Wondering About Formula...

Hi L.,
First off to the mothers out there that are repremanding mothers that do not breastfeed...STOP!!! Some of us tried and for whatever reason cannot continue. It is discouraging enough to know that your body isn't capable of providing for your child naturally, we don't need other moms in our 'support' group telling us we are wrong. We shouldn't be scrutinized for how we choose to feed our babies. Secondly; in response to your question, here is what I found worked for my son. I too chose to breastfeed my son, but for whatever reason he did not enjoy it and I wasn't producing enough milk to keep him satisfied and healthy. We found that the combination of Good Start Formula or Enfamil Gentlease and Dr. Brown's bottles worked extremely well for us. A week after we started this combination, our son slept through the night and was an extremely happy baby. I hope this helps you.

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I have to admit I know ABSOLUTELY nothing about formula. I breastfed my kids until a year when they went to cows milk. At the time it seemed like an inconvenience to breastfeed and the first 6 weeks...can you say "ouch"?!?!? But I will agree with what one other lady on here said. If you can get past the first 6 weeks you are golden and breastfeeding becomes much more convenient and easy and FREE!! Not to mention it gets easier with each kid (if you decide to have more). I may be out of line here but it seems like your baby is telling you that she doesn't want the formula, she wants her Mommy's milk back. At this age especially it is harder on your baby to switch food sources, If breastfeeding is difficult or inconvenient even sticking it out until she starts cereal where you can mix in formula to get her used to it would be better. If you are having trouble with breastfeeding and that is why you are making the switch, there are so many women out there who are so willing to give advice and help, myself included. Good luck and I hope everything works out for you!!

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Hi. I've always breastfed my baby and, even with 100% breastmilk, I noticed she was more gassy and fussy between 4-12 weeks. Babies' intestinal systems are doing a lot of developing during that time so you may not escape the gas fussiness entirely until about 3-4 months. I'm sure finding the right formula will help, but just wanted to give you a heads up that some fussiness is expected and normal during that time. Of course, if it's extreme, definitely talk to your doctor. Hang in there and enjoy the precious moments!

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When my daughter was first born, she would projectile vomit at least once a day for several weeks. I had to lay her down at an angle. She was breastfed. Whenever I have to supplement her feedings I use Enfamil Lipil. I also used that with my son when I couldn't breastfeed. This may be something that your daughter will outgrow, or you may need to change formulas. I personally found that the bottles made no difference at all. Just remember to stick with only one formula at a time for a couple of weeks before deciding that that one doesn't work.
PS-Thanks Katie. I couldn't have said it better myself. This is supposed to be a support group. We are all doing what is best for our children & don't need others making us feel bad about our decisions.
Good luck L.!

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If you decide to try another formula, I would try Enfamil Lipil. It is terrific!! I had trouble with my son when I went from nursing to formula. He had terrible reflux and I finally tried Lipil and it worked great.

I highly recommend Good Start as well. All formulas that you see on the shelf at the stores HAVE to be approved by the FDA - if it's good enough for them, it's good enough for your baby! I switched to Good Start with my middle son because I kept getting tons of coupons for it and it seemed to work fine. He was the same, slept thru the night for about 6 weeks, then stopped! The Similac didn't seem to work and a friend recommended Good Start - now it's all I know!

I would try switching to a soy formula, or even trying Nestle Good Start. All my kids used good start for the same reason, and if you are buying it yourself, it is much cheaper too.

I agree with Allison A.- try a Soy formula (lactose and milk free) such as Similac Advance Isomil Soy combined with Dr. Brown's bottles. I do this exact combo with my 5 month old- who was VERY gassy and it helped IMMENSELY!

Hi L.!

Maybe I'm just a worry wort and overly cautious because I'm raising my first child, but I NEVER switched formula without talking to my son's pediatrician. I ask him about everything. He usually has me change one variable at a time, and formula was always the last thing to change.

My son was very gassy and spitty on Isomil, but my doctor didn't want to change formulas, especially since Isomil is for gas and spitting up! His gassiness and spitting up ended up just being a phase. At around 4-5 months it just stopped. I really don't think changing formulas would have done anything.

To deal with his gassiness and irritability, I used Mylecon drops all the time. It's safe to use with every bottle feeding. Good luck!

