Thank You Similac

Dealing with Everett's tummy troubles has been a stressful trial and error. I am happy to say I am almost 100% sure we have found the solution.

From the very beginning of my pregnancy I was wanting to nurse baby for as long as I could. When he ended up coming early and being in NICU I pumped every 3 hours for him all through the day and night so that he would only have breast milk.

It was hard to tell if he was having tummy troubles in the hospital because he didn't eat for the first few days. His first little bottle was when he was three days old and it was only 5mls. Each day it gradually increased but not by too much.

Once we got him home and he was at a higher intake it was clear that he had a very upset tummy most of the day. We tried Ovol, Gripe Water and Bio Gaia (pro biotic drops). Eventually we tried him on a bit of formula and we noticed a difference but he was still very upset. We also tried formula because Everett was having trouble nursing. They say nursing gets easier and less painful if you just keep doing it, but I was still in ridiculous pain after 6 weeks and he was starting to pull away and fuss at feedings.

Everett was sent home from the hospital on Iron drops and we were told to continue to use them. So when we started trying Everett on formula we got a high Iron one. I saw my family doctor and told him all the troubles we were having. He told me I should still try to breastfeed but cut out the iron supplement as Iron is very hard to digest.

I was feeling really guilty now because both my labour & delivery doctor and my family doctor told me to continue to breastfeed, the health nurse urged me to keep doing it even though it hurt and Ryan was worried about the cost of formula. So the next morning I decided to start breastfeeding exclusively again.....I made it 4 minutes before I pulled him off. He was fusing and I was in a ton of pain.

I broke down and tried to find a different formula...one that was lower in Iron. It sounds easier than it is... Pretty much all formula is Iron fortified...The only one I could find that low in Iron was Similac Regular DigestEase. I bought it and tried Everett on it. Within half a day I noticed a difference in him. I have still been pumping a bit and giving him at least 2 breast milk bottles a day. I was doing this because I've been told over and over it is the best and that's what he needs and it is free and and and......

Over the past few days Everett has not enjoyed his breast milk bottles. When I give him that bottle he fusses, spits the milk out, lets it run out of the bottle instead of actively sucking and gags/chokes a lot. I could clearly tell he did not want it but forced him to have it anyway because I thought I was doing what was right.

Last night Everett made it very clear that he did not want breast milk anymore. Ryan started to feed him and after he fussed a lot I took over. He ate most of it and then when I tried to get him to finish up he projectile vomited. It was unreal. I have never seen anything like it. We were sitting 3 feet away from the wall and he soaked the wall, the phone, the books on the table.... It was such a forceful vomit that he didn't even get any on himself.

So, lesson learned. You can always hear the doctors, hear the nurses and hear everyone else's advice. Just because you hear them does not mean you have to listen to them. In the end you only have to listen to your baby. Do what your baby needs.

Now that Everett is exclusively on formula he is much happier and I can have milk and cheese again. Yay.