Conquering Spit-Up Fashionably PART 1

We deal with a lot of spit-up. A lot. A lot, a lot. We've tried to find a rhyme or reason, some kind of method to this madness... but there really isn't much of a pattern other than a lot of spit-up, all the time. There are days when I can lay Asher down after a feeding and he is fine. Actually this happens quite often. He spits-up whether he is held upright or is in a sitting or laying position. Off and on, he spits-up immediately after eating and in-between them. He'll spit-up when he's overwhelmed - but sometimes he's totally fine. The only difference is the spit-up itself with different formulas. We've been through so many and it's pretty consistent in quantity and frequency. At least with his new formula, his spit-up isn't all acidic, curdled milk; that's a plus. 

So, when dealing with a baby who spits up a lot, you NEED to use bibs or you will find yourself changing their outfit umpteen million times a day. Ugh. Bibs.

I used to hate baby bibs. I even wondered to myself in those early days with this sweet, new baby eating from his bottle so delicately in my arms, "Why do these baby outfits all come with ugly bibs? Who would ruin the cuteness of the outfit with a BIB??" Now I know.

We only had 5 or so bibs until a few weeks ago. Don't even ask me how I did it. I don't know. 

"This bib? THIS BIB?? Mommy, you CRAZY!"

In an effort to save a little, I bought 2 packs of 10 bibs that were $10/each at Target. They aren't the cutest bibs in the world, but I needed something and fast. They work well during feedings, but they aren't nearly thick enough for our in-between spit-up occurrences. Asher laughs in the face of those bibs between his feedings. "HAHAHA!" Squashes them like bugs. Or maybe floods them like bugs, rather. I may just double up on them until he grows out of this problem. 

Lucky for us, I have come up with some other options that better fit our "bib criteria" and also are more fashionable! 

My Bib Criteria:

• CUTE
• THICK/ABSORBANT
• DURABLE TO WITHSTAND MANY WASHES

{Of course, with any bib you don't want to let your child sleep or nap with it on.} 

ZULILY SALE / Electrik Kidz - Bandana Style Bibs with Pacifier Loop

I got these super cute bibs from a Zulily sale featuring the brand Electrik Kidz. They're so adorable and also reversible, so they will work with many of different outfits. They seemed to be more targeted towards drool rather than spit-up, but Asher tested out the nautical anchor one just moments after snapping the last picture of him wearing it. It did the job!

LE PETITE BIRDIE - Stylish Boutique Bibs

I purchased these baby bibs from an Etsy seller, Le Petite Birdie. So far so good. They are lined with fleece to wick away the moisture. I'm honestly not sure how that works since it's on the back of the bib and I thought that moisture still would soak through while the fleece still feels dry... but I must be wrong, because these have been protecting Asher's outfits beneath them quite well. I don't understand the concept of a "stay-dry" fleece liner in a cloth diaper now.... Some serious 'Google-ing' is about to take place! Regardless, every time he wears one of these bibs, he gets compliments. In particular, the sock monkey patterned one has been a real hit!

I have some more bibs on their way, a few SCARF STYLE ones from another Etsy seller. Until those arrive and I've had a chance to try them out, this post is officially...

 To be continued...

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Formula Update

This picture doesn't even show our entire "formula stash". Now, finally, I think we've found it!

Similac Alimentum in powdered form. (<--- Imagine singing angels and lots of light!)

This post is mostly for those who may be in the same boat as us when it comes to finding the right formula for their baby. It may get a little "TMI" up in here... but sometimes you just gotta go there.

I made a spreadsheet with Asher's reactions to the different formulas so that we could see which one is working out the best. Yes, I'm that mother. I'll show it to the doctor, too. Ain't no shame.

We gave up on the sensitive and the spit-up formulas within a week or so of trying them because the spit-up got so bad and was very curdled with a really acidic smell. Although this was still early in the game, my instinct told me we did the right thing. And things have been working out very well with this new formula. It's amazing the difference in his complexion since switching to the Similac Alimentum. Asher's always had lots of baby pimples, and now his face is almost completely clear. Amazing! The doctor agrees that he must have a mild milk and soy allergy.

When searching online, the symptoms and images of soy and dairy allergies show are always so dramatic, so for those who are unsure with their own babies, it may be helpful for you to see what Asher's skin looked like when he was on a formula he had an allergy to and now on the Similac Alimentum:

untouched photos taken with my phone

You can see how much healthier his skin looks now.

He also had these bumps and redness on his shoulders, back, and chest. I'm also wondering if it was contributing to this diaper rash that wouldn't go away. He is pretty clear now in his diaper area, although I've switched up a few things in our diaper routine, as well, so it could be a result of one of those things, too.

