Need help ASAP - MFA 1 year old - won't take formula.

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hurleyreyes:
Short version: We're in a pickle and need some help/advice on how to get our son to eat Neocate/Elecare immediately because, due to some unforseen circumstances, my wife (and therefore her breastmilk) will be out of town for a week starting Sunday. See below for the details...

Long version: Our son is 1 year old (he turns 1 in 7 days) and has multiple allergies. On his most recent blood test he had high scores for cow's milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, flax seed, and almonds (with soy as a mystery b/c they somehow forgot to run it this time). He's gone into anaphylaxis twice and has had crazy rashes/hives and diarrhea a number of times.

He was exclusively breastfed for his first 9 months and since then has been primarily breastfed with solids being more of a hobby than a major part of his diet. He eats fruits, vegetables, or meat 2-3 times a day but not in huge quantities.

My wife and I originally planned to transition him from breastfeeding into solid foods over the next few months. But we are suddenly in a jam b/c she is going out of town suddenly and our supply of frozen breastmilk is all from before the allergy tests (and thus before she eliminated his allergens from her diet). We've tried giving him a bag or two the frozen stuff and it's like Russian Roulette. Some bags he's fine, some bags he breaks out in a rash (presumably b/c of what my wife at that particular day, months ago).

So - we are going to boost his solid food intake but I don't know if he can go from being primarily breastfed right into solid food so quickly (my wife leaves in 3 days). Which means some formula.

Except he HATES the taste of unflavored Neocate. I've got some flavored Neocate Jr and flavored Elecare on the way but I want some advice on what I might do to coax him into eating these AA formulas and any thoughts on what else to feed him to help ease the transition from liquid to solids so fast. We did a test run today of solids and Neocate and he refused to drink and ended up chapped dehydrated lips and super pissed off. He ate solids just fine but I can tell he's hungry.

Thanks for any help you have to offer!

GingerPye:
We've been in a similar situation when DD was that age. That Neocate is nasty.

Neocate's website has some recipes for smoothie-type drinks --- perhaps you can whip up something that way??

They also have recipes for other things.

My DS was on the Neocate drink boxes for a few years, the orange-flavored ones. He loved those things --- but he was 2 when he started. Check with your doctor about starting your 1 y.o. on the drink boxes.

rebekahc:
Wow, it sounds like you're in a real bind!

I'm not sure I have any advice for getting him to take the formula. Also, I'm not sure you really have time to work on it and to force him would likely backfire in the long run. I would suggest adding extra solids over the next few days and having your wife pump some of the time to get some supply built up for while she's gone. Since she's only going to be gone for a week, I think I'd just feed him anything and everything he'll eat and give him any pumped breast milk she manages to save over the next few days. I don't think a few days of less than stellar nutrition will have lasting effects. Maybe he would find rice milk palatable? I know it's not a substitute for formula or breast milk, but at one year old he's old enough to switch to whole milk (if he wasn't allergic), so I think rice milk would be okay. For long term, you'd probably need to supplement with extra fat (maybe olive oil) since rice milk has less fat than whole milk, but for short term probably not necessary.

Maybe others will have better suggestions. Good luck!

twinturbo:
hurleyreyes,

I was in this exact predicament at nearly the same age with my second child. I'll be back to help you prep for the week so let's check in daily even if we're in different time zones.

For now buy some medicine droppers or oral medicine syringes. We had to start on a different method for child to drink because he was too used to breast. It's a slow, frustrating process but when the choice is hungry infant/toddler or anaphylaxis you have to do what you got to do.

It's your call but I'd even go so far to start mixing Neocate with some breast milk now using a completely different method to ingest like a medicine dropper. You might start to think I don't know what it's like to have a 1 year old who has already anaphylaxed twice -- I have. First known reaction was blood in stool at three months most likely from my dairy intake that day. I went through weeks of Hemoccult cards making sure not even microscopic amounts of blood remained in stool during an elimination diet.

It's summer, it's hot. If 'all' that's happening with the breast milk is some rashing then I personally would risk mixing it now with Neocate and syringing it in small amounts and resorting to some sort of distraction like a toy (heck, TV under dehydration risk) interspersed with a solid or semi-solid you know he'll eat. I'd even mix it in with something like applesauce and syringe it -- anything to get that hydration and nutrition in. It doesn't have to be perfect... just enough to get through the next few days.

Neocate is formulated with electrolytes (according to our per) and the nutritional balance is such you won't get it in alternate 'milks'.

What is his menu like? Are there some jarred foods you can depend on along with snacks? Our list is at least as long as yours and we are largely formula dependent (as per Sinai dietician instructions) for key nutrients.

jarred sweet potato (no additives, read label)
jarred turkey, chicken
jarred apple or pear puree
^these can perform as an infant MRE short term, especially if you are short on time alone as a caregiver

I would take the time if you can to test out Ancient Harvest quinoa and quinoa noodles. Assuming child can have chicken (we are currently avoiding red meats until we can test) you can try browning plain ground chicken (read label) in duck fat. We use duck fat or corn oil for cooking to boost fat content per nutritionist's instructions.

Thus far we've also had good luck with Erewhon crisp brown rice cereal for self feeding.

Last question: Are you going to have any help while your wife is out of town? Will you be alone with child? And are there other children that you must care for at the same time? Hang in there. :console:

Came back to add about Pedialyte. I'm no hippie but I'm one of those people who abhor the idea of giving a child artificial colors and flavors. I didn't even let my oldest child eat "safe" peanut free jelly beans until he turned 6. But an infant with dry lips with breast milk supply leaving town calls for doing the necessary, so grab some Pedialyte. My super MFA child has had it without issue. He doesn't like it but he's had it. If you start getting those dry lips and your back is against the wall use it to keep hydration up if things start heading south. You don't want to overuse it and check with your pediatrician for usage if you're unsure but best to have it on hand especially if the child has had diarrhea and vomiting in the past.

CMdeux:
Yes to Pedialyte and to this, which is precisely what I was going to suggest:

"It's your call but I'd even go so far to start mixing Neocate with some breast milk now using a completely different method to ingest like a medicine dropper,"
and for the same reasons; we had to do this with supplemental feedings just to get my DD home from the hospital after birth... because DD refused to breastfeed* at all, instead she just screamed and turned blotchy and scratched at herself...

(guess PB crackers weren't the greatest thing to give a new mom who had recorded, stated concerns about FA in her newborn after all, eh?? ~) )

Anyway. Yes. What twinturbo says. I'd risk very tiny amounts of the breastmilk from the freezer if that is what you have to do-- if you're using a dropper (or gravity-feeding with tubing) you'll know right away if you have a "REALLY bad" batch and can just dump the rest. KWIM?

Eczema-covered isn't ideal, by any means, but it beats dehydration.

Welcome, by the way, and-- good luck!!

Pedialyte is sometimes better-tolerated if it is quite chillded, by the way. My DD hated the taste of it otherwise, but she, too, has had it, and was soy/wheat/peanut/treenut/milk/egg allergic at that point in time.