Hypoallergenic formula? That was the GI specialist's fix for blood that we're seeing Miss Olivia pass. He asked a few questions, didn't look over any of the medical history that I brought over from the Peds, and then felt her tummy for a minute before he told me about the Nutramigen. I am clearly so under impressed with the doctor that it ticks me off. He seemed nice enough and competant enough but I am just in utter disbelief that it's another change in Olivia's food that may potentially take weeks to produce any results. On a positive note the fact that there was no sense of alarm was really great, but really just switch her to formula?
I guess I was naive when I ventured into this whole world of babies that there could be the off chance that there would be a time when breast milk wouldn't be best. I will do whatever is best for Olivia, but I want to run this new scenario past her cardiology team. Right now, I'm off to enjoy my little family. Olivia definitely knows how to make her mommy laugh. She just burst into tears as Brian was singing his heart out. I LOVE HER!
I couldn't help but post a comment on this. We saw a trace amount of blood in Chase's stools after we brought him home from his Norwood. Our pediatrician assumed a milk allergy, and since I was nursing, I eliminated milk products from my diet. I also spoke with the cardiology team where Chase had his surgery, and they had some interesting things to say. Read through this post and see what we experienced. Basically, it seems like it's relatively common for these kids to have trace amounts of blood in their stools for a period of time in between their Norwood and Glenn surgeries. Obviously do whatever you're comfortable with and whatever the doctors you trust recommend. Just thought I'd share my two cents!
ReplyDeleteOlivia is BEAUTIFUL, btw... ;)
Aly also had blood in her stool (and reflux issues) and she was switched to Nutramigen also. It helped? I say that as a questions because, as Kathy said, it seems to be a very common thing for these babies and there doesn't seem to be a common treatment. I hope you find an answer you are comfortable with.
ReplyDeleteMore advice... I am the mom to a seven month old with HLHS. She had blood in her stool for the entire inter-stage. We tried lots of different formulas (I think Nutramigen is still casein based, though, which will not help if Olivia has a cow’s milk protein intolerance). We had been fortifying breastmilk with formula and polycose. After the Glenn, Cora never went back on breastmilk—they were convinced that my milk was the problem. Short story is that once we started revving up the formula (Neocate) to 30 cals/ounce, all of her symptoms flared up again (she had been treated for GERD/cow’s milk protein intolerance), so we decided to try straight breastmilk since that is the only course of action we had yet to try. Our thought: the polycose was causing the blood. Large amounts of sugar are known to cause GI irritation (think too much apple juice for a toddler, too much foremilk for an infant…) In any event, we had great success. I realize if you are still in the inter-stage, it is much tougher to experiment with the feeding for fear of regressing. Good luck, hope this helps!
ReplyDeleteHey Lisa--
ReplyDeleteI've been following your blog since your sweet princess was born! I must say Olivia seems like one tough cookie just like her mom! I was mentioning your last post to my aunt (mom of 6 and a LaLeche League consultant) earlier this evening. And, while I'm sure you are getting advice from many different angles I thought I would throw her suggestion out there. She recommended asking about probiotics, often times putting a baby on a formula that the baby has a negative reaction to can mess with the digestive system for weeks after they stop the formula. Probiotics help to heal the gut. She also recommended to stick with just the breastmilk for a little while longer while all the bad stuff works its way out of her system, and to avoid dairy which I know you have been doing. She also said she would post a question to her other LaLeche League consultants to see if they had any other recommendations, she mentioned one or two may actually be heart moms, or have worked with them.
I personally think you should follow your mom instinct--if you had a funny feeling from the Dr. maybe it wasn't the best advice? I'm with you in questioning the breastmilk is best, which is why I mentioned it to m aunt. I wish you the best in trying to figure it all out! In the meantime I'm keeping you and the Little Miss in my prayers!
--Carrie
I don't think that I have ever commented before on your blog but I understand your pain for the different doctors and their bedside manners. My son was put on that formula after he also had open heart surgery.. because he seemed to have alot of gas issues. We finally saw a doctor that explained to us as his poor little body was adjusting to the new blood flow his bowels were getting after the procedure that he had not been getting before. We tried it for a while but ended up slowly going back to the GentleEase formula. I was grateful because that formula is really expensive and in some places hard to find, as in not everyone carries it.
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