Preemie formula...

Mrs.Mezzy

If your LO was sent home on preemie formula (not because of reflux/other issues but because of weight) when were you able to transition to regular formula?  We're going to be on Enfacare and it's so pricey, I'm just wondering about how long we'll still be on it.

meldoo2002

One of my twins wasn't tolerating the Neosure well (they were only on breastmilk in the NICU and then when they starting taking more we had to do 1/2 and 1/2) so I talked to the doctor and she told me to wait to change until at least their 4 month appt.  Well after screaming through every bottle I changed him at 2.5 months.  He's been doing great, still gaining like a champ.  The other one is still on the Neosure, but I am going to talk about changing him too at the 4 month appt. cause it is so expensive and he's a moose.

gymrat

My son was able to go to straight breastmilk at around 2-3 adjusted and my daughter is basically still supposed to be on Neosure (mixed to 27kcal) but we switched her just a couple weeks ago. We're giving her a chance to make up the calories in drinking or eating more. So she was on Neosure for 13 mos. If she doesn't have good weight gain at her next GI apt. she'll probably have to go back on it.

KellyMichelle

My DS was on it until he was 6 or 8 months.  Be sure to ask your doc for samples.  Everytime we went in they would give us several cans b/c they always got samples and DS was the only baby they had on it.

SBMBride406

We switched from Neosure to Good Start around 9 weeks actual age b/c DS seemed to be having digestive trouble. Ask your pedi, since you can always mix a regular formula higher calorie if needed.

Mrs. Destructo

We fortified BM bottles with it to bring the BM to 22 calories. We stopped with one baby within a week or 2 of him coming home. His tummy just could not handle it. I stopped then told his pedi later, and his pedi agreed that it was okay because he was still gaining at a great weight.

 We kept on fortifying my smaller guy's bottles until he was 13 or 14 months adjusted, but we stopped using neosure pretty early on. Maybe within a month of him coming home. We mixed Good Start to BM or by itself to hit 27 calories. He was/is pretty tiny (donor in t-tts), so he needed the extra calories, but  his stomach couldn't handle the preemie formulas either.

lona.hunn@gmail.com

3 months old today and still on Neosure...

jehprb

We were on EnfaCare until he was 18 months actual and even then we switched him to whole milk without permission from anybody - we just decided it was enough already.  It must have been ok because at his next appt. no one batted an eye when we said he was drinking milk and not formula :-P

SWMcFarland

Our pedi took her off Enfacare after we left the NICU (12 days total) and switched her to AR.

mek10976

I think we transitioned to a regular formula when it was obvious that DS was not having issues gaining weight.  I think it was sometime around his 2 month appointment (also his due date) and he was a normal birth weight.  DS was cruising through cases of Enfacare and I explained to the pedi that it was getting really expensive and wondering if it wa ok to try regular formula.  He agreed, but he wanted his weight checked every 2-3 weeks.  Now we use Costco brand formula and DS is doing great on it.

Oh, the pedi also said that most pedis think a preemie should be on preemie formula for the first year of life.  Talk to your pedi and see what they say.

breech

my daughter was on neosure, and her dr. said i should not  try to switch until she was 6months, i think that was a bit long though, she got REALLY fat.

katemreed

another reason that preemies need to be on the preterm formula besides for higher calories and weight gain is for calcium and phosphorus supplementation. if you delivered lo before the third trimester (when infant's get all of their calcium and phosphorus stores) it is recommended that they recieve a preterm formula with higher levels of calcium and phosporus (neosure or enfacare) to help with bone development later in life.

not all doctors are the same and some take infants off because they are gaining good weight and we see them in followup clinic with bone issues. so something to think about if your infant was born before or in the beginning of the third trimester.

any infant born after 34 weeks should have enough stores and not require preterm formula unless for weight gain.

those born 30-34 weeks require preterm formula for shorter amounts of time then those born less than 30 weeks.

for infants less than 30 weeks we tend to recommend preterm formula for a minimum of 9 months.