Looking for experience on the milk transition (both quantity and moving to whole milk) around 1 year for a failure to thrive baby.

Hi moms! I need help!
My 6 week old is suddenly taking forever to finish his 4oz of milk per feed. He is exclusively formula fed - on Bobbie organic - and he wasn’t having this much trouble before! The second half of the feed, he starts squirming, kicking, sometimes crying, tossing his head. He uses Pigeon bottles and on size S nipples. I look very closely to see if there are any leaks that would cause air to go in, I’ve checked if the vent is facing upwards on the bottles, etc. He is having difficult pooping. In the past 2 weeks, he will sometimes go 2-2.5 days without pooping but the consistency and color is normal. I also use the Baby Brezza Pro Formula Maker for his bottles. I’ve also even tried Size M Pigeon nipples and Size M Lansinoh nipples in case the flow was too slow. Both didn’t seem to change the pace (I only tried both twice).

I am truly dumbfounded why he is suddenly having difficulty feeding. This seems to be new-ish behavior. With the pooping issue, I’ve tried massages, bicycles, warm baths.

My doctor said to try Biogaia Probiotics and I am now considering Dr Brown narrow nipple bottles as well. I am desperate! Anyone experience this? He was on breast milk 3 weeks ago and had no issues with the bottle but I suppose he was drinking a lot less.

Will take any advice!

I wanted to use formula when my baby was born, but I was blursed with an insane oversupply, and was pressured into keeping it up so that I didn’t shoot my golden goose. I ended up getting really traumatized from the experience and had very severe PPD. I also got diagnosed with ADHD and got on medication recently, and it helps me so so much.

My husband and I agree that in order to not repeat past mistakes, it would be best for me to not attempt breastfeeding at all when we are ready to have a second child, however, I know that I am very vulnerable when postpartum, and that if I get a similar supply / insane pressure and engorgement again, I and going to be easily swayed to try and risk getting stuck EP/EBFing….

Are there any ways to prevent or limit the amount of milk that comes in? I’ll never forget the feeling of waking up to bricks on my chest and the pain 😭 everything about it was so traumatizing to me 😭😭

​I am so beyond over the relentless, unhinged formula-shaming online... especially when it comes from people who are literally supposed to be supporting families.

​Recently, I got into a thread under a standard, fear-mongering "formula is not risk-free" post. Out of nowhere, a sitting County WIC Director jumps into the comments using her full professional title (RN, IBCLC) to drop some of the most jaw-droppingly unhinged pseudoscientific takes I have ever seen.

​Her actual arguments in a public health capacity:

- The Farm Animal Logic: She seriously compared human mothers to barnyard animals, asking why: if we wouldn't substitute a pet or a farm animal's milk with a substitute, we accept formula for human babies, and talking about trying to find "another lactating animal of their species". Yes, really.

- The 95% Gaslighting: She insisted that over 95% of women can fully breastfeed and blamed any "failure" entirely on a lack of prenatal education, completely erasing endocrine disorders, IGT, PCOS, and real biological barriers.

- The "AI Search": When I pushed back with basic clinical facts, she literally admitted that her "quick AI answer" proved her point, completely shifting the goalposts on primary physiological lactation failure.

- ​The Armchair Diagnosis: When I dropped actual peer-reviewed NIH/PMC studies showing that 12–15% of women face primary physiological barriers to full supply, she capped it off by publicly telling me she was "sorry I have so much trauma and aggression" on the subject.

Imagine being a struggling, postpartum mom walking into a local county WIC office for help and being met by a director who thinks formula is a barnyard substitute and that your struggles are just a "lack of education" or "trauma."

​I wasn't about to let it slide. I compiled a 13-page chronological evidence PDF of the entire thread and officially filed a formal administrative and personnel complaint with her Health Commissioner and the Board of Health.

​We are so tired of the shaming. Public health officials hiding behind their credentials to push unscientific guilt trips onto moms need to be held accountable. Rant over.

