putting brown sugar in formula

[*Jo*]

My health nurse assured me it was fine for roughly every second bottle but LO wont finish his bottle without it, hes always hated formula and gags on it, refuses to eat it etc but now that we tried brown sugar he is taking alot more at his feeds, problem is that he wont finish a feed without it now. He will only take about 40mls before stopping and refusing to eat the rest without it. Today we took him to church and forgot the sugar and he refused his feed, so he went 4 hours and 45 minutes without a feed until we got some sugar and added it to the new bottle. I dont want to be adding sugar to every bottle but if he doesnt have enough then he will wake in the night for more food (by the way, he is thriving, hes a big chubby boy, well i think so anyway, so its not like he doesnt get enough food in him) should i cut the sugar out and just let him eat what he wants, will this make our nights up and down because so far we can get him to do 11 hours straight but hte last few nights he has been waking for a feed at 4.30am ish

So far today we have gotten 640mls in him and if he does the usual at the DF it will bring him up to 750mls, my nurse said he should be putting away 900mls a day.
He is 10 weeks old.

Should i let his routine go tomorrow and let him tell me when he is hungry and feed him then to see whats going on with him?? when should i start feeding him 3.5 hourly??

[Mashi]

Personally, I would never give a baby sugar of any kind, let alone in his formula, and I'm shocked that a nurse would tell you to do so!  Have you tried changing formula? Is there anything else that seems to be happening - ie/ is he in pain while he's eating, etc?

[* Paula *]

I am shocked that a nurse has told you to do this too.

Sugar can decay their teeth, and even though your lo does not have any teeth yet, they are all under the gums, and I am sure this can do some harm to them.

I would not be giving your lo any sugar either, as again this will start to give them a preference for sweeter things.

I agree with Mashimaro, have you tried a differnt formula?

[*Jo*]

well i was giving it to him because he was getting constipated as the formula he has is lactose free (so has less sugar in it) so she said it was ok to put brown sugar in his formula.

Weve changed his formula five times, its getting ridiculous to be honest, i just feel so lost, we keep changing it and he hates all of them and then his reflux was playing up so we went to lact free formula and his reflux has settled down a bit.

If i dont give him the sugar and he refuses to eat i feel like we will all suffer if hes only drinking small amounts. I didnt like the idea of adding sugar but a friend of mine said that now that i have i kinda have to keep doing it because thats what he wants....
My health nurse said that he wont get a preference for sweet things, that even when i introduce solids we can give them sweet things before veges etc and they will still eat their veges.

Im gonna ring her tomorrow and say that i think its gotten out of hand. and of course i dont blame my poor son, who would want to eat that horrid stuff when you can have it taste better with sugar, its not his fault he likes it like that and now of course i feel i am to blame for messing this whole thing up

[TDR'smom]

{{{HUGS}}} Don't be so hard on yourself!!

It might be worth getting a second opinion.  Also different brands of formula taste different.

[~emmalou~]

Hugs to you, please don't blame yourself, that nurse really didn't give the best advice, too much sugar isn't good for anyone. I would try reducing the amount in the bottles little by little until its down to nil, maybe a gradual wean of it will work for you? Hugs again and don't blame yourself x x x x x

[* Paula *]

Please do not be so hard on yoursef hun, you are only doing what you thought was best for your son

I agree, might be worth doing a gradual wean and see how your lo does, so try reducing the amount of sugar every 2 -3 days until your DS is back to drinking plain formula.

Huge hugs hun

[charmie]

I would also do a gradual wean of the sugar.  My biggest concern would be tooth decay especially since he is sucking it through a bottle so it goes directly to his gums before he gulps it.

Don't worry though...nothing unreversible 



xxx
charm

[Leesa]

 
Why any health professional would suggest that is beyond me!

I agree with the others. A gradual wean sounds like it could work.

[Mashi]

If you have no aversion to going onto soy formula, many babes find it is much sweeter and has a nicer taste than milk formula?

[*Jo*]

Thanks ladies, i will try the gradual wean and also talk to the nurse about soy formula.


lets hope this works!! 

[* Paula *]

Good luck hun, we will be here with you every step of the way.

You said your lo is a reflux baby, did they not prescribe any meds for him?

[~emmalou~]

Good luck hon. X x x XX x.

[*Jo*]

yep, we use Zoton and infant Gaviscon for him which seems to be working well, perhaps we dont need the lact free formula if that is the case??

He took his first bottle this morning wiht no sugar! mind you that was after a 9 hour sleep so he was hungry. i usually dont give it to him first off, i try and get him to take the bottle without it and see how much he takes before adding the sugar, i only ever use half a teaspoon so im not sure how to wean that small amount

[deb]

I'd go right to 1/4 tsp then, and then a smaller one till it's a pinch, and then nothing. Much easier to get over the taste of sweets now than later!!!!