The pitcher is fantastic and worth the money many times over. We used it constantly with DS. The powdered formula is good for 24 hrs in the fridge. I think if you mix concentrate it's 48. You can mix in the pitcher and it makes it easy to mix it a little before you pour a bottle to reincorporate it, then we just warmed the bottle.
As long as you keep the blades below the surface of the liquid in the pitcher it does a great job of not mixing all the air into the formula. It's also really nice if you use a formula that's harder to mix as the blades help break the clumps up. We used Similac total comfort with DS and it was a pain to mix otherwise.
ETA when we were giving DS probiotic drops it was convenient to be able to just add them to the pitcher.
I don't use Dr. Brown bottles. I just have the pitcher they make. Formula is good for 24 hours, so make about how much your LO eats in that timeframe. I feel it's less waste, especially if yours eats an odd number of oz and not an even number since formula is dispensed in even numbers. So you can give one more oz if you want instead of having to make two oz.
Does anyone else's LO cluster feed at night? Like every 2 hrs? LO usually eats 3 oz every 3-3.5 hrs during the day and night. But she tends to cluster feed at night from 4-8, about 2 oz every 2 hrs. I know formula is heavier than breastmilk and I don't know if I should be worried that she's eating too much. She's been doing it for the past week. Anyone else? Growth spurt?
Does anyone else's LO cluster feed at night? Like every 2 hrs? LO usually eats 3 oz every 3-3.5 hrs during the day and night. But she tends to cluster feed at night from 4-8, about 2 oz every 2 hrs. I know formula is heavier than breastmilk and I don't know if I should be worried that she's eating too much. She's been doing it for the past week. Anyone else? Growth spurt?
DD cluster feeds in the evening too ), usually between 4 and 9. She is 7 weeks old today and the last few days she has been eating between 2 and 4 oz every hour to hour and a half! Hello growth spurt. *typo
I totally need this! I make up her four bottles and then an extra 8 oz in an extra bottle that she doesn't use, this pitcher would make cluster feedings easier.
Does anyone else's LO cluster feed at night? Like every 2 hrs? LO usually eats 3 oz every 3-3.5 hrs during the day and night. But she tends to cluster feed at night from 4-8, about 2 oz every 2 hrs. I know formula is heavier than breastmilk and I don't know if I should be worried that she's eating too much. She's been doing it for the past week. Anyone else? Growth spurt?
DD cluster feeds in the evening too ), usually between 4 and 9. She is 7 weeks old today and the last few days she has been eating between 2 and 4 oz every hour to hour and a half! Hello growth spurt. *typo
Hubby took DD last night because I was sick and said she did the same thing from about 4am until 9 am. She usually sleeps during that time with maybe a 3oz bottle at 4-6 and anot her at 9-10. It was a shock to hear she was having 3 and 4 oz bottles every hour.
DH read the side of the target brand up and up formula and it said to use immediately. Anyone know if it would be okay to make a pitcher of and just use within 24 hours like y'all are saying? Would make life easier and I already bought a Dr. Brown's pitcher...
@littlebitmom I've noticed some formula containers will say something along the lines of mix and feed baby immediately but I have yet to see one you can't mix ahead and store. Maybe see if it has storage instructions on the container. I haven't used up & up so I'm going off of what I have.
A other thing you can do is the store brand is usually comparable to a name brand product and you can probably look at the directions on the store product container. I'm pretty sure all powder formulas are good for 24 hrs in the fridge though.
Went to Target to buy the Dr. Brown's pitcher and no such luck =(. I've had it in in my Amazon shopping cart for a week and you ladies convinced me that it was worth the buy, so I ordered it last night after striking out at Target.
I have a couple of questions for anyone who has had to make changes to formula.
How long do I try a formula out with LO until I may need to make a switch? I know there are the obvious red flags that might make me do it sooner than later but what has been the general rule for any of you? Did you consult your pedi. first or did you just try a new brand/kind based on your own research and decision? DS isn't spitting up anything unusual when he's eating, however as he's eating I can hear his stomach rumbling which sometimes results in passing gas and occasionally spitting up. Could he have acid reflux, even though he isn't spitting up a ton? He screeches out in pain shortly after I hear his stomach making noise and/or when I take the bottle to burp him. If he does spit up, he sometimes cries afterwards. I thought maybe it irritated his throat coming up.
