Good Start vs Similac Switch?

Hi A.
I'm sure you are going to get a lot of opinions here but I am a HUGE advocate for Good Start because I saw a tremendous difference in my daughter from the first bottle.
At just 3 weeks old she got colic and it was so difficult to see her so uncomfortable and to listen to her unending screams. I too tried to breast feed...long story...health issues and I had to stop. Anyway she was placed on Similac from the hospital and was pretty good with it until the 3rd week. So the Dr suggested to go on the Soy version from the same manufacturer and that was Isomil. She was good for 3 days and it all started again and even worse than the first time. I had heard that parents were using Good Start but I wasn't sure about how nutricious it was. So I researched A LOT on line and found out it is an awesome formula and they are the only ones with Comfort Proteins.
(My Pediatrician agreed it was a good formula also.)
These Protiens are predigested proteins so that the baby does not have to go through so much as it tries to digest it...it is all done for them.
I will tell you that from the very first bottle there was a huge difference and she Never Ever got gasy again.
She started gaining weight right away with it and just reached all her milestones before she was supposed to.
Good nutrition, proper weight gain and growth so that she could reach her milestones as her body was ready to.
The people at Nestle who make Good Start are wonderful. They have answered so many questions for me over the last 21 months. I can even ask for a particular Registered Dietician (Dana) that I have spoken to in the past. They always ask her to come to the phone if I request her. It gives you a real sense of connection if you are able to connect with the same person on a steady basis. And they do that for you.

I would suggest going to the Good Start web site....and sign up for their newsletter, read their web pages and you can either call a Registerd Dietician on the phone or e-mail them.
Also just type in Good Start in your browser and you will find several posts from parent forums where they praise Good Start over and over. That is what got me to try it in the first place. I listen to parents that have been there!
I am a first time Mom of a baby girl also and I know what you are going through. Every day is a miracle and a new adventure!! ;)
Also Good Start will send you coupons every month that will save you almost $400 in the first year on their formula. And the first can is "free" if your daughter does not do well on it or you don't like it for some reason. The guarantee is on the top of the can.
I am so hooked on it, I am still giving my daughter their 9-24 month version. She now gets 2 bottles of the formula a day along with milk, yogurts juices and water as well as whole foods. I just feel she may lack some key nutrients from the table food no matter how nutricious it is (because with most kids her age they do not eat much some days) so I know she is getting all her missed nutrients, calcium and Iron from the formula.
I can't say enough good things about it.
I think you will be very pleased if you get it for her.
Also, if you call them, they will help you with picking the correct formula for your daughter seeing that her weight is low and that she "may" have lactose intolerance?? Or maybe it is colic also. They can steer you in the right direction. There are so many versions of their formula on the shelf, it may be daunting at first. But they are all desigend for different reasons. Great that they have such a variety for babies!

Good luck with whatever you choose!
And congratulations on your first baby girl.
There is nothing like it...being a Mom.
And girls get all the pretty frilly colthes ;)
you are going to have a blast with her!
Enjoy!!

Take care,
P.

1 mom found this helpful

Switch away! Good start was the only formula that didn't make my colicky daughter scream!

I'm not a doctor but I think 2 lbs weight gain in one month is fine. What does her pediatrician say? Has she started solids? Once they start solids, they don't drink as much formula...it is still the main source of nutrition, but just a little less. My daughter drank 24-32 oz/day. She gained between 1 and 2 lbs/month and the doctor was very happy with her gain and growth. I say speak to the pediatrician before doing anything. Switching formula too much can cause a problem instead of fixing the original problem.

I swear by the Good Start and would not recommend anything else. My son did not do well on any of the other formulas after I was forced to stop breast feeding so I tried the Good Start and he loved it. When my next son was born I breast fed him for a while then went straight to the Good Start and again had excellent results.
T.

Try the soy formula.I think it's called Isomeal, from Simalac. It is supposed to be much more like breast milk. I gave it to my girls when I couldn't breast feed. My first daughter couldn't tolerate a lactose fourmula. I gave it to my second too. My Daughter did poorly on Good Start. Hope that helps. Good luck!

try Enfamil Lactose Free formula. worked like a charm for my little guy.

If she's doing well on this one why switch her? At 6 months or so she'll begin cereal and that's yet another switch, be careful if you switch too often you may regret it as allergies may begin to appear.

I breastfed my daughter for the first three months before I went back to work, but during the last month, I fed her both breastmilk and formula. I started with enfamil because that is what the hospital offered and she seemed fine at first, but then she was extremely cranky and her stomach was as hard as a rock. Turns out the iron in the formula was too much for her to handle and she would get extremely constipated so I had to give her prune juice and water to get things moving! So I switched to similac....same thing happened....until my doctor recommended Good Start. It was the greatest suggestion ever made. Good Start is made out of sooo many good things and my daughter loved it!! I would go with it...I have nothing but good things to say about it and when we have another child I will feed it to them should breastfeeding not be an option. Good luck hun!

We liked Good Start better than other formulas we tried, but we liked Earth's Best even more. It was a little more money, but it smelled much more like breastmilk. We didn't taste the Good Start, but the Earth's Best didn't taste bad. Not quite like breastmilk, but not THAT far off.

I too nursed until 5 weeks, and then we switched to Enfamil when the nursing/pumping and supplementing got to be too much for me. My son spit up all the time on Enfamil so we switched to the Gentleease variety, but he still spit up a lot. Friends of ours had a terrible time switchign their daughter to formula and went to a nutritionist who suggested Good Start. They swore by it. I asked our pediatrician about switching and he said "they are all fine, if one works better for you, use it." We had great luck with the Good Start! And I loved that it came in powder, cans and small bottles. So many choices.

I agree with Diane P above, you shouldn't switch without talking to your doctor. Your daughter may just be inquiring about things going on around her and it may seem as if she is not interested. As long as she is gaining weight and your doc says she is fine, I wouldn't switch.

Hi A.,
I don't know how much she is drinking, but you should ask your pediatrician if the baby is eating enough in terms of ounces. However, a 2 pound weight gain in a month is sufficient and normal, I'm not sure what you might have been expecting but what's recommended is that babies double their birthweight at six months and triple it at a year, so if your baby was 7 1/2 pounds at birth, at six months she should be about 15 pounds - is her growth pattern leading you to believe that she is on target here? I know that some people have babies that gain 4 pounds a month, but the goal is not to have the fattest baby - in the old days, it was thought that was healthy, but obese babies can lead to obese children and that is not healthy.
Good luck!

Are you giving her powedered or premixed formula?? The premixed, though more expensive, tastes better than the powdered. My first daughter did amazing on good start so i put my second daughter on it and at about 5 weeks, was just soo fussy with the bottle so i put her on similac sensitive rs, the premixed kind, and she is doing much better on it...try the premix before you switch!