Probiotics

[Anonymous]

We discoverd probiotics with our son Max about the same time we discovered his reflux (10.5 months) and we are big proponents of them. We definitely noticed that it helped with his reflux too (because we stopped it over the summer and he didn’t eat as well).

So now we have Anika (#2) and we’ve been putting a powder format into Anika’s bottles once or twice a day. The last few days I’ve been doing it for her last bottle 10 – 11 PM or so and she just sucks those down. Now this morning I put it in her first AM bottle too just because weather is nasty so I thought she could use the boost to her immunity. Well, she sucked that one down too… I mean, like in 5 minutes she takes 4 oz with cereal! I got her another 2 oz. and she took 1/2 of that before she pooped and then was basically done.

Around 11 AM I gave her a bottle at the play place that I took Max to and she didn’t take it as well. That did not have probiotic in it nor was formula that I made at home (in the mixer to get the cereal really mixed well) and she only took 2.25 oz. So we get home and I made a fresh batch of formula and decided to put probiotic in it and she again sucked down 4 oz. I poured 2 more oz. in and a little probiotic in that and she sucked that down too!! That means she took SIX ounces! That’s the most she has ever taken! But now I was reviewing our sheets on Max the other night and by this point 4 oz was the low side of what he would drink, not the high side.

I think the probiotic might be making a big difference. We are going to experiment this weekend and see.

So here is my question.

Can we end up giving her too much? I just looked at the jar and it says to give 1/4 tsp a day for kids up to the age of 4. Each 1/4 tsp has 3 billion organisims but I seem to remember what we gave Max had like 6 or 8 billion (I remember it was A LOT compared to what they say is in the new Dannon products). Our scoop is 1/8 tsp and Anika eats 5 times a day so that would be 1/8 tsp (1.5 billion organisims) x 5 = 7.5 billion a day…

What do you think? Safe? I guess we could always give her more like 1/2 a scoop per bottle but with her next one I’m going to try to make her 6 oz. bottles so I’m thinking a full scoop is appropriate.

[Anonymous]

Hi Leanne,
From what I heard, you can’t overdose on probiotics. I have heard that if you aren’t used to them, that too much can cause tummy upset, but otherwise it should be completely safe.

That’s awesome that your kids are doing so well on them. We just bought some Culturelle for Bryce to try.

[Anonymous]

Thanks Heather… I just sort of went with that theory in figuring that if she got too much it might just give her the runs or something… Who knows.

Ironically, the bottle right after posted this origninal message did not go well… an hour to get 2 oz. in her (it had been 4.5 hours since she had eaten). However, since then she’s done pretty good with I think about three 6 oz bottles this weekend now.

Yes, the probiotics seem to be doing a lot to help not only with immunity but the reflux too. Just recently I bought some chewable ones at CVS and Max LOVES them!

Hey, I just noticed that Bryce was born with a cleft palate. My BIL has one too and my niece (18 years old now) was born with a cleft lip. We just saw them all at a family wedding a week ago and we were talking about how good her lip looks… Like I didn’t even notice or think about it until someone else mentioned it and then I was like, “yeah, you don’t even notice unless you are looking for it.” I mean, my boss (female) was cut in the lip as a child by her sister and I think I notice that a lot more. Anyway, I just remember back to how scary her lip looked even after surgery so I just thought I would share. I’m sure they have come a long way in medical proceedures in 18 years too!

[Anonymous]

Yes, Bryce actually just had his cleft palate repaired on Friday. He’s doing great now. He was lucky not to have the cleft lip. That’s so great that they were able to repair your niece’s lip so well. It’s just amazing what they can do!

The surgery is another reason I wanted to start him on those probiotics, because not only is he on Erythromycin (an antibiotic) for his DGE, but he’s now on another antibiotic after the surgery.

Well, good luck with Anika. I hope the probiotics continue to help her.

[Anonymous]

Oh WOW, perfect timing that I should post to you about this! I’m so glad to hear that Bryce is doing well after his surgery. Even though you know it was something to improve him it had to of broken your heart to send your baby in for surgery. I know that’s how I felt when they scoped Maxon when he was 15 months old. They made me hold the mask over his mouth and nose to put him out…

Well obviously I don’t know a lot about the cleft lip/ palate but I thought the palate always included the lip too… Er, no I guess it’s just worse when they have BOTH. My niece just had the lip so it was an exterior thing. Bad for anyone but probably even worse for a girl. I don’t know how many surgeries she has had but I know when she was a young girl (under 10) that there were times when you saw a line on her lip. Now I seriously can’t even see it unless I stare and look for it. My BIL is almost 40 and has had a mustache his entire adult life. He had the lip and palate and did have it repaired but still had some pretty significant scaring. As a kid and teenager (even when he met my sister) he would lie and tell people he was hit in the mouth with a bike chain. So sad. You are right, it is amazing what doctors can do now.