He was on Enfamil Supplementing as I was still giving him pumped breast milk regularly and the formula was just 2-3 x a day so I could keep up with my supply. He's was on that formula for about 2 1/2 weeks. We had MAJOR constipation problems beginning Monday evening. Tuesday-Thursday were awful and I had to stimulate him with a thermometer to poop on Wednesday and administer prune juice Thursday as he was still really backed up and irritable. We had a bowl movement that could have filled 4 diapers Thursday afternoon around 12. Pedi. recommended I get him off the Supplementing formula and try Enfamil Gentlease. So far, it doesn't seem to be too bad. LO is stomaching it okay and he's passing gas (it's a god awful smell), but he's still straining, scrunching up his legs, whinny, and getting red in the face as if he's trying to work out a bowel movement or release gas.
To throw a wrench in things, I've decided to stop giving breast milk and I'm currently weening him off of that with whatever I have left pumped in the fridge and freezer. So now I've slowly been replacing 1 bottle of BM with formula into his diet. I have about enough to last maybe 2-3 more weeks, doing it this way until he is fully on formula. With his changing diet, I don't want to rule out that, that may have something to do with his stomach being topsy turvy, so I don't want to make any switches yet.
@teachmegs817 We were told, barring obvious red flags, try at least 5-7 days but ideally at least 2 weeks.
Constipation is a no for us at this age. It wasn't such a big deal once DS was starting food and we could give him prunes regularly to help him but when he was on just formula and a change was obviously making him constipated (very hard dry stools he was very uncomfortable and straining for longer than seemed normal to pass) then we would switch.
The best we found for constipation was either giving him Gerber soothe, or adding the Gerber colic drops (same as biogaia) to his formula daily if it was a different formula.
We decided this after a particularly hard bowel movement that left him bloody. The other thing for him was if a new formula would make him vomit. We'd give it one or two more tries then switch.
I think once my breast milk is gone and he then spends 3-4 days on just formula alone, I'll have a better idea. That will probably be in another 2-3 weeks. Hoping for some good changes to come with this. =D
DS didn't have hard stool, it was really soft. It was in between diarrhea consistency and peanut butter. So I thought to myself, why is it so hard for him to poop, if that's what's coming out of him.
@teachmegs817 I had a very similair experience with my ds and formula. We were also on enfimal gentlease and he would go days without pooping and when he did it was soft. He still had gas and would strain and cry as if he was in pain. I talked to his dr about it and we made the switch to similac sensitive and began giving him gas drops after every feeding. It made a huge difference! My dr mentioned that the gentlease can cause poop issues in some babies. Ds doesn't poop everyday but it is less painful and he is doing so much better.
@Katy0525 You are probably the 4-5 person who said they went from Enfamil Gentlease to Similac Sensitive. I was going to just skip out on seeing if the Gentlease would even work for us and just go right to the Similac. I have 3 tubs of the Enfamil though, and not that I'll go through all 3 just to use, if DS can't tolerate it, but I'd like to give it a chance.
@teachmegs817 I feel like we are living the same life in reguards to formula. Haha I also had a couple tubs of the gentlease that I wanted to finish. I ended up switching and just dealing with the $25 down the drain of my unopened gentlease. Walmart used to exchange them if it didn't work out for your baby..not any more. Oh well, having a happy baby is worth it! Good luck!!!
Last week Target had the Enfamil buy 3 get a $10 card and I had $20 in coupons so I bought the Supplementing kind. Well I exchanged them last night for the Gentlease and the lady who returned them says to me; "Just so you know, we have to discard all food items, even if they're unopened."
I just blankly stared her like..."Sorry?" As if I planned on that issue arising. I also didn't know that was their policy. I felt bad because all 3 were sealed shut. I have no guilt about returning the Enfamil if I need to and getting a can or 2 of the Similac with what I get back, if I can.
We have had great success with the similac sensitive with DD. We switched after just a couple of days on regulat similac due to spitting up and gas. I would highly recommend it if other formula is causing issues.
Do you heat the formula after mixing it in the pitcher?
