SMA Althera - I think I’m going mad.

I do the hotshot method, it says to cool for no longer than 30 mins which is the same as normal formula, I do the hot shot method in my Nuby just as I find the formula sticky! My boy takes it either way tbf and my dietician and paediatrician have confirmed that’s fine and it’s being made correctly xxx

I do have the prep machine controversial but it’s cleaned and descaled and reaches the correct temp and it goes white and creamy with that, but Nuby always goes yellow xxx

I found it mixed better with just boiling water and then in a jug of cold water for 5-10 mins!

What colour does yours come out? Is it thin and separating? Xx

Mine doesn’t separate either way tbf! Xxx

Think I just have a greedy boy who loves milk 😭 xxx

@Liv thank you 😃 it’s so strange and doesn’t make sense to me why it comes out so differently! It sounds like it doesn’t make much of a difference though other than look and thickness. I’ve given both types to my little girl and she takes both fine it just feels like I’m doing something wrong 😂

@Ashleigh this is what I’ve been doing as well it just takes so long to cool it down 🤣 x

@Gemma no certainly not! I think it’s just the joy of these milks haha I double and triple checked with our paed and dietician xxx

These milks are awful to make up 😂 maybe do extra hot and less cool water then chuck in a jug to make it a bit quicker 😂

My daughter was put on nutramigen formula when she was a baby, the doctor said you have to prepare it differently to normal formula as too hot water can kill off enzymes or proteins or something which baby needs- check with your formula if it’s the same We used a prep machine (normally add hot shot water straight to formula and then cold) but for the nutramigen formula we added both hot and cold before adding formula 😊 x

@Bec nutramigen is made up different to the other prescription formulas. The others are made like normal formula but the nutramigen has the LGG which is why it needs to be made with room temp water 😊

@Bec I think I am going to ask if we can try nutramigen as I’ve been using the SMA once a day for a few weeks now and it’s not doing great things for her tummy / poops! I think nutramigen has probiotics in which helps to heal the gut which would make sense why hot water would damage it. What’s the consistency of the forumula like? xx

@Gemma consistency is the same all of them are 😭😂 we had nutramigen before, but our little one just wouldn’t drink it at all, smelt like blue cheese to me 😭😂😭

@Kelly ahh ok! That’s good to know 😊 ignore my last comment Gemma Hahaa Yeahh it does smell horrific haha

@Liv Eeeep I’ve heard it’s gross! She is pretty much symptom free bar quite bad mucus poops still. I don’t know if it’s something in my diet though so it’s a bit of a minefield! I might see if the dietician is happy for me to give it a go and see if she will take it and if there is an improvement! It took me so long to get her accepting the SMA 1/2 oz at a time mixed with breast milk 😂 xx

As others have said the nutramigen stinks and I had the absolute traumatic experience of trying it as I'd made her up some porridge with it when we started weaning! I do not recommend. It took my little one around 3 weeks to get fully onto it and after that she was loving it but she was around 8 weeks old and the older the baby is the less likely they are to accept the taste due to their palet being more developed. Nutramigen is definitely the easiest to prepare especially when out and about although lots of people do it up wrong by accident. It usually takes around 6 weeks to fully see the benefit of any prescription milks as the milk proteins can hang ariund so the doctor might not be too keen on switching if it's not been long. Are you part of the CMPA Facebook group? It was a godsend for me when I was first really learning about allergies. If not I'm happy to send across the Facebook link 😊

@Kelly she is nearly 6 months and has been dairy and soy free for 4 months via my diet changes so shouldn’t have any left over proteins in her 🤞🏻🤞🏻 I’m in a breastfeeding CMPA group - is that the one you mean? If not yes please send it over xx

@Gemma if she does still react she might need an amino acid formula so something like neocate - these are more expensive so you might have to dig your heals in with GP a little more. This is the link for the group I used https://www.facebook.com/groups/Allergy.diet/?ref=share

I have no idea about the colour and consistency but just so you know, Althera should be made just like normal formula, with water above 70 degrees, not with lukewarm water x

@Kelly the dietician seems to think that mucus poops alone doesn’t count as a reaction and that I shouldn’t cut any more food from my diet. She did say we could try different formulas though so will see what see suggests! I have just joined that group - thank you! xx

Ooo that was my daughters main symptom the mucus poops! It's absolutely a reaction poo isn't meant to be mucus. The issue with it is finding the cause especially in babies as teething can cause it 🤦🏼‍♀️ I'd deffo push for an amino acid formula that's completely milk free- I was surprised to find pepti, althera and nutramigen all still have milk in them! Usually babys who react to milk through breastmilk need an amino acid one. Hopefully the group is as helpful for you as it was me! Xx

Our little boy is on this milk and it needs to be cooled water. It says to leave it for 30 minutes after being boiled but we put all the boiled water in a nubi then back into the bottle and add the powder. We can keep reusing the nubi then without washing and sterilising it each time. X

@Emma if you leave a kettle to cool for 30 mins it will still be around 70degrees which is the same as normal formula, our paediatrician and dietitian has stated the hotshot is fine as this still needs to be made like normal formula as it still contains cows milk protein, just hydrolysed, so needs it for the bacteria xx

From the SMA website showing it needs to be added to water that’s been left to cool no longer than 30 mins, so hot shot, making it fully in the rapid cool or prep is all ok xxx