Ok, not just Leigh, but I wanted to get her undivided attention. Need some major advice, I think I may have solved our behavior mystery.
Where do I start, I guess a week ago I read that someone's dr. told them they could use nestle vanilla quick to sweeten the hypo. formula, so I called my ped. asked if this was ok, he said yes, same sugar as in regular formula. So I did, I believe that this is just about the time when Jackson started fighting us on eat, more than usual:banghead: but I thought nothing of it, I thought reflux. Three nights last week he woke up and was HORRIBLY congested, so bad that it sounded like he couldn't breathe, then he would choke on it, didn't connect, just thought, reflux. I did decided though that maybe he was sleeping restlessly because of the sugar in the formula, so I decided to not put it in his nighttime bottles. :doh:
Like I said this morning, last night he fought me for 45 min. before finally giving in, then was restless, blah, blah, blah. Today, same thing. I was looking at my sleeping angel on my lap this afternoon and noticed that his eyes were red, like the rim:blackeye: and they were watery. Also the other day I commented to dh about him having little wrinkles under his eyes, this I would not know was any sign to anything, except I read "Is this your child" (Leigh) and thought, hmm.... my dh said that I read too much!
Anyway, today it got me thinking, I pull out the Nestle box and read the ing. the first one is corn syrup, (I know to sweeten) also, way down is Yellow #5???:?: I got online and did a search for allergies to yellow # 5 and found that it is not uncommon. So, I pour out all of his bottles and remix, no nestle. He takes it like an angel, 5 oz. and the same thing this evening. :angel5: So, now I am thinking the dye???? or the corn syrup, I wouldn't think a thing about the corn syrup except, in the book I read it said if your infant has an allergy to corn then they won't be able to tolerate Nutramigen very well, (this is what he is on) because it also has corn syrup solids in it.:banghead: :banghead: :banghead: If it was the cornsyrup, would he take his bottles again??? I do believe that he smelled the vanilla and knew that it hurt him somehow.
HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:hairpull: :hairpull: :hairpull: (Sara, don't stomp on her!LOL) I hate to switch him to Alimentum, which is what is recommended for corn allergy and MSPI, for one it is soooo expensive, I just got WIC straightened out and they are paying for the Nutramigen. What to do???? Can the dr. do allergy tests on babies, or should I eliminate and see??? I'm wondering if it is a corn allergy as well and that is one reason why his reflux hasn't gotten alot better.
Ok, I've rambled enough*(Sorry Lesley LOL) I think that you get the jist of my dilemma!
Thanks all for listening(reading)

Phenomenal book, eh?:iconbigg: It is being carried around with me still as we go through and tweak this diet to suit our needs now.

An allergist could test your baby for allergy, but it would not show intolerances. Skin prick testing is the most common test done and it is also the most inaccurate. Curran showed fine for milk via this test and yet his RAST (allergic test via blood draw) showed his allergy. Blood RAST is much more accurate but again children under two get varied results which may or may not be accurate unless they are moderate to high RAST and then they are considered accurate. Children can "grow" into allergies as well but that is a long story....

The easiest way to determine an allergy or intolerance is via elimination. I would target the corn and see if you can get rid of the symptoms. Then work on yellow dye #5. If you look at the multiple elimination diet (not possible with an infant) you see that eliminating all potential allergens and then doing a re-introduction is best. I would try to switch formulas if possible to see if things improve. One thing you could do is mix the formulas as you are bringing down the amount of allergen or intolerance and see if it also makes a difference. Stay on the new formula for at least a week, but two weeks is better and then do a trial of what you think is the trigger, so try the formula you are currently on to see if it is the problem.

It is hard to play with foods and allergens when you are so very limited by diet for an infant. Yes, the formulas are very expensive but an investment of a couple of tins for a two week trial would outweigh the cost in terms of knowledge you would gain.

Sometimes children instinctively avoid what hurts them, other times they crave the very foods which cause them pain. Curran will not likely eat cheese anytime soon as long as he recalls the writhng agony he was in and that cheese caused it, but it does not stop him from desperately wanting some. Maybe the smell of vanilla did do it for Jackson.

The red rims, etc. say allergy to me. It could very well be that refluxing was higher during the trouble time but you have to look at reponse to taking out the allergin or intolerance. Curran seems to reflux worse when he is reacting to something he should not have eaten. It is a vicious cycle. We are doing the elimination to see if we have multiple triggers and as we added wheat to our diet and now Curran has blood red ears, stomach pain, and a rash on his face (may be antibiotics, though) I have to look for an explanation. My gut tells me it may be a reaction based on his behaviour again. It is tough to try and treat something when another trigger is being set off, so you are wise to think of this now as it may in the long run help with his reflux.

I will take a peek at this tomorrow again once I can see straight, ok?:iconbigg:

Thanks Leigh! I had to post twice, the first time it kicked me out :banghead: so, could you combine the threads for me??? :smt047
Anyway, your advice is super on mixing the formula a bit and coming down gradually. I'm wondering if it is truely a corn allergy if he would be 100% better on something else, my gut tells me that it is. My husband thinks I'm CRAZY! So does my mom!angry9: I thought so until the dr. agreed with me that the first time we re-introduced regular milk formula to him he totally refused to eat it. I thought maybe I was reading too much into it, but my ped. said that his grandson did the same thing with peanuts until one day, somehow ate some and broke out in a terrible rash. Our kiddos are pretty smart I think!:smt047
That wonderful book that we have talks about an infant that was fussy, etc. and when they figured out the right formula he slept all night and napped in the day. I am wondering how this would affect us, so I'm going out today to get some Alimentum.
Thanks again!:hug: