How long for "normal" poops?

[motherbygrace]

Hello. We recently started on Nutramagen after discovering that our 4 mo dd is sensitive to milk formula and soy formula. I have to supplement b/c I do not produce enough bm to bf exclusively and have tried everything possible to build my supply including dom, herbs, pumping, etc.

I have cut out all wheat, soy, diary, corn, caffeine, citrus, tomatos and nuts from my diet. When she was on the milk formula (for only about a week) she was having approx two terrible green, mucousy poops per day. She also developed a pin point rash and eczema.

We discontinued the regular formula four days ago and fed only breastmilk, then began the Nutramagen two days ago. She had not pooped since I took her off of the regular formula. Today, though, she had another green poop. Not really mucous, but still green. How long do you think it will take on the Nutramagen for her poops to get better or for us to trial another hypoallergenic formula? She is currently getting about 2.5 ounces formula and 1 ounce bm but my supply is decreasing. How long might it take for her body to "adjust" to the new formula?

Thank you for your help.

[Chinese Pistache]

Well, green and mucusy means the gut lining is inflamed. That inflammation has to die down before the poop will be completely normal. My dd had a severely damaged gut by the time we figured out we were dealing with allergies. She took a couple months to completely have normal bms. My ds (6 mths old) was 4 mths when I realized he was also reacting to food in my diet. When I eliminated the allergens, it took several weeks for his poop to normalize (he was in much better shape than my dd to start with, though).

So, given that your dd is 4 mths, if this formula is okay for her, I would say you should see full improvement in a few weeks to a month. Just FYI, I have a friend who just switched to elemental formula because her nursing baby was reacting to dairy and soy. She said her baby is very constipated now. His poop is formed, but dark green. As far as her GI doctor has said, that is the new normal with this formula.

Will you still be nursing part time? Are you sure that you eliminated all the problem foods before starting the formula? If not, it might make it difficult to figure out if the formula is causing a problem or another food in your diet. If it comes to that, you might consider eggs. I didn't see that you were eliminating them, and they are one of the "big ones."

Good luck. I hope your little one heals quickly!

[motherbygrace]

Ooops, yes, we also eliminated eggs quite a long time ago -- just forgot to add them to the long list. So provided that we don't have any more rashes and her eczema clears how do we know that the Nutramigen is okay and that we don't have to try Alimentum or one of the Rx brands? She is also incredibly fussy/crabby -- especially since she was on the milk formula -- will it take a while for her demeanor to change -- similar to needing more time for the gut to heal? I feel so bad for her (and me to).

[changingseasons]

The milk proteins will probably take a couple weeks to get totally out of her system, but you should see gradual improvements in that time if the new formula is ok. If it's been 4 days since you stopped the milk formula, I would say that you should start to see some improvements in the next 1-3 days.