets older.So if she isn't able to eat foods, you will end up paying a ton of money for special formulas, instead of just giving her something you know for a fact her little body can handle!
PS. Even if it has been weeks since you breastfed, you do still have milk. It takes months to dry up. Contrary to what some may believe and even tell you, you do not dry up overnight! Unfortunately most moms who stop breastfeeding do so because they believe they've either dried up or stopped producing a good deal because of other, perfectly normal reasons (and unfortunately a lot of pediatricians are not very educated in breastfeeding, so are prone to believing the same myths that everyone else does, and therefore will have you quit when there is no reason to quit).

I have never had this experience with my child, but it sounds to me like she either is allergic to something...or being that she has been breast fed for 6 mos...her body is not yet use to the solid food...so she's having these reactions... but if it were me, I would take her to her pediatrician and get some professional advice. From that point you will know what to do. God bless you

did you wait a week between new foods? if not back her off everything but one new source of food and start over introducing new foods you'll find your culprit.

question for you. did you add a few items at a time to the diet? if so back off all of them. you need to add only one item to the diet per 2 weeks that way you will know which item is causing the allergy. also some formulas can cause food allergies as well so that may be whats causing it. what type of formula are you using?

I recommend the following:

1) since your adding formula for the first time. Just stay with that for two weeks and nothing else, unless your adding in breatmilk. But no solids of any kind yet. This will tell you if the baby is having a reaction to the formula.

2) Next. Solids. Start with adding rice cereal only. No other solids yet. Do this for another two weeks. Again you should know at the end of two weeks if the baby is having a reaction to it or not.

3) Add the easiest digestable baby foods next. But only one at a time. A great one to start with is apples or applesauce. Only add it to one feeding. So at this point the baby is getting formula/breastmilk for breakfast. Lunch is rice cereal and milk. Dinner last meal of the day is milk. cereal mixed with apples for taste. Again do this for 2 weeks.

4) Repeat the above step for each new food you introduce so you know which food is causing allergies.

5) Once you have done this with baby for all foods you know you will feed then you should be able to add more than one food a day. Example : breakfast: milk, rice cereal w/apples for taste. Lunch milk, spoonful of veggies and spoonful of fruit.

6) It's a slow process but I have 2 children and this is how we done them trust me it's well worth it to take your time and not upset their stomach.

Hi M.

I see you have gotten a lot of great responses. My little girl had some eczema issues too...we have eliminated them through over the counter products... but back to your food questions.

Do slow down what you are feeding her. One food a week!!!! For sure! And DO NOT put any food in her bottles!!!!

Also, another reason to be fairly cautious about the foods is that babies digestive systems are not fully developed and certain foods are rec. at being at different times of their development.

I have been using a great book called MOMMY MADE & DADDY TOO. (got it used on Amazon for 6 bucks!) It has a great chart in the back about what fruits, veggies and grains should be introduced and when. I followed it with my first and will do with the 2nd.

good luck and most of all have fun with your little one. It is such an exciting time!

I have 2 children one is 2 and the other 3 1/2 months and I had the same problem with both of them. My son ( the 2yr old) was breast fed for the first 3 weeks but had to stop due to being a young parent, and I noticed that when I stopped breastfeeding and started formula that he started having symptoms of a cold and became very gasie so we had to put him on soy. Didn't take care of the cold but did take care of the gassiness.
Now I breastfed my daughter for 8 weeks, and had to stop due to milk supply and when I started her on formula the same thing happened, it's like she had a cold for about 3 weeks or so!! She also was gasy so I tried her on soy but it made her very constipated so my cousin had told me about the formula they use for their little girl (Enfamil Gentlease) which is milk based but broken down more for protein sensitivity. I don't really think there is anything you can do for the cold symptoms but if your daughter is overly gasy you may want to try and switch formulas. I think it is just a symptom of switching between breast and formula.

I hope this helps!

A.