Yes. Of course I have the Dr. Browns warmer...I had to have everything Dr. Browns for my son two years ago. DD is up to 5 oz per feeding, and I heat it for 4 minutes in that heater. I think that it would be too cold right out of the fridge. After heating it for that long, it is really just a little hotter than room temperature. I don't want it to actually get hot.
@Taylovesbrad When we'd give a bottle right after mixing and it was still room temp we didn't warm it. If it was from the fridge then we would. We used mostly Tommie Tippee bottles with DS so used that brand's warmer. DD uses Dr Brown's bottles and we needed a new warmer so we got theirs- actually my dad wanted one with an alarm when it was finished so got it for himself when he's here, it just worked out that it's the same brand.
What kind of bottle does everybody use? We have Dr. Brown's and only use them on occasion as he nurses, but now that I will be returning to school and work full time he will be bottle fed quite a bit more. I can't stand the thought of washing a million tiny bottle pieces when I get home. We tried Tommee Tippee and the nipple was too fast
What kind of bottle does everybody use? We have Dr. Brown's and only use them on occasion as he nurses, but now that I will be returning to school and work full time he will be bottle fed quite a bit more. I can't stand the thought of washing a million tiny bottle pieces when I get home. We tried Tommee Tippee and the nipple was too fast
I tried Avent first, and it was too fast for my DS, so now I use Dr. Browns and they are perfect for my little guy.
@Gingermom15 Have you looked at the Dr Brown's options bottles? I think you can get conversion kits for the bottles you already have but they take the same nipples and have the option of leaving the vent out. That way you wouldn't have so many parts to wash.
Another one we've somewhat had success with is the Lansinoh bottles. The slow flow seems sort of in between the preemie and 1 with Dr Brown's.
What kind of bottle does everybody use? We have Dr. Brown's and only use them on occasion as he nurses, but now that I will be returning to school and work full time he will be bottle fed quite a bit more. I can't stand the thought of washing a million tiny bottle pieces when I get home. We tried Tommee Tippee and the nipple was too fast
We use Playtex Ventaire. They were what we used for DD 2.5 yrs ago and I'm so glad LO took to them well. The bottle has 6 parts to it which can be a pain to wash but it is what it is.
We also tried the Playtex Nursers and Ventair as well and they were also too fast. Which really sucked because they seemed so convenient for my brother and SIL.
I completely forgot I was gifted a box of Options bottles at my shower! I just tried one without the vent and with the preemie nipple. He did great with it such a relief, I hate detail cleaning all those parts to the vent.
What kind of bottle does everybody use? We have Dr. Brown's and only use them on occasion as he nurses, but now that I will be returning to school and work full time he will be bottle fed quite a bit more. I can't stand the thought of washing a million tiny bottle pieces when I get home. We tried Tommee Tippee and the nipple was too fast
They have Dr. Browns dishwasher containers for all of the parts. Each one fits the parts for three bottles. It makes washing them so easy. I use formula so I have two of these so we can wash 6 bottles at a time in the dishwasher. It's called the Dr. Browns dishwasher basket and is $9.99 on Amazon. So with the money.
I use Tomme Tippee and Phillips Avent both with slow flow nipples. The nipples are a bit too fast but I just pull out the bottle once or twice to during the feed to let DS catch up and she's fine. I also had a pack of Dr. Browns that I recently returned because I didn't want to deal with all the parts
We tried Dr. Browns preemie nipple because our first did so well with them, and we already had a huge stash. Number two all but refused them. I tried for 4 weeks thinking he would get the hang of it sooner or later (he was great at nursing and had no latching problems so I know it was the bottle, not another problem). I finally broke down and tried Tommee Tippee, and DS latched on without any problems. With my first I really didn't mind all the parts to Dr. Browns. I just threw them in the dish washer in a basket. When unloading them I attached the blue tube to the rubber stopper and slid it in the bottle face up to drip dry in a bin on the counter. The nipples and rings were thrown into a second bin.
The only thing I don't like about Tommee Tippee is the flow is still to fast for my LO. We go through so many burp rags and bibs because he dribbles so much down his face. Plus he finishes the bottle in no time, and it doesn't register that he is full. He is often fussy after the bottle and still wants to suck, but when I have fed him more he spits a ton up and is clearly uncomfortable for the next few hours. I fear that he is more likely to over eat with the faster flow. We did not have this problem with Dr. B.
