Had to start my baby on formula :(

There's always that one kid in the family that gets ALL the problems, isn't there?

My poor Soph is "that kid" for us. She's almost 18 mos. She was diagnosed at 12 weeks with an atrial septal defect, or in laymen's terms, a hole in her heart. At 10 months she was diagnosed with asthma. Or "childhood breathing problems" or something, they won't call it asthma because she's so young, but we all know that it is what it is. Not sure if it's related to her CHD yet, but we're watching it.

Now she's having problems with breastmilk, and we can't figure out what it is. When she was born, she had no such problems, it's only been in the last 6 months. She's small for her age, doesn't/can't eat enough calories from table food to help her grow, and because of her health problems, she absolutely needs to be on breastmilk or formula for a while yet. Regular dairy and gluten don't seem to be the problem, I cut both out for well over 2 months back in the summer and no improvement. I stopped eating nuts, tried cutting out fruits one at a time, cut out eggs, cut out dyes. Nothing improved.

We tried regular formula and it was disastrous, so we know she is allergic to regular dairy. So I started her on soy formula last week... and she improved right away. The less I nurse, the better she gets   Now we've been 24 hours without nursing and she is better than I've seen her in months. No vomiting. No crying. No screaming at meal time because food was intolerable in her already upset stomach. She took a nap and didn't wake up crying or vomiting for the first time in months.

I STILL don't know what in my diet she could possibly be allergic to, except if she's allergic to breastmilk itself as well as dairy, hence why we saw no change when I cut out dairy. None of my other kids have reacted what so ever, there's literally NO history of food allergies in our family.

I feel like I've failed her. I know if I'm making her sick now, it's the best thing, but to me it's like trading one poison for another.

Why formula at 18 months? Why not soy milk?

We have a huge history of milk sensitivity in my family too. When i mentioned that to the pedi, he told me that cutting out dairy wouldn't fix the issue because breastmilk has the same proteins in it anyway. Basically if they were going to have issues, cutting out dairy wouldn't fix it. My family also has a history of soy issues that are even worse than the dairy ones.

At 18 months, I think you did a spectacular job. There is no reason you should feel guilty or like you failed her at all. Breastfeeding is an amazing thing, but sometimes it just doesn't work out.

My daughter had pda and pfo, her pda healed her pfo will never heal, but theres no risk's with it..

I was told about the holes in the hospital before she left.

At 3 months i was told she had AR by 5 months i had to see a GI for previcid

Now she need tubes 5 infections in 5 weeks.

I still BF but not as much as id like because i go to school 2 days a week and its just hard as hell with a 3 yr old school and home work, but i have to do what i have to do...

Quoting Supafly★:" Why formula at 18 months? Why not soy milk? "

Because it's not fortified enough and not high enough in calories. Soy milk would work fine if she had a good food intake otherwise, but there's no way with how little she eats, that she could take in and keep down enough calories with just soy milk right now.

<blockquote><b>Quoting Supafly★:</b>" Why formula at 18 months? Why not soy milk? "</blockquote>


Read the whole post and you'll know.

I'm sorry op, that has to be frustrating. But like you said, you're doing what she needs you to do and that should give you some peace about it. ((hugs))

Quoting Click Me Click Me!!!:" My daughter had pda and pfo, her pda healed her pfo will never heal, but theres no risk's with it.. ... [snip!] ... to school 2 days a week and its just hard as hell with a 3 yr old school and home work, but i have to do what i have to do..."

Sorry mama   Hope your girl gets better.

You are absolutely not failing her. You are doing the very best thing for her. Don't feel bad. Formula was created for a reason. Some babies can't breastfeed and some women aren't able to either. I tried with both of my boys and couldn't for different reasons both times. I was formula fed because I was adopted. If it keeps her fed and healthy, it's the right thing to do.

Quoting Interrobang!?:" Because it's not fortified enough and not high enough in calories. Soy milk would work fine if she had ... [snip!] ... but there's no way with how little she eats, that she could take in and keep down enough calories with just soy milk right now."

Oh, I see. That makes sense. But don't beat yourself up, 18 months is a huge accomplishment.  

Quoting ~*Lette*~:" You are absolutely not failing her. You are doing the very best thing for her. Don't feel bad. Formula ... [snip!] ... old now though she could drink soy milk instead of the soy formula. I know both are kind of pricey but maybe compare the 2?"

Please read the reasoning on that, I don't want to repeat it a third time. Price is the least of our concerns and not even on the radar.

Quoting MommaSav2:" <blockquote><b>Quoting Supafly★:</b>" Why formula at 18 months? Why not soy milk? ... [snip!] ... be frustrating. But like you said, you're doing what she needs you to do and that should give you some peace about it. ((hugs))"

I did. Luckily OP can clarify without being a snot.

Quoting Interrobang!?:" There's always that one kid in the family that gets ALL the problems, isn't there? My poor Soph is "that ... [snip!] ... I've failed her. I know if I'm making her sick now, it's the best thing, but to me it's like trading one poison for another. "

I had to stop too after trying to cut everything out of my diet with no success. She rapidly improved on Nutramigen. You did everything you could mama.

There's a small amount of lactose in breastmilk which may be what's irritating her tummy. I'm sorry you had to cut it out and switch to formula, but at least she's already showing marked improvement. I hope she continues to get better, mama. 18 months is AMAZING!!!

Quoting Interrobang!?:" Because it's not fortified enough and not high enough in calories. Soy milk would work fine if she had ... [snip!] ... but there's no way with how little she eats, that she could take in and keep down enough calories with just soy milk right now."

hugs mama. It's not your fault and you've done your best.
Could you try hypoallergenic formula instead of soy, for health reasons?

The thing that spring to mind is congenital galactosemia (and as she also has a vascular malformation which i think is linked). It's the only true cause for not being able to tolerate breastmilk as far as i'm aware. I'd definitely bring it up with her doctor as it can't cause any harm. I'd keep my supply up in the meantime too, just incase that isn't the problem.

Quoting Mama*AtoZ:" hugs mama. It's not your fault and you've done your best. Could you try hypoallergenic formula instead ... [snip!] ... up with her doctor as it can't cause any harm. I'd keep my supply up in the meantime too, just incase that isn't the problem."

THanks.
I investigated the congenital galactosemia after you posted that, and while it's good to know about, I don't think it's possible. Because for her first year, she did fine on breastmilk.

I'm perplexed as to how she or any baby could be truly allergic to breastmilk, but as I said, I've tried cutting out everything I know causes problems for some kids, and then some, and nothing has helped. She could be allergic to virtually anything. All we know is that it's not in the soy formula, but is in my breastmilk (or my diet) and is also in traditional infant formula. Doesn't seem to be any of the obvious culprits, because she's eaten lots of veggies, starches, fruits, and some meat, all from our table, and none of that seems to bother her more than the breastmilk or formula was.

Supply is no problem though, thankfully. I have a 7 week old and still nurse my toddlers, so it's all good.