I to had the same problem when I switched my daughter to formula....
However you don't always need to change the bottles, I actually love Avent (they come in various flows, which helps some).....
Sometimes it takes a while for the baby to adjust to the change, and there is a change you baby may be lactose intolerant as well (which was my case, plus my daughter had severe reflux)......
Try burping your baby more frequently, and allowing more time to be in an upright position, and gently rubbing the back & stomach to help release gas......
If within a few weeks to a month it's not better you may want to switch to a different type of formula....
I believe she's too young to give gas drops to, but ask your doctor (sometimes that may help as well).....

Good luck!!!!

I went thru that with my son. I tried 5 or 6 different formulas before putting him on Nestle Good Start. It helped with the gas and fussiness. If you are not sure you want to switch, you can ask your doctor's opinion.

He might be sensitive to the milk protein, have you tried switching to a soy formula...or they also make a special formula for gassy babies..I would talk to your pediatrician. Also have you tried mylicon gas drops? Kroger makes a generic version that's pretty cheap and they work just as well..good luck!!

hi
i have a 4 month old and the same thing happend my doctor said she was allergic to the milk so we switched to isomil advance soy based and she's doinging great. it will take about a week before you really see a change. Good luck

You didn't specify why you stopped breastfeeding, so I am not going to preach about how you should keep doing it. I'm sure you have considered all options and if you feel this is best for your daughter then I support you!

I had to start 'supplementing' my breastfeeding with formula for my son after about a month, because he ate so much and I had a hard time keeping up! So my ped. put him on similac advance (of course) and I had the same problem! Of course then they put him on Zantac, which was awful. Finally I decided to take things into my own hands and trust my instincts. I switched him to soy, he hated it. I switched him (upon a rec from a friend) next to Nestle Good Start w/ Dha and Rha...and it was amazing the difference I saw. Within two weeks he was not fussy or gassy or spitting up anymore! (And isn't it funny that my ped had samples of similac advance to give out to everyone that came to her office...do you think the practice got any kind of kick-back from Similac? You bet!It's always about the money!).

Of course this brand may work for you or it may not, but what I want you to know is that I don't think you can always trust a pediatrician to know your baby like you do. You can feel what is best and that's what you should act on! I'm not saying disregard everything your doc says, but they are not all-knowing gods, and I know this from personal experience!

I agree that I wouldn't switch formulas too much without talking to my dr. Also, breastmilk is easier for little tummies, but if you feel you need to use formula that's your choice and I'm sure your little one will be fine. I have three kids my first wouldn't nurse the other two did successfully for a year each. With my first though she had projectile vomitting and gassy belly all the time (the second did too even on breastmilk but not as badly). My dr was hesitant to use low iron or any other formulas his suggestion was Mylicon drops. They are sold over the counter and really worked well. We gave them to her with each bottle. You can also mix it in the bottle, but if they don't take it all then they might not get the medicine.

L.,

I would also like to mention that you need to make sure that you aren't just putting the powder in the bottles, adding water and then shaking to mix. That adds alot of extra air - leading to gassiness.

I was unable to breastfeed my daughter (never got any milk), so she had to be on formula from day one. I always used the Advent bottles (made specifically to keep the gas to a minimum) and rarely had gas issues. Just make sure you stir the formula rather than shake when mixing.

Hope this helps.

If your daughter has a lot of gas, try Mylicon (spelling?) drops. The price is a little more than what you would want to pay, but it works magic! Within a matter of minutes your daughter will be gas free. It was a life saver for me when my daughter was a baby. Hope this works!

You may want to try different types of formula ie. lactose free or soy formula or different brands. We went back and forth for a while until she adjusted a little bit and we settled on regular (generic)formula.
But i did find that once i stopped nursing my daughter and used formula exclusively as well as my son, they were just fussier and more gassy. I think it might just be the nature of formula, i really don't know.

Good Luck though and email if you need more support!!

-B.

My daughter had a lot of gas issues & we had to switch formula a lot. I did the same, breastfed for about 3 weeks, then switched to formula. We tried everything. The best formula that I found is made by Enfamil. It's called Gentlease. It works great for babies that have a lot of fussiness or gas related issues. You can also find this in Parents Choice Brand & even Target sells an equivalent that is only about $14 for a large can. It worked wonders for my little girls tummy, so maybe it will work for you too!

You could try Isomil. I didn't breatfeed but when i was in the hospital for both of my kids, they had to be switched from similac to isomil because they were very gassy and fussy.