@teachmegs817 I consulted my pedi before switching DDs formula. She is a gassy baby ( I have a theory that it is just genetics) but it never hurts her. She burps like a grown man and her farts smell like her dads, tmi? Haha. I wasn't concerned about the gas but once a week or so she'll have issues pooping. Her doc said he doesn't consider it constipation unless the texture is harder than peanut butter. We were on the regular Similac and just switched to sensitive, so far so good!
I'm the odd ball out but I really don't mind washing the Dr. Browns bottles. IMO they're the best out there and DD has no issues with them so its worth it to me.
I use Dr. Brown's bottles. Our pedi recommended them because Leo had gas issues. I don't really mind washing all the parts. It is totally worth it because they helped my ds so much!
@ammnam14 we ended up back at the doctors because the Similac was not doing anything for him either. Still miserable, not sleeping, awful gas issues and in a lot of pain. We are now on Enfamil's Nutramigen. So far, the switch is has been good. He's finally popping regularly and passing gas on his own. He's also sleeping, which is huge.
i also don't mind cleaning the Dr. Brown bottles. We love them and so does DS. I have the wide neck and options bottles. I like the feel of the wide neck more, and DS drinks from those much smoother than he does from the options bottles. We still use both, but I have to wipe up more dribble from the those.
One of my nephews is allergic to almost everything. He was put on nutramigen and is now the happiest little guy! I hope that really works our for you!
I made the mistake of buying the 2oz bottles and then 4oz bottles instead of just jumping to the large bottles right away. We are on the basic Dr. Brown now. Would it be an extreme difference if I bought the wide neck bottles next? Are the nipples compatible?
@KRH6829 yes for the dishwasher baskets! I also have 2 and they are the best thing ever
Dr. Brown bottles are a bit pricey, would you ever consider using a used bottle? A lady is selling a huge set and I am tempted to save money but don't know it is safe or not? Of course I would boil all the parts when I got them....
@KRH6829 yes for the dishwasher baskets! I also have 2 and they are the best thing ever
Dr. Brown bottles are a bit pricey, would you ever consider using a used bottle? A lady is selling a huge set and I am tempted to save money but don't know it is safe or not? Of course I would boil all the parts when I got them....
If I could have found used Dr. Browns bottles I would have done that. We are done having babies, so when DD is done with bottles, I plan on selling all of my Dr. Browns stuff as a huge set. Someone will be getting a great deal. As long as you boil to sterilize, which you said you would do, I think it's a great way to save money.
Re: Formula feeding
As long as you keep the blades below the surface of the liquid in the pitcher it does a great job of not mixing all the air into the formula. It's also really nice if you use a formula that's harder to mix as the blades help break the clumps up. We used Similac total comfort with DS and it was a pain to mix otherwise.
ETA when we were giving DS probiotic drops it was convenient to be able to just add them to the pitcher.
Jamie
Less than $12 on Amazon.
Jamie
*typo
A other thing you can do is the store brand is usually comparable to a name brand product and you can probably look at the directions on the store product container. I'm pretty sure all powder formulas are good for 24 hrs in the fridge though.
I have a couple of questions for anyone who has had to make changes to formula.
How long do I try a formula out with LO until I may need to make a switch? I know there are the obvious red flags that might make me do it sooner than later but what has been the general rule for any of you? Did you consult your pedi. first or did you just try a new brand/kind based on your own research and decision? DS isn't spitting up anything unusual when he's eating, however as he's eating I can hear his stomach rumbling which sometimes results in passing gas and occasionally spitting up. Could he have acid reflux, even though he isn't spitting up a ton? He screeches out in pain shortly after I hear his stomach making noise and/or when I take the bottle to burp him. If he does spit up, he sometimes cries afterwards. I thought maybe it irritated his throat coming up.
He was on Enfamil Supplementing as I was still giving him pumped breast milk regularly and the formula was just 2-3 x a day so I could keep up with my supply. He's was on that formula for about 2 1/2 weeks. We had MAJOR constipation problems beginning Monday evening. Tuesday-Thursday were awful and I had to stimulate him with a thermometer to poop on Wednesday and administer prune juice Thursday as he was still really backed up and irritable. We had a bowl movement that could have filled 4 diapers Thursday afternoon around 12. Pedi. recommended I get him off the Supplementing formula and try Enfamil Gentlease. So far, it doesn't seem to be too bad. LO is stomaching it okay and he's passing gas (it's a god awful smell), but he's still straining, scrunching up his legs, whinny, and getting red in the face as if he's trying to work out a bowel movement or release gas.
