Infant with Reflux Hates Thickened Formula

My son had reflux when he was about that age. My pediatrician gave him zantec (spelling?) and also put him on Alumentium (spelling?). When it came to introducing food, we did not start him on cereal. I believe we did green vegetables first. If I were you, I would do my own research on it and see if you can find something on diet. It took my son about one year to grow out of it. When I had my next child, my pediatrician said she had a greater chance of having the same problem so we just put her on gentle ease formula to prevent any issues. Hope this helps.

i had to look up neocate. :( poor kid! you know, infants can be allergic to rice cereal. i know a friend of mine whos infant, from the day he was born, could not have rice, corn and various other foods. mom breastfed, and cut those things from her diet. it is possible, but its hard. breastmilk helps "cure" intestinal trouble, but formula can help as well, especially a kind that is made for infants with allergies (at least one can hope!) but one thing i know for sure is that if an infant is under 4-6 months old, solids are NEVER supposed to be recommended, for an infant with allergies, i cant imagine ever giving solids before 6 months.

for infants in general, the american academy of pediatrics recommends NO SOLIDS of any kind until signs of readiness are shown (sitting on their own, not spitting out, whatever check www.askdrsears.com for the "list" of readiness cues) which usually occur between 4-6 months. for infants with a risk of allergies, its usually recommended that you wait as long as possible toward the 6 month mark. for infants WITH allergies already diagnosed, you should probably not even think about solids of any kind until 6 months. i mean, do what feels right, but i would honestly be more worried about your infant and his digestive system being protected and finish developing, than making sure hes getting solids for any reason. just a side note, it will NOT make him feel full longer and it will NOT help him sleep longer. infants wake often to eat because their stomachs are only the size of their fist; they fill quickly and they empty quickly. this first year your son will double his height and triple his weight. hopefully this is the only time in his life that his growth will be to that magnitude. think about it for yourself, hypothetically, if you had to double your height and triple your weight, how often and how much would you have to eat? its huge. dont neglect this important knowledge. he needs to eat often. you dont become a parent to sleep well! we all sympathize with you.

just for comparison, the world health organization recommends EXCLUSIVE breastfeeding until 6 months of age, formula feeding should be treated the same; exclusive liquid until 6 months. my son with NO allergies was 5 1/2 months when he was literally ripping the spoons out of our hands, and was adequately ready. this comment on the w.h.o. can be found on the neocate's own website, though im sure the world health organization has its own website you could look at as well.

if your doctor suggested the cereal, i would highly recommend getting a second opinion. i have a hard time beleiveing a doctor would ever recommend solids for an infant at 2 months, but i have an even harder time believing that a doctor would recommend solids for an infant with extreme allergies. this can be very harmful to your baby! typical infants are born with extremely sensitive and underdeveloped digestive systems, then they start maturing as they grow, which is why no solids are recommended before a certain age. solids can harm and irritate the digestive system in normal infants, i cant imagine how much worse it would be in an infant with allergies!

do the best you can ok? i am so sorry that you are having to deal with this kind of thing with your baby at such a young, tender and vulnerable age. i wish you luck moving forward, and i hope that you can figure out what works best for your baby.

Is there a reason it has to be thickened? I had two girls with terrible reflux and neither had thickened formula. I tried it once on each girl and they both ended up puking (like happened multiple times every day) and because the formula was thickened it ended up clogging up their noses and was very scary because I had to suction them out. I never offered it again. I just always kept them propped up or held them. They slept on reflux wedges or in their car seat if we weren't at home for some reason. I seriously never laid them flat.

Have you tried Enfamil A.R formula (or the Target generic equivalent)? Our son had lots of problems with spitting up and we had to switch him to a thicker formula. The Enfamil A.R. formula has the rice added to it so you don't have to bother with adding rice cereal. Our son hated the taste of rice cereal, but took the A.R. formula just fine.

J.,

I feel for you as I've been through this three times with my kids. At two months it is absolutely not too late to breastfeed. Breastmilk is best for all babies, but especially important for those with reflux and/or allergies. I had to drastically change my diet with my oldest, but it was well worth it. I recommend finding a good lactation consultant, and contacting La Leche League. They were my saviors with my first baby. If your little one has that much trouble with allergies, there is a big chance that he will continue having issues with the formula and cereal. Plus, breastmilk is considered the "easy in, easy out" food. Formula stays in the tummy much longer and is harder to digest, increasing the llikelihood of it coming back up. There is an herbal remedy from Dr Christopher called Kid-E-Col that you may find helpful. Also, some babies that seemingly have issues with GERD actually have a hiatal hernia, therefore massage can work wonders. Regardless of the cause, I suggest keeping your baby upright after feedings, and wearing him in a sling or carrier. That will keep him calmer and happier, which will also help keep the food down. Please, please reconsider breastfeeding. It can make a world of difference. I wish you all the best.

B.

I saw your responses to the other posters. If it is milk that he is allegric to cutting out milk products from your diet should work out. I don't know if you tried that or not. Also, once you have lactated you can always start lactating again. It's a matter of stimulation. Good luck. I hope that this helped or maybe you got help from your dr.