The quest for milk

Cason, our youngest, is fast approaching 6 months old.  I was a very good mama and breastfed about 5 months (well, breast and bottle-fed him breastmilk).  I had already intended on stopping with the fresh milk at the end of August prior to my going back to work.  I started working for a different school district, which made that decision even easier due to the lack of space and challenges it would pose for me to be able to pump during the day. 

We had saved a freezer-full of breastmilk.  But it's amazing how quickly we seemed to be going through it now that the stock was not being replenished.  In order to extend the supply as long as we can, and in anticipation of the need to eventually resort to using formula, we began the quest to find a milk that Cason would like and his belly could tolerate.

First we tried Similac Advanced.  He seemed to like it, but we quickly noticed a change in his demeanor- extra crabby- and not sleeping as well. 

So then we tried the Similac Alimentum, the hypoallergenic formula.  He really didn't seem to like that one.  We had a difficult time getting him to eat more than a couple ounces at a time. 

I asked the doctor for suggestions at his 4 month check-up.  She said to try other brands.  But I protested that they don't offer a hypoallergenic formula.  Her reply was that "you don't need to go hyperallergenic, just try the stuff that is easier to digest."  Well, OK I thought, but this could get expensive.  Luckily she gave us samples of 2 Gerber versions- Soothe and Protect.  The ingredient list looked fairly similar to the Alimentum, so I opted to use that one.  He liked it!!  We used it for a couple weeks, but he began waking every hour or so (almost as bad as his older brother when he was little) and he seemed to be getting crabbier and crabbier during the day.  He also hadn't pooped in about a week.  If you know our kid, he regularly pooped 3-4 times a day and blew-out at least once or twice a week.  So I knew something was off (also I knew we experienced the same issue with our oldest).

So we stopped that formula and switched to only breastmilk for 2 days- low and behold he finally pooped (sorry for the poop sharing, but it's very important in the world of having babies) and had a much better nights sleep. After the 2 days, I decided we'd better go back to the Alimentum.  He seemed to eat it better this go around.  He definitely eats it better when it's warm rather than room temperature.  However, I'm still not sure his belly feels 100%, and he still isn't sleeping the best, but he isn't crabby during the day.

We know we need to be vigilant in finding him a formula that doesn't make him uncomfortable.  When his older brother was almost 1 we decided he probably has a milk intolerance, something I wish we would have figured out, or knew to consider when he was much younger- he may have been a much happier baby.  So here's to hoping the quest to finding a milk that works for him is quick and painless, because we are on a time crunch as the breastmilk supply quickly dwindles.