Enfamil AR Lipil *******HELP!!!!!

Hi! I also have a son with reflux who is on Zantac. I am breastfeeding, but am supplementing woth formula. With my daughter, we used the Enfamil (she also had reflux and was on Zantac--she's now 2 1/2 and totally off meds). With my son (6 weeks old), we tried the Parent's Choice soy formula from WalMart. It is comparable to the Enfamil (and MUCH cheaper). We've had a lot of luck with this--he doesn't seem to spit it up and it does not clump. I don't know if you have tried this formula, but it might be worth a try if you are having so much trouble with the Enfamil.
Best of luck!

My youngest was on this. I had the same problem with it clumping. I started to mix it in a juicy juice bottle and keeping it in the fridgr until time to use. I found that it is easier to mix in this bottle because there is more room for it to shake around and it seemed to not clump ad bad. I also had to get the nipples with the fast flow holes. she could get more when sucking on it but it was still thick enough that it didnt come out too fast and choke her. Hope this helps! :)

I tried enfamil lipil too and it clumped very badly and it gave my daughter very bad gas. i switched to nestle good start supreme when i signed her up for WIC...she has done great with it...not much gas, hardly ever clumps, and is a lot less expensive.

have you tried the gentlease formula - it may be a better match for your child - and if you are on wic it is a wic approved formula
hope it helps

This may sound stupid, but did you consider just making a bigger opening in the nipple?

When my son was a baby there were several times that in a hurry, and to make sure he got his cereal and his formula (for example running late to an appointment and you know you're going to need it) I would toss rice cereal in with the formula in the bottle. Well obviously it makes the formula much thicker and can't go through a normal nipple opening, so I just slit a bigger hole in it with a pair of scissors.

Now with his refulx you don't want him sucking it out too quick or it would probably upset his tummy, but just enough to make sure it's coming out ok and he's getting food.

Also, just sort of thinking out loud here, maybe use a blender to mix it? I'm sure you have thought of that. Or put the formula through a sifter to lighten it before mixing? Like when you make cookies and have to sift the flour.

I wish I could help you more!! I hope the other moms who have had trouble with this particular situation can help you out. Good luck!

My son is on Zantac too...poor little guy:( I only breastfeed so I don't know about formula. But I can help on the warming it up problem! The sell bottle warmers that plug in to your car! I got one used on ebay for $1.75 or something nominal like that. They are around 10-15 new I think. Type in "Travel Bottle Warmer" or "Car Bottle Warmer" in to Yahoo Shopping or Froogle and it will bring up sites where you can get them. I don't remember if Target or Babies R Us has them or not, you can check there first.
Good Luck:)
~S.

My son is now almost 14 months now, but I did run into t his problem whem he took formula. We would travel to Kentucky a lot (his father's family is from there) so we ran into this problem a lot. Here is the best solution I came up with!

Go to Wal-mart or any other store and check out the plastic kitchen container aisles. They have plastic drinks tumblers with lids, mostly used for mixing powdered drinks like protein shakes. They come in all sizes, but the best to get is one that holds 16+ ounces. Some have lids that just screw on and others have pull up spouts. Make sure you measure out your water but leave enough room in the container that you will be able to shake up the water. When it is bottle time, take out the container of water and just add the powder. Replace the lid and shake it up! So long as you shake it really well, it should mix the powder and you will have no clumps. Then pour it into the bottle and you are ready to go. For heating up the bottle, here is a little trick I learned. Pull into the nearest gas station. Any place that serves coffee should also have a spout on the coffee machine that dispenses only hot water (usually there for tea). Fill up a cup with the hot water, but be careful because you can burn yourself. Make sure the cup you use to fill up the hot water is a big one and then just drop the bottle in the cup of hot water. It takes maybe a minute or two to make the bottle warm enough for baby to take, but it is so quick and easy. And most gas stations that I did this at didnt even charge me for the cup or the water.

I hope you can use these ideas and it makes travelling with a baby a little easier for you. I know it worked really well for us!!

C.

My son had reflux also. We used Enfamil Lipil and he was also on meds. I had the same problem with powdered formula until I bought a Quik Stir Pitcher from Pampered Chef. It did a great job mixing the formula, no more clumps. It was a little pricey, but worth every penny. I could make 1 qt of formula at a time and just pour what I needed into bottles to take or take a smaller container with me.

At about 5 mos I quit heating the formula and just got my son used to a cold bottle, which also made the transition to whole milk much easier. I just reduced the amount of heating time in the micro a little bit at a time. My doctor also put him on cereal added to his bottle every feeding to help keep the formula down. Not what is recommended by a lot of doctors nowdays, but worked like a charm for us and by the time he was 6 months old, he was off meds totally. By adding the cereal to his bottle it was harder for him to get the formula out, I tried a bunch of different sized nipples, with not much luck. So I took a knife and cut a small hole in the center of the nipple and voila, it worked. Took some time to get the whole the right size but much cheaper to buy a bunch of nipples, then a whole bunch of bottles. Hope some of these ideas work for you!!

I babysit a little girl on Enfamil lipil. I noticed hers clumping too. I started heating the water up before I added the formula. Not too hot, just warm enough for her to eat it, and it seems to "melt" the formula better then room temp water or cold water.
Good luck...

Hi, I have a 4 mo old daughter who uses nothing but Enfamil Lipil. At first we had MAJOR constipation problems (I mean major - the poop would get stuck and she'd scream until it finally broke off and came out) until I talked to a nutritionist who said to ADD THE WATER FIRST and THEN put in the powder. This is my third child and I'm embarrassed that I didn't know this, but it has made a WORLD of difference. So if you're making a 6oz bottle, put 6oz of water in the bottle first and then three scoops of powder. I asked the pediatrician if he knew about this and in the 30 years of practice, that info never came to him. It has helped a LOT with the clumping in the nipple problem, too, and my daughter is doing well w/ weight gain, eating, and (thank god) pooping, so we plan to continue this add-water-then-powder plan.

btw, I switched from Playtex bottles w/ my other two girls to Avent w/ this baby, and she seems to like this bottle a lot (although sometimes it drips around the collar, even when we screw it on tightly).

Good luck!

M.,

My daughter, who's now 3 yrs old was born with health issues and had acid reflux really really bad---she was on Reglan and Zantac til she was 2 yrs old. We used the Dr. Brown bottles with the filter in the middle and that helped her quite a bit. As for the formula she was on a soy-based formula from Similac. Hope this helps in any way possible!!

A. C.

Yeah the powders do that. I used the concentrate not just becuase of the clumping problem but also because my kids could tell the difference between the powder and the concentrate and they hated the powder. On the bright side of life...look at wal-mart or k-mart in the baby isles...there's actually a bottle warmer that plugs into the cigarette lighter of the vehicles. It's way cool and I had one.

IUSE THE READY TO FEED STUFF NOW.i always heat it in the bottle NO NIPPLE. i have a 4 yr old too. with her we used the powder of simalac. i used to heat the water before i put the powder in. not hot enough to burn her but warm enough to dissolve the powder completely.i just recently hd a baby two weeks ago and we were thinking about thke powder but if the enfamil powder clumps that bad i wont go powder.

Microwaving can cause hot spots and burn the baby's mouth. I use this kind of formula and I just simply shake it a lot. I use cool water to mix and warm up a half cup of water in the microwave until it's steaming, then set the bottle into the water for about a minute. Then I shake it up again real good. I don't tend to have too many problems with clumps. However, when a clump gets stuck in the nipple top, I just pinch it a time or two and it goes away pretty easily. Also remember that if you make a pitcher it needs to be used within 24 hours.

