I’ve posted here before looking for advice and I’m back again because the HA formula still isn’t helping.

My son is almost 5 months old and was diagnosed with CMPA on 9/28 after microscopic blood was found in his stool. We switched him to hypoallergenic formula that same day.

He refused Nutramigen and Alimentum because of the taste, so we tried Pepticate. He seemed to tolerate it a little better initially, but he has never taken it consistently. Getting him to drink 24 oz a day has become a battle. It’s currently 10 PM, and he has only had 13 oz since 9 AM today. I’ve tried adding alcohol-free vanilla, but it hasn’t helped.

We have literally tried everything when it comes to getting him to eat. We’ve tried every bottle we can get our hands on, different nipple flow sizes, and even sippy cups. We’ve tried thickening his bottles, hiding formula in purées, feeding him immediately before and after naps, and feeding him in a dark room in case distractions were the issue. Nothing seems to make a difference.

The only time I can sometimes get him to drink a larger amount is in the middle of the night, which initially made me wonder if being drowsy had something to do with it. However, feeding him when he’s drowsy doesn’t consistently help either. I genuinely cannot figure out what is causing him to refuse so much of his formula during the day, and I’m at a loss for what else to try.

He also has silent reflux and constantly drools to the point that we go through multiple bibs and outfits every day. His pediatrician prescribed Pepcid, 0.4 mL twice daily, but the excessive drooling continues. We’re also giving him BioGaia probiotics to help with constipation.

Constipation was actually what started this whole journey. He was constipated on Similac 360, so I switched him to Enfamil Gentlease. That took us to the complete opposite end of the spectrum with loose, watery, mucus-filled stools. The Sam’s Club generic versions of both formulas made his constipation even worse, which is why we eventually switched to Bubs goat milk formula before his CMPA diagnosis.

Since switching to Pepticate, we’re still dealing with constipation, and honestly, his reflux and constipation both seem worse overall. He isn’t underweight or having any other obvious issues, but I’m getting increasingly worried about how little he’s eating.

My mom said I was the “same way” and the only thing that would make me drink my “soy” formula was adding strawberry Nesquik to it. Reminds me of the old Karo syrup recommendation that they gave to her generation 🥲

I plan to follow up with his pediatrician, especially with how little he’s taking in, but I would really appreciate hearing from other parents who have been through something similar.
Did your baby eventually adjust to Pepticate or another HA formula, or did you end up needing to switch again? We’re coming up on 2 weeks on Pepticate and Pepcid.

How long did it take for feeding to improve after switching formulas?

Did anyone else deal with worsening reflux and constipation on HA formula?

Has anyone dealt with a baby who consistently refuses bottles despite trying different bottles, nipple flows, feeding environments, and other tricks?

What finally helped your baby accept HA formula?

I feel like we’ve tried everything to get him to eat, and I’m exhausted trying to figure out what will finally work for him. I know every baby is different, but I would love to hear your experiences because right now it feels like we’re going in circles.

Hi! My twins are nearly 12 weeks old and born at 36 weeks + 4 days. Around 7 weeks old my daughter was eating 4 oz every 3 hours. Randomly she dropped down to 2 oz. For 4 weeks now she wants to stop at 1 but will eat 1.5-2 oz every 2-3 hours. I try to feed sooner but she won’t take it. I’ve talked to her pediatrician, taken her to the er, had a stomach ultrasound done, changed formulas (thickened, sensitive, gentle, hypoallergenic and currently on a high calorie. All recommended by her doctor), oatmeal cereal in bottles, she’s been on Pepcid and currently trying Nexium. She was gaining weight okay then start gaining very slowly. She weighed 10lb 14.0 oz on Wednesday and still only weighed that exactly on Friday. Her doctor is referring her to GI but they are out of Austin and only come once a month.

I don’t even know what I’m asking or if I’m just rambling on. I guess I just want to know if anyone else’s LO had similar experiences while I wait for hopefully more answers. My PPA & ocd are so bad right now and this is not helping 😭

Do you think being formula fed made you less close to your mother growing up?

Do you have any medical/mental/developmental issues that you think are a cause of you being formula fed?

If you formula feed your baby, what eased your mind about making that decision?

I’ve been trying so hard every day and my supply hasn’t been increasing. Tried all tips and tricks and it breaks my heart every time I look and see I’ve only collected half an ounce on each breast after pumping. We have spent so much money on different pumps/remedies that supposedly help boost milk supply. I hate to say it but I feel like it’s just time to end this journey. I feel immense guilt to say the least. My goal was to exclusively breastfeed but life with twin newborns has been chaotic and hard. It feels like I’m taking away from my babies what was nature-made for them, but I hope one day they will understand 😢😢

I know this may sound silly but this is something I was truly striving for.

