New parents must recognize the signs of a baby not tolerating formula to know how to help. While this can be daunting, understanding how to manage the situation is essential to ensure your baby receives the necessary nutrients without any additional adverse reactions. It's important to identify and address the causes. If it is a formula allergy, your pediatrician can provide recommendations to help your baby feel comfortable without compromising their health.
What is Formula Intolerance, and What Causes It?
Formula intolerance occurs when the baby's immune system identifies that an ingredient in the formula they've ingested is harmful and reacts by causing one or more negative symptoms. It's not life-threatening, but the irritation within their digestive systems can cause slow weight gain and growth and the more acute symptoms of dehydration.
Common ingredients in baby formula, such as cow's milk, soy protein, and lactose, can be the culprits. Dairy products all contain lactose, a disaccharide. A disaccharide contains two sugars. In this case, lactose is made up of glucose and galactose.
What is the Difference Between Formula Intolerance and a Formula Allergy?
Parents should be aware that gas, diarrhea or constipation, excessive crying, spitting up, and fussiness are typical occurrences after a formula feeding. These symptoms of formula intolerance usually resolve themselves after the first few months, and these children outgrow any further adverse reactions. Many parents will try to alleviate these symptoms by immediately changing the baby's formula, which can worsen the situation.
Symptoms of a formula allergy can include hives, swelling, digestive issues, and respiratory problems. Your infant might be allergic to their formula if symptoms include coughing, wheezing, difficulty breathing, severe vomiting, skin rashes or hives, and swelling of the face, lips, or tongue. These symptoms can range from mild to severe, which can include life-threatening anaphylaxis.
What to Do if Your Baby is Formula Intolerant
The baby's pediatrician will recommend how to help with the intolerance. You may have to try several different brands before finding the one your baby tolerates best.
The physician may also suggest mixing the new formula with some of the old to help make the transition easier. Taste is a significant factor in your baby's tolerance.
You may want to try breastfeeding your baby or pumping to feed your breast milk in a bottle. Human milk can be soothing and help your baby get all the nutrition it needs.
If you decide to breastfeed, you must avoid eating or drinking the food allergen that has caused your baby's symptoms. Cow's milk protein, soy formulas, or formula milk may be passed through your breast milk and cause the same allergy symptoms for your little one.
How Do You Tell If Your Newborn is Allergic to Formula?
If you think your infant is allergic to the formula you are feeding them, seeing their pediatrician is necessary. The doctor will most likely ask you more questions about the formula they are taking and their family history, and they will examine your baby. They may also want to test samples of their blood or poop.
The child's doctor can often diagnose food allergies based on a patient's medical history, physical examination, and test results. They can help determine which ingredients in the formula are causing the allergic reaction and recommend another more compatible with the child's nutritional needs.
How to Address a Formula Allergy
If your child has a severe allergy, you might need an Epi-pen to treat an allergic reaction. Carrying these at all times is essential to your baby's well-being.
The symptoms of anaphylaxis in an infant may include difficulty breathing, swelling of the face, lips, or tongue, abdominal cramping, and nausea or vomiting.
The treatment for a formula allergy typically involves avoiding the ingredient causing the severe reaction and using a hypoallergenic formula. This will address your child's digestive problems or allergic symptoms without causing any other health problems.
When introducing a different formula to a baby with a known allergy, it's crucial to do so under medical supervision. Start with a small amount and gradually increase it over time while monitoring your baby for signs of an allergic reaction
When to Seek Professional Guidance
Most babies with formula intolerance or allergy symptoms should see their pediatricians immediately. This way, they can help determine whether intolerance or common food allergies are causing the issue before the child has any severe symptoms.
An allergic reaction is not something that you want to happen to your child. If your baby is experiencing symptoms of anaphylaxis, call medical emergency services immediately.
A registered dietitian can help create a diet for children over one year old with food allergies. This is usually done after formula milk is no longer ingested, but the ingredient that initially caused an allergic reaction as an infant may still trigger food allergies in older children.
They can help you plan a nutritious diet to support your child's growth and development and guide you in managing food allergies and intolerances. You must read food labels carefully to ensure they do not have the ingredients that cause your child's symptoms.
How to Make a Bottle of Infant Formula
First, wash the bottles, rings, and nipples after each use. Clean them in hot, soapy water, then sterilize them in boiling water.
Second, let the bottles, rings, and nipples dry on a clean dish towel or paper towel.
You can make bottles and store them in the refrigerator for 24 hours, but you must throw them away in the trash to prevent bacteria from growing.
You can cover and refrigerate open containers of ready-to-feed formula or formula prepared from concentrate for 48 hours, but then they must be thrown away.
To ensure your child gets the best nutrients from their formula, check to see that it is within its “use by” date. The manufacturer guarantees that it will be high quality and contain the nutrients your baby needs until that expiration.
Steps for Making a Bottle with Formula
Follow these simple steps to get the formula ready for your baby to eat. Whatever form you choose, follow the directions carefully. Your standard formula comes in three types:
- Powdered
- Concentrated liquid
- Ready-to-feed
Use clean water from a source free of bacteria or other germs that cause disease. The water is used to mix the powdered formula or to dilute the concentrated liquid. Do not use too much water, as this can harm your baby. No water is needed for the ready-to-feed formula.
Mixing Powdered Formula
- Measure the indicated amount of water into a clean bottle (never mix in another container). For infants under two months or those at high risk, boil the water and let it cool before adding the formula.
- Add the correct number of level scoops of the powder using the scoop provided in the canister.
- Add the nipple, ring, and the cap
- Shake well to mix.
- Check the temperature of the formula on your inner wrist to ensure it is not too hot or cold.
- If the unused formula is not consumed in one hour, throw it down the sink. Never use the leftover formula from a previous feeding.
Mixing Concentrated Formula
The process is the same as for powdered formula, but you add a liquid concentrate to the water instead. Shake well and warm the bottle before feeding.
Ready-to-Feed Formula
This formula is recommended for babies with a high risk of infection. It must only be shaken, and the right amount must be poured into the bottle and heated.
Tools to Make Preparing Bottles Easier
Momcozy has some great tools to use to make bottle-making easy!
Momcozy KleanPal Pro Bottle Washer and Sterilizer can wash, sterilize, and dry your bottles and more using this ultimate solution for hands-free cleaning. It has nine cleaning modes, and using it is simple and quick.
Momcozy 6-in-1 Fast Baby Bottle Warmer can warm bottles and food with a fast heating set to the exact temperature your baby needs to drink in as little as 2-5 minutes! This bottle warmer will thaw, heat, and keep the food warm for up to 24 hours.
Conclusion
As a parent, formula intolerances and allergies can be frightening and frustrating when trying to keep your baby free from discomfort and symptoms of an allergic reaction. We hope we've helped you be more aware of some of the challenges and have given you insight into what helps your child stay safe.
Momcozy wants you to feel confident using our products and trust their quality and dependability to make parenthood easier.