My daughter was on Enfamil AR Lipil and we had the same problem. I called a local WIC chapter and they said that you should always mix it with cool water, not warm to avoid the clumping (she said to read the back of the can). We did this and changed her nipple size to a size 2 and it really helped. We eventually went to the liquid and used the playtex bottles with the bags. They were great. We just tipped the bottle upside down with the lid on into the center of the sink and ran hot water over it. It took alot longer to heat so we just made them before she started screaming for it and we made sure that we made a bottle before we left the house even if she just ate so we wouldn't have to worry about it when we left.
And she stopped the spitting up after about a month (they said her body had to get used to the formula).
Hope this helps.

A tip for heating powder formula... microwave just the water and then add the formula slowly. It doesn't break down the proteins and the powder disolves better in warm water. If it's really thick, triple-check the directions to make sure you are adding enough water (sometimes the directions on formula are confusing). Keep the same bottle, but get an "older baby" nipple... the ones for older kids have larger holes so it might help.

If your having trouble getting it through the nipple......use a cris cross nipple this will allow the thicken formula to come out without pouring out. Let me know how that works for you. :)

I know your frustrations! My son who is 3 months old has the same problem. He is on the same formula. Yes, it clumps a lot! I have found that if I boil water on the stove and then add it to a pitcher and make a pitcher full of it mixing it well (yes it takes forever) works best. That way I don't have to unclog the nipple all the time by flipping it and shaking the bottle all the time. I also let it sit in the pitcher after I mix it for a little bit (about 10 mins or so) before I refrigerate it to let the gases excape and also to let it thicken up. When he is ready for a bottle I pur it in and heat it in the microwave (always have with both children I just make sure I shake it very good and test it first) until it is about room temp or a little warmer and it normally is good! Hope this helps you. It is a headache I know! I am here if you need anymore help with it!

To responders:
If you have never heard of Enfamil A.R. or have never used it, it is a formula with the rice already added and it clumps no matter what you do. It also thickens in their stomach so they won't spit it up. You leave it sitting for about 5 mins after you make it and it thickens there also. It is for babies who spit up a lot or have GERD (my son has GERD and spits up a lot, well he used to). It is much different than other formulas. It is covered by WIC and normally is prescribed by drs along with a acid reducing medicine. My son is on reglan because he refused to take the zantac.

HTH!

Have you tried the cereal cut nipples? Also, when you mix the powder you might experiment with different mixing ways. Like warm water then add formula amount, or formula then water. I always felt it mixed better if I made a small batch up in a pitcher and used a hand mixer then poured it in a bottle. I knew that I would go through a few, so having extra made up wasn't a waste.
Hang in there! It will get better! Try asking his pediatrician for a recomendation of a bottle/nipple with the AR formula.

You might check and make sure that water isn't getting into the container with the formula. Sometimes if water gets in and settles it will make clumps. I used Enfamil, but not AR, if I saw a clump I would try to take it out with a spoon or something. Also check the nipple before you give it to him. You should be able to press on the side of the nipple and the formula should squirt out. If you use a dishwaher definitly make sure you do this because they sometimes get excess stuck up inside the nipple. We always hand washed our bottles with the bottle brushes, then you know they're clean. The best bottles we used, our son had gas problems, were the DR. Brown bottles. They're a little more expensive, but they seem to work better. I think Toys R Us is one of the only places you can find them. Make sure that the water is warm enough too. If it's too cold, even slightly cold he may not want it and that may be one of the reasons he's crying. Hope this helps. A.

I quit useing the powder because it just never mixes well. I too resorted to just microwaving for a very short amount of time shaking well let sit a few minutes shake again and test. I wound up training my DD to cold formula by 6 months because of the problems warming and mixing. You could try getting one of those little battery operated formula mixers. I think babies r us has them.

Hi! My daughter was put on the Enfamil AR Lipil when she turned 7 months. I had been breastfeeding, so the sticker shock alone was discouraging to me. She, too, was on Zantac & Reglan. The formula was a big help for her weight gain.