So far the probiotics are doing good. We did not send them to daycare today (mostly because I only have one bottle that I’m quickly running out of) but I’m just curious to see how she does without it. Typically they give her 2 bottles a day so maybe she will still do good for us to just give it in every bottle we give her. THat would be 3 bottles on weekdays, 5 bottles on the weekend, and of course 5 bottles on days that she doesn’t go to daycare (which should be at least 1 day a week through the rest of the year thanks to holidays and vacation days).

I did though e-mail someone at Marci-kids and ask them about probiotics just to get their overall position on them. How are you giving Bryce his?

[Anonymous]

Hi Leanne,
Yes, I think the worst part for me is always when the anesthesiologist comes and takes my baby away. I’ve never had to do the gas mask though.

So did your niece have to have a feeding tube when she was a baby? Or was she able to eat normally? I think most cleft lip/palate babies can learn to eat normally using special bottles, but Bryce had other issues, so he never did. Just curious.

I’ve only given Bryce the Probiotics twice now. Once I mixed the powder in a little water and gave it to him with a syringe (through his feeding tube) and the second time I mixed it into his breastmilk. I’ve heard you can’t let it get too warm (like in a very warm bottle), so I just made his milk about room temperature.

[Anonymous]

Well, it was so long ago with Kathleen (niece) but I think she took regular bottles because she was fine on the inside of her mouth. Then I think she was maybe 6 or 8 weeks when she had her first surgery. My sister said she was the only kid that they have ever seen gain, not loose, weight after that surgery and that’s because for 2 weeks all she got was cereal on a spoon because she couldn’t suck.

Yeah, giving Max the mask was awful! I guess though they figure it’s easier on the kids to see their parent and they trust their parent (which is what makes it WORSE for the parent). Also, I suppose if I really felt as though I wanted it to stop (like if he was kicking and fighting it) then it would be in my control.

Yes, I do know that probiotics are sensitive to heat and that you shouldn’t ever put them in the microwave (like in formulat/ breastmilk) because that kills the living bacteria (hence the reason why they say to put your kitchen sponge IN the microwave…). It mixes up real easy though in a warm bottle. Once Max went to cold milk in a cup it was really difficult. That’s why I’m SO HAPPY to of found the chewable ones. Those would work for your older kids and even yourself.

[Anonymous]

Oh that’s right. I forgot they do the cleft lip repairs a lot sooner than the palate repairs. We had to wait until at least ten months old.

I didn’t even know they had chewable ones. Right now we can really only afford them for Bryce – he needs it more than anyone in our family right now. But I’ll definitely keep them in mind.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I’ve seen the chewable probiotics at health food stores but now they are at CVS and other regular drug stores. They were not all that expensive… I think maybe $5 for 100? I found them in the vitamin area by “acidophious.” It’s cheaper than any of the high probiotic foods like Dan-Active or Activa yogurt plus, it never fails that Max won’t eat the yogurt very well when it’s got something in it (like when his Prevacid was in it).

Oh WOW- 10 months! That SUCKS! And then to add the complication of reflux to the issue!!!

[Anonymous]

Oh, that’s not bad at all for the chewable ones! I’ll have to look for some.

[Anonymous]

Yeah, I thought so too. Just a year or year and a half ago I remember looking at probiotics for an adult at Whole Foods and it was like $50 or $60! Even the powder that we give the baby is about $15 – $20 for a bottle (and we are sure to go through it quicker now!). But I really am a firm believer in it and I personally think that it is a good think for kids and adults as well as babies!

[Anonymous]

I agree. I’d like my whole family to be on them. My oldest son (age
3) will swallow pills, but if the chewables are cheaper I might as well
go with those. The one Bryce is on is like $16 which is normally a
months supply(for an adult), but he only takes 1/4 dose so it ends up
lasting like 4 months which is a really good deal.

What
have you heard about the enteric coated ones? I’ve heard they can make
it past your stomach acid better and therefore work better, but they
are a lot more expensive I think.
Bryce’sMom2006-10-30 14:20:15

[Anonymous]

Hmmm, never heard of the enteric coated ones…. I’m kind of one of those people, once I’m convinced of something I don’t keep researching it to further prove it to myself…. But clearly I should because then I would find out new info like this.

The other nice thing about the chewable ones is that they are strawberry flavored but are white in color so even if the kid is kind of messy with it, there is really no “mess.” I’d easily think that your older two could take them. I’ve started just popping one in when I give them to Max because it seems easier and cheaper for me too!

[hellbennt]

leanne,

do you think it matters that they’re (the chewables) not the refrigerated kind?

[Anonymous]

Well crap! I totally forgot about that Laura….

OK, now I’ll have to do the research. I do know that dh and I had some adult ones from Whole Foods and when I bought them they said that there were basically two kinds- one that needed to be refrigerated and the ones that didn’t. They never explained the difference but I bought the non-refrigerated ones for us. Hmm, maybe it’s the type of probiotic? Like, along where I bought the chewable ones was acidophilous and I’ve never seen that refrigerated.

I’ll look into it and let you know. I’m stopping by the drug store on the way home anyway so maybe I’ll ask the pharmacist.

[Author]

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