My son was born with high levels of billirubin, so his pediatrician had me supplementing his feedings with formula to help cleanse his liver. Once his levels lowered and we got to go home I kept up with the formula because my husband and I are always out and about and I was worried I wouldn't always be able to breastfeed while we were away from home.
The formula he started on though gave him awful gas pains and constipation so we switched to a sensitive with lower lactose and partially broken down proteins which did wonders for his stomach. We were all very busy for a couple of weeks and I ended up feeding him a lot more formula than I liked so I started pumping even after he had finished with a breast to bring back up my supply and make sure he had some breastmilk during our busier days.
That was when I noticed that his gas came back when he eats a lot of breastmilk (8-12oz) without some formula in between. He has the same amount of pain if I feed him the breastmilk from a bottle or let him nurse, but he doesn't have it with the formula feeds.
I know that breastfeeding is much better in general than formula feeding, and when he eats too much formula he has a hard time pooping (his bm is thicker, like peanutbutter).
When I feed him it is only off of one breast at a time, and I pump the other breast for longer than he nurses to make sure I get plenty of hindmilk in his bottles. It seems like if I only give him breastmilk in the early mornings and late at night he can deal with the pain, but I worry that there is something wrong with my milk.
I was lactose intolerant until I hit puberty, is it possible that my milk has too much lactose for his sensitive tummy?
Any suggestions for what I could do to help him feel better?