Tell me about Enfamil AR

ladylisalt

My LO was on NB Enfamil and is experiencing what appears to be reflux. We are now trying the Gentalese and my pedi mentioned if this dosent help we will try the AR version. Tell me what you know about it? Also, does this seem like the proper steps to go from the gentle formula to the AR?

ladylisalt

snuff9861 said:

AR is thickened with rice cereal so it's harder to come up. DS has reflux and is doing well on gentlease. He spits up still, but, with zantac, doesn't seem to be in pain as much.

thanks. So you never tried the AR with your son?  I am wondering if my pedi. will prescribe the Zantac with the Gentalese or if he's going to have me def. do the AR first. It gets so confusing to know what is best.

JustGoWithIt

We are on the Gentleease and Zantac. LO appears to be doing well with this combo now, so pedi didn't mention trying AR. When he gets older I might try it anyway. 

My cousin has twin girls that are 7mo now. I'm not sure if they tried Gentleease or not, but they have been on AR and Zantac since they were 3 months. She said the Zantac helped them, but once they started the AR also, it was like night and day. They were soooo much better. 

coffee89

We used Enfamil AR for about 2 weeks but he wouldn't take it by itself and we had to half the bottle with infant. It didn't work for us, even after we got him on full bottles of AR. It made him super constipated as well and when we switched to sensitive we go mucous in his (rare) poops.

We are also on Zantac and we got that at 1 month and didn't switch to AR until a little after 2 months.

coffee89

@AUMommy YES! I actually stuck a toothpick through the hole in some of my nipples to make them bigger. We did a few bottles with the parent's choice brand of added rice starch and that seemed just a little bit thinner and easier to get though the slower flow nipples.

eMac87

I use AR everyday and it really helped with the reflux. Only downside I have with it is that it needs to sit for a few minutes to 'thicken up.' And when your baby is screaming those few minutes feel like a lifetime. It also causes constipation but went away after a while.

edit: it's also pretty pricey!

coffee89

@AUMommy I feel you on the frustration. I've cried over the consistency of poop because I know it's not right...talk about making yourself feel crazy!

rexgirl06

Sorry I'm late to the game, but we just graduated from reflux/spit up and here's what worked for us 

5 minute wait time for sure

We used Dr Brown bottles and the size 2 nipples seem to work without having to cut holes in all your nipples. (Or any size 2 nipple should be fine) Dr brown didn't make a difference for is with spit up but LO got lazy with never having to release the nipple to get the air out. Some people swear by it though. 

Enfamil AR helped but did not completely cure it.--BUY IT IN BULK. You can get a 2 pack for roughly $36. Also if you join the enfamil emails you'll get coupons. 

We ended up going with a product called Gelmix. It's pretty pricey but completely stopped our son from spitting up....it was bad at the beginning. He's now almost 8 months and spits up here and there, but we can go out without having to worry about him spitting up all over the place. 

HUGE hugs. Reflux is tough!  

pathoma

I mostly lurk, and I know this thread is a few days old already, but just wanted to add my experience. My DS (almost 7 months) has reflux and has been on AR since 2 months. He's also on Prevacid. For my DS, the AR doesn't stop his reflux. It's super thick, but he still manages to bring it back up. All. Day. Long. And the spit up you get with AR is like a whole different animal of spit up. I'm talking thick, clumpy, gross. We do still use it though because his reflux is even worse on other formulas. That being said, it has worked wonders for some babies, so I'd say worth a shot! But be prepared for the potential of horrifying spit up :-) Also, we use Dr. Browns bottles, currently on level 2 nipple, but level 1 worked fine with the AR too, since we used a formula mixer. I don't think the bottles made any difference for my DS. No matter what bottle brand you use, do yourself a huge favor and buy a Dr. Browns formula mixer. Mix up a bunch of AR for several bottles at a time. It does an amazing job, and the formula comes out smooth, liquidy, and clump free. Plus, if you let the formula sit in the fridge during the day, all the foam will dissipate by the time you need it. Good luck!

nikkiuk

Another lurker here We use Similac Alimentum and started using it to check there was no milk protein allergy as it is hypoallergenic. He doesn't have an allergy but we kept our LO on it anyway as he seems to like it. He is a silent refluxer on Zantac and Prilosec but we found that thickening the milk with rice cereal helped him a lot and Alimentum + rice cereal = no constipation. We use Dr Browns level 2 nipples. Also, Probiotics can help - we use Gerber Soothe. 

If you are struggling with reflux issues, check out the Reflux Rebels website and Facebook page. It's a mine of information. Good luck