Trouble with Forumla feeding...HELP! 7-Week-old Baby Girl.

It's still possible to bring in breastmilk and gradually switch her over, but it'd take some work. Worth it if you are interested. It's called re-lactating. Babies nearly always do well on breastmilk.

Looks like the larger cow protein doesn't sit well with her immature and open GI tract. Maybe you should look into going to breastfeeding. With her so young, it will be VERY easy for you to start re-lactating.

Formula is known to cause both constipation, diarrhea, stomach cramping and mal-absorption of nutrients for many children due to the lactose intolerance. Breastmilk does not have lactose and is what babies actually thrive on since it is species specific and custom tailored for each infant.

Start pumping, having her suckle all the time, limit the ounces of formula your force on her each day so that by the end of the week, you are just breastfeeding. Make sure you keep hydrated, eat nutrient dense healthy foods and start eating oatmeal. Just those simple steps alone will get your breasts back into the milk producing suppliers they need to be for your daughter.

She's little and doesnt need much. Try burping her when she gets all fidgety as she's probably had enough already by that time. Some babies just cry more than others.... it helps build their lungs. She might be starting out a little bitchy but chances are she'll be an awesome toddler. As long as she's gaining weight dont worry too much about how much she's eating. She knows when she's hungry and she knows when she's had enough.

What size nipple are you using??? Make sure it's only stage 1 or slow. And check the hole. Perhaps she is just getting too much too fast???

And babies are built to know how much they need. If she is happy after the 2 ounces, just QUIT! She should be fed on demand. So when she cries, offer her a bottle but if she doesn't want it, that's okay!

As long as she is having wet diapers and gaining weight, let her lead!

Hi B., I'm sorry you're so worried and your baby is unhappy. Your baby may be showing signs of reflux. I just did a quick google search and found this website. You might want to check it out to see if it sounds like what your baby girl is experiencing.
http://www.infantrefluxdisease.com/infant_acid_reflux/ind...
If so, there are medications and different things that can be done to help a lot. One is, keep her body at a 30 degree angle or higher after feeds. So, you could lift the head of her crib by putting something under the mattress, or the feet of the crib etc. Don't use an infant seat, or car seat for this. Bending the baby at the waist puts pressure on the stomach and forces the contents up.
I hope you're both feeling better soon. S.

No worries! As long as she is having 6-8 wet diapers and a poop along the way and she is gaining weight she is more than likely fine! She might be gulping down the first 2 ounces and feeling full, not to mention taking in alot of air with it. Burp her more often. Remember too that adults do not eat the same amount of food every meal, so we shouldn't expect an infant would either. If she seems to have a tummy ache do "bicycles" with her legs, it helps move things along. Also, you didn't say if she seems constipated. If her formula has iron in it, that could cause constipation and discomfort. Most babies unless they are truely anemic, do not need additional iron even though alot of docs seem to think so. Babies also go on a big grow at around 6 or 8 weeks. Things seem to even out and calm down by 3 months. Hang in there!

Here is your first clue right here... babies that age should only stay up for about 20 minutes or so. If the child is fussing only 5 minutes or so after eating, she is acting appropriate for her age. She NEEDS to go back to sleep. An extra 20 minutes of staying awake for her is equivalent to you staying up for 2 days. Imagine how frantic you would feel for sleep! They grow more during their first 6 months of life than in their entire life- and babies GROW while they sleep. She might cry after you lay her down but that is ALSO appropriate. Remember that they are acting automatically- All they know is that they are tired and are NOT alseep yet and need to sleep. So they are sending a cry signal- "I NEED SLEEP" No matter what position their body is in (in your arms or in a bed) they will cry UNTIL the need is met- in this case that need is "met" when they finally slip into the sleep state.

I would get back OFF the soy and go with the formula where she was eating 4 ounces. More naps. I think that is your key.

My niece had similar problems and they found out she was allergic to both dairy and soy. She was on a special formula and was much better. Now that she is supposed to be off formula they are searching for alternative ways to get her vitamin D! They took her to the allergenist and found out she is allergic to all kinds of things from eggs, to Lord knows what else!

Has your pediatrician looked into allergies at all? If not I would at least ask...especially if it's not reflux.

Good Luck!

Okay, well first, it's totally fine if she's sleeping all the time. Both my kids were major sleepers and we barely saw their eyes for the first few months! This part is normal.

If she's gaining weight, she's probably fine, but I understand your concerns. Based on what you've described I would venture to say that she's probably full after 2oz. Have you tried just stopping the feeding and seeing how long she goes. It's hard when you have a bottle and you know how many ounces they usually drink...I think sometimes as adults we almost try and force it to happen b/c they "need" to finish the bottle but we have to watch for their cues. I formula fed both my kids and I know sometimes I felt like that, but I would suggest just stopping when she starts leaking it back out and see what happens. If she's too full she could be fussy or uncomfortable. My kids didn't have colic but I've heard from people that did that you will always know if your kid has colic, there's no mistaking it! So, if you're wondering, she probably doesn't.

Also, switching formulas is really hard on them so if you've switched them a couple times in a short period of time she could be reacting to that. We had to switch my son a few times due to health issues and it was hard to see his little body have to adjust each time, but you have to give it time. They say to do it for 2 weeks before you make a decision.

Hang in there. The first few months is tough!

Really sounds like infant reflux to me. I would ask the doctor for something to help. I had a really hard time trying to convince my doctor that something was even wrong since he too was gaining weight. He would start like he was starving but then after a few sucks would scream and straighten out and refuse to eat. He seemed to be crying alot. I ended up looking it up on the internet and checking out some infant reflux forums. I read that you can give them Mylanta Cherry Supreme (it contains no aluminum) so I tried a small amount and for the first time he ate and stopped screaming. So I then got really aggressive with my doctor and told them I needed something for him fast. I did and it was like heaven had opened up and the angels were singing. Honest. We put him on liquid Zantac until he was about one.
I would suggest really pushing the issue with you doctor, this is not normal.
Best Regards and hope you find your answer.
C.

Most babies that are formula fed do get fussy formula is really hard on the belly sometime it can block them up till there bodies get use to it. I guess the ? is what kind of formuls are you using. each ones different and reacts different to babies. I use similac sensitive for gass and fussiness and works well. the milk based was are really harsh. You may have ti switch her formula and see if shes less fussy. The one you are on is not working out. Try similac. I had three kids out of 5 on emfamil and i ended up having to get them the most expensive one to keep them from being fussy and that puts a damper on finaces so this last two i was on similac and seen a huge difference plus with emfamil the smell of spit up is nasty and the clothes stain more I noticed with similac less staining and less smell. Good luck I serios think its the formula. Oh don't use pre mixed even worse.

try switching her to similac allimentum my daughter had that problem and she couldnt digest the protien in the formula it has smaller amounts of protien in it and thats about the age that it started happening with my daughter. it is more expecsive then regular formula but if it is what works then it is what works. im pretty sure it is the same price as the other formulas if you get the ready to eat liquid and not the powder

DS (also formula fed) started screaming and stopped eating at about 2 oz when he was a little older. Turned out he had Cocksackie (sp?) virus and a horrible sore throat. Has your pediatrician examined her? Probably a good idea tomorrow. Maybe check her temperature if you haven't already. If she is sleeping a lot more today than she usually does, probably call your doctor also.