I found the best way to use this formula was to make a batch in a pitcher using a wire whisk to stir it, as it is very thick. I would leave it in the pitcher and only pour out what I needed. I used playtex nursers and actually poked holes (with a sterile needle ~ heat over lighter flame and then push through the under-side of nipple through the hole) in the biggest size nipple the made.

As far as heating the bottle, because it's so thick, you'll want to start heating about 15 minutes before the feeding. A pain, yes. But compared to a vomiting, smelly baby, it was worth it!

I only had to use the Enfamil A.R. Lipil with my daughter until she was 10 months. I was then able to switch her to regular Enfamil until she turned a year, when she could have whole cow's milk. They outgrow the GERD/Reflux eventually, but getting to that point can be a strain! My daughter is now 2 and is as happy as can be.

Our son, 9 months old, has just been put on Zantac (as of yesterday) due to his spitting up/vomiting. He's on regular formula and I use Dr. Brown's Wide Neck bottles with him. He doesn't cry and scream after spitting up like our daughter did. But he's not gaining weight properly... I'm just crossing my fingers that the Zantac works and we don't have to take more aggressive actions towards it!

Best wishes!!

Hey, It is me again! Why did you not breastfeed? I think if you shake up the powder really well it shouldn't clog the nipple. Has anyone said if he has colic? I just hate that they say it is acid reflux. There are ways to get your breast milk back in if you wanted to go that route! I know because I have been through that myself. I hate that you are having all of these problems and hope you might seek out the mom's club even if you just come once in awhile you will be on our group emails like these and get a lot of advice that way as well!

Microwaving doesn't break down the proteins -- that's an urban legend. It takes either a digestive system, with its complex mixture of acids and enzymes, or a lot of very expensive lab equipment, to break down a protein into its component amino acids. Even if a consumer microwave was capable of this (which, again, it isn't) it wouldn't matter at all -- in fact, it would be easier to digest. It is the complexity of those proteins which can give some babies' immature digestive systems trouble, and the formulas designed for such babies contain "broken down" proteins for that very reason.

Have you tried warming the water before adding the powder? Those formula powders mix far more readily in warm water than in cold. 30 seconds or less (depends on the power level) in a microwave should bring 8 oz of water to body temperature, and if you add and mix the powder after warming the water you will disperse any hot spots that may have formed during microwaving.

One of our daycare kids is on the AR Powder. We have been using the Avent bottles with Stage 2 nipples. Also Avent makes a nipples with a larger hole it in for cereals. Just a suggestion.

Also I am not sure where you live but we have Foodlions that have little hand held mixers for a dollor or so and it funs off of 2AA batteries. And it mixes the powder great in the bottle and does not make it all bubbly

I used the AR Lipil on my son when he was a baby. Make sure the bottle is dry when you put the powder in. Also, I used Dr. Brown's bottles. They were very expensive, however, my son had a problem with gas, and they really helped. You can get them any where.

Good Luck!

My son had acid reflux, but we couldn't use AR because he couldn't handle the iron. We used low iron and added cereal. That worked the best for us. My husband started putting the formula in one of my old medela breast pump bottles and then added warm water to it. After he shook it up, he would then pour the milk in the bottle keeping most of the bubbles (and any clumps if there were any)in the medela bottle. It helped my son alot. He didn't have to burb as much and when he did spit up from AR it wasn't as bad. When we go out we do the same thing. Formula in the medela bottle and hot water (so it can cool without getting to cold)in the baby bottle. hope this helps.

i also have spend 100s of dollars on bottles but found that the dr. browns bottles work not only for gas but for the enfamil ar as well if your having a problem with clumps babies r us sells these formula mixers that cost three to four dollars and they work great for me with getting all the clumps out and with it getting so thick that the baby cant get any out my doctor told me to put just a little less powder in the bottle and a tiny bit more water and it solved my problem