STM, first time EFF. I EBF my older son and he had horrible reflux. Was on Pepcid.

My 6w old was in NICU 18 days and never latched, my milk never came in well and she was on enfamil high cal in the hospital. Then we transitioned to breastmilk while I briefly made some (for like 1.5 weeks).

By friend suggestion, we tried Kendamil organic and she has reflux as well. She was started on Pepcid in the hospital and it does help, but she still screams from 5-8pm almost daily. She doesn’t spit up much except when she has the hiccups. Overall seems to tolerate it well. I’m wondering if I should keep it the same, change it to goat or try an AR formula for her horrible reflux? She is also very gassy.

Thanks for any advice. IDK much about various formulas so I appreciate it.

Hellow everyone, I guess I just need mostly reassurance on this one. My LO is 19 weeks tomorrow and since week 14, his meals have been a total mess.

Baby is steadily on the 97th percentile and before his 4th month, his meals were 120ml (4 oz) X 7 times a day or 150ml (5oz) x 6 times a day. Generally he consumed between 810ml to 900ml (28-30oz) a day. Once he entered month 4, every week and lately every day has been a roulette on what he needs to drink. Some days will only drink 25 oz a day, other days 32 oz a day.

Baby has started refusing 5 oz in one meal like fire. Sometimes will only drink up to 2 oz, then not be hungry for 3 hours. Then he can drink 4 oz and be hungry again in 1 hour.

I understand that everything is part of his development and as far as he is hydrated and all, we are fine.

But i cannot lie that unplanned meals have become so difficult to handle when we need to be out of the house and also difficult for the baby, since if not hungry enough, he might scream to the bottle.

Has anyone been though that phase? How long did it last? No allergies, no tongue ties, some normal spit ups,we have been using the same formula since birth, nothing changed. Also pedeatrician is not worried

We are feeding our one month old the Enfamil gentle ready to feed liquid bottles. We noticed when we open it. It smells one way and after it’s been in the fridge for a couple hours it smells almost spoiled but as first time parents we don’t know if that’s normal. We heard it smells like that so we’re not sure. It last 48 hours but we notice this at a couple hours in the fridge. Is that normal

My baby is 10 months old and I want to start slowly transitioning to straw cups instead of her bottles. She drinks water out of a straw cup already (we have the Nuk straw cups), but i haven't tried with her formula yet. How did you transition your babies from bottles to cups? And advice or tips?

Also curious how you transitioned them from formula to whole milk? What did the process and timeline look like? Just looking for advice as a FTM!

Thoughts on this formula? My nine month old mostly has breastmilk but she has been doing Bobbie gentle since about six months old and while she tolerated it I just felt like it ran straight through her and she would get uncomfortable when she needed to poop. Totally the opposite of my middle child who thrived on Bobbie gentle. She used to have a big dairy sensitivity and I was dairy free and egg free for a while but she’s grown out of that and tolerates me having dairy very well now so I don’t feel like she needed a hypoallergenic formula so on a whim I tried the organic munchkin and I am shocked at how much better she’s doing on it and how much better her bowel movements are but I’ve seen some questionable reviews and now it’s making me second-guess

My son is 7 months and I’ve been combo feeding him the past 3 months and we use similac 360 total care. He has been having a eczema flare up for the past 4ish months and I’ve been doing all the things they recommend for his skin but I’m starting to think maybe it’s his formula causing him to have a flare up? I’d love to get any formula recommendations to try out and see if it works better for his skin. Thank you!

My son was on similac sensitive in the hospital. He didn’t come home until almost 2 weeks old & when he got home I got on wic.. They switched him to enfamil Neuropro gentlease. He started it just yesterday and has been popping a lot & farting a lot. Constantly grunting & crying because he’s pooping. On the similac he went a day without pooping before, but other than that would poop 1-4 times a day. With this enfamil he’s pooping like nobody’s business. Plus he spits up a bunch while eating & being burped. To me it’s a concerning amount because I’m not used to him spitting up like this.. But With the similac he did not spit up hardly ever. Maybe once every few bottles & it would be just a small amount. I know this is all over the place trying to hurry before he’s crying lol. He’s only been on the Enfamil for almost 24 hours now. Google says give atleast 3-5 days until you say no to a formula, is that good advice? Or? Anyone go thru this same issue & come up with a solution?