To throw a wrench in things, I've decided to stop giving breast milk and I'm currently weening him off of that with whatever I have left pumped in the fridge and freezer. So now I've slowly been replacing 1 bottle of BM with formula into his diet. I have about enough to last maybe 2-3 more weeks, doing it this way until he is fully on formula. With his changing diet, I don't want to rule out that, that may have something to do with his stomach being topsy turvy, so I don't want to make any switches yet.
Constipation is a no for us at this age. It wasn't such a big deal once DS was starting food and we could give him prunes regularly to help him but when he was on just formula and a change was obviously making him constipated (very hard dry stools he was very uncomfortable and straining for longer than seemed normal to pass) then we would switch.
The best we found for constipation was either giving him Gerber soothe, or adding the Gerber colic drops (same as biogaia) to his formula daily if it was a different formula.
We decided this after a particularly hard bowel movement that left him bloody. The other thing for him was if a new formula would make him vomit. We'd give it one or two more tries then switch.
I think once my breast milk is gone and he then spends 3-4 days on just formula alone, I'll have a better idea. That will probably be in another 2-3 weeks. Hoping for some good changes to come with this. =D
DS didn't have hard stool, it was really soft. It was in between diarrhea consistency and peanut butter. So I thought to myself, why is it so hard for him to poop, if that's what's coming out of him.
https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/FileUpload/69/1a18c2e7532600b237c0ccef11ba85.jpeg
Proud Mommy of Derek Michael
April 8, 2014 9lb 6oz 21 inches
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Proud Mommy of Derek Michael
April 8, 2014 9lb 6oz 21 inches
Last week Target had the Enfamil buy 3 get a $10 card and I had $20 in coupons so I bought the Supplementing kind. Well I exchanged them last night for the Gentlease and the lady who returned them says to me; "Just so you know, we have to discard all food items, even if they're unopened."
I just blankly stared her like..."Sorry?" As if I planned on that issue arising. I also didn't know that was their policy. I felt bad because all 3 were sealed shut. I have no guilt about returning the Enfamil if I need to and getting a can or 2 of the Similac with what I get back, if I can.
Jamie
Another one we've somewhat had success with is the Lansinoh bottles. The slow flow seems sort of in between the preemie and 1 with Dr Brown's.
I completely forgot I was gifted a box of Options bottles at my shower! I just tried one without the vent and with the preemie nipple. He did great with it
I have the options but LO needs the vent so I'm stuck washing all those pieces.
Jamie
The only thing I don't like about Tommee Tippee is the flow is still to fast for my LO. We go through so many burp rags and bibs because he dribbles so much down his face. Plus he finishes the bottle in no time, and it doesn't register that he is full. He is often fussy after the bottle and still wants to suck, but when I have fed him more he spits a ton up and is clearly uncomfortable for the next few hours. I fear that he is more likely to over eat with the faster flow. We did not have this problem with Dr. B.
I'm the odd ball out but I really don't mind washing the Dr. Browns bottles. IMO they're the best out there and DD has no issues with them so its worth it to me.
https://us.v-cdn.net/5020794/uploads/FileUpload/69/1a18c2e7532600b237c0ccef11ba85.jpeg
Proud Mommy of Derek Michael
April 8, 2014 9lb 6oz 21 inches
i also don't mind cleaning the Dr. Brown bottles. We love them and so does DS. I have the wide neck and options bottles. I like the feel of the wide neck more, and DS drinks from those much smoother than he does from the options bottles. We still use both, but I have to wipe up more dribble from the those.
I made the mistake of buying the 2oz bottles and then 4oz bottles instead of just jumping to the large bottles right away. We are on the basic Dr. Brown now. Would it be an extreme difference if I bought the wide neck bottles next? Are the nipples compatible?
Dr. Brown bottles are a bit pricey, would you ever consider using a used bottle? A lady is selling a huge set and I am tempted to save money but don't know it is safe or not? Of course I would boil all the parts when I got them....