Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Kristin on August 28, 2011 at 11:54am

Megan -- congrats on the birth of Emelia!! I'm so sorry that you have been through so much since then. I can only begin to imagine how stressful and draining this has been for you.

I don't know any specifics about the different types of formula, but I am skeptical about all the theories about what causes type 1. The truth is that we don't know. I was breastfed and developed type 1 at the age of 21. I doubt that the fact that I had cow's protein at the age of 6 months caused an autoimmune reaction to develop 20 years later. If I were in your shoes, I would give the formula that she prefers.

But just to mention another option, have you considered giving her donated breast milk? There are networks of mothers who donate and receive breast milk, such as MilkShare. The only cost should be for the supplies to store and the costs to transfer the milk.

Permalink Reply by lizzistardust on August 28, 2011 at 2:06pm

A lot of what I've run across primarily expresses concern over cow dairy formula. I opted for soy formula (first as a supplementation, now as his only food) because of that. I asked his pediatrician about formula and dairy vs. soy, and he said that formula is designed so that the body doesn't even recognize it as a foreign protein and he doubts it's a concern. He said he had no problem with us sticking with soy, but he believes cow dairy is perfectly safe, as well. (He did say that exposure to regular cow's milk too early, like before a year, could theoretically be an issue with T1.) We've stuck with soy since that's the only formula he's known for his two weeks of life and we haven't had any need to try another. It's not any more expensive than dairy formula of the same brand (Similac, in our case).

So, there's what our own pediatrician has said and what we've done so far. If you're able to get donated breast milk, then there's a solution that might be easiest on your mind.

Congrats on your little girl, and I'm so sorry your C-section has gone so poorly. :( I had a C-section as well and have had no problems and even that is hard on the body, and therefore also on my emotional well being! Frankly, I'm impressed you've stuck with breastfeeding this long. You've had far more to deal with than me, and I've finally stopped. (Stopping, in my case, really relieved a lot of my postpartum depression and is also freeing my psychiatrist to prescribe the best medication for me without putting Xander at any risk from meds in the breast milk. None of these events are very shocking... I'm dysthymic and knew my postpartum depression had the potential to get out of control.)

I wish you good and speedy healing from here on... and lots and lots of happiness for your family!!!

Permalink Reply by Megan Ritter on August 30, 2011 at 5:02am

Thank you so much for the encouragement and suggestions- I hadn't heard of either milk sharing or using soy formula, so let the research begin!