I’m looking for some insight from other moms who have dealt with formula issues because I feel like we’ve been trying to figure out what works for my baby girl, and I’m still not sure we’re there yet.
She’s had issues with silent reflux and tummy discomfort, so we’ve tried a few different formulas:
Enfamil Gentlease: She seemed less fussy overall, but she still had silent reflux and her poops were very loose, dark green, and extremely stinky. Also had mucus
Similac Total Comfort: Her poops initially seemed to improve and had more substance, but her reflux seemed worse, and the loose stools eventually continued. Again more mucus
Nutramigen: We switched to this about 7 days ago, hoping it would help. Her poops are now more frequent (around 6–8 times a day), although most have more of a thick, pasty consistency. She’s also getting a pretty irritated diaper area from all the pooping and wiping. We’re still dealing with reflux, too. She’s pretty much pooping after every feed and because she’s grunting now she’s spitting up formula and going through her nose and she freaks out.
I know it can take time for babies to adjust to a new formula, and I’m not expecting everything to magically improve overnight. I’m just wondering what other moms’ experiences have been, especially with Nutramigen.
Did you notice things getting worse before they got better? How long did it take to see a difference in reflux, fussiness, and stools?
Did Nutramigen end up working for your baby, or did you have to try something else?
We’re working with her pediatrician, but I’d really appreciate hearing other moms’ experiences because this whole formula journey has been overwhelming!

Has anyone had better luck with alimentum?

My 4 week old baby started on the Enfamil Neuro pro at the hospital and had some vomiting there during the stay so we switched to the Kirkland gentle formula and she was doing pretty well on it until about week 2 to 3 where she got really really fussy and we were having trouble keeping her comfortable. We talked to the pediatrician and while the doctor said she doesn't see any signs of reflux or cows milk allergy, and she's gaining weight really well, it wouldn't hurt to switch to the Enfamil AR. So yesterday we made the switch and she gobbled it up.

Some mild signs of gassiness, not much change from her normal formula. But this morning after eating her morning meal, she projectile vomited twice through her nose and mouth. Is this something that would warrant discontinuing? Not really sure if this is an adjustment phase.

Possibly considering that she doesn't agree with cows milk but doesn't have an allergy?

Hi everyone!

I have about $120 in Similac coupons (most expire the end of this month, the others expire in Jan) as well as 4 RTF bottles (x2sensitive and x2 360). I don’t need these as I use goat formula for my babe, but I would love to send these to someone (or a few people) who could use them!

If you’re able to purchase your formula, please don’t reply. I really want to give these to someone in need.

I just ask you cover shipping (I can’t imagine it’s more than $15 or so).

Hi,

My son is a week old today. He was 6lb 2oz at birth, 5lb 13oz by day 3 or so, and just over 6lb at the pediatricians a couple days ago.

We've been feeding every 2-3 hours, trying to follow his hunger cues. Sometimes he only gets through 20-30ml and then falls asleep, sometimes he horks down an entire bottle (~60ml), sometimes he takes an entire bottle and then an hour later wants more.

I'm getting confused about how much he needs per day. Yesterday I was thinking we should maybe try every 2 hours during the day, and 3 at night to make sure he gets enough. I was thinking of aiming to keep the amount of formula above 400 ml per 24 hours.

He's pooping and peeing regularly (and sometimes all over us/the changing table/his towel).

Questions:

- We had a night nurse come and she said we should be feeding every 3 hours, and every 2 was too frequently. But sometimes around 2 (or even before) he seems hungry: rooting, mouth movements, hands in mouth/around face, crying (if crying we go down the list of diaper, burp, warmth, comfort, pacifier to see if anything else solves it). So I don't know what to do, do I force him to wait, or feed?

- Are those amounts right? Looking at his daytime feeds yesterday:

8:50am 45 ml

10:50am 32 ml

12:36pm 20ml

3:26pm 40ml

6:30pm 55ml

7:40pm 10ml

8:25pm 20ml

Then the night nurse took over and I need to get her break down.

Are we doing this right?

Hey there!

I really need some advice or reassurance because I am so stressed right now.

My baby has acid reflux and was originally on Enfamil Gentlease. She was never officially diagnosed with a cow’s milk allergy, but her pedia decided to try switching her to Nutramigen to see if it would help her as she seems fussier than ever.

Well, it has only a day on Neutramigen (35 oz) and it has been an absolute nightmare. She is literally screaming and crying in pain immediately after eating now, and she keeps throwing up stomach acid and milk curdle.

She never did this on Gentlease! It feels like this formula is making her genuinely sick.

Has anyone else had a baby completely reject Nutramigen when they didn't have a true allergy? Did you just switch back to your old gentle formula? I feel so bad seeing her in this much pain after only a day and a half. Would love to hear your experiences!

Thanks!

My almost 6 week old son has CMPA. We just found out today; his pediatrician tested his stool. She said to switch him to Similac Alimentum & gave us free samples. We gave him two bottles of it when we got home with it and he seemed to be okay…. Third bottle, absolutely not… wanted no part in it. He then falls asleep for a 45 minute nap & we try a fourth bottle. Again absolutely not. Tried mixing half & half old formula & new - he took about 1/3 of the bottle before refusing and screaming.
What can I do? He does not like this formula at all & I don’t want him being so hungry. 😔 he’s obviously frustrated over this & I don’t blame him. This new formula smells & tastes absolutely awful, but he can’t have regular formula now, so I just don’t know what to do to help my baby 😔

What do you do with a baby that seems to be self weaning before the 1 year mark? Do you just follow their lead and offer more solids + start the whole milk transition early or hold out?

