It's been rough, but I've been going without dairy products for almost a week. I didn't really realize what had dairy products in it. Lots more than I would have ever expected.
I have been going without because I believe my little one is allergic to the milk protein. (I think I said that before) Her eczema acts up when I eat milk. When I cut it out, it clears up. Thus, the going without.
She will keep soy milk down, but wont drink more than 1/2 an ounce of it at a time. Then she purses her lips together and wont let the bottle in. I haven't tried the alimentum. I might soon. I just don't want to fight with her when it comes to eating time. I want her to enjoy it.
Any suggestions to getting a 5 month old to take formula. It's like trying to teach an old dog new tricks. She just doesn't want to.
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6 comments:
Man that stinks! I'm sorry to hear that and unfortunately don't know what to tell you. My little one has taken formula from almost day one due to her not gaining weight like she should. Hope it works out for you!
It blows my mind how many things have milk in them -- I have to carry the list from the kidswithfoodallergies site with me and read labels obsessively. I'm so glad she's improving!!!!
As far as taking formula goes, she might need a different speed or shape nipple. Try a few different ones to see what works for her. She might be stopping because it's flowing too quickly and she gets overwhelmed -- or it's too slow and she's getting too much air. Or she might need something larger or smaller or rounder or flatter. I've known parents who had to use a medicine dropper to feed the baby formula because they couldn't get the hang of a bottle -- they just squirted mouthfuls in.
It could also be a reaction to soy (different from the milk -- it might only make her mouth itch or her throat sore). Does the same thing happen if you give her pedialyte or water in a bottle?
Have you found a pediatrician you like? Did they have any input?
Let me know if you need ANYTHING or have any questions. Sometimes blogs are blocked at work, but my email is always open. I'm glad you're finally finding answers!
You can also try some of these:
If you pump, start by mixing the formula 1/2 and 1/2 with pumped milk.
Have Dad feed her the bottle the first few times, so she's not confused that you aren't breastfeeding her.
Give her the bottle a little earlier than you would if you were breastfeeding -- that way she'll have time to play with the bottle and get used to it when she isn't screaming hungry and frustrated.
Try sitting her up in her car seat or swing to feed her, so you aren't cuddling her the way you would if you were breastfeeding. Then you jsut hold the bottle in front of her.
Hi Stephanie -- One more thought about this...if she's five months old she's old enough to start eating cereal and even stage 1 baby foods. Have you tried any of these? Might make you feel better to at least get some food into her...I actually mixed some of Ellie's oatmeal w/water & she ate it fine(when I didn't want to waste breast milk mixing it in case she didn't eat it during cereal trials!) Just an idea...may help reduce the amount of milk you have to produce or formula you have to deal with. Hang in there =) -- Cindy
I don't really have any advice, just empathy. When my oldest was 4 months old she would not hold ANYTHING down. She got so dehydrated that we had to take her to the ER to get an IV. SO sad. Anyway, we figured out that she was allergic to milk, so I, like you, had to remove all dairy from my diet. It worked like a charm. She would never take formula...EVER. We tried every single type of bottle/nipple we could find. She finally accepted bottles at 10 months. I just put soy milk in it at that point. Luckily she had no problem with other baby food. And as far as cereal goes, the baby juices worked great for making it taste a little better. And the better news is, she eventually grew out of the milk "allergy". So, hang in there. It will get easier!
Do you think a different bottle would help? I have a Dr. Brown's you could try if you want. Let me know.
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