Help please!
I have a 4 month old baby who has been bottle fed since birth with formula (she was never breastfed as I couldn't) she had been taking the bottle fine and was a champion eater until around 10 weeks when she started fussing on the bottle. Initially I could distract her with music or singing when I fed her but now it's gotten so bad that I have to put her to sleep and then feed her. If she wakes up I have to give her the dummy and then when she falls back asleep put the bottle back in quickly. I do this over and over again and at each feed she pretty much just screams!
I've been to paediatricians, doctors and a sleep and settling place similar to trescillian but no one has been able to help me! They say because she is putting on weight they aren't concerned but i seriously feel like the only reason she is putting on weight is because I'm force feeding her! She has been diagnosed with reflux and is on losec, which hasn't helped much. I've tried different bottles, formula, positions to feed her but nothing is working! Every time I feed her I'm getting so anxious because I know she will start screaming for the next hour! She also never likes to be put down and for most of the day I'm holding, which is hard as I also have a toddler.
Has anyone been in a similar situation? What did you do and did anything help? Could it be something more than reflux? I would appreciate any advice.
Thanks ?
7 Replies
Have you ruled out lactose intolerance??
Possible milk and/or soy protein allergy/intolerance? Get her to a paediatrician if possible. You can ask your GP for a script for specialised formula to trial for a few weeks to see if that makes a difference. Also make sure you aren't over feeding - smaller, more frequent meals are best. Highly unlikely to be lactose intolerance in baby that young.
My nephews and nieces were all lactose intolerant at this age
Can certainly happen esp if family history, but usually a secondary intolerance due to something else, like an allergy or gut damage :)
Me again - I am a dietitian, you may also like to see a paediatric dietitian (APD) for further advice, especially if you feel like your doctor isn't taking you seriously :) terribly stressful having a baby with reflux xx
My now 11 month old was shocking screamed 24/7, the doctor put her on Losec in combination with liquid Zantac. They way it was explained to me was Losec fixes the acid in the stomach but it takes time to work, even though Zantac is more of a bandaid and doesn't fix the problem, it makes the baby comfortable while Losec works it magic. After a couple of weeks she improved dramatically, she stayed on the Losec / Zantac combination for a few weeks and then I dropped to just Losec.
My baby was exactly the same. He is 8 months old and still won't feed properly. When he was 5 months old and fundoplication surgery which stops the reflux from coming back up. Since then he has improved the reflux has stopped eating improved and because it also caused issues for his breathing so it needed to be fixed. Keeping them up right for longer or try a different formula maybe there is an issue with a dairy allergy. My son went off normal formula and on to one called Alfare and that also made an improvement. I hope it gets better for you soon.