Question:
I have a 7 week old premature infant whom I unfortunately could not breast feed due to complications. She is having difficulty with the formulas. I have tried several giving about 2 weeks in between to see results but she is having constipation, vomiting, spitting up, &/or runny bowls including gas and stomach cramps. We have tried soy as well and she ended up severely constipated and needed suppositories to move her bowls. We are currently on Nutramigen but she is extremely gasy and in pain. Are there any suggestions you can give me for her? My heart breaks to see her so miserable. Your assistance with this is greatly appreciated.
Concerned New Mom
Answer:
If I could give you a hug over the computer I would {{hugs}}. I know how you feel. My first child was sickly as an infant and it was that experience that brought me to the wonderful field of natural medicine. There is hope, and you are a great mother for never giving up. First of all, don't beat your self up for not breastfeeding. Breast is best, but babies need to be fed regardless of where their nutrition comes from.
I didn't want to nurse my adopted son (even though I was already lactating from a previous child), when he came to us at 4 months old. He was on a Nestle formula (I forget which one) and was extremely constipated. If you want more information about how to relieve constipation, see our family blog post at http://www.goodfeelingplace.com/constipation-in-a-breast-fed-baby/. Our son was not digesting his formula. He had similar symptoms as your child and was diagnosed by a doctor as having reflux. There are several things that we did, including switching his formula and adding raw goat milk to his bottles. (see www.realmilk.com)
It is obvious that your infant, like my adopted son, is not digesting his formula. There is a way to help her and alleviate her pain, plus strengthen her digestive system and improve her health. I see a lot of formula fed babies that have similar issues and this is the protocol I often recommend.
Note: In addition to these recommendations, I also give a customized herbal tincture for the infant to take. It is hard to say what specific herbs your infant could benefit from without doing a consultation. So these are general recommendations for you to use on your own.
1) Make a home-made Formula. Mass produced formulas only became available in the 1950s. Before that there was either the breast, a wet nurse, or raw milk--usally goat milk since goat milk is much more similar in DNA and molecular make up to human milk than cow milk and is more easily digestable by humans than cow milk. Here is a recipe for home made infant formula from the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon:
2 cups organic, certified clean raw milk or organic pasteurized, NON-Homogenized milk from pasture-fed or grass fed cows.
1/4 cup of liquid whey
4Tbsp Lactose
1/4tsp bifodobacterium infantis
2Tbsp good quality cream--not ultrapaseurized
1tsp of high quality cod-Liver oil
1tsp unrefiend sunflower oil
1tsp extra virgin olive oil
2tsps coconut oil
2tsps nutritional yeast
2 teaspoons gelatin
1 and 7/8 cups filtered water
1/4tsp acerola powder
Add gelatin to water and heat gently until gelatin is dissolved. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend well. Transfer to a very clean glass or stainless steel container and mix well. To serve, pour 6 to 8 ounces into a very clean glass bottle, attach nipple and set in a pan of simmering water. Heat until warm but not hot to the touch, shake bottle well and feed baby. Never heat formula in a microwave as these devices kill all healthy elements and nutritents in food and can lead to lack of mineral absorbtion by the infant.
Note: It is beneficial to read Sally Fallon's book to get a good context for this formula, and also see her long list of resources to find these ingredients. Honestly, a lot of parents find this formula hard or too time consuming to make. But I wanted to let you know that making your own baby formula is an option for you.
If you don't want to make your own formula, here is what you can do:
1)Buy the Organic Earth's Best Baby Formula. When mixing the bottle, add 1/2 the scoop dosage that you normally would. So if you were adding 2 scoops of formula to an 8oz bottle, add one scoop. You are only going to be diluting the formula until he can start digesting it on his own. By watering the formula down, you give less food at one time to the baby which is easier on their weak digestive systems. You may be feeding her more often. But less more often is better at this point. Over eating can and often does cause stomach upset.
2)Add these supplements to her EVERY bottle:
*1/2tsp of Acidopholis Powder--buy it in the refrigerator section of your health food store's supplement section. Baby-dopholis is a good brand.
*1/4tsp of Ginger Powder
*1/4tsp of ground Fennel Seeds
*a pinch of Triphala Powder--this is an Ayurvedic herb and can be found online. Triphala is a digestive harmonizer and will help move her bowels. We gave Triphala to our adopted son in every bottle (we gave 1/4 tsp he was 16 pounds). He had his first poop (with us) 3 days later and it looked like he pooped out meconium at 4 months old! He was very backed up.
All of these additives will help make her formula digestible and heal her little body. It is important when making the bottle to add the powders to the bottle, then add warm water. DO NOT Microwave the water. Microwaved water will kill the ions and nutrients in the formula. You will notice a difference in the way this formula smells even before you add the extra supplements. Compare the smell and taste of this formula to Nutramagin. Which one would you rather drink?
You are right about avoiding the Soy formula. Soy formula should have never been brought to the market. There are a lot of toxins in soy including phytic acid, which blocks absorption of minerals; protease inhibitors which block the digestion of protein; and high levels of aluminum, flouride, MSG and manganese, all of which can have adverse effects on the brain and nervous system. Not to mention the high levels of Estrogen--22,000 times highter than milk based formulas or breast milk. Okay--I'm off my soap box :)
When your baby has colic pain from gas, here is what you can do:
Make a tea of 2 cups fresh anise leaves, 2 cups fresh mint leaves, 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger, 10-20 fennel seeds (big pinch), and 2 quarts of filtered water. Bring water to a boil and pour over the herbs. Let steep until water cools. Strain. Give tepid tea to baby about 4 ounces at a time. OR by the eye dropper full. This should immediately alleviate the gas pain. There is also a product on the market called Gripe Water. It is for babies and consists of ginger and fennel (the active ingredients). It is a convenient option when you can't make a tea.
Overall, it took me about 5 months to bring our adopted son into a healthy state of well-being. But by changing his formula, adding the supplements and herbs to his bottle, plus giving him is herbal formulated tinctures, I noticed a difference immediately. And other people did too. I remember his first real good sleep at night, where he didn't wake up screaming his head off because of the gas pain. You will notice a difference too. Good luck to you.
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