Cows milk based formula

Hi All, our son is 4wks old and he's had problems digesting his formula for the last few weeks. we originally thought he had a problem with wind or colic but after talking to plunket and going to the doctor we were told to switch to a soy based formula. Today is the first day he's been on the karicare formula and still seems to be unhappy. He's not as bad as he was yesterday but still crys alot and will only sleep when we hold him. He also hasn't drunk much today and normally he's a little piggy. Could this just be due to the switch and his system needs time to get rid of the other formula or could the soy formula be making the problem worse?

I found that soy was too harsh for my little boy's tum, we ended up on goat, which is a softer curd for their wee tummies to digest. We are now on S26 LF as its an awful lot cheaper . Give it a few days to settle hun, it takes a few days for their bodies to adjust. Good luck

Oh hun, thats cr@p!! What a rough time you are having! Ok its colic and he's 4 weeks old? My wee boy had colic and reflux so let me try and make my brain work for you.

Some things to try: Weleda colic powder (but it has a lactose base - so if its a dairy issue, like it is for my boy, it won't work), Gripe water, boiled water, infacol drops (you can use these from 4 weeks). I had to double up. We would do infacol drops before the feed, then use gripe water half way through the feed to try and prevent the bubbles from becoming trapped. Wind, wind, wind - I winded my boy like 10-15 times a feed. Also, what winding techniques are you using? Some are much better than others - but there are quite a few out there, its a matter of finding what works for you.

Your ff right? Formula can make them constipated by itself, as can infant gaviscon if you are using that. There is the brown sugar and boiled water trick, but diluted apple juice (100%) works well. Other things I found helped were tummy massage, get hubby to hop in a deep bath with him (the water soothes them), 'cycle' his legs and rock them around, squatting them over an old icecream container (let gravity do its thing). You can start giving them boiled water - a little bit at this stage, I think we started at about 10ml? But you want to think about feed times, cos you don't want him filling up on water and not taking his bottle.

Speaking of which...what feeding system are you using? Some bottles and teats are definitely better for colic than others. I found that the Nuk anti-colic range worked best for us.

I hope that helps hun - I've been through the colic and reflux, but was lucky to have a fantastic family centre nearby to help me out. Feel free to PM me at anystage, I'm sure there is more that I've missed.

Oh, have you checked his tongue? Does it move bilaterally? Can he cup it? If not, then ask for a referral to a lactation consultant - he may have an undiagnosed tongue tie. If they can't get a complete seal on the teat, their poor wee tums fill up with air with every swallow!

*hugs*

It will take a couple of days before his motions settle down. I'm so pleased something worked for you. I hope it only gets better for you all.

That is good, who are you seeing?

Yay! That's fabulous news MinaNZ - long may it continue for you!