switched 4.5 mo to formula. Now has rash and white poop!

[charsdad]

Hi all. First time dad and first time poster. Mom is in the hospital w. Ulcerative Colitis for the past week and will be there another week they say. So, she had to stop breastfeeding. We ran out of frozen supply today and for the last 4 days I've been cutting her breastmilk 50/50 wenfamil infant (milk based). Today was the first day she went 100% formula.

For the first couple days she was doing OK. A little gassier and her poops.were stinkier but as to be expected. Day 3 we noticed her eyes were a little puffy and she was rubbing them a lot. She also had a mild.dry cough periodically. I stuck w the formula based on recommendations from our doc since she didn't think its an allergy.

Today I started her at 100% formula at 6am and she sucked it down. 20 mins later she was rubbing her eyes again,.got congested and her cough got more consistent. I also noticed a rash on her neck and trunk of her body. I gave her some saline drips in nose but one.got in.her eye and almost instantly went from a little puffy to swollen shut Dark pimples slightly raised and a little blotchy, gave her benedryl per doc. She slept and didn't.eat again till 11am.

She hasn't eaten since and has refused 3 bottles. Brought her to see doc and she wasn't concerned.and gave me.soy formula just in case I wanted to try it. Breathing sounded.good and.otherwise looks good..

She woke up finally and had a bowel movement and it was a little of.the typical dark green sulfur smelling smooth poop but also had a rather large clump of white, small fire cottage cheese in there too! Pede said it can still.be viral and maybe switch to soy if I.wanted too. I tried but she drank 1oz then back to sleep.

Can this be a milk allergy? Wife drank milk everyday while BFimg and pumping and she was always healthy, no issues. Now this?

What should I do?.switch to soy or.continue s milk based. Try a different brand.like nestle good start?.please help this desparate dad!

[*Kara*]

I would try another brand - it doesn't sound like a milk allergy and if she did have MPI, she would be quite likely to have MPSI - soy as well   Very common for a baby to be sensitive to both actually.  If it was an allergy, you would likely see mucous in her poops...

Re: the white cottage cheese type poop bits - that sounds like milk solids to me.  I have seen it myself   Generally nothing to be too concerned about, just a speed of digestion thing really - could be just her body learning to digest the formula as opposed to the breastmilk.

It's gonna be okay Dad!  For what it's worth - my DD is 13 months old and has done wonderfully on Nestle GoodStart

[ZacsMumme]

I agree with Kara, it doesn't sound like an allergy or intolerance to milk. That said, formula is very different to breast milk in a number of ways, it is also slower digested and can be hard on some babies sensitive tummies. Your LO could be getting used to this and as you say is a bit gassier and uncomfortable with the change in diet. I suspect she will want to feed less regularly due to formula being heavier in the tum and digested a lot slower as well.

It does sound like she may have picked up a bug/virus/cold along the way too. Did the Dr see the rash and advise it looked viral?

We use a few drops of eucalyptus oil in a jar of just boiled water in our LO's room to help keep the sinus's clear during a cold/flu.

She doesn't suffer from reflux does she?

Hope mum is okay, you are doing great!

[amayzie]

I've heard anecdotally of kids getting more viruses when they switch from breast milk- the breast milk apparrently has more antibodies and immunities in it or something.... so it would make sense that she has gotten a cold or other viral illness..

[MommyMoulton]

OMG!!! Take you LO to the Dr.... My Dr gave specific instructions with us here in Canada that she didnt care what poop looked like or smelled like unless it was WHITE, BLACK or Bright RED. White is a huge issue because its associated with improper bile duct issues. Given your DW has Collitis I would take your LO in right away.

BTW welcome to BW. Nice to see Dads out there. If you want to keep chatting, as we would love to hear of your LOs adventures join us on the E.A.S.Y.-Birth Clubs 0-18months, I believe you fall in with us at the 4-6months thread.

[charsdad]

Thanks for the quick and insightful replies everyone! A quick update first. Last night she slept till 4:30am (after basically sleeping all day) and when she woke I gave her 2oz of Pedialyte (gave her 4 oz but she only took 2..which i'm happy for cuz i wasnt sure she would drink it at all!). We also slept with the humidifier on in the room. The rash looked worse at 4:30am. She quickly drifted back off to sleep after the feeding so I did too.

She woke again at 7:00 and so I gave her another 4oz of Pedialyte and changed a wet diaper. And the rash actually looks much better! She's sleeping now (hence me having the time to reply..lol)

So, to answer your questions. The doctor wasnt convinced either that the rash was from the formula, since she thinks it would have appeared soon after i started introducing it to her in her breastmilk 6 days ago. She said it appears more viral than allergies.

She does not suffer from reflux, that i know of.

So, i'm debating on switching brands, or sticking with the enfamil infant. If i stick with the enfamil, and she STILL doesnt tolerate it (either with the rash, white poops, lethargy, etc) then i KNOW it's the formula as she seems pretty much back to normal at this point (we'll see how her next poop looks!)

