My son is 6 months old and has been breast feed but I no longer can so please do not remind me that it is best. I am aware and very proud of myself for giving him 6 months. With that said I need some advice.. I gave my son Similac Isomil b/c we had a can of it but he seemed to be spitting up a lot so then put my son on Enfamil soy. This is only the 4th day but it is obvious he does not like the taste as he plays mostly verses drinking it. He seems to be having tummy aches/constipation. He used to sleep 10 hours a night and now the last 3 days is waking up through the night. Why he is on Soy I'm not sure. Told the Dr and she said it was fine. He once had Enfamil lipil when had to supplement some as a baby, he didn't seem to love it, may just be the brand. It was mentioned to me that he could be allergic to soy or it is causing his tummy ache. I then came across articles of all these cons to feeding a baby soy formula especially a boy...hhhhmmm can anyone give me some insight? Should I go back to Similac and just start with the basic milk based and then go from there? Thanks in advance for your time!
M.
Thank you so much for the time you all gave me with answering my questions. I read a lot about soy and decided not for us but besides that I watched closely some signs my son had after eating...I think he is possibly allergic to soy or just doesn't like it...either way I didn't like anything I read about it while researching. He has been on Similac Advance, the regular one and doing well. Lately he is a spitting up a lot but he is also is dealing with some awful teething which i know can have runny noses, drainage which in turn can cause him to spit up so we will see and if need be maybe try the sensitive one but for now all is good. THANK again. I love this site and that real moms help each other such a lifesaver!
M.
There are several long term side effects to soy & as others have said I would use it only as a last resort. I am alergic to milk products so as a newborn my parents had to go to soy formula. After reading some of the research recently I have finally found an explination for some of my issues. For me my parents had no other options but I would prefer my daughter to spit up from it but still grow than risk the life long side effects.
Take him off soy immediately. When it comes to infants they will let you know if they have a problem with a food. Spitting up alot, throwing up, fussiness, gas, diarrhea, constipation, change in sleep patterns, and crakiness are all signs that your child can not process a certain food. If these symptoms occur within 1-14 days of trying a new food and get worse, then it means that you need to change the food. This is also true when starting on solid foods. Also make sure to burp him more frequently with formula. With breastmilk, my son didn't need much help burping, however once he went to straight formula, he needed the help. If the regular formula causes spitting up after the 4th day, then I would try Similac Sensitive. If it is the same with that, then your next step and last step would be go to Similac Alimentum.
Tip - when giving formula try these steps if you see problems. 1. If using pre-mixed formula, buy a can and mix yourself. The pre-mix can be too strong. 2. If mixing yourself, make sure to boil, then cool the water and make sure the water if filtered or bottled. 3. If still having problems try putting a couple of teaspoons more of water than it mix says to add.
First off, Good for you to give your son the breast for the first 6 months! I have to say that my milk production fell off at 6 months and I had to supplement with formula. No matter what I tried, he *really* didn't like it. What I had to do was pump when I could and then give him a mix of formula and breast milk and slowly making it more formula than breastmilk. It took about a month before he was ok with full on formula. He also was having constipation and other digestive issues. It just takes time for his digestion to get used to the new food. Hang in there! It will get better.
I have also read many negative things about giving baby boys soy. If you find that he has a milk allergy and nothing else is working, I think it would be worth trying, but if you are not dealing with an allergy issue I personally wouldn't take the risk of the soy formula.
How long did you give him on the first formula you tried? It can take them a while to get used to it and switching around a lot will only make it worse. I would go back a very basic formula, and give it a couple of weeks before even thinking of switching. I'm not sure which formula is most like breastmilk, but I bet he is just not adjusting to the taste difference very well. You don't say why you aren't able to continue breastfeeding, but my first thought was that if you have any frozen milk or are able to pump for a few days, you could try mixing the breastmilk with the mixed formula for a few days to ease the transition. If that is possible. And good for you for doing it as long as you can. Good luck with the transition.
We tried regular formula and we experienced the same thing that you are experiencing with your soy formula and to start giving our son the Isomil. So, we are just the opposite. Our doctor was awesome about giving us sample cans of formula to cut cost. You may have to experiment with a couple until you get one that works for him. I have never heard of cons for soy. I wonder why they started you on soy instead of regular formula? Ask for samples of regular because its too expensive to buy one and waste it. It does sound like an allergy or maybe its just the adjustment of converting over from breast milk. Good luck
If you are no longer able to breastfeed, I would feed him the most basic formula you can find. No lipids or additives that claim to be like breastmilk. These additives have not been fully approved by the FDA and they don't know the side effects in 10, 20yrs. Find the most basic formula you can, and go with it. And yes, avoid the soy.
I have heard a lot of negatives about soy too, and to use it as a last resort if your doctor says to do it. It is going to take a while for your baby to get adjusted to digesting formula. I would try the standard kind first and stick with it, don't change it up too much cause that will upset their digestive systems. If after a while you are noticing issues, then ask your pedi for advice. Just because they spit up doesn't mean they need something else either--just give it some time. You may want to find some gas drops too if you notice your little one is a bit gassy with formula. If you do happen to have any breastmillk or can pump for a bit, you can try mixing it in with formula and then gradually go full formula to help your little one get adjusted to the taste. Most babies will take regular formula after some time, just remember not to keep switching! good luck--
My pedi said try any regular formula before going to soy or sensitive so I did. I too breastfed for 6 months. Congrats!!!! Being a happy loving momma is way more important! It was hard for this working mom to pump and maintain a supply with constant colds...my supply kept going down to where it wasn't even making a bottle anymore when before I barely had to supplement. When I did supplement I originally tried enfamil lipil and premium and they made him gassy. Then I tried gentlease and it was worse. I briefly tried good start, but that did not make a difference although some moms swear by it. Then I tried similac advance early shield and we have stuck with that. The others did not smell good when I opened the package and even worse when prepared. Similac Advance Early Shield stopped the gassiness and we haven't had problems with constipation or anything. Now he is on formula and purees and doing great. Also I tasted a little bit of each and the similac is sweeter tasting (I have to try everything he eats lol). Ask the pedi for samples and they will be happy to give you some different ones to try out. Also I have heard that ready to feed formula is harder on their tummies than powder of the same brand and type, but I have no experience with that as the ready to feed is more expensive.
I've heard many great things about SOY, if your Doctor says its Ok then I personally go by my doctors advise. However we live in the UK, my Sister's son had many problems as a baby and was told SOY should be a last resort, in fact she was told to take him off it until every other formula has been eliminated. I found the Enfamil cans were better on my babies stomach (than the power) but they are expensive. He had terrible problems with Similac. I also gave him gas drops from the pharmacist (natural to help healthy bacteria, not medicated) and they seemed to help. The gas drops were recommended by my doctor. My son's problems seemed to get better on the cans. Good luck I know it's horrible when your baby has stomach ache. I remember many sleepless nights comforting mine.
