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Thursday, February 05, 2009

Quinn and reflux/allergy?

Here's where we are with Quinn,

We did a few day mixture of BM and Nutramigen. Yesterday (first day on 100% Nutramigen) we've seen a drastic decrease in the amount of spit-up (hardly any in fact), he's still burping a lot, seems less fussy but still has red cheeks.

Thank you for the tip on finding generic Nutramigenat Target, but of course my Target didn't carry it. time to shop on-line.

Before I buy a lot I really want to see what happens to his red cheeks.

Last night (after going to bed) he slept from 7pm to midnight (5 HOURS!). the night before he slept 4 hours. Then of course after that he's still up every 2 hours. SO between midnight and 6 or 7am (waking) he drinks another 6 ounces (but every 2 hours). Time to sleep train him? He still needs those 6 ounces. Although he's up to a tad over4 ounces intake at one sitting, he's supposed to be taking up to 6 or 7 by this age (6months) right?

Hopefully he'll continue to take more and more if he indeed does feel better.

It does seem like he's crying less at this point...

Hard to think about my probably 2,500 ounces of breast milk in the freezer......

Thanks everyone for the tips.

Update:

Quinn has been crying since 5pm, I'm about to loose it. I can't take 2 hours of straight crying any more. (yes, it's going on in the back-ground right now, I'm trying to not listen to it - impossible). Nothing I do satisfies him, he snacks, he pushes the nipple away, I try again, he pushes it away, I put him down, he cries. I give him his pacy, he pushes it out, I try to burp him, I can't get anything, I changed his diaper (he giggled during that at least), then back to the crying. uggghhh. 2 hours!

also, i didn't mention donating my milk, as I figured it was understood that's what I would do as I was the recipient of donated milk for Kaitlyn. I wouldn't consider dumping it. BUT it was a LOT of time and pain attached to the pump and it's very hard to think of my doing it for naught (yes it would be for another mom) but I could have cut way back on my number of pumps a day and had plenty still. I have over 2,500 ounces!! I would likely donate it to a mom I just met in my local group who is having a similar story to mine (tube fed baby not tolerating formula well at all) or though the yahoo group for donating milk. I know that there are for profit milk banks and not-for profit milk-banks, and I won't donate it to a for-profit bank.. Sorry, won't do it. I refuse to let my milk be sold.

He's screaming right now. can't take it any more. I feel like such a horrible mother that I can't get him to stop but at the same time I can't stand the screaming. can't stand it! No attachment parenting for me. here I go back to try again.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

Can you donate the breast milk? Just a thought.

Stacy said...

Hey Liz -

I'm glad Quinn is doing better. Allergies stink!

I'm with Anonymous - how about donating the breast milk? You went through so much to get breastmilk for Kaitlyn that you would truly appreciate the need another mom might have.

Anonymous said...

Liz, I discovered a milk protein allergy in my baby at 5mos of age. I was so upset about all of the pumped milk. I donated 300oz of previously frozen milk to the international breast milk project. 50% of the milk goes toward making human milk fortifier for NICUs and 50% goes to HIV infected babies in Africa. It does take some time to get approved, maybe 6 weeks+. I suggest that you start the process while you figure out if you really need to stop giving him the frozen milk. Has his stool been checked for microscopic blood? That could nail the diagnosis.

Also, I'm a pediatrician and there are plenty of babies who stick with 4oz until they are older - 10mos in some cases.

Good luck with the sleep training.

Emily said...

I would totally second the suggestion (or third or fourth) of donating the milk I know that our local milk bank will pay to have milk shipped from out of state even if the quantity is large enough (2500oz is DEFINITELY more than enough).

Also, Madison (my oldest) never took more than 4oz at a time even up until a year of age. The little boy I nannied at the time was the exact same way, we were doing good if at 8mos old we could get 3-4oz into him. He never took more than 20oz in a 24hr period.

Anonymous said...

