Did anyone give half formula half breastmilk?? If so, I have a question

I've been giving half and half since day one. I pump and mix it with formula.

He's had three instances of terrible gas pain..like crippling pain for hours on end and its followed by a nasty liquid green poop...it stinks worse than anything and I actually cried today along with him because I felt bad he was in so much pain. Now he is happy and sleeping.

This is the third time this has happened. I'll have a week of normal yellow seedy poop and then this happens out of nowhere. I'm not eating anything different and from everything i've read about breastmilk, if it were an allergy there would most likely be mucus or blood?! Maybe its the formula?? But if it were, wouldn't there be constant problems??

I'm at my wits end. I almost stopped pumping today because I'm convinced its the breastmilk but then realized I was being silly. I'm going to cut down on dairy and see what happens. I called my doctor and will see what she says but just thought I'd ask if anyone has been through this and what ended up being the problems? TIA!

Re: Did anyone give half formula half breastmilk?? If so, I have a question

I think I read somewhere that green poop is an indicator that he is getting too much foremilk and not enough hindmilk. Maybe make sure you are pumping long enough or that the milk is mixing well enough before using it to mix with formula.

Did anyone give half formula half breastmilk?? If so, I have a question

I haven't personally been through this word for word but had a similar issue. My dd did have digestion issues when I was breast feeding and supplementing with formula. She ended up having a milk protein intolerance (no tests to confirm but once I changed to Alimentum and stopped breast feeding (due to my own feelings about it and the restrictions on my diet) I had a brand new baby! She never had blood in stool and the Peds will test for it because its usually trace amounts that the naked eye doesn't see.

My dd would have a few good days then would be a mess. Crying and fussy and had blow out explosive diarrhea 3-4 times a day. I would have to constantly give her pedialyte to 'restart' her digestion and clean her out. She had horrible gas, painful gas that had an awful smell. Some nights she would wake up crying at 2-3 in the morning and would be up for 2 hours on and off crying and passing gas. I cried for her. I was at my wits end because my peds had me cut dairy but didn't want to change her formula due to reflux.
It started with me cutting dairy, but she was still on milk based formula so I wasn't seeing a HUGE change in her. A small difference because she was mostly on breast milk. I eventually put her on Alimentum and stopped breast feeding. And EVERYTHING went away within 1 week. Within a few days I saw a HUGE improvement and within 1 week it was unbelievable. No more diarrhea. No more crying fits. No more awful smell. No more bad gas pains. No more waking and crying in the middle of the night. She started sleeping better. It was amazing.
Maybe your dd has an intolerance?

Did anyone give half formula half breastmilk?? If so, I have a question

it sounds like it could be a milk protein allergy. I would bring a stool diaper to the ped for confirmation.

Re: Did anyone give half formula half breastmilk?? If so, I have a question

Re: Did anyone give half formula half breastmilk?? If so, I have a question

Did anyone give half formula half breastmilk?? If so, I have a question

Def start with eliminating dairy that's the main cultprit. And it takes 2 weeks for the dairy to be completely out of your body once you cut it. Make sure to read labels to ensure something isn't hiding dairy in it. And see if you notice even the slightest change? It may be a good idea to use Alimentum for a lil bit as well to see if theres a difference. Because if your eliminating dairy BUT still giving milk based formula you wont see much of an improvement. I didn't notice any major changes until I totally changed to Alimentum and no more breast feeding. But for me like I said it had a lot to do with me not enjoying breastfeeding and pumping and hated the restrictions it was putting on my diet. My peds eventually wanted me to cut wheat and citrus and I was just done at that point.

Did anyone give half formula half breastmilk?? If so, I have a question

if it is a dairy allergy, you should eliminate all obvious/hidden dairy and soy. it's rough at first but doable. I hope he feels better soon.

Re: Did anyone give half formula half breastmilk?? If so, I have a question

It sounds like he's getting an excess of foremilk. If babies get too much, it can result in green poop and it can make them very very gassy. Sounds like this could be the issue here.

Re: Did anyone give half formula half breastmilk?? If so, I have a question

Did anyone give half formula half breastmilk?? If so, I have a question

I wouldn't think an allergy if it's happening so infrequently. I've read about the foremilk thing too bc DD had a lot of green poop as a baby but the ped said it was normal. I think if it's frothy that's an issue. I do remember a few nights where DD was gassy and inconsolable. It was maybe 3-4 times as a newborn and then never again. I ebf and ate whatever I wanted. Could just be his digestive system being so new. It stinks while it's happening but unless it happens more often I'm not sure I'd be that worried.

Re: Did anyone give half formula half breastmilk?? If so, I have a question

Ditto the above. With my son's milk protein allergy (which showed up around 11 weeks) it was every BM not one every 10 days that was green/mucousy/with some fleck of blood. Sounds like its something to keep an eye on but that is v. infrequent so I wouldn't think of a food intolerance at this point. Could just be an immature GI tract adjusting!

Did anyone give half formula half breastmilk?? If so, I have a question

honestly, i think sometimes babies just get gassy.

they have immature digestive systems and it takes time for them to adjust. i think without the proper testing people are too quick to assume its an allergy and change everything around. but all of the changes can sometimes be worse than just sticking it out with the original plan.

i BF, pumped and gave formula until 9m when i had no supply left. my DD had bad gas and was somewhat uncomfortable some of the time from about 4w-12w. she would wake up in the middle of the night very whiny and writhing around, but not really crying. the doctor kept telling me she would grow out of it and that it was worse for me to watch than it was for her to feel - babies just dont know how to process what they feel. right around 12w it started getting much better and by 14w it was a distant memory.

is he hysterically crying for hours and truly in pain? or is he just whiny and uncomfortable? if its just uncomfy i wouldn't change what you are doing because he will likely grow out of it. if he is truly in pain i would take steps to get him tested for allergies. i dont see the point in eliminating things from your diet before actually knowing if it will work - esp cause it can take some time before eliminating things actually results in changes in breastmilk - its not an immediate solve anyway. good luck

Re: Did anyone give half formula half breastmilk?? If so, I have a question

Posted by FlowerWife

honestly, i think sometimes babies just get gassy.

they have immature digestive systems and it takes time for them to adjust. i think without the proper testing people are too quick to assume its an allergy and change everything around. but all of the changes can sometimes be worse than just sticking it out with the original plan.

i BF, pumped and gave formula until 9m when i had no supply left. my DD had bad gas and was somewhat uncomfortable some of the time from about 4w-12w. she would wake up in the middle of the night very whiny and writhing around, but not really crying. the doctor kept telling me she would grow out of it and that it was worse for me to watch than it was for her to feel - babies just dont know how to process what they feel. right around 12w it started getting much better and by 14w it was a distant memory.

is he hysterically crying for hours and truly in pain? or is he just whiny and uncomfortable? if its just uncomfy i wouldn't change what you are doing because he will likely grow out of it. if he is truly in pain i would take steps to get him tested for allergies. i dont see the point in eliminating things from your diet before actually knowing if it will work - esp cause it can take some time before eliminating things actually results in changes in breastmilk - its not an immediate solve anyway. good luck