As a parent, you are tasked with the care of your baby, this includes getting the right formula for your baby. Every formula might seem suitable and have the essential nutrient your baby needs, but you have to pay attention to your baby’s health to get the right formula. But the question is does nutramigen cause diarrhea?
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Nutramigen infant formula is a hypoallergenic baby formula made with iron. It was designed for babies with colic, reflux, intolerances, allergies, and stomach-related issues that are caused by cow milk-based formula. Enfamil Nutramigen has its protein pre-digest or broken down partially to help the proper digestion of your baby’s fragile digestive system.
It gives a fast relief and a difference can be seen within 48 hours of feeding. Enfamil Nutramigen helps your baby’s immune system to return to taking milk protein without having an allergic reaction to it. It is recommended by Pediatricians and can be given to babies from 0-to 12 months.
Can Nutramigen cause diarrhea in babies?
When a new formula is introduced to a baby, you may notice a change in the color and consistency of your baby’s stool. Often, when nutramigen is introduced to a baby, some babies might have loose stools that are very frequent for a few days. This often prompts moms to ask “does nutramigen cause watery poop?” It might take a while for your little one to get used to this new formula. This is normal to except if the stool doesn’t stop after a few days. It is important to speak to a pediatrician when this happens.
Although nutramigen was produced to help to decrease diarrhea caused by allergy to cow milk, some babies can be teething and the increased saliva produced during this period might cause diarrhea. If you have a teething baby, this post on teething hacks will help make teething a breeze for your baby.
Babies who react to traces of milk in a formula are likely to react to nutramigen and this might cause diarrhea, such babies would need a non-milk-based formula. You should see a Pediatrician if nutramigen causes diarrhea in your baby to make further diagnosis. Germs can contaminate the formula or the water used in the preparation of the formula and this might result in your baby having diarrhea.
Diarrhea can be uncomfortable for the baby and make your baby lose body fluids and become dehydrated. As a parent, you can get worried and might begin to panic when your baby has diarrhea while being fed nutramigen. Below are some ways to prevent nutramigen diarrhea in babies.
5 Ways to prevent Nutramigen diarrhea in Babies
1) Continue feeding
Nutramigen is a baby formula for diarrhea and so continue to feed the baby. As funny as it may sound, when you continue to feed your baby with the same formula, your child can get used to it and won’t have diarrhea after a while. You should try to consistently feed your baby because your baby’s stomach would be empty and it won’t be good for the health of your baby.
2) Try another hypoallergenic formula
If your baby begins to have Nutramigen watery stools, you can try out another hypoallergenic formula to prevent diarrhea and know if your baby’s digestive system was not comfortable with taking nutramigen. Here is a list of other hypoallergenic baby formulas you can check out on Amazon: Similac Alimentum, Gerber Good Start Extensive HA, Enfamil Pregestimil DHA & ARA. It is however advisable to discuss with your Pediatrician before switching baby formulas.
3) Proper nutritional hygiene
Germs can contaminate your baby’s formula and result in your baby having diarrhea. To prevent this, it is important to keep your baby’s formula in a hygienic condition and use clean water when preparing the formula. Good feeding practice is also necessary to prevent your baby from having diarrhea.
4) Switch to a milk-free formula
To prevent nutramigen diarrhea in babies, it is essential to switch to a milk-free formula such as Enfamil soy infant formula if diarrhea persists for a long period. Your baby might be totally allergic to milk or have a more severe allergy. This might be the reason for diarrhea.
5) See a Pediatrician
If you notice an unusual color or consistency of stool in your baby after taking nutramigen formula, it is important to see a Pediatrician to make a diagnosis and know if to discontinue using the formula or if your baby would be placed on a medication to prevent Nutramigen poop. Nutramigen poop color looks like khaki green, grey, or white color. The consistency is like that of peanut butter.
Tips On Introducing Nutramigen To Baby’s Diet
Each formula has its distinct taste due to the ingredient added to the production. Some babies might prefer a formula to another. If you are just introducing nutramigen to your baby, your baby might refuse it initially since they are used to the previous formula they been fed with. Below are a few tips on how to introduce nutramigen to baby’s diet.
