baby doesn't like breastmilk?

[mauraa629]

my daughter is 10 weeks old and has only had bm until last night. she has been very cranky since about 2 wks old, we've tried just about everything to make her be a happy baby and nothing has been working. started wondering if maybe my bm just didnt agree with baby, as far as i know i dont eat or drink anything that would upset baby. last night we decided to try some formula to see if that made a difference and now she has had 2 bottles of formula and so far has been much less cranky, is this a coincidence that she is happier and not screaming or could it have been the bm that was upsetting baby?

[crunchy_mommy]

After only 2 bottles I would lean toward coincidence... but it's possible she's fussy for a related reason. How's your supply? She might feel fuller on the formula if your supply is a little low. You could also have a similar reaction with the opposite problem -- I have oversupply and I had to switch to block feeding, and whenever my supply increases for whatever reason, DS gets super cranky again (and also spits up a lot). He is very cranky to begin with though, he's just a very intense kid! How often are you BF'ing? How's her latch?

[mauraa629]

well i pump and bottle feed, she is getting 4oz each time. i tried breastfeeding but she woudlnt latch got very stressful so just switched to pumping. she's had her 3rd bottle of formula now and is still doing pretty good, usually by now she would be crying.

[crunchy_mommy]

That is weird. I think it would be very unusual for a baby to not like breastmilk, it's what they're designed to eat... I would guess there is some other reason she is unhappy after drinking it. Do you eat dairy or soy? I know there are tons of things in mom's diet that can cause reactions, I believe those are the most common, but I'm guessing the formula you're using contains dairy/soy too. She could also react to wheat, corn, tomatoes, etc. Hopefully someone else will chime in with some ideas. Are you pumping still while she's on the formula? I would keep pumping while you try to sort things out so you don't lose your supply. Also could you try giving her a breastmilk bottle next feeding & see how she responds? Maybe she's just having a good day.

[mauraa629]

i do eat lots of soy, that's one of the things i was talking about with my husband i am a vegetarian so soy is a huge part of my diet so was thinking that maybe that could be what is causing the problem with her. i am still pumping to keep supply just incase. will give her bm next feeding and see how it goes

[hildare]

most formula is soy based.
i would encourage you to seek the help of a lactation consultant, or contact your local la leche league. if you can at all breastfeed, it is much better for your baby than formula.

[groovyem]

I am an EPer as well, my little girl was cranky as well and when I let her just eat as much breast milk as she wanted it helped. In fact she took larger bottles, 5-6 oz, but not as many so she was taking in the same amount of milk she just needed more at once. I had too quit worrying about how much and how often she was eating and just look for her hungry cues and throw my little schedule out the window!

[lovepiggie]

Originally Posted by mauraa629

i do eat lots of soy, that's one of the things i was talking about with my husband i am a vegetarian so soy is a huge part of my diet so was thinking that maybe that could be what is causing the problem with her. i am still pumping to keep supply just incase. will give her bm next feeding and see how it goes

Try eliminating soy! I'm a vegan, and I suspected soy was causing my baby some grief. I eliminated it, and saw huge improvements within a couple of days! Now my son sleeps better, is happier, and I have less laundry to do :P

[texmati]

I'm a vegatarian as well, and soy really hurt my LO's tummy.

[mauraa629]

alright, ill try not eating it for a while and see if things get any better, hopefully that will fix things

[texmati]

Apperantly soy and dairy have alot in common. I saw an improvement when I cut back on dairy, but when I tried to replace dairy with soy, a lot of the same problems cropped up again.

Then at about 4 months everything just got a lot better! I know i saw an improvement after about 2-4 days.

[Pat899]

It could be that you are not giving her enough BM. A ten week old could be wanting more than 4 oz at a time. Or because you are EP she could be getting only formilk and thus never getting that fatty full feeling milk. Try giving her as much as she likes and see if she is less cranky.

The formula will fill her up with empty calories so she may feel full with a smaller amount.

Also try giving up soy.

Formula is a poor subsitute for the food she was designed to eat.

[crunchy_mommy]

Yeah try going soy-free (I know it's tough, I'm vegan and have gone soy-free on & off, but I've found some great foods I wouldn't have had much of otherwise!) and try giving her bigger bottles of breastmilk too... Well, try doing one at a time so you don't end up doing both if only one is the culprit! Bigger bottles might be easier to try first.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by mauraa629

i do eat lots of soy, that's one of the things i was talking about with my husband i am a vegetarian so soy is a huge part of my diet so was thinking that maybe that could be what is causing the problem with her. i am still pumping to keep supply just incase. will give her bm next feeding and see how it goes

What kind of formula are you giving her? THere are only 3 kinds - soy based, dairy based or corn based (elemental). If you're giving her soy based, then soy in your diet is not the problem, I'd look at dairy. If you're giving her dairy based, then dairy in your diet is not the problem and I'd look at soy.

Whatever you do, keep pumping. Don't give that up. I know it's tough, but trust me when I say relactating after letting your milk dry up is MUCH tougher.