You know they say breast milk is best and I believe it is, for many many reasons. I was so happy to get Sam home and find that even after ten days of strictly bottle feeding she took right to breastfeeding and we never looked back.
I don't know if I have really blogged about it but let me tell you, Sam is a fussy baby. Fussy, fussy, fussy. Sometimes we are beside ourselves because we just don't know what to do to appease her. She cries and she pukes. Alot. At our four month appointment this past Monday the pediatrician prescribed some antacid as he realizes that now that her stomach contents are becoming acidic that her reflux and her throwup are going to be painful.
He also suggested that we thicken her breastmilk bottles with rice cereal, which we did. And his third suggestion since we are working on weaning and I am going to be out of my breastmilk reserves soon is to start her on the AR formula, which stands for added rice cereal. It is a little thicker than regular formula to help it stay down.
This week we started her immediately on thickening the breastmilk with rice cereal as well as started her on the antacid three times a day. We noticed a bit less puke, which was good but she was still generally fussy. So this morning I decided I would give her a formula bottle at her very first feeding.
She woke at 4:40 am and my eyes weren't even open but I made her a bottle which she sucked down with gusto. I was worried that it would be difficult to get her to acclimate to the taste of formula over sweet breastmilk but I had no reason to worry- it appears Sam does not have disciminating taste. We both fell back asleep shortly thereafter and I was really pleased to see that she had no puke. Our last experience with formula was on Christmas Eve when I gave her two ounces on the ride home from the airport and it was probably the worst night ever- she cried, puked, and was gassy all night long.
At any rate, after I had my cup of coffee this morning I discovered that I accidentally opened the wrong can of formula. The pediatrician recommended using Enfamil AR and I had bought one small can to give it a try. But I had also received some Similac samples in the mail and I had accidentally opened the Similac Sensitive- for babies with fussiness and gas. It is milk based but is lactose free. Bingo.
So I gave her another bottle of it at 9am and I am telling you, this kid is night and day different. She had dry burps and only had one small stream of spit up. She is totally happy- she has been all smiles and giggles this morning. Actually, I had to lay her in her crib for a few minutes to get Hayley on the potty and by the time I came back to Sam she had fallen asleep. In her crib. On her own. Do you even grasp the magnitude of this?
I am in awe. Formula. I love it. And I am so glad to really be meeting the real Samantha Jayne. I cannot wait to see what a happy baby she really is. I'm sorry that I didn't realize much sooner just how terrible her little tummy really felt and although I do believe that there were lots of benefits to me breastfeeding for those first four months I also know that there are going to be lots of other benefits to her being happy and feeling good.
Oh my gosh I just don't know what to do. My baby really is a good baby! And maybe, just maybe one day we will all get some sleep.
Jenn - You know me - breast is best, full stop! However, many things can affect breastmilk and breast feeding as I myself found out in the summer. My youngest had been breastfeeding for 9 months without any problems, sleeping through etc. Then in June last year it all changed. Our life was turned upside down, my happy contented baby was gone and I was left with a grouchy, sicky, clingy baby. We tried everything - but never once did I consider the breastfeeding to be the problem. I myself was battling illness and it was only when I had to stop feeding (to start treatment) that the penny dropped. Despite producing an abundance of milk, the quality must have been so poor that I was practicaly starving her. She was being sick due to the sheer volume she was having to take, but getting no nutrients. We introduced the formula and my happy baby returned.
Lesson for me that sometimes, mummy has so much going on (no sleep, no rest, anxiety, stress, poor diet...) and in these circumstances I'd plump for formula every time. I hope Sam settles and you all get the chance to enjoy her.
Sorry for the novel - didn't realise I needed to let it all go!
Posted by: Mrs M | January 25, 2009 at 12:45 PM
I'm so glad that you were able to find out what was really going on with Samantha. I remember when I was younger my baby sister had to be put on formula and some sort of milk (goat's milk or something) because she couldn't properly digest breastmilk/cow's milk. In fact, she's lactose intolerant today and has managed to figure out how her system works. I look forward to hearing all about how you are getting to know the real Samantha now that she's a happier baby.
Posted by: Crys | January 25, 2009 at 11:03 PM
OH happy day!!!!! I am so happy for you! What a sigh of relief! I know you will be enjoying every day more and more from here on out! Yeah for you guys!!!!!
Posted by: Megan | January 26, 2009 at 09:48 AM
Jenn - I was reading an article about trials where they have intorduced small amounts of pro-biotic drinks to babies with similar problems to Sam. I think they were using Yakult or something similar. It seems that where the natural bacterial is lacking in the gut babies present with symptoms very similar to reflux and cholic and initial trials have indicated a positive response to very small levels of Yakult being used daily. Will try to e mail you the article link.
Posted by: Mrs M | January 29, 2009 at 12:59 AM
Sehr gute Seite. Ich habe es zu den Favoriten.
Posted by: mietwagen | March 12, 2009 at 01:38 PM