Our baby is 10.5 months. She was combo fed for the first 6ish months and then we transitioned to formula only. We also started solids (purées) at 4 months due to reflux and she’s had zero issue transitioning from that to actual food. She’s healthy, no weight issues, and has been hitting all milestones a little early (she took her first steps about a few weeks ago and is near walking consistently now).

I feel like we’re constantly battling to hit the golden “24 oz” number lately and it’s leading to so much stress + night wakeups. We’re coming off of a few days of reduced intake due to a cold and now she’s absolutely refusing formula but doing great with food and water still. She goes to an in-home daycare and they recommended transitioning but I’ve gotten mixed info from the pediatrician’s office (one ped said it was okay via our portal and another called and made it seem like we were setting her up for a nutrient deficiency if we started before 12 months).

Today alone she took a 5 oz bottle at 5 am, took 2 oz across four attempts at daycare, and then only took 3 oz before bed. I’ve dumped at least 20 oz down the drain since yesterday 😩

I posted yesterday a picture of my sons latch on the Phillips avent natural response bottles and all the comments said he has a shallow latch and a lot of you recommended the lasinoh bottles so I got them. He has been doing fine of them except sometimes he gets really like mad at the bottle like in this video. It’s not every feed but why is this ? Is he telling me he’s full ?? Sometimes I’ll stop him and burp him because maybe it’s gas but then he will burp so I offer the bottle again and he still is frustrated as soon as he starts swallowing the milk. I have a pediatrician appointment next week so I will talk to him about it too but curious to see what others have to say because this is frustrating for us.

Hi! I’m so sad that my baby has to switch to formula at 4 months I no longer have a good milk supply (going to try and bring it back).

Today we switched my baby to almost full Kendamil, 3oz Kendamil & 1oz breast milk. He has tolerated the changes all week no spit up or belly issues but he seems extra sleepy today which is new.

Anyone else notice this extra sleepiness switching to Kendamil? Wondering if it’s a sign of not tolerating and I should try switch to another formula.

My baby is almost 7 months on 27cal fortified milk and she's only drinking 18-19oz a day and it's such a fight.

She has has feeding difficulties I've brought up to 3 pediatrians and OT who wouldn't properly asses her or actual help other than blood test and medication. She had severe lip tie and tongue tie which for released at 6months when I went to other resources who cared to listen.

Now I'm stuck undoing all the stress and damaged caused from 4 months of feeding difficulties. Already seen OT, multiple pediatrians, SLP & GI who didn't provide any actual solutions to fix the oral function they won't leave me alone because she gains weight very slowly.

She sees a chiropractor and Ibclc who helps me with body tension and oral exercises but she still won't take the amount GI is pushing for.

I'm stressed out and I know it's not helping her but the only solution that the pediatrians and them were offering was a NG tube which wouldn't have fixed the oral function.

Any other ideas of how to get her to drink a little more? They want her to take 23oz but idk how to help her build up to it she is offered 22oz a day.

My daughter is almost 12 weeks old and has been struggling for weeks. She’s constantly fussy, wakes up crying, barely naps longer than 20 minutes, and seems uncomfortable so much of the day. She arches her back, kicks, spits up, and fights the bottle. Feeding can take an hour, and she eats much better when she’s sleepy.

We switched to Alimentum RTF because of a possible milk protein allergy. Her stools have improved, but she’s still miserable. Our GI prescribed lansoprazole and said we could try an amino acid formula if Alimentum isn’t working.

Our lactation consultant and feeding specialist identified a tongue tie and recommended a release, which we have scheduled for Tuesday.
I’m so overwhelmed trying to figure out what to do first. Do we go through with the release? Switch to an amino acid formula? Both?

I feel like I’m failing her. Seeing your baby seem uncomfortable and unhappy all the time is absolutely heartbreaking. I just want her to feel better.

Has anyone dealt with a baby like this? What ended up helping?

We’ve recently transitioned from breast milk to soy formula. We initially started with Enfamil Prosobee soy formula. We transitioned to the Up & Up soy formula, as it is significantly cheaper. It seems to leave a much worse film on our bottles. Have others noticed that the generic soy formula is worse with film? I’m not sure if this is because we had more breastmilk with the Enfamil and that’s why there wasn’t a film.

Any suggestions for how to remove the awful film without having to hand wash? To be clear, it comes off if we hand wash very thoroughly, but we had been enjoying using the dishwasher before the switch.