Problems with Neosure formula and slow flow nipple?

Carmela752

I haven't posted on this board before, but I thought this would be the best place to ask.

A brief history of me is that I started fighting PTL at 28 weeks. Bedrest terbutaline pump after failing other meds, etc. Wound up in the hospital on mag for 12 days at one point but got to go home again. A week later I went for my 35w appointment, was diagnosed with preeclampsia, and delivered via c section that evening.

The babies were in the NICU for a few days for low blood sugars, low temperature, and elevated bilirubin, but did well and went home with me.

I'm giving them pumped BM and Neosure. They seem to do fine with BM, but they recently started having some gassiness and other GI symptoms with Neosure. Went to the ped yesterday and got some meds to see if they help.

I've been trying out some of the "specialty" bottles and think they might be helping, however, it seems like with some of the slow flow nipples and Neosure they suck and suck and suck but hardly get anything out, then they just stop eating and fall asleep. They do much better with BM. (But I don't produce enough to pump exclusively.)

Could it be that Neosure is too thick for the slow flow nipples? I was thinking about trying a medium flow or fast flow, but I don't want to choke them, either.

 

mek10976

I don't know how thick Neosure is, but when DS was on Enfacare, we used medium flow.  That's what they had him use in the NICU b/c slow flow was too much work.  We also would add rice cereal to thicken the formula to help with his reflux.  When we did that, even the medium was too slow.  We have the Born Free bottles and used a variable flow (slow, medium, fast) nipple, which was nice because we could adjust the flow just by turning the bottle in his mouth. 

borc0080

DD took BM fortified with Neosure at the beginning, and around 3 months my supply dipped so we supplemented with some Neosure-only bottles.  We never had a problem with her as early as your girls, but around 3 months we had to switch to a medium-flow bottle because DD would suck so hard she would "collapse" the bottle nipple. 

You could always try the medium flow nipple and if they seem like they're choking or taking food in too quickly, go back to the slow flow.  Good luck!

lemen99

Hi Tricia!!

 

Andrew came home on a level 1 Dr. Brown's + pumped BM + Neosure to 24 cal.  He kept falling asleep eating, was slightly dehydrated all the time (just barely eating enough), and would take an hour to eat when he did eat. 

The solution we came up with was going to a level 2 Dr. Brown's.  It made all the difference.  I thought he would choke on it but he didn't. 

That said, once we did that, he totally flat out refused to BF because it was too much work.  So if you want to BF, don't do this.  But, for us, I felt like we really didn't have a choice because we had to find a way to get him to eat easier. 

As for gassiness with Neosure, Andrew's reflux got really bad suddenly and we had to switch to Nutramigen, also fortified to 24 cal.

GL!

 

AFwife1106

We are still on Neosure and use the Medela bottles and nipples without a problem.  If they aren't getting the formula out of the nipple, it's probably because it's too thick or isn't mixed enough.  It's kind of old school, but after we put the formula into the bottle, we have to break up the clumps with a finger.  We obviously wash our hands but still.  We've tried spoons and all kinds of weird stuff (starbucks coffee stirrers) but the finger works the best.  If you don't break up the clumps, it will get stuck in the nipple and they will just try to suck the clump out and obviously its super thick and not easy.  We have always used a medium flow nipple, but early on we had to help LO by giving her breaks every minute or so.  HTH some!  

gizmo909

Hello Tricia!  We had some of the same issues with Neosure.  Around 3 months we switched to the medium flow nipples and that seemed to make a big difference.  With the slow flow, the neosure seemed to clump up and clog the hole of the nipple.  The other thing that helped was to pre-make bottles using warmed water which then gave it time to sit and dissolve.  Maybe you could make a batch in a pitcher and then add it to the bottles as needed? 

We haven't had that problem at all since we switched off Neosure, so it seems like the Neosure just doesn't dissolve quite as easily as some of the other formulas.

Carmela752

Thanks for all the feedback ladies, I really appreciate it. And hello to my local girls.

We bought a formula mixer thing a couple days ago, which seems to help us break up the clumps better than just shaking the bottles. And warm water, too.

I'm going to try the medium flow nipples tonight and see how it goes, although that's a good point about breastfeeding. Hmmm.