https://boards.hellobee.com/ Pregnancy, Baby and Parenting blog, by Hellobee en Wed, 20 May 2026 10:38:24 +0000 https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2576614 Tue, 28 Jun 2016 08:41:04 +0000 travellingbee 2576614@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@NovBaby1112: wanted to know what ended up working for you? In in the same exact boat and DS (6 months) will only take small amounts of the Alimentum. I bought some RTF Alimentum to try today. Hoping he'll take that better. We are going back to the GI doctor tomorrow because even on an elimination diet, he is still having tons of mucous and blood :( </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461557 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 21:34:55 +0000 gingerbebe 2461557@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@NovBaby1112: The challenge was just what our ped called it - she wanted to see if DS had a milk protein intolerance or if a hypo formula would help his symptoms at all. It helped somewhat but it wasn't magically different so my ped said we could keep going on Nutramigen or I could try to reintroduce "clean" BM and see if it was the same or worse. It was basically the same on eliminated BM so I chose to stick with a limited diet. I cut dairy, soy, most veggies, acidic fruits, coffee, tea, chocolate, spices, and I can't even remember everything else while DS was on Prevacid until 5.5 months. Then I gently eased in foods one at a time while starting him on solids and I was back to eating normally within reason by 6.5 months. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461539 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 21:03:19 +0000 winniebee 2461539@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@NovBaby1112: also yes our insurance did cover it. It was a huge fight to actually get paid for it but our pediatrician called ins co several times and I called weekly and we got thousands covered. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461525 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 20:46:12 +0000 NovBaby1112 2461525@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsADS: hugs!! That sounds so tough, I feel awful complaining about our issues when I know it could be way worse- I hope the new medicine helps your LO with the vommiting issues! You should be so proud of yourself for sticking through it and eliminating so many foods! I don't have as much self control- my DH bought some cupcakes home from work the other day and I made him throw them out bc my willpower around sweets is nonexistent! </p> <p>@winniebee: thanks! I'll look into it</p> <p>@MrsSRS: oh really? I'll have to ask my dr about that...that would be awesome! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461511 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 20:18:56 +0000 MrsSRS 2461511@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Also, with a prescription your insurance may cover the formula. Liquid concentrate is sometimes less expensive than RTF. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461509 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 20:13:07 +0000 winniebee 2461509@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@NovBaby1112: double check on that - when we gave nutramigen you couldn't warm it. I went from giving pumped milk to nutramigen (room temp) and it was totally fine. Also same age! He really thrived on it, no regrets. Good luck! :goodluck: </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461504 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 20:07:59 +0000 MrsADS 2461504@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@novbaby1112 yeah I totally felt trapped into it b/c DS wouldn't drink the Neocate. Also we (and his GI) felt like there was some delayed gastric emptying and with that in mind, breastmilk would STILL be the easiest thing for him to digest (if I could get my diet cleaned up).</p> <p>It's seriously one of the hardest things I have EVER done! I cried every day! I ate literally a whole pound of ground turkey and like 3 sweet potatoes every day and went through a big bottle of olive oil in a week, just to keep my calories and milk supply up. Going down to just those 5 foods or however many did seem to clear up his poop issues. No more blood, went from TONS of globs of thick mucus to only a little, and actually better color and some cottage cheese curds (you know what I mean, right? before his poop was just mucus and nasty). His poops still seem not quite "right" to me but much much better. And the remaining poop issues I sort of blame on the rest of his GI issues. </p> <p>Unfortunately his reflux and vomiting is still awful, and we and GI have come to the conclusion that we've basically reached maximum improvement on that front with regard to my diet (i.e. he would not be any better if he was on Neocate or Elecare). He's on Nexium and Zantac and we are about to start domperidone for delayed stomach emptying, which will hopefully help the vomiting (I mean he has a lot of reflux spitting up/vomiting, but vomits up curdled breastmilk hours after he eats). </p> <p>Anyway, I totally understand how hard it is, and whatever you do - switch to formula or eliminate more - hang in there. I sort of wish I could have switched so I could eat whatever I want!! And I probably could have switched if I really pushed DS to do it. I just felt like I needed to try before I stopped BFing. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461495 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 19:55:31 +0000 NovBaby1112 2461495@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsADS: btw, how is your also doing now that you eliminated all of that stuff? </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461494 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 19:54:36 +0000 NovBaby1112 2461494@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@Mrs.Pinecone316: thanks!! So far this method seems to be working well</p> <p>@MrsSRS: interesting, I didn't know that! I wonder why you can't warm it? </p> <p>@SweetCaroline: yea so far he is tolerating it pretty good....he refused the powder ones though. I'm just hoping this makes it better</p> <p>@gingerbebe: oh wow, that's super intense! I've never heard of a formula challenge before- is it just a temporary thing to give your body time to get all the bad stuff out? </p> <p>@Mrs. Deer: I'm hoping we won't have to go to elecare, but thanks for the tip!!</p> <p>@MrsADS: omg you are amazing to have eliminated all of those foods!!! :shocked: I think my body would go into shock if I had to live off of just a few things like that. You have some crazy willpower! But I totally get feeling trapped into it bc of LO refusing formula. I tried quite a few times and am only just now having success with this RTF stuff. Part of me wants to keep proving breastmilk but the other part just wants him to be healthy and his gut to be healed, and I just can't seem to figure out what could possibly be making him have tons of mucous. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461487 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 19:38:26 +0000 MrsADS 2461487@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@novbaby1112 also if you have any questions about elimination diets I can tell you what I've done, foods, etc. if you think you want to try it again. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461482 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 19:27:30 +0000 MrsADS 2461482@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hugs mama. Not a ton of advice but I am down this road with you and I know it's hard. I first cut out just dairy, then all top 8 allergens plus corn, tomatoes, chocolate, strawberries and THEN right after Christmas did a total elimination diet where I just ate turkey, pears, sweet potatoes, zucchini and olive oil for 2 weeks. That seems to have gotten DS to baseline so we're slowly adding foods back in.</p> <p>That being said, we tried to do a trial of hypoallergenic formula. DS REFUSED Neocate, could not get him to drink more than a sip, and he would just cry. So pitiful. So his GI suggested we do Elecare mixed with Vanilla Elecare Jr. I forget the exact mix but it's like 3/4 plain Elecare, 1/4 Vanilla Elecare Jr. DS took that begrudgingly but only from DH, would not drink it from me and only drank maybe 2-3 oz. </p> <p>So maybe that tip will help if you can't get your LO to drink the formula. It is pretty gross stuff, I don't blame them. It smells gross too. </p> <p>You could maybe do a trial of formula for a few days to see if there is any improvement. We found that a lot of his symptoms unfortunately didn't really get better because we think he also has some delayed gastric emptying/GI transit which is contributing to everything. </p> <p>Will be thinking of you! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461446 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 17:49:42 +0000 Mrs. Deer 2461446@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We switched from BM to Elecare. I learned that mixing the two caused it to taste really bad, so after a few days of struggling she ended up taking a bottle of Elecare cold turkey. It's a tough transition but I hope it goes well for you! </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461444 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 17:47:00 +0000 gingerbebe 2461444@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We cold turkeyed it. 2 days on Alimentum and then we did a 2 week+ Nutramigen challenge - both times it was just cold turkey. I added more junk to my elimination during the Nutramigen challenge (had been dairy and soy and gassy and spicy food free) and after the challenge replaced one formula bottle with breastmilk each day for another week to see how DS tolerated it. During the formula challenge I just pumped and froze - doctor said if he could go back on BM after the challenge or even further down the line we could try it. I was basically eating rice, chicken, and nori at the time, with vegan shakes fortified with coconut oil leading up to the challenge and the weeks on Nutramigen gave me time to filter everything out of my system. DS never got any real food allergy diagnosis but his colic and reflux were extreme enough where we tried everything. He did successfully go back on BM, I stayed on the crazy diet, and when he went off reflux meds we gave him the frozen stuff from before my BM was irritant free. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461386 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 16:03:43 +0000 SweetCaroline 2461386@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We used Alimentum RTF and heated it up super hot. She had no problems with it. More iron, so her poop habits changed. I think RTF tastes different than powder formula---RTF has no corn syrup. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461345 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 14:34:55 +0000 MrsSRS 2461345@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>For the record, you are not supposed to heat Nutramigen either. I did. We kept nursing because I only had to eliminate a few things, but I lost my freezer stash so we supplemented with Nutramigen and he flat out would not drink anything from a bottle unless it was borderline too hot. It Nutramigen had been the bulk of his nutrition I would have started with it hot and worked to wean the temp down to the recommended room temp. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461341 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 14:26:24 +0000 Mrs.Pinecone316 2461341@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>I didn't switch to hypoallergenic but my LO would refuse formula bottles when I was switching her from BM to formula in the beginning. What worked was slowing adding formula. I would start with 4 oz BM, 1 oz formula for a couple days, then 3 oz BM, 2 oz formula and so one until she would take either or. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461338 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 14:23:41 +0000 NovBaby1112 2461338@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@MrsSRS: thanks!! Will try it warm</p> <p>@ladybee: we've tried both nutramigen and Alimentum before but he hated both- would even drink a few sips. We got Alimentum Ready to feed and so far today he's eating 50% BM and 50% of that</p> <p>@Anagram: major props to you- Ive scoured the boards about MSPI and elimination diets and saw your story, you deserve a medal for sticking with it so long!! I am just at a point where I have no idea what else is causing the mucous and blood and gas.... And I'm sick of trying to figure out what food it is. And on top of it, im EPing as well, and he is drinking so much at daycare even though I know he's not that hungry, but it's stressing me out trying to pump enough for him</p> <p>@2littlepumpkins: thanks mama! It's been tough but I'm hoping it'll get easier and he will start to like it better! </p> <p>@MsHangry: good to hear!! Thanks! </p> <p>@Truth Bombs: oh man, that is so so hard! So far I've tried eliminating dairy, soy, egg, peanuts, wheat, and beef....some helped a little bit but not 100% like I thought it would. I hope you guys get it figured out soon! Good luck mama</p> <p>@brownie: interesting! His GI dr did say that we should try the hypoallergenic formula for 2 weeks to sort of "reset" his system and allow his GI tract to heal...I wonder if I should keep pumping during that time </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461311 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 13:00:26 +0000 brownie 2461311@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>My son took it cold turkey but I also went out of town for the first week. He ate like it was going out of business. I pumped while away and when I can back he refused formula and went back on the breast. At that point he was "fixed". He was still reactive to milk and soy but not all sorts of other random things. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461297 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 12:29:25 +0000 Truth Bombs 2461297@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Both my kids have had major intolerances too. With my daughter Nutramigen was the recommended option for formula. We ended up eliminating dairy, soy, gluten, eggs, nuts and shellfish and that did the trick so she was EBF until she outgrew all her intolerances around 14 months. My son seems to be worse than my daughter (but maybe I just don't remember how bad she was?). I've eliminated dairy and soy without much improvement, just eliminated the same additional 4 foods I did with his sister and we are seeing GI at the end of this month if that doesn't do it. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461279 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 11:48:59 +0000 MsHangry 2461279@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>We reached a similar junction around the same age. we mixed alimentum with breastmilk and just gradually increased the proportion of formula. We would also warm the bottle.<br /> Then one day we were out and he was super hungry so I gave him a bottle of cold alimentum and he drank it all!<br /> Good luck :) </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461257 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 11:06:05 +0000 2littlepumpkins 2461257@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Hugs. No advice on the hypoallergenic but with ds, even early on, he did show a preference for certain formula over others and breastmilk over formula. But we just kept at it and he learned to accept it and he is totally fine now. Just wanted to also say you have done a completely fabulous job of keeping up BFing throughout the last few months! &lt;3 &lt;3 </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461200 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 09:03:16 +0000 Anagram 2461200@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>@ladybee: you can warmnectar, you just can't reward it like all formula. </p> <p>We tried Neocate but LO wouldn't take it. Later I heard that bit tastes worse if you mix it with bm which I did. So maybe try it alone and see if that helps. Since my LO wouldn't take Neocate, I continued the elimination diet until she was 13 months. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461193 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 08:53:42 +0000 ladybee 2461193@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>Which are you switching to? I did BF but we used Neocate and it couldn't be warmed up. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461191 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 08:42:11 +0000 MrsSRS 2461191@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>DS would only drink his Nutramigen if it was really, really warm. </p> https://boards.hellobee.com/topic/transitioning-from-bm-to-hypoallergenic-formula#post-2461174 Sun, 14 Feb 2016 08:13:00 +0000 NovBaby1112 2461174@https://boards.hellobee.com/ <p>If your baby was EBF and you switched to a hypoallergenic formula, how did it go? How did you get them to drink the formula? What did you notice during the transition? Which formula did you use? Sorry for all the Qs!! </p> <p>DS is 4.5 months, and has a milk protein intolerance, and probably soy and a few others we can't seem to figure out. We recently went to GI dr and confirmed all of this and I'm basically left with 2 options- keep eliminating foods or switch to hypoallergenic formula. I just can't restrict my diet anymore and he seems to be getting worse, not better- lots of mucus in stool, and has a really rough time with pooping and gas. </p>