However, i kinda feel like it's a science project at the expense of my poor girl. I suppose it's for her own good that we find out what she can and cannot tolerate. It sounds to me like this is all a coincidence and she has a little bug, and the inability to digest the enfamil formula to boot. Fun! Just what i needed!

I was recommended the Nestle Good Start Gentle from several friends. I like the fact that it's made with 100% whey and sounds like my girl will digest it better as it doesnt contain the harder to digest protein that most milf formulas have (At least that's what the lady on the Gerber website tells me, heh).

I'm kinda feeling like just skipping the science project and getting on the hunt for a better formula.. Rash aside, that poop just didnt look good!

Oh and to the last poster, I told the Doc about the poops, and she said the white poops usually represent a liver problem but it is only present in babies with chronic illness and it doesnt come on all of a sudden. My LO has been otherwise very healthy and the Doc checked her out yesterday and, other than the rash, looks good. Thanks for the concern, and the invite to the EASY group. I'll check it out!

[*Kara*]

Also, white poops that represent a serious problem are an entirely white poop - not small amounts of it in her poop  

I would change her to the GoodStart, it really is a fantastic product.  Nothing wrong with Enfamil at all, but it is much harder on the tum that the GoodStart is.

Hope you stick around!

[charsdad]

LO has done well today on the Good Start. She's not finishing bottles, and she's spitting some up after it being in her stomach for awhile, but all in all i'm encouraged with the results.

Rash is fading and her mood, energy and eye puffiness is down, although still rubbing at them. Coincidental virus? Maybe. I guess, once she's settled on the Good Start, i could go back to see how she does on the enfamil, but to what end? I'll just be happy once things are back to "normal"!

Still waiting on a poop today. She had a little hershey squirt around 4, army green and stinky, but nothing serious. She has only had about 8 ounces in all, so we'll see.

Thanks again! I'll keep you posted so people in the future have something to go by..

[*Kara*]

That's great!  I wouldn't change her formula again, give it a couple of weeks and if all is well, leave it be.

Is she a good burper?  Spitting up after a while could mean she has a little bubble of air underneath some of her formula

How often are you feeding her and how much are you offering?  She should be taking in at least 24 oz a day at her age - that would include all feeds over 24 hours

[charsdad]

Thanks Kara.

Just had her first poop on the new formula. Never thought I'd say these words in my life but I miss breastmilk poops! Soooo awful smelling. Back to army green but a little yellower and a little more seedy this time. However, as i was cleaning her up, she started poopin out a little watery stuff (very little) cleaned that up, put on a fresh diaper and she pooped again! This time, the cottage cheese was back!  A little less then last time, smaller curds as well. Good, bad? I dunno.

Gunna stick w the formula tor a few more days to see if it passes.

I offer her 4oz every 2.5-3 hours as we r on EASY and have been since she was 1 mo old. On breast milk she was like clock work. So far w this formula she's yet to take a whole bottle. I just offered 4oz at 11pm and 3:30am. Both times only took 1oz before refusing any more (hey this stuffs expensive!)

Hopefully she comes around. Got her w a sitter tomorrow. Rash is all but gone however. We will keep u posted!

[amayzie]

Did you consider trying a different teat? Some kids can be fussy. Anyone else find that makes a difference? We use a narrow base pigeon teat with our guy...

[Lolly]

That would be my suggestion too, try a faster teat. As she is used to being breastfed she has been needing to suck a lot harder than a baby bottle fed from birth so she may need it. Also it could be that she will need a few feeds to adjust to the taste of the new formula.

Keep an eye on her and get her seen if she isn't feeding, remember babies can get dehydrated quite quickly so watch that she is having enough wet nappies and that they are good sized wet ones.

Laura

[charsdad]

We use Tommee Tippee. She started on the 1's, then 2's and eventually landed on the X (Variable) Nipples by 3.5 months. I kept her on the X's while starting the formula but was suggested early on to try the 1's since she was chugging so fast she was choking and ended up getting super fussy. She did well with the enfamil and the 1 nipples, though she ate pretty slowly.

So, i tried the X again this morning with the new formula and she ate for the same amount of time, but due to the larger nipple, ended up with more food (2.5 oz vs the 1-1.5 she was getting so far).

So, i'll stick with the X nipples to see how she does over the next day or two. She had another poop today as well, not as chunky cottage cheese, still whiteish/greenish but more seedy now like when she was on breastmilk.

Still stinks to high heaven though. Does that get better as she adjusts? Jeez.

[*Kara*]

It will get a little better as she adjusts but not great

I would try her on the level 2 nipples again...

You do want to make sure that you are offering her a bottle more frequently if she is only taking an ounce or 2 at a time... you really do want to ensure that she is taking at least 24 ozs in 24 hrs