Noah is starting to become way too uninterested in his Alimentum again, but I can't flavor w/ puree or juice anymore. Any other ideas that are hypoallergenic or close to hypo? I was wondering about vanilla extract, or is that a crazy idea? Didn't someone use Nesquik mix? Any other brilliant ideas are appreciated!

Thanks, Melissa, for the info on the Vivonex flavoring packets. I will order them if I can't find something else that I can get at the grocery store.

We had some Nestle indiv. flavor packets--chocolate flavor. They are advertised as dairy free and no dairy is listed in the ingredients; however, the pharmacist says they do contain trace amounts. Anyway, B would choke down a little bit of Neocate with those mixed in. You have to order them through your pharmacy.

We did also try Kool Aid; however, that was out of sheer desperation and is not what I'd consider a long-term solution!

I don't know if it would work, but is Tang still sold? Would that be something you could mix in to flavor it? *feel free to roll your eyes publicly if that's a really stupid idea...*

Can you try different kinds of artificial flavouring? That's about all that I can think of right now.

No, Mary, your ideas are not stupid. I posted this because when it comes to this I've got nothing! The Nestle packets have to be ordered from a pharmacy? Do you need a script?

Janette, you have the right idea. I wanted to go with artificial flavors to try to stick with the non-fresh idea that the allergist wants us to follow. I wonder if vanilla extract would help, or just make it nasty?

Can he have just plain ole sugary stuff? I think Alimentum's carb source is sucrose, table sugar, right? Maybe you just just sweeten it up some more with organic sugar? Does juice cause his reflux to flare or his masto? I know they told us that juices don't count as food trials because they don't contain enough protein to elicit a reaction. That probably doesn't pertain to masto. though. Nesquik has soy lecithin, and all kinds of other stuff, if he reacted, you'd never figure out what it was from. The kool-aide thing isn't a bad idea. If you are worried about artificial colors being a possible trigger, Wyler's brand (if you can get it where you live) kool-aide stuff has a watermelon flavor that is clear. You could fix it a little extra sweet, then maybe substitute some if his water you use to mix the formula with some of the watermelon kool-aide. At his age, I would imagine that subing some of the water with something sweetened would be fine. Eos. kids are allowed to try hersheys' syrup too, but that goes back to the whole protein thing. I don't know what to tell you. I am not sure if you can find something that you know won't result in a reaction, but if his intake is getting low, and he doesn't have enough foods he can eat to sustain him, you may just have to try anything and risk a reaction until you find something. That sounds awful, I know. Poor guy. I hope you can figure something out!

No, Mary, your ideas are not stupid. I posted this because when it comes to this I've got nothing! The Nestle packets have to be ordered from a pharmacy? Do you need a script?

Janette, you have the right idea. I wanted to go with artificial flavors to try to stick with the non-fresh idea that the allergist wants us to follow. I wonder if vanilla extract would help, or just make it nasty? Vanilla extract is basically alchohol. It really only smells good. It also might cause a reflux flare with the alchohol.

Melissa makes a great point about the vanilla--we tried that with the Neocate with disatrous results. :-(

No scrip needed for the Nestle indiv. flavor packets--it's just not something they carry out on the shelves at most pharmacies. Let me see if I still have some left...*note to self: dig through kitchen to see if I can find them*

I did find that Tang is still available at my local store; however, I don't have an ingredient list. It's not exactly a natural drink mix; however, I have no idea whether it contains soy or dairy.

chocolate nesquick ingredients:Sugar,cocoa processed with alkili, soy lecithin,artificial and natural flavors, maltodextrin

vanilla nesquick: sugar, corn syrup,natural and artificial falvors,caramel color,salt,yellow no. 5

maybe you can tell if he could use these from this. I somehow doubt it though, but I thought since I had them on hand I would let you see the ingredients.

Unfortunately, with Noah, I have to take a risk when giving him anything since his reactions are so chaotic. There is really no rhyme or reason to any of it, except that so far, he has reacted to everything except brown rice (puffed rice and Quaker rice cakes) and Beechnut rice cereal. I think if I could just add the smallest tad of Nesquick or something like that he might drink better. He responded so well to flavoring his formula before, but I was poisoning him the entire time without knowing it. :cry:

I know, Maggie. HUGS! At least you know now what you are dealing with as far as the reactions go. You know it isn't just a reflux flare. I guess you are just going to have to jump in a try something. It is his main source of nourishment, so you have to try something. What about the hershey's syrup? I don't have a bottle of that or I'd give you those ingredients too. I know that kids with EGID that are on formula only, can use hershey's to flavor or just plain old table sugar to make it sweeter. I'm sorry I don't remember much about what the dr. said you could try, other than canned non-fresh things. Is sugar on the no-no list?

Sugar *was* on the no-no list for No-No, and *I* personally would like it to stay there, but the allergist doesn't think that he is fructose intolerant. But, some of Noah's worst reactions have been to items containing fructose (which is almost everything), so, naturally, I am terrified of it. So, yes, he can have sugar, but it makes me very nervous.