A lot of people brush off irritation like this on their skin as "just baby acne" or "just sensitive skin", but obviously it was something more and I'm SO RELIEVED that we figured it out.

This does mean that we are going to have to be extra careful when starting baby Asher on solids.

According to our doctor, we have to be sure to avoid these risky allergenic foods for the first year:

Citrus
Tomato
Wheat
Egg

From research I've done on my own, with the soy allergy, we also may have trouble with:

Green Peas
Chickpeas
Green Beans
Lima Beans
Barley
Rye

...and with the dairy allergy we may have trouble with:

Dairy Products in General...Cheese, Butter, Margarine...
Canned fish
Deli/Processed Meats
Pre-Mixed Cereal
Some Spices / Seasonings

...and there is a whole list of ingredients to look for in foods before serving them to an infant on solids. 

There's really no telling when he'll outgrow his sensitivity to soy and dairy. Could be one year or it could be longer. We'll just have to keep a watchful eye on that.

Since Asher sleeps 12-13 hours through the night already, there's no rush to get him started on solids before 6 months. We are going to try to wait the full 6 months before starting. I really don't want to rock the peaceful sleep boat!

Has anyone else had experienced with food sensitivities and their babies or been through something similar and have advice to offer when starting solids??

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Baby Feeding Schedule - 4 Months

We are truly blessed to have a baby who sleeps 12-13 hours straight throughout the night at 4 months old. Being exclusively formula fed may be a contributing factor; but even so, I have been told time and time again just how incredibly lucky we are. (Knock on wood.)

I love waking up to the rustling sound of Asher having his morning stretch in his co-cleeper then looking over to see his his freshly awoken smile illuminated by the early morning light. His eyes are always directed straight at me as if to say, "Good morning, Mommy! Let's have breakfast, shall we?" Sometimes it's more of a, "Feed me NOW or someone is going to get hurt!!!" Even then, I can't complain since it's always after at least a 12 hour stretch of sleep for him and 6-8 hours or so for me. (Both John and I have a bad habit of going to bed late. In our defense, "me time" can be just as important as sleep!)

It's amazing to have such a sound sleeper, however, this also can make it difficult to make sure Asher gets enough to eat throughout the day without having some sort of a nap and/or feeding schedule in place. Mostly, it is becoming more difficult due to our current 'Super-Spitter-Upper' situation. One hopeful solution to lessening the outpour of spit-up may be allowing him smaller portions, more often, like when he was younger. Except now, we have to squeeze that into the 11-12 hour time frame that he is awake sans the 2-3 hours of nap time strewn throughout the day! We're averaging at about 22-24 oz of formula per day right now, but I think that he could definitely eat more if we plan it right with a feeding schedule. According to the formula serving chart, we should be at about 30-35 oz a day between 3-6 months. He is gaining weight steadily, thriving and growing and I know some babies need more than others... but I at least want to give Asher the opportunity to eat as much as he may need just in case he isn't getting quite enough.

So, I think a flexible feeding and nap schedule will be a nice addition to our chaotic day to day. Here's what I'm thinking (times approximate and feeding amounts to fit the pattern we've been seeing with what he can normally handle without too much spit-up):

BOTTLE & NAP SCHEDULE - 4 MONTHS

8:00am - 1st bottle 5-6 oz
10:00am - 2nd bottle 2-4 oz
10:30 - nap (45 min - 2 hour)
12:30 - 3rd bottle 5-6 oz
3:30 - 4th bottle 2-4 oz
4:30 - nap (45 min - 1.5 hour)
5:30 - 5th bottle 4-6 oz
7:00 - bath
7:30 - 6th and last bottle 4-6 oz
8:00pm - bedtime!

On any given day he can eat between 22 and 32 ounces with this feeding schedule depending on how hungry he is. Most likely it will be closer to 25 for awhile. But at least we'll be offering him more if he wants it! This is sort of how it goes now - just usually without the pre-morning nap bottle. I think this schedule will help us get just enough more in each day. Sometimes he falls asleep during that last bottle, too, only getting in 2 ounces if we're lucky.

The nap times and lengths tend to vary, especially on days that we are not at home, whether I have him with me to work at the shop or if we are out and about for any other reason. So this is definitely meant to be a SOFT schedule with a lot of flexibility, but at least it gives us a general guideline to work with. I say us, but I guess I mostly mean me.

For now, we'll see how this goes. I know that 4 months is the peak age of spit-up amount and occurrences, but if we can reduce it as much as possible while also ensuring this little guy is getting his fill, that will help save my sanity on laundry days!

Here are more fun pictures from our 4 month photo shoot in his 4 month onesie.

Adore!

