Similac Advance - Formula Question

BL,

I had the exact same problem with Similac with my youngest daughter, who is now almost 2. She didn't like the powder so we used the ready mixed version, however, the cost was astounding! It didn't matter because I knew the formula was the problem. She was so gassy, screamed out in pain constantly, irritable, not sleeping and even became constipated. I eventually switched formulas, using Nestle Good Start with natural cultures (I tried everything you could think of as this can sometimes be tramatic to their little tummies, but nothing was worse than what she was going through). It was an almost instant difference. I switched her slowly, mixing half Similac and half Good Start (they only have powder but you will become a pro at this, trust me). It was about 4 days later that she was the lovely girl I knew she could be. Since you say it's only for supplemental purposes you should give it a try. They even have a money back guarantee at their website:

http://www.gerber.com/Special_Offers/Good_Start.aspx

Good luck, it does get much easier!

S.

Hi BL, we pretty much had the same experience with our little one - we switched her from the regular Similac from the hosp to Similac Sensitive AR because she spit up constantly. She had a LOT of gas! We stuck with it because of the doc's recommendation and close to around 3 months the gas sort of dissapated....so we don't know whether it was her immature digestive system (which matured about 3 mos) or the formula. Unfortunately so much is a guessing game at that age. But since your daughter is 3 mos and you have noticed the change why not just go back to the previous formula? Good luck!

we liked Horizon Organic formula. I liked how easy it was to mix up, and that it was organic. :) We had to supplement too.

Similac is a great formula if your child can tolerate it. It is recommended by most drs. Both of my kids used it after breastfeeding during their first year. They both handled it well, some gas is usual during the supplemential stage as it's new to them. Mylicon drops work well. Good luck, don't get discouraged, if your baby doesn't take to the similac after a couple times try another or even try the soy formula. :)

We went through quite a few formulas until we settled on the pre-mixed bottles that we had drop-shipped to the house (90 in a case). The child screamed in pain when we didn't give her this type. It was a Nestle product.

S

My daughter had similar gas issues from the Similac brand. We tried all kinds of similac.At4mos, due to our Docs advice, we switched her to Nestle Good Start Supreme. It is said to be more gentle on their stomachs & digestion. It has worked great for us. It has ready made kinds & powders. Good Luck!

With my first son, he would only take the pre-made Enfamil, and than I figured out that I could make two or three bottles worth of formula and use a hand mixer to smooth out the consistancy.
With my second child, I started using the Good Start brand when I stopped nursing because I was told it was a good transistion formula (I only pumped and formula fed my first son), and when i tried the more expensive formula with the added stuff, it made him SUPER gassy so I switched back to the regular Good Start Formula.

Kids like different things and their little bodies react differently about things........oh and just when you think you have them figured out, they throw a wrench in the whole thing and you have to stat from scratch. :)

Good luck
K.

Hi BL. I so feel your frustrations with the formula issues. My first son was breastfed from birth but i coun't supply enough as he was up to 4-5oz at 5 weeks. I gave him simulac advance OMG he was SO UNHAPPY the poor baby. I rotated feedings from breast to formula. I found him a new dr and he had me put him on Simulac Alimentum. NIGHT AND DAY. at 7 weeks he was sleeping through the night very happy. No gas issues. He was constipated though as formula will do that because of all the iron. But we gave him kero syrup in his feedings to make him regular. My now 6 month old had HORRIBLE gas from day one and is so fussy. We found out at his 4 month check up he has acid reflex. I put him on Alimentum from the day he got home from the hsopital. I asked the dr about changing his formula as he was spiting up l0 times a day. He said it was due to the acid reflex-heartburn and they put him on meds. But he was telling me that the Alimentum will rule out any allergies or issues with feedings so that is how he could rule out that he had heartburn as I had him on one of the best formulas - ready made. Its very pricy but it is so worth it to have peace at night. Finding the right formula is no fun but once you do its amazing how much happier baby and you will be when you do.

Good luck
SAHM/zombie 39 with a super funny active 3yo son and a 6month old son full of smiles and bubbles. Im blessed to be able to stay home with my children full time in such a horrible ecomony.

I had the same with my son. Similac did a number on his tummy. So then I tried out Costco brand and eventually ended up with Target brand which is basically Enfamil (if you compare ingredients) He improved a ton after we switch to that brand and he used it through his first birthday (he's 2 now). I remember hearing some good advice on Pea in the Podcast about formula feeding and some things one might encounter. I found it helpful, here's the link to the specific episode of Pea in the Podcast http://www.peainthepodcast.com/transcriptions/index.asp?P...

Good luck! I know it can be hard to deal with a gassy baby!

Best,
C.

I had the same experience with Similac and I finally switched my daughter to Nestle's brand Soy formula and gas and fussiness were gone. They say all formulas are the same, but they definitely aren't.

From what I understand, the Early Shield variety is supposed to mimic breast milk in how it is digested. Breast milk does seem to produce more frequent and noisy poops. Does your baby seem upset, or visibly in pain by the gas? I mainly breastfeed, but occasionaly give a bottle using Similac Advance Early Shield and have not had any problems as far as any pain associated with gas. Good luck. Another trick I've used is to mix the formula in a separate container then add some expressed breastmilk when making the bottle to get baby more used to the formula. I started off with a ratio of mostly breastmilk, then slowing increased the amount of formula vs breastmilk.

why change if something was working? Her system adjusted to the first one. Why make a change to begin with?

Hi!
The same thing happened with my son. We started on the Simialc as a supplement in the hospital and then when we got home he got really gassy from it. Our Dr. advised us to try Similac Isomil (a soy version of the formula)and he has been on it with no problems ever since. We also only used the ready made in the beginning after buying a can of the powder and he totally refused it. We tried again about a month later and he was fine with it, so he has been on powder ever since then, much cheaper! My greatest discovery was when I found the similac Isomil and Similac Advance was carried at Sam's club, $28 for 34oz powder container. I don't think they have the premade though. Hope that helps!

Any time you switch formula's even within the same brand it causes changes in the babies digestion. Try the similac powder again, it usually takes a few times for a baby to transition. Both of my kids use similac advance, when my 8 month old was around that age she developed gas too. In my opinion, gas happens at certain stages of the digestive systems evolvement while it adjusts to new foods. We used mylicon infant drops in her formula some times and it helped. Good luck

Try mixing the powder in advance and putting it in the fridge. Maybe the bubbles from mixing it are not agreeing with her. Satay the course as it takes a couple of feedings with any new product before you can tell what is really happening.

We switched to Similac Sensitive (for fussiness and gas), and our almost 6-month-old daughter is doing great on it. We also started warming up the water we mix it with first, and find that the powder dissolves more quickly (we warm half the water in the microwave for 25-30 seconds in a microwave-safe coffee cup, then pour it in the bottle with some room temp water and add the powder). Our system's working great! Good luck!

i also had to supplement and my daughter had the same problem. I used nestle good start and pre mixed it. I would make a blender full of formula at atime. After u blend it store it in a good container and wait for all foam to settle before using it.It's good to use the blender because it will mix it really well so there's no heavy particles to hurt their tummy, it's always there to use (since u make it ahead) and it's much cheaper than buying premade from the store