Do you use Alimentum powder or RTF??? I wonder because if I am not mistaken, the powder has sucrose in it. Which I *think* is just table sugar. Fructose is fruit sugars, right? So maybe just good old fashioned table sugar won't hurt? Maybe you could throw a tsp or 2 in a bottle and see what happens.

I looked, they both have sucrose. I would give the table sugar a whirl, if it were me, before anything else. Maybe if it were just a tad sweeter, then he would take it better. Might help with his pooper too!

Just so you know, I believe that alimentum has soy lechitin in it as well. It also has corn syrup in it---or maybe that is the only one without corn syrup. I would try the sugar I guess. I am sorry maggie!

I think they all have soy in them, even our neocate does and Elecare. Supposedly it is so broken down that it doesn't matter...but that hasn't stopped me from questioning it. The new alimentum advanced powder doesn't have corn in it neither does the ready to feed. The original powder has corn starch. The powder's carb source is sucrose and tapioca starch. Not sure about the RTF's total carb source, but it does have sucrose in it. I was astounded at the soy and corn thing in all of these formulas. Who knows, maybe that is the reason for such a dramtic increase in babies with reflux????

I'm sorry to hear that Noah's bottles are going rough lately. :( Has your doctor thought of trying the flavored Neocates? I'm not sure how they taste, though...I just figured it would be less work for you since they're already flavored to begin with.


Good luck!

We use vanilla nesquik to flavour maya's bottles the one from the UK does not contain dairy or soy, we have been assured this by Nestle the manufacturer after many conversations with them they have guaranteed this to us, but I don't know if it is the same as the US product as there are sometimes minor differences. There is sugar in it but we were told it is only exactly the kind of sugar which they put into formula anyway.

If you wanted something more natural here in the UK in health food shops they sell vanilla essence WITHOUT alcohol maybe whole food or natural food shops stock that in the US you could add this with or without extra sugar.

Also as Amanda has said Neocate do some flavoured toddler formulas might be worth looking at.

I hope whatever you try gets Noah interested in his formula again without causing him any reactions.

Well, I'm not sure what to think. I bought vanilla Nesquick, and the first bottle that I gave to Noah was amazing. He drank FOUR ounces without stopping once. He had his hands above his head, and his eyes kept rolling back like he was experiencing complete euphoria. The second bottle was the exact same! However, during the night, he only drank a couple of ounces, which is not good since we count on those to get to 25 every day. He has barely had anything today. He has spots all over his body, but they are not too bright. He is obviously reacting to it, but he does not seem upset or in pain, so I don't know if I should consider this off limits or not. I feel that I am way undereducated about this diagnosis. I have so many questions, and I honestly just don't get it. Sorry, now I'm venting. I'll shut up.

I'm sorry Maggie! Maybe you can call the allergust and ask?

Is Noah still on the alimentum infant formula? I saw that you rely on 25 oz per day without food. How much does he weigh now? We decided to keep Gavin on neocate infant (20 cal per oz) instead of move him up to neocate one (30 cal per oz) with the hope that he would be hungry enough to eat food. He has been getting 22-25 oz per day with enough food to feed a hungry baby bird LOL. Just wondering how the growth is for Noah since it is somewhat similar.

Carla, Noah is on Alimentum RTF thickened with Beechnut rice cereal. His growth is fine, and the allergist/immunologist attributes this to the rice cereal. At our last appointment, he told us that his formula must remain thickened even if we don't think his reflux requires it anymore. Noah is roughly 21 pounds. He's been a bit sketchy since he started walking--he's losing a few ounces here and there, and his doctors hope that we can find tolerable foods before he outgrows his formula. We are going to talk about a toddler formula next time we are there, although I will probably call Dr. M if Noah's eating doesn't improve by tomorrow.

BTW, Noah has NEVER drank the suggested amount for his weight. He grew just fine on a diet of about 12-18 ounces/day of Alimentum for several months. We are truly blessed for this! I know his GI and allergist both tell me he needs 36 ounces since he's getting no food, but that's just never going to happen and Noah does fine w/ 25 for now.

Thanks for the support, Carla!

Noah is one week older than Gavin and Gavin weighs 20 pounds 6 oz.. I had a feeling they were the same. We too are blessed that Gavin has been holding his own in the 10th because he too hasnt ever had the right amount of intake per day. He just squeaks by and we are relieved each time!

Gavin has started beng willing to put table food in his mouth but he only wants a bite or two then he is done...so not enough to grow on. He will take purees though, but they are the stage 1 consistency in the 4 oz jars and he is one now! I know it doesnt matter really, I just want him to have to use his oral muscles so that they dont become weak from lack of use and I want him to feed himself. He still tries to insist that I hold the bottle for him, he is a lazy little stinker:wink: .

We obviously arent as limited as you and Noah but we still only do the gentle non allergenic foods as he was intolerant to multiple proteins as a newborn.

BTW--see the update on Chelsea. Turns out her ped has considered masto for her and hasnt ruled it out in her mind yet.

Your welcome for the support and thank you too!