How do you know when you have to switch your baby's formula?

Question

She is almost 4 months old and has been fine up til recently. She cries nonstop at bed time. I just let her cry it out because she doesn't even want to be held sometimes. She makes her back all all stiff and flails her arms and legs around.
She has been on Similac Advance (with iron) once I stopped breastfeeding.
She has been on it for about 3 months so I don't see how all of a sudden it could be disagreeing with her.
She hasn't thrown up or had fevers or anything to make it obvious something is wrong.
I know she is teething pretty badly but even after giving her teething tablets she still cries hard and doesn't sleep.
BTW, I put her to bed around 7:00pm.

Answer 1

There could be many reasons for this. For one thing you are putting her to bed at 7:00 PM? Seems a little early. Maybe you could try beginning a bed time routine that starts at 7:00 PM? Start with a bath, then give her a little massage on her tummy and feet. The tummy will help with digestion and her feet have nice pressure points in them that will help ease her teething pain. You can also use a eucalyptus or lavender lotion or oil for the relaxing effect.

Next read a book or just talk to her for about 15 mins. Then put her down in bed with something she can chew on... like a blankie, pacifier, teething towel (has plastic triangles on the side great for the little teether, or favorite toy. Do not give her a bottle to sleep with.

If she still screams and cries when you leave her, their are many types of methods you could use to sooth her. It's really up to you. Personally I preferred to let my son cry for 5 mins, depending on his tone, I might go in there and rub his back and sing to him, or possibly pick him up. I really just had to tune into his mood to determine which might work better.
There are so many different opinions out there for getting a child to sleep. You just need to figure out what works for you and stick to it.
My best advice though is try everything before ever giving your child any type of over the counter remedy. The only time a child ever really needs medication is when they have a fever or require antibiotics. Otherwise there is always an alternative.

Best of Luck :)

Answer 2

It sounds like a sleep problem, not a formula problem. Is she getting enough formula during the day to make sleeping through the night with no feeds possible? Multiply weight by 2.5 to get a general idea of what she should be eating in a 24 hour period. She may just be hungry and most babies will not sleep without a full tummy. Try a bedtime routine, with bath, then bottle, then bed by 7pm. Always make the bottle the last thing before bed. Even if you did a prior feed, always top off with a few ozs before bed. Is she getting too much air from the bottle? When our twins were that age, we put a few drops of simethicone (mylicon) in the bottle to eliminate air bubbles and it eased discomfort. I wouldn't do cry it out at this age. Babies this young don't know how to self soothe and they need to learn it from you. Is the baby warm enough? You might want to try swaddling or putting the baby in a sleep sack to make her more comfortable. You can also try positioning the baby on her side in a side position sleeper.

Try reading Twelve Hours Sleep by Twelve Weeks Old by Suzy Giordano. We followed the guidelines and our babies were sleeping through the night by 4 months. They go right down to sleep with no problem.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I had the same problem with my son so I put him on Enflamil Lactose Free and Enflamil Soy and it seemed to cure those needless crying fits. Babies can become lactose intolerant but they grow out of it pretty quickly...usually. The switch to soy will not affect her negatively in any way, she'll still get all the nutrients she needs. If this still doesn't seem to make a difference after a week or so, see the doctor but as of right now, with no fever and so on, I think you may be dealing with a simple case of lactose intolerance.
Good Luck

Answer 4

Formula problems will show up within 24-48 hours so I doubt that the SImilac has anything to do with it. It could be a number of other problems, including temper! Perhaps the teething tablets aren't helping, have you tried giving her tylenol yet? She is plenty old enough. Ask your pediatrician for exact dosage based on her weight. Good luck to her.

Answer 5

Make sure you burp her before laying her back down, because a air bubble in her tummy could cause pain and crying.
I bf 3 out of 4 of my kids and commend you for trying it in the beginning, but know this that her system is not that strong and changing from breastfeeding to formula can cause problems and takes a while to adjust and also if the baby may be allergic to this brand of formula.
You need to call your doctor and see it he/she wants to try switching to a different formula, but don't do it yourself until you talk to them.

Best wishes and Good Luck :)

Answer 6

She has GAS! Stiff back and flailing limbs are CLASSIC signs of gas! Give her infant mylecon for pete's sake! It's safe and is going to make her feel better. Read the directions, you can give it to them quite often. Immature digestive systems are ever changing things, so she's going to need gas medicine frequently - buy 2 boxes.

In your Mommy Doctors Bag you should ALWAYS have gas drops and infant Tylenol.

Teething tablets didn't do much for pain for any of our kids. Infant Tylenol is ideal for teething pain and your child is already old enough to take it.

Answer 7

Talk to her pediatrician. He will be able to suggest a change in formula. She might do better on soy. She might have a small case of acid reflux, or she might just have a bug. My daughter had reflux, and she did so much better on her belly. I think the pressure helped it feel better. I am pretty sure that stiffening up, is a symptom of this.

http://www.medicinenet.com/gerd_in_infants_and_children/article.htm

This has more information. Good luck!

Answer 8

I would really check with a doctor and tell him/her all of what you just told us here. I know doctors are expensive ( I have 2 kids of my own) so I would try to call the doctor's office first and see if you could ask to speak with his nurse. Sometimes if you give them an idea of what is going on they will tell you what to do over the phone. If your doctor's office won't do that, call another one. Best of luck to you. We switched our daughter's formula after she wouldn't keep the first one down, she kept throwing it up. That is the biggest sign that they need their formula changed. It usually takes at least a week on one kind of formula to tell.

Answer 9

Colic? Is she having a hard time with constipation? A new formula can be the answer I found the formulas with added iron made my son irratiable aswell. Try gripe water. Warm baths. Baby massage .

Answer 10

I had this same problem with my daughter and she was on similac w/ iron, her doctor had me switch to the similac with low iron
she told me that the iron was to strong on her stomach
You can find it at most Stator Bros stores.
I always had problems finding it.. but it really made a huge difference