For any expecting, new or seasoned moms out there looking at bottle feeding, please DO NOT trust into the triangle test. I spent a few days looking at the origin of it and have found it. Kaylee Rabaja in this video from 2024 specifically says that she coined the term that got spread on the internet and has absolutely NO SCIENTIFIC backing. This is internet misinformation and I would like to make sure that other moms are aware that it's a method coined by someone on the internet with no scientific backing. Best bottle is the one that works for your child. My baby has a lip tie and the bottle that didn't pass the triangle test still worked for her.

My baby just turned 12 months and we’re starting to introduce whole milk. For background: drinks 25 oz of formula per day, and has solids throughout the day (just recently got pretty good at eating table food).

I tried giving her whole milk by itself - drank 1 oz then hated it. So i started mixing some into her first bottle of the day (4 oz of formula then add 2 oz whole milk).

The last 2 days she has had a blowout diarrhea poop at daycare, AFTER already pooping in the morning at home. Could the whole milk be causing tummy issues? Has anyone experienced something similar?

Her poops have been generally pretty loose lately. I chalked it up to her bottle vs solids ratio - which we’re working to wean down her bottles.

She’s been on a regular cow’s milk formula (Enfamil Gentlease) her entire life, and she has yogurt & yogurt melts regularly. So no issues with dairy that we’re aware of.

How many bottles are y’all able to fit in your bottle washer? I used to only do the recommended 4 and it just wasn’t working 🫠. Now I do this and use 2 tablets and it’s been a lifesaver.

Hey all,
My LO is 11 weeks old. She has always been difficult to burp and somewhat gassy. We’ve fixed her latch using Lansinoh teats which has aided feeding a lot but I’m slightly concerned with her behaviour after finishing a bottle.
Over the last week or so, every time I try to burp her whether it’s mid feed or after she goes completely stiff and holds her head straight up. She doesn’t really relax until she either burps or farts which can take a long time.
It’s not a throwing head back or arching like with reflux. We pace bottle feed, she has enough wet and dirty nappies and gaining enough weight. Something to be concerned about or will it resolve in time?

Hi everyone, mentally exhausted mama here.

To make a long story short, my LO was diagnosed with CMPA and reflux pretty early on (around 7/8weeks). We have been given Lansoprazol for the reflux and it’s worked magic! However we’ve been on a whole journey with the formula…. Started on Enfamil A+, then Enfamil Gentle, to Kendamil Goat (then diagnosed CMPA). We started our CMPA journey on Nutramigen, which LO tolerated the taste, but while there was an improvement in symptoms, he was still very gassy & had the occasional bloody stool. Our paediatrician said that it was time to switch to something more heavy duty for his allergy, and we had started Neocate.

Once we started Neocate, we saw an immediate improvement in symptoms, however behaviourally he has been a nightmare during feeds. We’ve done everything from cutting Nutramigen out cold turkey, to very slowly decreasing % of Nutramigen (mixing formula), serving it cold, adding vanilla, etc etc. Our paediatric dietician suggesting adding a small amount of fruit purée to change flavour. Banana worked for about a week until he started refusing it again.

We’re at the point where we can basically only feed our LO if he is asleep (dream feed) or super drowsy, but he often wakes up & rejects the bottle. He is now 5 months old and napping less, which makes feeding him more difficult and more stressful.

Wondering if anyone has had success with other formulas as he seems to hate the taste of Neocate even though it’s been almost 3 months of offering it to him.

Our EFF baby has been on Similac whole milk RTF and we are planning on switching to Bobbie gentle because we want to switch to powder at this point, and want to see if a gentle formulation will help their gassiness. They just got their 2 month vaccines including rotavirus yesterday morning. At that appointment we discussed switching formula, but doctor didn't mention about timing with vaccines. So far baby hasn't pooped since the vaccineas, just passed gas which seems normal so far (normally poops every 2-3 days).

Does anyone have experience switching formula around this time? My concern is confusing potential GI effects from rotavirus vaccine with the new formula. I am thinking of waiting 48-72h post vaccines, with the thought that hopefully if baby hasn't had major GI issues from the vaccine yet, that he's in the clear.