My daughter was exclusively breastfed until 6 mos too. She never spit up ever. We started rice cereal, and I was using formula to mix the rice cereal. She started spitting up. she was not gaining well (for a while) and we ended up switching her to formula at @ 7 mos. She continued to spit up more so my pedi gave us Alimentum and Nutramigen to see which she keeps down. Because she is listed as failure to thrive we need to make sure she doesn't spit up any of it (if that is possible). The pedi thinks it is a milk protein allergy, because of her spitting up, her eczema wouldn't clear up, and she had bloody mucous in her stool once. She is better,but she will still spit up sometimes, and I think it is when she has the rice cereal, or the baby food has rice (starch) in the ingredients. I have cut that out to see if that helps, and it appears that the Nutramigen is the only formula she will not throw up. Because of the cost tho, I am looking into switching her to soy.
It is very hard to pinpoint which food it is and you need to just cut back to formula, wait a couple days to see if her symptoms clear up, and then start over with the solids. I would discuss it with your pedi tho in the meantime.
GL.

My pediatrician told us to do ONE new food A WEEK so you knew exactly what, if anything, your child is allergic to. It seems you have lots of new things going on at once, so its very hard to tell what is the culprit. I would cut all back to one thing,,give the one thing for a week, chart reactions if any, then introduce one more new thing for a week, etc. Any baby would be gassy from all those new things in only two weeks. That is just alot of new stuff. The formula counts as new food...so do that and cereal for a while. Cereal (rice, not oatmeal) is gentle and you will be able to tell if its the formula if you do just rice cereal for a while. When we started Sophie on cereal,she ate just the rice cereal for 4 weeks before we threw her anything new. I actually did the same foods for TWO week incriments to see what, if anything she was allergic to. She had very little gas issues because her body had a chance to adjust. I didn't feed large amounts to start of new food either. I always gave rice cereal with food,,small amounts of new food, then gradually a bit more of same food each feeding. Best of luck to you and Lauren. :-)

hi i also breastfed my daughter till she was a year old and i had the same problem but with the milk, so far soy milk has work wonders with my daughter and i know there is also a soy formula it gives them less gas and is for sensitive tummies, and for the solid food i started by colors like green foods first for a period of time but always writing down which ones you want to make sure you know which ones you fed her and in which order that always help me. well i hope this helps. Good luck!!!!

M.,

First of all congratulations on Lauren, isn't motherhood just WONDERFUL! I would have to agree with the others who said you are trying to do too much too fast. You have to think about it from the standpoint that for the past 6 months she has had nothing but breastmilk, so now not only her tastebuds, but her tummy and digestive system have to get used to this new stuff. Take it slow. They say you should give them cereal at least two weeks before you try to introduce anything solid. What you may want to do is go back to breastmilk if you can for a week or so and see if everything clears up and then try introducing new stuff one thing at a time starting with cereal mixed with breastmilk or formula and then if she is ok in two weeks try some kind of veggie. They say to do veggies first because if you try to do fruits first they will like the sweetness and may reject the veggies all together. The other thing to remember is at this point the solid food isn't for nutrition, it's to get them ready. They are still getting the majority of their nutrition from the breastmilk or formula, so if she isn't ready for it, it's not a big deal! I hope this helps some, if you have any questions feel free to send me a message. Good luck with her, and remember you are doing a great job!

A.

When my 2 year old was a baby he has problems with formula after I stopped breastfeeding and was put on Alimentum (formula). But also he had a problem with apples. The Dr told me until he was 2 to keep him away from all things apple. Which was hard because most juices contain apple. I hope this may help you a little.

My thought would be you need to not introduce anymore foods for a while, and eliminate these foods one at a time for a few days to a week each and see if by eliminating any of these it gets any better. That includes maybe switchng to a soy-based or lactose free milk-based formula for a bit to see if that changes anything. My 22 month-old daughter is lactose intolerant, and the dr's kept putting me off becaue it constipated her instead of giving her diarrhea, so they wouldn't hear of it being a milk issue. So I took matters into my own hands and switched her to soy everything, milk, cheese, etc, and now constipation is a rare issue with her, and because she is on soy alternatives, she isn't loosing the calcium or vit d / vit a from cows milk. Not all dr's are like that, I am just saying that taking her off the foods one at a time for a bit won't hurt her, and will narrow it down some,

