She gave me formula

[macksmom]

I took DD3 for her 2.5M (a little late) pedi appt todau. If you might have seen my other post you may know we are battling awful, recurrent diaper rashes. It was suggested by another doc to give her a tsp of rice cereal/day to thicken her poop and bind her up a bit. Her poop is kind of watery and she poops ALL the time. Every time I look in her diaper there is some poop there. She also spits up a ton and may have some reflux so rice cereal could potentially help a whole host of issues.

I had enough mental anguish with the idea of starting her on solids at 3 months and on top of that rice which I have never used. The pedi gave me "pre-mixed" rice which is basically formula mixed with rice. I said I would rather do the BM but she said try this first so I can match the consistency.

I know it's not a big deal but I am having major issues with this! Should I just give her 1 bottle to get her started or just pump and mix the cereal in even though I am opposed to the whole "cereal in a bottle" thing....

Agh. Decisions! WWYD?

[Bridget]

Am, if I was in your shoes, I believe I would try an elimination diet to see if that is the problem, before I started solids or formula.
I'm so sorry for you and your sweet girl that you are dealing with this.

[dana_renay]

I don't have experience in the area of cereal and such, but I would urge you to trust your gut on this and do what you think is best. It does seem like maybe not the best idea to try to constipate your baby in order to solve a diaper rash problem. Is the diaper rash your biggest issue right now? I missed your other post. Have you tried changing the kind of diapers you use - either from cloth to disposable or vice versa or even just to a different brand or material?

Big hugs for you and your little girl. It sounds like a miserable situation.

[froggie83]

i agree with pp. try elimination diet first... hope you figure out whats causing the issue

[Bridget]

I wanted to come back and say that if I were you NOW, I'd not do the rice cereal. When Kai was a baby he was a puker. An elimination diet was not even on my radar and was never suggested to me by my pedi. I was urged to switch to soy formula instead of the breastmilk that I was pumping for him since he never was able to latch as an infant. When my supply ran out around 6 months and I wasn't pumping enough for him anymore and had burned through my stash, I put him on soy formula and used rice cereal on occassion (as recommended by our dr). I regret that very much for many reasons but none the least of which I have to question every day if that decision is directly related to his mystery illness/allergies that we struggle with today. So, yeah, if I had to do it over I'd do it totally differently.

[macksmom]

I mentioned the possibility of an allergy to the pedi and she said it would be more evident in her poop - like blood or mucous. She said I could certainly give it a try but personally I am leaning towards a bit of the rice cereal mixed with BM first. She had surgery in her anal area so purposely constipating her was also recommended by her surgeon - and it hopefully wont constipate her but just lessen the amount she is pooping and increase it's consistency a bit. I feel the rice would better achieve that and be a faster solution than the elimination. If it doesn't work that is totally my next step.

And yes the diaper rash is AWFUL. Really bad although it's looking better! I have been working really hard at it!

Thanks for the advice so far!

BTW they are only recommending a tsp of cereal/day....nothing huge. That is why I think that may be the lesser of all the evils.

[dana_renay]

I forgot about her surgery...that does help it make a little more sense. Again, I would encourage you to trust your gut on this. If you think the cereal is the right thing to do, mixing it with BM totally makes sense. I don't see any reason to introduce formula just for the sake of the cereal.

[MomOfAnOnly]

I'm with you Am. She's a breastfed baby, if she needs cereal it should be added to breastmilk not formula.

[macksmom]

I wanted to come back and say that if I were you NOW, I'd not do the rice cereal. When Kai was a baby he was a puker. An elimination diet was not even on my radar and was never suggested to me by my pedi. I was urged to switch to soy formula instead of the breastmilk that I was pumping for him since he never was able to latch as an infant. When my supply ran out around 6 months and I wasn't pumping enough for him anymore and had burned through my stash, I put him on soy formula and used rice cereal on occassion (as recommended by our dr). I regret that very much for many reasons but none the least of which I have to question every day if that decision is directly related to his mystery illness/allergies that we struggle with today. So, yeah, if I had to do it over I'd do it totally differently.

Don't beat yourself up. We do the best we can. If it weren't for her surgery I would go that route but they want to see her strengthen her anal muscles a bit with some thicker poop and I know the rice/formula will do that. The elimination might help that too but it may not so I am reluctant to try that first. That will be my next course of action though. I appreciate your insight!

[hotpinkmomma0811]

Could you mix in a bowl for her to eat with EBM? So it doesn't have to be in a bottle.

[tyvek]

I find it difficult to not do something a doctor says. I feel like they should know the best medical route to take. But I would descent here. BFing has been proven so many tines that it is better than formula (I have nothing against formula since all three of y kids have used it at one point or another). Before I turned to formula I would try the rice and elim diet. I recall reading somewhere that some kids are ready for solids at four I ths, so she is not too far off from there.

