For those of you who BFed and then started using formula...

I exclusively breastfed for baby G's first 3 months and then we started trying formula (4ozs.) before bed.  He never really readily started adapting to it until more recently (now, he takes about 2ozs. in the morning, a little bit at lunch and 2ozs. before bed - I'm still BFing him twice a day.  It might not sound like much formula, but this is AMAZING for him, real progress!

Anyway, in the last couple of weeks, he's been getting these wicked, raw diaper rashes off and on.  He's also had a touch of a cold and is teething, so I've been attributing it to that, but could it be the formula?  We were using Nestle Good Start but switched to a store brand awhle ago (long before the rashes started appearing).  We're buying the "with iron" version, so I was thinking that might be culprit?  He hasn't tried any new foods lately.

Thanks :)

[smjmekg]

What do the rashes look like? If there are little red dots it could be a yeast rash. It could be from him teething too. Elijah STILL gets bad diaper rashes from time to time, at two and a half almost. Best thing I can suggest is letting him be naked for a while during the day, usually when I let Elijah be naked for a little bit it helps when he has/looks like he's getting a rash. I'm not 100% sure why Elijah gets them, but he does get yeast rashes sometimes too...

[Limonada]

Really red...and the skin is raw.  I'm lathering on the Penaten and it helps...until the next time he poos :(  If I get to his number 2's quickly, it's not too bad, but it's hard to do sometimes!!

[smjmekg]

I understand completely. Elijah just got over a rash actually. Try letting him sit in a warm oatmeal bath, and then letting him "air out" for a while. Make sure when you do put cream on it that he's completely dry. I don't know what Penaten is but I use Desitin, the blue tube, it's pretty thick and when he does have a rash and poops it kinda prevents it from getting to the rash. I usually over do it too, I'll put on enough for a solid white layer to cover it. You can try an anti-bacterial ointment too, like neosporin, it'll help it heal. Other than that the only thing you can really do is try keeping him clean and dry and letting it go it's course. It really stinks  not having something to take it away the second it shows, Elijah will cry when I clean him sometimes because it hurts him so much...I feel SOO bad but there's not a lot I can do...

[Ashelen]

Kahlan started getting yeast rashes right before her 1st birthday and they were WICKED...we ended up having to get an $80 prescription antifungal cream to treat them and now at the first sign of a yeast rash (definitely different from a regular diaper rash) we put it on and it's gone the next day.

I'm telling you go to the doc and if they say it's a yeast rash ask for ketonocole cream....it's amazing. I've never had trouble getting rid of yeast rashes after we got that stuff....but before the yeast rashes would take DAYS and she would be SO raw...

Hope the little dude gets better soon!

[Ashelen]

I might be wrong about the name of the cream....if you're interested let me know and I'll go dig it out of her diaper bag and see. but it's AMAZING. you can't use it on regular diaper rashes but the yeast rashes look so VERY different that it's easy to spot.

[Limonada]

What exactly do the yeast rashes look like?  G's are, like I said, pretty red and raw....kind of splotchy....He cries when I clean him :(  He honestly never had a rash EVER until this bout with it!!  Daniel didn't start getting rashes until he was on formula full-time, so that's why I'm associating this with the formula, I think...

I was wondering about a milk intolerance, but he honestly just started developing this in the last couple of weeks and he's been on formula for months and yogurt for a couple of months...

[ketona31479]

I tried to breastfeed, but due to so much stress in my life at that time I couldnt produce anything, which is very weird because I was very good at producing that other stuff ( dont remember that name of it) wwhile i was pregnant. Also Kira couldnt take any formula besides Similac RX, that was the ONLY formula she could drink. with others it hurt her tummy. She did have bad diaper rashes and the stuff her doc gave her was amazing it was boudreaux butt paste it smelled like cinnimon too. but it cleared the rash up very quickly.

[smjmekg]

Elijah's were red, raw and had little red dots/splotches. Clotrimazole is what they gave me, basically the same thing as athlete's foot cream. You can find it at any store they sell cream for athlete's foot. It made Elijah's rashes go away within 24-36 hours.

[Limonada]

Just an update, for anyone who was following this...

My husband actually went to the pharmacy and asked what they would recommend....and the pharmacist took him over to the aisle where all of the feminine hygeine stuff is and handed him Canesten (for vaginal yeast infections)!  It's got Clotrimazole in it....we've only been using it since last night, but the rash does seem to be easing up a bit.  Hopefully it'll clear it up completely.  If not, we'll take him to the doctor.