Hi all! I’m a FTM and I have been combo feeding from the start. My baby was born full term but because I had a fever at the time of birth, my baby spent a couple days in the NICU and because of that she was combo feeding from the start. It has been 5 weeks since I have been combo feeding but suddenly this week, my supply seemed to have dropped and I’m also developing shooting pain inside my breast when I breastfeed her. I’m also returning back to work at the end of 3 months. Due to all these factors, I’m contemplating about going EFF but not sure how I should transition to avoid my baby getting belly aches. I’m also dealing with a ton of guilt… I thought I could go on with combo feeding for awhile but I did not expect the sudden drop in supply. Any recommendations on how I can make this transition would be helpful!

Hello everyone,

is someone by any chance using Lasinoh bottles/nipples with thickened formula such as Enfamil AR or Hipp AR? If so, which nipple size are you using?

Our baby is a couple days shy of 4 months and seems to have trouble pacing/coordinating while drinking the thickened formula. Someone recommended size L nipples of the Lansinoh bottles so we've been trying those but I am not sure if it's too much? We just started giving the formula today.

It goes something like this: we offer the bottle which she gladly accepts and then she will suck 4 times and will then immediately let go of the nipple to catch her breath. When she lets go it sounds like she's been holding her breath - it kind of sounds like she is gasping for air. At the same time, she doesn't seem to get "waterboarded" and there's no milk coming out of the sides of the mouth. Also no chocking or couching. We are feeding in an elevated side lying position and let her control the flow. But she seems to have trouble coordinating? Or she can't just pace herself? If I distract her during the feeding by playing with my fingers she has no trouble pacing herself. It's like she's in a trance while drinking and the goal is to chug the formula down as quickly as possible.

I thought about bottle aversion but it doesn't seem to be the case. She will eagerly grab the nipple after letting go and does not cry during the feeding. We also don't push or force her to finish the bottle.

Any ideas what to do or what else we can try? Or it's just something that she has to learn (different consistency and different nipple)?

We are using saline drops and making sure she's not stuffy. We also burp and use gas drops.

Any insight is much appreciated!

Hi all - my 14m old has not started eating despite attempting to feed him solids since 5m. He has a texture/food aversion. We’ve been to pediatricians, a feeding clinic, speech pathology, ENT and occupational therapy. No one is able to determine a root cause.

While randomly scrolling instagram, I came across how the orange branded similac formula he has been on for most of his life has corn syrup and leads to obesity. This finding sent my husband and I down a rabbit hole of web searches that led us to this article: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8912730/

My questions to the group here are:
-Has anyone else had a baby who still wasn’t eating solids after 12 months? Did you ever figure out why?
-Could the corn syrup in formula have anything to do with food or texture aversions?
-Has anyone noticed a difference after switching formulas?
-Is there anything we might be overlooking, even after seeing so many specialists?
-If you’ve been through something similar, what finally helped your little one start eating?

P.S: yes, we are hispanic. And yes, we have posted in other science based threads.

I don’t see Bubs 365 grassfed whole milk formula discussed previously in this sub. I’m wondering if anyone can share experiences as we’re considering switching to this one. I like that the grass fed milk should contain higher levels of DHA, and that the whole milk should contain more MFGM than our current formula. However, I don’t want to switch to something that isn’t a well-established brand. Does anyone know if Bubs is considered a boutique brand, or is it pretty big in Australia? I’m US-based for context.

Please no comments that all formula is basically the same, nutritionally compete, and choose the cheapest one your child tolerates. While I understand that, there are slight variations that might make someone’s personal choices different.

We tried to transition my baby from 360 original to the whole milk version and he had major spit ups that smelled sour and diarrhea all day. I can’t get Similac 360 rtf anywhere around me.

Others mentioned similar reactions.

How can we get Abbot to notice this is a major issue? I doubt calling would help….any ideas?

I had to stop breastfeeding pretty early and started supplementing with donor milk and formula. Anyone have any experience supplementing with donor milk for first few months?

I introduced my breastfed baby to formula to try to combo feed but my baby does not seem to like the taste of the regular kendamil or the goat one… She does good when it’s 75% breastmilk and 25% kendamil formula but as soon as it’s half and half or more she’s outraged (we’ve been introducing for 2 weeks) lol My first born was not as picky. Anybody’s baby doesn’t like kendamil and if so which formula ended up working ?