Bottles and Breast Feeding

With each new kid I learn something new.

I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on T.V., so please consult with your pediatrician first.  There, now I am free to tell you my observations and opinions as a mother without fear of litigation, and you are free to do with it what you like.

My sons who breast feed completely refused bottles of any kind.  We bought all kinds of bottles, some that even looked like boobs, but no luck.  My boys wouldn't even drink out of sippy cups, they went straight to straws.  I had no expectations that Amber would be any different, and didn't plan on even trying.  If you read breastfeeding literature, this would come as no big surprise, many breast fed babies completely refuse bottles.

Then about six weeks ago I got the 24 hour stomach flu.  First time in my life I had ever gotten one, first time in my life I had ever vomited from illness.  I lost six pounds.  I continued to breast feed through it but it did permanent damage to my supply.  After he recovered, Chris tried to give me some sleep and stay up with Amber.  She got hungry shortly after I laid down and Chris made the decision to try and give her a bottle.

The hospital had given us three different types of formula.  Knowing that Amber didn't let me eat or drink any kind of milk, he chose the "Similac - Sensitive for Fussiness & Gas Due to Lactose Sensitivity" Formula.  Wonder of wonders, she drank it!

Since it worked, we decided to keep it up.  I started going to bed early so I could get a couple hours of uninterrupted sleep each night.  She was still only going about four hours between breast feedings so it seemed like a good and harmless plan.  

Then one day out of curiosity, I read the ingredients in the formula, "Corn Syrup Solids, Sugar(sucrose), milk protein isolate...".  I stood dumb founded.  I remember people my grandmother's age talking about feeding babies Caro Syrup and being appalled.  Here I was, standing in my kitchen, realizing that's basically what we were feeding Amber.  Caro Syrup with "Less than 2%" vitamins added.  

I immediately went into research mode, looking for an organic lactose free infant formula.  To my frustration, my original search turned up nothing but recipes for making your own infant formula.  Since I was still breast feeding, powdered goat milk was a viable option.  By itself you would need to make sure you supplemented certain nutrients that were missing from goat's milk alone but as a supplement it appeared the easiest alternative.

I picked up the powdered goat milk, brought it home and gave it a try.  This is when I had my epiphany.  She totally refused the bottle.  Maybe my sons had not been refusing the bottle, maybe they had been refusing the formula in the bottle! Duh. *forehead smack*.

Next, I tried mixing a little in with the Simliac and still she refused to drink.  When I gave up and made a bottle of pure Similac she drank it right down.  So I was back to square one, looking for a better formula.

Then I came across "Baby's Only Organic Lactose Free Formula".  Problem was it was labeled as a "Toddler Formula".  What did that mean?  So I read around, and ended up at the "Nature's One" website where they warned in typical legal fashion to "consult your pediatrician" before feeding to children under 12 months old", then they added "and when you do bring this print out".  The print out is a point by point nutritional comparison between Similac, Baby's Only and breast milk.  The three are essentially the same, I was a bit amazed, and comforted.  So why was it labeled "toddler"?  They didn't say exactly, they even said they meet the FDA guidelines for infant formula, so I figure its one of two things, their commitment to breast feeding or the FDA not allowing the label.  Either way I was satisfied, I had found a better alternative. 

I quickly ordered Baby's Only from Amazon and gave it a try.  SHE LIKED IT! SHE LIKED IT!  Ironically the Similac had made her rather gassy but she had no such issues with the Baby's Only.  My guess is its the the use of Organic Brown Rice Syrup* instead of processed sugars.   They say they use the Brown Rice because it is a more nutritious carbohydrate, and easier to digest.  Based on our experience, this formula is great no spit-ups or excess gassiness and the ingredients don't make me cringe, especially after learning what they do to non-organic corn.

*There has been some concern recently about Brown Rice Syrup containing arsenic but this page should alleviate those concerns:  www.naturesone.com/brown-rice/