My son is 18 months...and he has been on the nebulizer since 6 months. He started getting sick after I switched from BF to formula. Since he ate well and didnt have stomach problems the peditrician dismissed it (we went to lung specialists, chest xrays one after another, constant antibiotics, everything) One weekend I was at my grandmothers and he was throwing up, she asked me if the the formula had milk in it...when I said yes, she was like well that is probably it. I changed him over to soy formula that weekend, it helped a lot but he was still getting sick. (I did a lot of reasearch and found out that the respitory problems is one of the major signs of the allergy to milk.) I eventually took him to an acupunturist (I was so tired of going to the doctor and treating the symptoms and not knowing what was actually wrong, I just didnt fell that a young child should be so dependant on meds at that age (they even wanted me to put him on baby previced (sp?), that is when I said enough was enough). The acupunturist put him on rice milk and on a wheat free diet (I didnt know that wheat increased flem production, and she said that since he couldnt handle what his body already made with all the "daycare colds" that wheat made it even worse). That has really helped, he still gets the colds, just part of daycare, but it doesnt take him down as bad. He was still waking up in the middle of the night, mostly hungry. I called a few weeks ago and told the peditrictian that I didnt think he was getting enough "umph" from the rice milk to hold him thru the night and they suggested we give him a can of pedisure before bed...that has really helped. I know your little girl is too little for that, but it sounds to be starting out the same. We used Isomil Advanced (the soy formula), but I think they have a new one Alentium (sp?) that is even more hypoallerginic. Good luck.

My son has food sensitivities. This is what I did, per discussions with my pediatrcian. I cut all milk products from my diet (it was that bad) so I could nurse. Then we put him on soy formula to supplement and he started vomitting. That got very serious after his first 6 oz bottle (in the hospital for 2 days). So we switched him to a non-milk and soy basised formula Alimentum (by Similac). It expensive and smells awful but works amazingly. I would try soy first for your wallets sake, then move on if you have to. Also, what the ped had me do was to cut out all solids for one week to make sure the formula wasn't a problem then to add in solids one at a time. We found out Gerber cereal contains soy (Beechnut does not) so he couldn't eat that. Also he had a problem with the jarred baby food (all of it, earthlands best, gerber, beechnut and another organic one) so I made my own food. I would cook a bunch at once (5 apples or 2 sweet potatoes) and puree it, then freeze it in an ice cube tray. They sell ones with lids online and I also used my standard ones that I then put in a ziploc bag to protect the food from anything else in the freezer. Once the food was frozen (like the next day), I would snap out all the cubes into ziploc freezer bags and then I could reuse the trays and give him a variety of food. My son outgrew most of the allergies (except milk) but not until about 16 months, so don't worry if at 12 they're not gone. Most likely your ped will tell you to try the foods again at 12 months to see since most kids out grow food problems by then. I hope some of this helped and fee free to contact me if you want any more suggestions. Also try mother's milk, you get it at organic type stores, you can get pills or tea. It increases your milk supply, it's just herbs. My lacation consultant from the hospital recommended it and I double checked it with my pediatrician who also was okay with it. I took 2 pills 3 times a day, and could maintain total breastfeeding pumping for months after I had low supply.

First, if you're trying all those things at once, stop them all. Start with the rice cereal for at least 4 days to a week, then if no reaction, go on to something else, try that for 4 days to a week and if no reaction, on to something else. Keep a running list of everything you're trying and either check or x it depending on reaction or not. Then you know what you need to try again in a few months. As far as the formula, I had the same issues with supply and am having to supplement with formula as well. We had a variety of the same issues with gassiness and things, after trying various formulas, we have found the very best one to be Enfamil Lipl Gentlease, it seems to be closest to breast milk, and has the partially broken down proteins, so it's easier to digest and easier on the stomach as well. I hope this helps. Have a great day!! Also to anyone starting solids....A great website and resource to use, that was recommended by our pediatrician is... www.askdrsears.com tells you everything you need to know and then some!