Hi L.,
I noticed when I had to switch to formula with my daughter. She did become a more fussy baby. The doctor told me that fussy and gassy could come from that fact the nipple on the bottle is to fast for her and allowing her to gulp and scuk in to much air. I also found that she had acid reflux and tht was some of her problem.
A friend of mine told me about a product that was save to use that would remove gas from baby tummy. The sell it over the counter. Baby only needs a small amount. I only gave it to her when she was really in pain from the gas. She was really hard to burp.
Just talk to your baby doctor if she continues to have problems. Switching to other ones can have thier problems too.
I am a frist time mom too. My daughter is 2 1/2 now and still there always seeems to be something. I still remember those days your in now. Just follow what your baby wants and needs and keep in contact with doctor.

Take Care

Most all babies do have some sort of fussy period. My second son was a little bit more fussy than my first and that did pass by about 6 weeks. We were going to try switching formulas but what really helped us was the Dr Browns bottles. Good luck!

Hi L.! Two of my three I breastfed. The first time I had the same problem as you do. I changed from Similac to Carnation. It is the closest I could get to breastmilk. The girls took right to it and didn't have the gas and fussiness with it. I also used the Dr. Brown bottles on top that. Good luck and take care!
L.

Hi L.,

I had a similar issue with my son. His pediatrician suggested we switch him to Similac Isomil Advance Soy Formula and to use Dr. Brown's bottles (they have a special tube that decreases air flow). He is much better now!

I just think its hard to determine what's going on when they are so young. The Similar Advance might be too hard for her to breakdown...I tried EVERYTHING because my daughter was a nightmare. I think if she doesnt seem to be in pain, you can just stick it out and she will get just do better and better with it. I tried every powder there was and I found that my daughter was a complete different baby when I put her on Emfamil ProSobee Soy Liquid. Try the Similac Advance Formula in Liquid, she might have an easier time digesting the liquid form.

I breast feed for about a month i did not have enough breast milk... i had to put her on the same stuff, and the same thing happend. I then switched her to the SOY based milk till she was about 3-4 months old then went back to Similac Advanced and it worked out so much better. NOW the air part I used Parent choice nippled for Collic LET ME TELL YOU she hates all th other nipples i have tried on her lol. She is now a year old and she is now about off formula she eats food, and LOVES milk, and is VERY active. I hope this helps a little.

Ask your pediatrician about putting her on Isomil its soy its a little more expensive but it should help with the fussyness and gas, we had to switch my son over to this. Hope this helps.

Hello L.. I don't know if this will help or if it is possible, but with my breastfeed six month old I mix formula in all of the bottles she gets. If it is still possible, you might want to try to mix some breastmilk with the formula. I just mix 4 oz of formula with about 2 or 3 oz of breastmilk. She might be having problems with the taste and that could be making her cranky (it is really hard to say) and when my little one eats out of a bottle she has more gas than when she is nursed. I give my daughter Mycacilin Drops (Sorry that I can't spell it), but my Dr did tell me that she doesn't think that it works, that it is just a coincidence. But hey! It seems to work for me! Best of Luck!!

I had a lot of problems with my son and the similac formula. I would switch formulas. I think I ended up using the nestle good start, it was alot easier on my sons tummy.

I guess my first question would be the type of formula you are using. You may want to consider a soy based formula if you are having gas and fussiness problems. I think that as important as the type of bottle - I always used the vent-air type bottles and they worked great. I also used Enfamil Soy for my daughter who was collicky for the first 3 months of her life. I breastfed and that also made her sick. The soy did the trick.

Also, I don't know if you have tried Mylecon Drops or not, but I do not know a mother who would not swear by its use with each feeding. It is symethicone (the same thing in anti-gas pills) for infants. It is a Godsend for gas in infants - neither of my children burped well and my pediatrician said to use Mylecon and it worked very well on gas issues.

SImilac advance was too harsh on my little girl, I ended up putting her on similac low iron, because the extra iron in the formula was hurting her belly and making her gassy. All of the girls in my family are either anemic or borderline, if that is the case for you it could be for her and it could also be the extra iron. Just a thought

L.,

i did not breastfeed and my sons did have the gassy and fussy issues also. I was switched from the Similac formulas to the Isomil soy formula and also used mylicon drops. With the combination of the two, my sons both were much more calm and able to relax

I had the same issues with my son. When he started getting fussy and gassy we switched him to Isomil and started using Dr Brown bottles. Within 24 hours we noticed a big difference. Hope this advice helps!