Minnie is 8 weeks old, and since putting her on formula she has been suffering with Gastroesophageal Reflux.
I kind of knew it was going to happen as Roo and Little Man have both suffered with it previously.

Roo had it so bad that she became dehydrated and spent a few weeks in hospital, having IV fluids and being fed through a nasogastric tube, while they tried to find a milk that she could drink without vomiting it all back up again. She was started on several different medications to try and keep the reflux under control, and she eventually settled on a hypoallergenic milk called Neocate.
It was also discovered that she suffered with intolerance to milk, wheat, egg and soya so when it came to weaning her it was a complete nightmare.
In most cases children grow out of reflux and cows milk intolerance by the time they are 1, but with Roo it was prolonged.  It even got to the point where she was admitted into Great Ormand Street Hospital and had to have an endoscopy to check the lining of her stomach and her bowl.
Both were fine, so it was just a matter of waiting to see if she would grow out of it.

With Roo you could tell she was 'poorly' right up until she was 1 and when I look back at her baby photos now, I really notice it. Her skin was pale and her hair was thin and unhealthy.

Roo grew out of everything, but not until she was around 3 years old.

Roo when she was in hospital

Little Man didn't suffer as much as Roo. He had the reflux and a slight cows milk intolerance but settled quickly on a milk called Nutramigen AA and didn't require any of the anti-reflux medications.
He was more of a 'text book' case, and grew out of it all by the time he reached his first birthday. Phew!

Now we are going through it all over again with Minnie. I really wanted to be successful with breast feeding this time around as I knew that it would minimise the risk of the reflux and intolerances affecting Minnie, but it just wasn't to be. She wasn't settling after feeds, and with Little Man only being 18 months old, every time I tried to feed her he would fight for attention, trying to climb on to my lap and hitting Minnie in the head.
After discussing it with my Midwife and Health Visitor we came to the decision that I had to do what was best for the whole family, and we moved Minnie onto bottle feeds.
 I tried to express so that she could continue on the breast milk, but my milk supply soon dwindled and eventually disappeared. We had no choice but to start her on formula.
At first things seemed ok, but after just a few days Minnie started to show all of the symptoms of reflux.
For people who have never had experience with reflux, the symptoms are almost identical to the symptoms of colic. Screaming after feeds, not settling, pulling up the knees or arching of the back in pain.  Add to that the vomiting and you are probably dealing with reflux or cows milk intolerance.

As I had experienced it before, I knew what I was looking out for, and took Minnie straight to the GP. He agreed with me that she had reflux and we started her on Nutramigen AA, which is the same prescription milk that worked for Little Man.
She is no longer in pain and screaming after feeds, but she is still vomiting milk all throughout the day and night, and even when she's not vomiting, she is gagging and choking on the fluid that is being pushed into the back of her throat.

Because Nutramigen AA is hypoallergenic and high in nutrients, Minnie's weight gain is good and she is no longer in pain, which is great.
What isn't so great is the constant vomiting. It is frustrating and can be rather draining at times. You wash her and change her clothes, and seconds later she vomits all over herself again.
We have to change her clothes several times a day.

It's only milk though right? Can't be that bad?
Wrong!
Nutramigen does not smell (or taste) like normal infant formula. The only way I can think to describe it smells like vomit, and that's before she has vomited it back up again!
Trust me, it is not nice.

Minnie is also suffering from eczema on her face, back and chest, which is puzzling me slightly at the moment.
I know it's not unusual for babies who suffer reflux and intolerance's to have eczema, but Minnie is on a completely hypoallergenic formula, so there should be nothing there for her to react to.

I am taking her to the doctors in a couple of weeks, for her 8 week check and first set of jabs, so the GP is going to review everything, and then decide whether or not we need to change her milk, start her on meds, and refer her to the paediatric consultants at the hospital.

She reminds me so much of Roo and that makes me worry that she may end up suffering as much as Roo did. Things have already taken a step towards the worse rather than getting better.

While I wait for decisions to be made I have a never ending pile of laundry to contend with and I constantly smelling of baby sick.

Attractive huh!

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