Moms Help! - Palatine,IL

Don't have any advice about the formula, but the baby acne and peeling is most likely the acne they all get from the postpartum hormone changes - nothing to worry about.

I would think perhaps reflux or a milk allergy. Have you tried soy formula at all? the baby acne and peeling is pretty normal.

From what I know, baby acne is caused by hormones and not by a formula change, two of my babies had it and it should clear up on its own- is the hole in the nipple you are using too large? Maybe the formula is coming out too fast and that is why the baby is struggling.

I am thinking that the throwing up and the baby acne may well be two separate issues.
My daughter spit up after most of her nursing because she was getting too full and when I turned her up to burp her....out it came. This only lasted during the first several weeks of life though and I learned to pace her a bit.

Both of my babies got baby acne between 6 and 8 weeks. I know few babies that don't get it. It's mostly from the fact that they've been in a water environment and then they are introduced to air and as their bodies get used to everything, they break out a bit. It goes away.

I would call the pediatrician before changing formulas again because I don't think that it's good to change too often. You either need to change due to problems or let their littles tummies adjust. I would talk to the pediatrician about this further just to talk about both issues and calm your fears and worries.

Congratulations on your new baby and best wishes.

i dont know about the formula, though i wouldnt switch without checking with the doc. just wanted to tell you that most likely the acne and peeling have nothing to do with the formula, they just get it at around that age, and it can last quite a while and can get pretty bad. my daughters head peeled so bad and for soooo long. the acne came and went within a couple of weeks with all 3 kids. the best thing i did for the head was a warm wet washcloth rubbing in little VERY gentle circles once in a while, just to get the dry off.

I would call the peds office. But also maybe try a different bottle type. sometimes that makes all the difference. also when your feeding her is she upright or laying down? I had one son who had to be almost vertical while being fed or he puked non stop. also stop and burp every ounce rather than after a half a bottle. my daughter swore by the aventi bottles. said they were the best. good luck

You can try a new formula without talking to your doctor, but you should definitely consult with him anyway if your daughter is throwing up after every feeding. Keep in mind - most babies DO spit up some after eating (often each meal), but there is a difference between spitting up and throwing up that your doc can explain. If she's red and grunting, the formula is probably bothering her in some way.

With newborns, especially preemies (even healthy ones), feeding problems in the beginning need to be taken pretty seriously. It's important that your baby takes in enough food and nutrients each day to gain weight and grow in these first few months. Don't worry about pestering your doctor - they are used to it - and they need to know if your baby isn't eating.

Is she pooping daily and having at least 8 wet diapers a day? If she is, that is a good sign that she's getting food, even if she spits/throws up after eating. But still, I'd check in with your doc.

Congrats on your baby! There is a lot to learn, but you'll do great.

K.
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I also suggest that you call the pediatrician's office and talk with the advice nurse. Is she throwing up or is she spitting up. A certain amount of spitting up is normal. And the choking sounds more like the milk is flowing too fast for her to swallow it. Are you using the newborn nipple? You might try using a different nipple first.

Perhaps people are handling the peeling skin differently now but when I was a child, my mother wiped peeling baby skin with baby oil on a cotton ball. this moisturized the skin. If you do this right out of the bath the oil helps the skin stay moist by keeping the water in her skin.

Ask your ped, for sure. Sounds like she has a lactose or dairy allergy or intolerance. The ped. can test her. There is something called a "fecal occult blood test" whereby the dr. tests the baby's poop to see if there is even a trace amount of blood in it. If there is, I believe that means there is an allergy. It's a harmless test to the baby...the stool is tested. You may have to ask your dr. about this as they may not offer it.

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Some spit up is normal but if it is ALOT you prob need to talk to your ped. It is very likely she has reflux, my ped told me about 80% of babies have it because their epiglottis isn't fully mature and thus the milk can very easily flow back up. Her being premature just increases the risk that that may be the issue. We got a prescription for the reflux and it helped ALOT. Turning red and grunting may be that she is a bit constipated. I have heard that a little bit of Karo syrup in water or in the formula can help with that, but I would talk to the ped as she is VERY young to be getting anything but breastmilk/formula.

You may want to have her checked to see if the problem is not with the formula but perhaps she has reflux. It is at least worth a call to the nurse at your pediatrician's office.

I know this is frustrating. All you want is for your baby to eat well. Anytime my little guy spit up or threw up I started to have a bit of panic!

Absolutely you need to contact your doctor AND change formulas ASAP - and I agree strongly with the mom who suggested that your daughter might have a milk allergy or intolerance or, like mine does, a soy allergy. A feeding issue like this (if she really is throwing up, not spitting up) needs to be taken very seriously - as there are some very serious conditions she might have. And a word of advice, if this isn't resolved or taken seriously by your doctor, fight fight fight until it is.

