My slow gainer

[Anonymous]

I’ll try to keep this brief, but I’d love some feedback.

I’ve been breastfeeding and supplementing with formula since day one (I have a low supply due to a breast reduction). For the first 9 weeks of her life, she was gassy, fussy, arching, unhappy, and not gaining quickly. I switched her to soy formula and cut dairy out of my diet, and that made a big difference in her general happiness level. She also gained 6 oz in a week, which was the most she’d ever gained. But the next week she gained nothing again.

I finally suspected reflux (I thought spitting up was normal, and didn’t realize normal spit up is just a little) and talked to the doctor. I think she suspected I just wasn’t feeding the baby enough, so she told me to stuff the baby with as much formula as possible, then we’d do another weight check. She gained 11 oz that week! We still put her on Zantac, though, because she was still spitting up a ton. The next week she only gained 4 oz. (I’ve been feeding her 26-30 oz of soy formula, plus breastmilk.)

We tried Similac Alimentum and she hated it and turned her face away. Then she threw up everything she ate and stunk like buttermilk. She ate far less the day I tried it than usual, so I called that one a failed experiment.

I thought her spitting up had gotten a little better on the Zantac, but in the last few days it’s been like the Exorcist around here again. After one feeding last night, the cloth diaper I had been using as a burp cloth was totally soaked and needed to be laundered.

I’m checking her weight again tomorrow, but I don’t feel good about it. She’s over three months old and just broke ten pounds last week.

I read some of the forum, and I think I might request that she see a pediatric gastroenterologist and try a PPI. Any other thoughts or suggestions for me? Thanks in advance…

[hellbennt]

welcome!

is there pain with the spit up?

because the medications won’t stop the spit up, they reduce the acid so it’s not painful…

[Anonymous]

Oh, I had no idea that was the case. I thought it was to reduce the spit-up. No, she doesn’t seem bothered by it at all — she was much more fussy before we got her off dairy. She does seem to get upset when she’s gassy, though. She’s a “happy spitter.”

Our main problem is slow weight gain. She’s not even two pounds over birth weight at three months old, and I’m sure it’s because she spits up most of what she eats.

[hellbennt]

hmmm….then I would seek out a Nutritionist/Dietician who can help you make higher calorie bottles, etc…

another thought: cut soy out of your diet as well and try an elemental formula like neocate or elasure? she still may be bothered by the soy? not sure…but if you do go this route, make the transition from the current formula to the next one sloooowly, ounce by ounce…so an ounce of the new formula mixed w/ the old formula for a few days, then another ounce of the new formula, etc…every change seems to take a good 2 weeks. so if you do switch, give the new formula a good 2 weeks…

what are poops like? if they look mucousy (like snot or stringy) then this might be another ‘reason’ to cut out the soy…

hellbennt2008-07-01 15:35:34

[Anonymous]

She had a lot of allergy symptoms on dairy (rash on cheeks, etc.) that have gone away on soy. I’m having a hard time considering cutting soy out of my diet, since I’m already a vegetarian and have cut out dairy. I’m running out of things to eat!

Poops are thick, dark, squishy masses with a hint of “curd.”

I am going to ask her doctor about Neocate tomorrow, though, as well as some other things I’ve found on this site already (like the PPIs and Mylanta). I have a strong feeling she hasn’t gained much again, and she has a weight check tomorrow.

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