Soy vs milk based?

[lilac83]

Dd2 has been having some tummy troubles. She has an upper GI scheduled for tomorrow to determine if she has acid reflux. However her doctor also mentioned giving soy formula a try. I've heard though that most babys that have problems with milk based usually have trouble with soy too. Is this true? Anyone with any experience using soy, did it help with spit up, gas, general discomfort?

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

We were actually fine with soy even though both girls couldn't have anything milk based.  I did combination feeding with both, so they were mainly BF with one bottle of formula a day at bedtime (DH's turn!). I had to be off of dairy as well, but I'm sure I was still consuming hidden soy even though I was using soy milk (yuck, never liked the taste of that stuff).

[Lolly]

It is true that many babies who have milk protein intolerance are also soy intolerant, there are hypoallergenic formulas available which are a better option.

I would also do some research on soy formula - I'm pretty sure they no longer recommend it for babies under 6 months in the UK because of concerns on the long term impact of soy and the glucose in it being not good for developing teeth.

Laura

[lilac83]

Thanks. M was diagnosed with reflux this morning using an upper GI with barium. Her doctor recommended trying different formulas to see what helps her best. Right now she's on a gentle formula, which has 25% of the lactose of normal formula but he doesn't think she has a MPI and she's not showing any signs. I'm torn between switching her over to soy or not. She is experiencing gas, fussiness and her stools have become more formed. I looked into soy and can't find any reason not to switch her....I just want to do what's best for her, I hate seeing her in pain.

He did prescribe her reflux meds but suggested trying to find the best formula for her first before using the meds.

[ENMS]

What are her symptoms on her current formula?

I agree with Laura, if anything I would try hypoallergenic formula before soy formula.

I've heard of some sensitive LO's doing better on GoodStart here in Canada, not sure if you have it where you are. It's milk-based but there is less lactose and the mix of protein is different. There is only whey protein and no casein in it.

[lilac83]

Her symptoms are gas, fussiness and spitting up. Her doctor doesn't think the hypoallergenic formula is necessary since it's not an allergy. Just trying to determine what's gentler on her tummy. I'm also giving her gas drops before each bottle and holding her upright 20 minutes after each feeding.

I did see the information about estrogen in soy formula but according to what I read it seems like a minimal concern. I purchased different bottles today too, the Playtex drop-ins. The slow flow nipple seemed a touch fast for her but maybe she just needs to get used to it a bit? We had tried Avent which were awful for her, she gagged and sputtered the entire feeding. She did good with regular Gerber bottles but they created a vacuum effect which would send a lot of air bubbles coursing through the milk when she released the nipple.

[ENMS]

Her doctor doesn't think the hypoallergenic formula is necessary since it's not an allergy

Hon I don't agree with him, sorry! It doesn't have to be an allergy, lots of LO's don't tolerate milk-based formula and do much better on hypoallergenic formula! If she gets symptoms with milk-based formula I would definitely give it a try.

Changing the bottles can definitely help too. Does she look like she is struggling to feed? Is tongue tie a possibility? It can also cause the symptoms you describe because the LO's swallow too much air.  My DS did best on the Dr. Brown's bottles, they really reduced the amount of gas he swallowed.

[MasynSpencerElliotte]

But if it is the reflux causing the issues, would changing to hypoallergenic formula help that without meds? Haven't dealt with reflux here though...knock on wood!

[Lolly]

But if it is the reflux causing the issues, would changing to hypoallergenic formula help that without meds? Haven't dealt with reflux here though...knock on wood!

If a milk protein intolerance is causing the reflux then a hypoallergenic formula could be enough to solve the reflux.

I would say though that she is still very teeny tiny and a lot of her symptoms could be caused by adjusting to the world. Don't forget her system is designed for human breastmilk not cow's based milk so she could just be adjusting to that. If you keep swapping bottles and formulas you won't really know what is working and/or causing the problems.

I would try the gerber bottles again with the next size nipple - creating a vacum is usually an indication that the flow is to slow, they are having to suck too hard to get the milk out. Do they do a vari-flow teat? They often work better because the baby controls the flow by how hard they suck.

My two were/are both refluxers but not caused by intollerances and they did fairly well on the easy digest formula in the early days, I would continue with that rather than swap to soy and use gas drops for a while to see if they help.

Laura

[lilac83]

I definitely appreciate the input! One of the problems with trying hypoallergenic straight away is the cost. I know that probably sounds absolutely awful and believe me if it comes down to it I won't even think twice, but it is a factor in why I'm a bit apprehensive to skip other options. Crossing my fingers the steps I've taken will help my poor kiddo!

[*Kara*]

I have one who did well on GoodStart... she was never a refluxer when little but she also never had a standard milk based formula such as Enfamil.  I got a sample pack from GoodStart so used it... never gave a second thought to the proteins in it at all.. until we tried to move to cow's milk at a year and things went horribly sideways... she would spit up almost right away.. then all night, she would squirm/whimper/scream.  I do think she would have had a similar reaction if I had chosen Enfamil with both casein and whey proteins.

Maybe try GoodStart first?  Similar price point to Enfamil and might be enough if she has an intolerance... most do have issues with the casein protein and not the whey...

Just an idea.

[lilac83]

Thanks for the advice. We actually started her on GoodStart right after I stopped breastfeeding. We used GoodStart Gentle. Then we tried Enfamil. Unfortunately both caused her to not just spit up but vomit. Based on the huge improvement I've seen over the last couple of days I have to agree that I think the Dr is wrong and it is an intolerance, or possibly even an allergy. She went from spitting up or vomiting large amounts (and I mean soaking her entire outfit amounts) multiple times per day to one tiny quarter-sized puddle once per day. I'm torn about what to do long term though. Part of me says that the soy is fine. Studies haven't really shown any conclusive research that soy causes problems in human infants, and I've personally known a good handful of babies who have had it. However, another part of me does worry and wonder if I should just go the hypoallergenic route. I think I'm going to leave it be for now and talk to her Dr at her 2 month check up in a month.

[*Kara*]

Personally, i wouldn't use soy formula as a food for baby... as they get older, the odd drink of soy milk/soy yogurt etc isn't much to worry about, but the continuous exposure at a very young age would concern me enough not to do it.  Soy is no longer recommended unless baby can't have milk based formula (or hypoallergenic - it is milk based but broken down) for religious reasons/medical reasons...   the recommendation for MPI/MSPI is hypoallergenic formula.

That said, momma instinct was right - sounds very much like MPI to me.