The grunting and skin change might be further signs of a reaction/cause for concern. If the skin is dry and pealy - that's very possibly eczema (or another skin reaction) and not baby acne at all.

Good luck and let us know what happens!

It sounds like she had an allergic reaction and the acne is hives. My son had the same reaction to penicillin and he's allergic to that medication.

The acne (along with the other symptoms) can be a sign of an allergy to cow's milk - this is common in infants and usually goes away by about 4 months old.

Please consult your pediatrician especially since she was a premie :)

Congrats by the way! We had formula issues to and it sounds like she has an allergy to it. We used Enfamil Nutramigen which is for babies with allergies/milk intolerance and worked wonders for all three of my kids. you can switch formulas right away but I would consult your doctor first and let them know. Best wishes

OK - I know this is a little bit 'out there' for some people, but have you ever considered getting donated breast milk for your baby? Many moms produce way more than their own babies can eat and they are willing to donate it to other babies who need it. Most moms are also wiling to share blood work results from their pregnancies, too. The cost is very minimal to the recipient (replacing the donor mom's milk storage bags, etc...) and the benefits outweighs that of any expensive formula. Check out www.milkshare.com - just a thought.

Oh, and about the baby acne thing - both my babies got it around six weeks. I think it is very common. I did not do anything to it or use anything on it and it went away in a couple of weeks. Your little angel will be acne-free in no time.

Call the doctor and ask right away. That is what they are there for.

Take care!

Try prosobee formula or get in touch with your pediatrician asap

I would check with the doctor first since she has a combination of symptoms. Some may be related and some not. The baby acne - both my girls had some. As far as bringing back up the formula, because she was early (my girls were too), her digestive system may just need extra care for a bit. She is healthy and that is great, but I would check with the doctor before making too many changes and see what their course of action would be. As mothers, we always want to go with our instincts, but sometimes a little back up information is helpful in guiding us.

Umm, It might be eczema and eczema is close to asma so mabey thats whats wrong.

Try GOOD START. Same thing happened to my son and he did really well on Good Start.

Reflux is common in preemies, ive had 2 and they outgrow it when they start to crawl. Until then, keep her upright after eating for at least an hour. But she may not know how to eat/swallow. I had to feed my son on his side for the first few months so he didnt choke. I would think they went over this in the hospital but maybe not. If she does know how to eat, then it may be the formula. I would not change it until ruling out the eating/swallow issue and talking to your ped.

Our son had the very same symptoms. But when we finally did change his formula, we changed from similac (the gentle formula) to Enfamil Gentlease. It worked wonders. Our doc said that there are small differences in even the gentle formulas that can make a big difference.
Our son also was diagnosed with reflux because of symptoms like you are describing. We gave him medicine for a month or so and it resolved. See "the Reflux Book" - I am sure you can find it online. Perhaps that is part of the problem???

yes you can switch wiht out tell your pedatrician but I would cal lthem tell the nurse or whoever her symptoms so it is documented and then switch to aliementum by similace or we did nutramagin by enfamil. Now they are going to tell you it is reflux, i know that it could be part of it but there is much more issues than the way she is vomiting and I am so proud of you for listening to your instincts and knowing to switch. The only other thing you can do is take her in and have them take a swab of her bottom to make sure there is no blood in the stool. when kids are allergic to the formula etc and vomit like that sometimes they have blood in the stool too and this will prove to your doc that you have to switch to the hypoallergenic formula, if you do not feel like you ned to prove them switch. If she is still vomiting after 10 days on the nutramagin, you need to take her in and check for the blood and reflux help. This happened to my child and we had to put her on Neocate formula. When formulas or breast milk are made or produced they have proteins in them that many preemies are allergic to. As you go down like enfamil has 14 different proteins that can cause a reaction, gentel ease by good start has 7 and nutramagin and aliementum have 3 so there is less of a reaction as you go to these types of formula however depending on the allergy or sensitivity they made need Neocate that has only 1 protein so it can NEVER cause a reaction by attatching to other proteins since there are non. Please get her on the other formula and callthe dr just telling you are doing so. HOpe this note helps and please feel free to keep me posted on her after the 10-14 days of trial. Good luck, you are doing everything right. There is no such thing as colic or spit up any more, many ds need to get with the times. My kids have a disease called Eosnophilic Disorder. for more info check out www.curedfoundation.org
J.

She could be struggling to coordinate her swallowing and breathing. As someone else has suggested, use a very slow flow nipple and feed her while she is sitting upright, pacing the feeding to her cues. If she begins to struggle or grunt, tip the bottle nipple up so there is no more flow and allow her to rest and catch her breath. It's called "paced bottle feeding" and is very important for a preemie. Don't remove the nipple from her mouth but definitely slow the feeding. It could just be normal due to her prematurity or she could have a respiratory issue, so you should also definitely discuss this with her doctor.