About the amount he is taking, don't be too caught up on how much. My twins took 4 ounces every 4 hours for nearly a year! I couldn't get them to take any more and they didn't want it either! Finally around 9/10 months they started taking a full 6 ounces and by 12 months they would drink 8. I did what I could but I couldn't force feed them! Just because he is only taking 4 ounces doesn't mean he can't sleep thru the night either, mine did. Maybe it is time to start him on solids too? Maybe too soon??

Anonymous said...

Liz---I have 3 5 dollar off Enfamil coupons, I would be more than happy to send them to you. Not sure why I get them, but I just started getting enfamil and similac! Not pregnant, do not plan on getting pregnant. Oh well, you can email me at:

bernernewf@gmail.com

Cindy Orr
I have donated to you in the past, FYI, for the MOD walks.

Anonymous said...

You are a rock star for having 2500 ounces in the freezer!

Something to consider re: the sleep. Sometimes during an elimination diet, you see immediate improvement and then what appears to be a little backsliding. I would not mess with sleep training until you are sure you are on track with the food not irritating him.

Also, at 6-7 months, there is a big developmental spurt. Your time table with Kaitlyn was obviously highly altered, but he's right in the zone, despite being a little early. There's a book called Wonder Weeks that is awesome for pinpointing what is going on for babies of typical gestation lengths. Extreme fussiness and eating either more or less and sleep disturbances are common signs. Knowing this part doesn't fix the problem, but it might help at least satisfy the omg what is wrong with this kid part of the equation. In my experience, trying to change sleep patterns during one of these spurts is just rough on everyone. It's more a "by any means necessary" time.

Good luck! I hope the new formula continues to help.

Pam, Kaden and Skyler said...

My son is 17 months old now and he still gets the red cheeks at time. I do know after switching him to the nutramigen it took awhile for the red cheeks to go away. But the fact that you are seeing progress is wonderful. Do you think he may be teething? Some baby's do teeth early. Also my first child would scream like that when his ear hurt. Just a thought.

Mir said...

I agree with anonymous. At 6-7 mos, Catherine got up every 2-3 hours after one long stretch at night of 5-7 hours. It was killer, but after about 4-6 weeks, she was back to getting up once a night. She's still BF'd and STILL gets up once a night when she doesn't eat well that day. BF babies tend to not go as long at night, as BF is easier to digest.

I hope he starts sleeping longer for you soon!

Anonymous said...

First: make an appointment and talk to your pediatrician about all of this. The food, the crying, the cheeks, etc.
Second: 6 months is when they start teething, more or less. Could it be that the crying and the red cheeks are an indication of that?
On a different note, please try to put things in perspective. For some of us, 5 yrs of uninterrupted sleep is the definition of 'sleeping through the night'. This will pass.

Anonymous said...

5 hours, not 5 yrs , sorry

Anonymous said...

Liz,

About the Target brand formula -- I don't think the website carries any formula at all, so I don't think you can order it. But, you might be able to ask your local Target to start carrying it. It is their own brand after all.

Rebecca said...

Hang in there Liz. I'm glad you are finding some things that work for Quinn.

Totally on a different note, I just realized one of my good friends lives in Marin! Small world!

Kristin said...

Hang tough Liz, I know its hard to listen to..very difficult. There are some natural substitutes that can be used for teething babies that if it is not the case, it causes zero harm and would at least rule it out. When Presleigh is up tomorrow I'll look up the name (I still have a few doses) and let you know. It gave me many hours of peace in those trying moments.

ThePreemie Experiment said...

Hey Liz,

Just a thought.. have you ever tried putting him into a warm bath when he is in the throws of a long stretch of crying?

When this would happen with Tyler I would fill up the kitchen sink (so it would be so different that it would keep his interest) and sit him in the water.

It didn't always work but was always worth a try when I was at "that point".

I wish we lived closer so you could get a break.

Hugs, hugs and more hugs

Anonymous said...

If he is 6 months old shouldn't he be starting solids by now? Maybe just milk is not satisfying him and he could sleep better if he was a little more full.