1) Make sure they are hungry
This is important because they would want to take the formula because of the hunger pang. You might be met with some resistance if your baby has been fed before taking nutramigen. However, when you introduce nutramigen to your baby’s diet when hungry, they might gradually accept it.
2) Allow another person to feed
Your baby can catch the scent of your breastmilk and are less likely to accept formula feeding from you at the initial stage. You can leave the room or environment when your child is being fed to avoid making your child cranky. A close family that is familiar with your baby can assist you with the feeding. However, you can begin to feed your baby yourself when your baby gets used to the formula.
3) Have a positive reaction
Your baby can pick up a reaction you make from your face or voice that can make them refuse the formula. It is advisable to have a positive attitude when introducing a new formula to your baby. You can smile and have a soothing voice to make your baby feel relaxed.
4) Try using a spoon or cup
Although the most common method of giving your baby formula is by bottle feeding, you can try and give your baby nutramigen for the first time with a cup or a spoon if they reject using a bottle.
Nutramigen formula side effects
Apart from Diarrhea, other Nutramigen side effects include:
- Diaper rash
- Gassiness
- Baby refusing to drink
- Spitting up
Can Nutramigen cause upset stomach?
Is your baby in pain when placed on Nutramigen formula? Does the baby curls into a ball, turn red, and scream in pain? It is one of the side effects of Nutramigen. If you are using the powder Nutramigen, try and change it to the ready-to-feed because it is easier to digest. You can try using Gaviscon (with your Pediatrician’s approval of course) to help harden the stool.
Do babies eat more on Nutramigen?
Most moms with babies on Nutramigen always want to know if Nutramigen is not filling baby up. Baby tends to eat more on Nutramigen because it is easier to digest and it goes down fast. Thus, the baby needs to eat more and often to fill full. To resolve this issue, you can mix Nutramigen with Enfamil A.R to make it thicker and fuller for the baby. So, yes babies eat more often on Nutramigen.
Watery spit up on Nutramigen
Watery spit on Nutramigen is a common side effect of Nutramigen. If the baby is spitting up clear liquid, there is something you can do about it. According to an Enfamil rep, if you are using the powder formula you need to pack it in the scoop. If the scoop is not packed, the bottle will be too watered down causing the watery spit-up. It looks weird and silly, but try it out. It is written on the can to use Nutramigen packed scoop for making the formula. To do that pack it down against the side of the can and smooth the top as you pull the scoop out.
Nutramigen sleeping problems
Most babies do not sleep well after switching to Nutramigen because they need to eat more often to fill their tiny stomachs. It can also be a result of reflux. But this is not true for every baby on Nutramigen. For some of them, they sleep well on Nutramigen.
Nutramigen causing gas pain
Nutramigen can cause gas pain. The powder formula contains corn which can gas pains. The liquid version of Nutramigen which is ready-to-feed is easier on the baby’s stomach as it does not have corn and the protein is brown down already. So try using the ready-to-feed option as it can greatly reduce gas pain.
Nutramigen poop
Nutramigen poop smell
Are you on Nutramigen and discovered your baby’s nappies smell stinky? It is normal. Sure you will get used to it with time, in as much as it is effective for your baby. One way to reduce the bad smell by half is to avoid preparing the formula with hot water. It does work really well.
Nutramigen poop frequency
According to the Enfamil website, when you start your child on Nutramigen, the poop frequency will increase. It will be explosive and green for a few weeks. You are also likely to see yellowish and brownish colors of poops. Don’t worry too much about it because it will settle down as the baby gets used to it. If you are worried, talk to your doctor.
Nutramigen and Diarrhea
As a parent, knowing if your baby has allergies and getting the right formula for your baby is important. Every formula has essential nutrients for a baby, but babies who have milk protein allergies would not be able to take the regular formula. Enfamil Nutramigen was designed for babies with milk allergies and as a parent, you might wonder if nutramigen can cause diarrhea in your baby, how to prevent it, and how to introduce nutramigen to your baby’s diet. The above tips would help you prevent your baby from having nutramigen diarrhea and guide you on how to introduce nutramigen to your baby’s diet.