I hope what ever you decide works for here.

[sparks3]

Def mix the rice with BM. The reason why they probably want you to mix with form is b/c BM actually contains an enzyme that breaks down the rice cereal fairly quickly (amylase). It's difficult to "thicken" for this reason. Using form instead of BM may cause her other digestive issues, so I'd stick with just one change at a time.

I hope it helps!!

[i.<3.cheesysmiles]

I would choose rice mixed with BM over formula, too.

I just wanted to say that my pedi also said that DS2 would have more severe symptoms if there was an allergy. I eliminated dairy and soy, and all of his symptoms (green poop, some mucous, rash, etc) all disappeared a few weeks later. It was not an allergy, but a sensitivity or intolerance. He can handle dairy and soy now.

[runningmomofmany]

I would mix it with breast milk as another pp said, stick with one change at a time. Formula can be constipating on its own.

Have you tried the Ilex paste some one suggested? I have heard great things about it.

[MomOfAnOnly]

What did you end up doing Am, and how is your DD?

[macksmom]

What did you end up doing Am, and how is your DD?

Thanks for thinking of me

But ugh it's been rough. I did the rice cereal. 1 tsp in a 4oz bottle of BM. We started on Sat. She has been miserable! I don't know if it's just a coincidence. I am wondering if it's making her gassy? Does rice do that? I have never used it before so I don't know. It hasn't really changed her poop much. It has a little more consistency but it seems like it's just as frequent.

I started this post last week and her rash had been clearing up. It flared up majorly over the weekend and is getting back under control again. I am so frustrated! Between this rash and her fussiness I am ready to lose it. Today was REALLY bad. And I had tomato sauce tonight which I have been suspecting could be contributing to the rash so I am hoping I am wrong because I really don't want it to flare up again.

I may give some probiotics a shot before cutting out dairy but that will be my next step. I have been giving her zantac but it tastes awful and I don't know if it's doing much. To top it off there is something going on with my right nipple and it's hurting SO badly.

Sorry to go off. Bad day and I am just at a loss at what to do

[elle77]

Hugs to you, momma. It sounds really challenging right now. I hope you get through this sooner than later. Hang in there.

[Bridget]

Aw, Am. I'm so sorry to hear.

[froggie83]

hang in there. hope you find out what works soon. ( v also was a pooper. pooing nearly every hour till she was 4 months old... then she went to once a day so maybe she will hit a magical age when her plumbing starts to work more regularly and not be pooing all the time.)

[sparks3]

Thanks for thinking of me

But ugh it's been rough. I did the rice cereal. 1 tsp in a 4oz bottle of BM. We started on Sat. She has been miserable! I don't know if it's just a coincidence. I am wondering if it's making her gassy? Does rice do that? I have never used it before so I don't know. It hasn't really changed her poop much. It has a little more consistency but it seems like it's just as frequent.

I started this post last week and her rash had been clearing up. It flared up majorly over the weekend and is getting back under control again. I am so frustrated! Between this rash and her fussiness I am ready to lose it. Today was REALLY bad. And I had tomato sauce tonight which I have been suspecting could be contributing to the rash so I am hoping I am wrong because I really don't want it to flare up again.

I may give some probiotics a shot before cutting out dairy but that will be my next step. I have been giving her zantac but it tastes awful and I don't know if it's doing much. To top it off there is something going on with my right nipple and it's hurting SO badly.

Sorry to go off. Bad day and I am just at a loss at what to do

Big I know barley is a lot easier on them than rice (may be just for allergy-related issues, though). Maybe you could try that instead? I'm so sorry you're having such a rough time. I hope things get easier!

[raspberry]

I'm sorry you and DD are having some a rough time.

[macksmom]

Thanks guys. Today is way better so far. Yesterday was one of the worst days so it was really rough.

In good news her rash (or lack thereof) looks amazing! I have given her 2 oatmeal baths one on sun and one yesterday which I think really helped. I have also been using a combo of balmex + zinc/a+d and maalox mixture and not using wipes so I think all of it is helping. I didn't do the rice yesterday and may stop until the weekend for now. I have been burping her which I never really thought to do and feeding from both sides. I had only been feeding from one side at a time because of an oversupply issue but I get the feeling she wants more. Could even be a growth spurt - she will be 4mo in 11 days...

I just want her to be happy and healthy of course. Which would make me happy!

[sparks3]

Thank goodness for a better day! Sounds like your rash ointment combo is really doing the trick...great news! I hope things keep progressing in a positive direction for you.

[macksmom]

Thank goodness for a better day! Sounds like your rash ointment combo is really doing the trick...great news! I hope things keep progressing in a positive direction for you.

Thanks! It sounds silly but burping her is helping SO much today! She has barely spit up all day and just seems more content. I feel so stupid.