I have a 2 1/2-month-old baby girl. She is gaining weight normally (I have a 2-year-old girl to compare with). Our 2 year old suffered from what we believed at the time to be colic. She would cry each night between 6:00 to 9:00 P.M. This started when she was 5 weeks old and lasted until she was 4 months old. She was a really fussy baby up until she was about a year old. The newborn was going in the same direction as the toddler and we felt that we just had to live with it. The baby is on the same formula that the toddler was on (Enfalac without iron), We assumed that the iron may be a contributing factor to the crying. We have now determined that she may be milk protein intolerant (according to a pamphlet sent out by Enfalac). The symptoms are gas, abdominal cramps, diarrhea and a rash. The toddler suffered from all but the rash. The baby was doing the same. We have now changed her formula to Enfalac’s Prosoybee Soya-based formula. Everything was going well for the first 3 weeks, but she is now back to some of her old tricks. She seems to be having a very hard time passing gas and having bowel movements. She has bouts of screaming for maybe a half hour or so. We had talked to my doctor about the toddlers crying when she was doing it and the doctor didn’t have a clue. I was wondering if there may be something in the formulas that may be causing her this discomfort. The toddler has grown out of her crying and I’m sure that the baby will eventually do the same, but for all of the family, it sure would be nice if we could get this figured out before she grows out of it which may not be till she’s a year old like the toddler did. Thank you.
Symptoms on regular iron-fortified formula do sound like an allergy to milk protein. She sounds very uncomfortable. Your switch of formulas makes sense.
Are your infant girl’s stools constipated? Constipated stool looks like round balls of stool stuck together. Unfortunately, iron can be constipating, but infants need a supplemental source of iron as the blood cells they were born with will need to be replaced every 120 days the same as the blood in your body.
If you suspect constipation, try this remedy a public health nurse suggested to me. Add 1 – 2 tsp of dark Karo syrup to each bottle of formula. You should find Karo syrup in your grocery store in the baking section. Seems to help constipation in babies. You didn’t say how much formula your infant was taking per day, but it should be around 1 quart per day or four 8 ounce bottles.
Also, remember to burp your infant during or at least after a feeding. Gas can result from swallowed air, gas causing foods or constipation.
What changed for your older daughter when she turned 1 year and became less fussy? Did you stop the regular formula? Did you switch to cow’s milk?