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Our "Baby Formula"

I've mentioned before how sensitive our little guy is - his skin, his diaper area, his tummy. We are far from "solving" our little health puzzle, but we have figured out a few things along the way that I hope can help out any other parents struggles with sensitive little ones, as well.

SENSITIVE TUMMY

We have formula fed Asher from Day 1. I know the online community can be a cruel place when it comes to this controversial topic, but please, no judgement or harassment on the subject. :) Why did we decide to formula feed? Well there were a variety of reasons. We basically weighed the pros and cons, and in the end we wanted to choose what would result in the best environment and health for OUR baby in OUR situation. We wanted to ensure the most stress-free household that we could. With our list of pros and cons, formula feeding was the choice that would best achieve this for us. I did my research and read up on both sides and am happy with our decision.

I am aware that certain antibodies found in breastmilk and not not in formula could help with allergies such as those to dairy, etc. Could. This does not mean his allergies are a result of being fed formula. There are lots of breastfed babies who have allergies and sensitivities whose moms have to cut out this that and the other from their diets. Just putting that out there.

Anyways, from day 1 we fed Asher formula. We started with Similac Advance Ready-to-Feed. A few weeks in, he started getting terrible gas during and after feedings, which were every 2-3 hours in the early weeks, so basically always seemed in pain. He also spit up A LOT (sometimes projectile, but not always) and we had to hold him upright after every feeding for almost an hour. We added gas drops to each bottle and this seemed to help with the gas pains. I'd say we were 80% better at most times. Then the ready-to-feed started to get SO expensive. We switched to the powder. Now, doctors swear up and down that there is NO DIFFERENCE. Umm...he would not eat that stuff at first and when he did finally take it, he writhed in pain with or without gas drops. We then tried Similac Senstive. No decrease in pains, increase in reflux. Great. Our doctor suggested Similac Soy. Oh My Gosh. He was like a different baby immediately. He took the whole bottle without mid-feed fussiness and had no grunting and groaning afterwards. He was happy! It must have been a milk allergy (not intolerance, there's a difference)! Now we don't even have to add gas drops. I have only had to use gas drops one time in a month!!! He does have an "earthy" smell to him now... my sister said he smells like birdseed - haha - but that is such a small price to pay for a happy and pain free baby. OH - and the poo!!! On the Advance, he had (sorry, TMI alert!) really watery poo. Now on the soy, it is normal consistency. That says A LOT to me that this was a great choice.

We were doing the whole 'pre-make-32-ounces-of-formula-at-a-time-and-refridgerate' thing, but then found it was much more of a hassle needing to warm every bottle. Now, we make it as we need it with water from the tap. This makes for a happy baby who does not have to wait too long for his food. Hurray!

SENSITIVE SKIN

Weird - when on the ready-to-feed, Asher had baby acne. When we switched to the powder, although he hated it, I swear it seemed to go away. Then on the powder soy, he has it again. :( Maybe it hadn't cleared up and it was in my head. I'm not going to switch him back to find out considering how much better he is now.

Also, his body washes seemed to irritate him. I tried many different kinds. Sensitive washes, fragrance and everything-else-free washes, organic rice milk wash... the only one that I have had success with after who knows how many dollars is the California Baby Super Sensitive Wash. It does stink that he never can smell like those yummy fragranced washes, but again, a small price to pay. His face is not beet red after baths anymore. Baby acne is still a 'sort-of' issue. It just might need time.

DIAPER RASHES

This is summed up by the cloth diaper posts I have made. They have made a world of a difference for us. He still gets a "red crack" - heehee - when he is sitting in his car seat for too long. This is from the heat and the pressure and goes away quickly. We don't have him in it that much.

FOR OTHERS WITH SENSITIVE BABIES OR ALL MOTHERS ALIKE...

Sadly, people have many opinions on what modern mothers do for their children. I'm not saying we have faced this, but lots of us have and will. No mother should ever be "bullied" for making decisions for their children - whether it is to feed her child formula or breast milk, to switch to soy, to cloth diaper, to give her child a pacifier, to potty train at a certain age, or to do away with all fragranced soaps, lotions, and wipes. In the end, all any of us want is a happy healthy baby. No mother makes these choices with anything other than great intentions for the benefit of her child. So if you make decisions for your child that are looked down on by anyone, I hope you remember this if you are ever confronted or made to feel like you are doing something wrong. You are not doing anything wrong. You are just loving and caring for you baby. :)

Actually, no one should ever do or say anything to hurt a new mom who is only doing what is best for her child. New mothers should be cherished - they are most likely going through a trying time and should be made to feel the absolute best about themselves, their baby, and everything else in their lives. With the prevalence of post-partum depression and everything else that may or may not come with the new mom territory, I hope that every new mom gets the respect and love that they need and deserve.

Phew! ;) Now cute pics...

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