Yesterday we did something brand new to us...
we gave our child formula.
Since Josiah screams all day, arches his back in pain, plus hasn't gained as much weight as I'd prefer, we've tried to find out what's going on and how to help our sweet little son. Our pediatrician concluded some time ago that Josiah has trouble processing the natural sugars/proteins in my breast milk.
The doc says it's not due to anything I'm eating or doing because I've monitored my diet to accommodate. It appears it's just the way his body breaks down stuff. It seems that the action of nursing gives him comfort, but the milk proteins upset his stomach. This reduces his desire to demand more milk, which may be lowering my milk supply over time (he stops nursing after a short while but continues to scream and arch his back). Ironically, while the baby thinks stopping milk intake is fixing the problem, it actually results in a worse affect...he's leaving himself with some milk that upsets his stomach and not enough of it to leave him satisfied and both these issues cause him to struggle daily. The docs still believed breastfeeding was the best thing I could do as long as I'm willing to. So I've kept nursing, kept on crying with him through his pain.
This weekend, though, we went out and bought JoJo a bottle and some soy formula (we're going to just assume he'll struggle with the harsher proteins in cow's milk, too). He really liked it. Seeing him drink as much as he did via bottle yesterday assured me that he's more full than from my milk alone. Also, there was somewhat less fussiness, which confirmed his belly was less upset than with my milk. I cried 3 times yesterday, not sure if it was more sadness that my provision is not enough, or gladness in finding a source of help for my son.
Kyleigh also cried a lot in her infancy. However, she didn't scream/arch like Josiah and she achieved greater milk intake and weight gain (though in all fairness Josiah's a bit taller at this age than she'd been, and I just make small kids in general!). She struggled, but not quite as much as Josiah. No docs could figure it out at the time, but our current pediatrician says it's likely that Josiah's and Kyleigh's milk protein situations were similar (makes sense w/ KyKy's dairy allergy). Kyleigh, however, got better after she started rice cereal and whole foods...basically once she was no longer on an all-liquid (breast milk) diet. But JoJo's not had the same good fortune. He likes foods, but still has discomfort.
I'll still nurse for a while longer, but it seems we'll now be adding formula to our daily routine. It's not at all what I expected since I successfully nursed Kyleigh for over a year, but I certainly want what's best for my kiddo. I'd love for him smile more than scream!
we gave our child formula.
Since Josiah screams all day, arches his back in pain, plus hasn't gained as much weight as I'd prefer, we've tried to find out what's going on and how to help our sweet little son. Our pediatrician concluded some time ago that Josiah has trouble processing the natural sugars/proteins in my breast milk.
The doc says it's not due to anything I'm eating or doing because I've monitored my diet to accommodate. It appears it's just the way his body breaks down stuff. It seems that the action of nursing gives him comfort, but the milk proteins upset his stomach. This reduces his desire to demand more milk, which may be lowering my milk supply over time (he stops nursing after a short while but continues to scream and arch his back). Ironically, while the baby thinks stopping milk intake is fixing the problem, it actually results in a worse affect...he's leaving himself with some milk that upsets his stomach and not enough of it to leave him satisfied and both these issues cause him to struggle daily. The docs still believed breastfeeding was the best thing I could do as long as I'm willing to. So I've kept nursing, kept on crying with him through his pain.
This weekend, though, we went out and bought JoJo a bottle and some soy formula (we're going to just assume he'll struggle with the harsher proteins in cow's milk, too). He really liked it. Seeing him drink as much as he did via bottle yesterday assured me that he's more full than from my milk alone. Also, there was somewhat less fussiness, which confirmed his belly was less upset than with my milk. I cried 3 times yesterday, not sure if it was more sadness that my provision is not enough, or gladness in finding a source of help for my son.Kyleigh also cried a lot in her infancy. However, she didn't scream/arch like Josiah and she achieved greater milk intake and weight gain (though in all fairness Josiah's a bit taller at this age than she'd been, and I just make small kids in general!). She struggled, but not quite as much as Josiah. No docs could figure it out at the time, but our current pediatrician says it's likely that Josiah's and Kyleigh's milk protein situations were similar (makes sense w/ KyKy's dairy allergy). Kyleigh, however, got better after she started rice cereal and whole foods...basically once she was no longer on an all-liquid (breast milk) diet. But JoJo's not had the same good fortune. He likes foods, but still has discomfort.
I'll still nurse for a while longer, but it seems we'll now be adding formula to our daily routine. It's not at all what I expected since I successfully nursed Kyleigh for over a year, but I certainly want what's best for my kiddo. I'd love for him smile more than scream!
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