not quite sure what to do and could use some advice WARNING its long!

So since bringing abby home 2 weeks ago we've had issues with her formula... She was on Similac Advanced RTF at the hosptial and while we were there for 4 days i noticed her poop was liquid and looked and smelled EXACTLY like the formula going in... not to mention the 1st night home was a DISASTER she screamed bloody murder the wholenight (totally not my child i had while i was in the hospital) so i called the ped right away and she said come into the office that day.

So we went in and she said it sounds like an intolerance to the formula switch to Similac isomil Soy. she said we would know in 3-4 days weather it was working or not. and to come in the following morning for a weight check since she had lost so much weight. So we start the soy she seems to be doing a ton better ate like a champ that day and night brought her back the next morning for weight check and she ws up 4oz so they said keep her on it.. We did as we were told and kept her on it for 5 days... on day 5 it was bloody murder all over again, not only with gas pains but now every time she pooped it was painful. and since starting it her poop was BRIGHT YELLOW and the consitency of Golds yellow Mustard. this was on last sunday. so i called the emergency line at the dr. office and got the on call doc. who said. switch her formula to Similac Alliumentum hypoallerginic and give her mylocon. So i go to the store and see the price and nearly drop dead! its so expensive but i buy 1 bottle of the RTF to get us through the night till i can call my reg. ped on monday morning. Didnt really see much of a change EXCEPT her poop was now becoming NORMAL! and she didnt seem to have too much discomfort when going.

so we get through the night and now its monday morning. i call the peds office and explain what happend that i spoke to the on call and what she told me to do.. i then asked if theres something a little more affordable since the alliumentum was just so pricey. maybe some type of enfamil?... the nruse says.. ok ill speak to the doc and then call you back.. 3 HOURS LATER she calls back and says "i spoke with the doctor and they want you to stick with the SIMILAC ISOMIL SOY FOR ANOTHER WEEK!" now im thinking are you kidding me.. my baby is suffering shes in pain, has diarrhea and you want her to do this for another week! i had an apt scheduled for thursday (her 2 week mark) but it was just for a weight check again. So my mom then tells me Go with your own instinct if you think its not working change it on your own.. so i did a little research and started her on the Enfamil ProSobe she seems to do ok with it BUT still had awful gas and was crying every time she had to poop. so im starting to think she doesnt need soy and i would rather have her on milk based so she doesnt have an intollerance her whole life... So i go on Thursday for her weight check and shes still up in weight which is great the doc. asked "what formula do you have her on still the similac isomil?" i say no i switched her to enfamil prosobe because she had diarrhea.. and her response.. GET THIS!..."oh good thing you changed her to enfamil because similac causes diarrhea"...ARE YOU KIDDING ME LADY I JUST CALLED YOU ON MONDAY AND YOU TOLD ME TO KEEP HER ON THE SIMILAC!
at the same time shes doing the exam it looked like she was doing her 2 week check so when she was done she said "ok ill see you in 1 month". and i said.. "oh? did you do her 2 week check cuz i was supposed to come ack next week for that" and looked at the chart and then did a couple ofmeasure ments and said ok now ill see you in one month

At this point my mom was with me the both of us are NOT HAPPY! and we leave. I have a friend whos a PA and has friends who are PAs in peds so i called her us asked where her friend works cuz i want to change offices because im so upset. My mom thinks i should give them alittle mroe time.. i cant be bothered.. Would you change offices?

Now as far as her formula goes.. i changed it one last time to Enfamil Gentle Ease because if she can tolerate the milk based id rahter have her on that so shes been doing great, slightly consitpated i think because we cahnged it so many times. and still has some bad gas. but now it seems like she has some refulx, throwing her head back and crying, some spit up. Should i keep on the gentle ease? or go back to the prosobe? its only been 3 days on gentle ease i think i need to give it more time!

if you made it this far.. THANK YOU... and please help me i have no idea what to do!

Re: not quite sure what to do and could use some advice WARNING its long!

I am sorry you are having a hard time.

I would switch peds based on what you wrote here.

As for the formula, I don't really have any experience with that since I BF, but from what I understand you have to give a formula 2 weeks to see if it is working. I could be wrong about this and I am sure the FF moms could offer more insight.

You can also check with your ins. company to see if alimentum is covered.

Also yellow poop is normal. I remember my babies had all kinds of colors of poop in the beginning. Grunting and crying while pooping can also be normal - your baby has never pooped before, so the process is all new and weird to them. Farting a lot is also normal.

I would stick with one formula for a few weeks and see what happens.

Re: not quite sure what to do and could use some advice WARNING its long!

I feel badly for you.

my advice is that you are switching formulas too often and are not giving any new formula a chance to see if it agrees.

If you are not comfortable with your pediatrician, please look for a new one.

Its very hard once you get a new baby home. My heart goes out to you.

Re: not quite sure what to do and could use some advice WARNING its long!

meg - i think i told you a lot of this in an FM - but just in case i left anything out...

we were told by our doc that it takes a week of using a formula for it to be fully in the baby's system and to see any difference. I had a similar situation and felt that i saw a change within a day or so....and the doc said while that's possible - for it to fully 'affect or NOT affect' them - it's a week.

you know Emma's on soy. this will NOT affect her being allergic to milk - again, this is according to our doc. he felt that Emma didn't have an 'allergy' to milk, but possibly a sensitivity to it and we're going to re-introduce milk formula at some point.

try changing up the bottles - MANY bottles are out there that can help with gas. For us - i found that Playtex Ventaire works the best - though i've heard great things about Dr. Browns too!

The RTF stuff also tends to be THICKER - which could be causing an issue as well - try the powder...see if that makes any difference...

Re: not quite sure what to do and could use some advice WARNING its long!

First off

Mustard like poop can be completely NORMAL. A newborns poop definately resembles what we would consider diarrhea. I highly recommend you get the book Baby 411 - it was a lifesaver when it came to figuring out things like that.

DD was on many different formulas before we found the one that worked. It takes time. I think you may be switching formulas too much and too quickly. It may be upsetting her system. Maybe keep a log of the symptoms.

And as always if you do not feel comfortsble with your doctor you should change but I think the formula issue is a trial and error thing and as long as she is gaining they do not get too concerned. You can also ask them to do a stool test to see if she is allergic to milk.

Re: not quite sure what to do and could use some advice WARNING its long!

Posted by stickydust

First off

Mustard like poop can be completely NORMAL. A newborns poop definately resembles what we would consider diarrhea. I highly recommend you get the book Baby 411 - it was a lifesaver when it came to figuring out things like that.

DD was on many different formulas before we found the one that worked. It takes time. I think you may be switching formulas too much and too quickly. It may be upsetting her system. Maybe keep a log of the symptoms.

And as always if you do not feel comfortsble with your doctor you should change but I think the formula issue is a trial and error thing and as long as she is gaining they do not get too concerned. You can also ask them to do a stool test to see if she is allergic to milk.

Re: not quite sure what to do and could use some advice WARNING its long!

Re: not quite sure what to do and could use some advice WARNING its long!

Oh I feel so bad! My DD had issues with formula at first too. She had a terrible time pooping, really constipated, so bad she bled. We switched to Gentlease combined with mylicon at every feeding and it worked wonders. We also burped her after every ounce to relieve some of the gas. Dr. Brown's bottles worked for us as well. Be consistent and stick with one formula to see how it goes. I also think you should look into a new ped. If what happened to you happened to me, it would make me feel untrusting of my ped and that is something you don't want.

Good luck. I hope you find a solution soon!

Re: not quite sure what to do and could use some advice WARNING its long!

I agree...sounds like way too many switches of formula too quickly for her little body to adjust and for you to know what is/isn't working. You can see a change in 3-4 days but that is just the tip of the iceberg in determining if it is what works. DD had terrible colic and reflux, so I hear your pain on the difficult feedings, baby in discomfort/distress, and all the crying. I hope your DD doesn't have either of those!

IMO, settle on a formula and try it for a while, call the Ped. and speak to them too. You and the baby are new there...could they not fully know what you are going through? So many offices are so busy now trying to get all the check-ups in for school in the fall and other things...not that they shouldn't give you and the newborn all the time you need too...they might not realize everything though. Try to establish the relationship more but research other Peds b/c maybe a switch is warranted.

DD was on alimentum and my insurance covered it. It was fabulous and DD did very well on it...didn't have a problem switching to whole milk or eating yogurt/cheese. DH has Aetna and when we switched to them it wasn't covered. I was able to buy it off of other teachers from Craigslist (who we found out had friends in common) for an amazing $3 per bottle of RTF. Just FYI.