Switching formulas? Advice needed.

TheShellSeeker

When we went home from the NICU, the instructions were to keep John on Similac neosure and fortify pumped BM with neosure.  John is an iugr baby and small and needs to gain weight.  He's gaining weight nicely now but also has reflux. 

It's been several weeks now that we're home from the NICU.  DH & I are considering switching formulas because of the reflux to something for sensitive stomachs.  I've been reading where the neosure can be hard on stomachs.  True?

What do you think?  Should we ask the pedi before switching?  If we switch, any suggestions as to what we try?

TIA!

lstaylor73

Talk to your pedi first.  I don't know about Neosure.  We were on enfamil enfacare for IUGR calories and switched to Good Start once there was no more BM left.  Good Start is light on the tummy but we still fortify it for calories with 1/2 teaspoon per bottle Enfamil Enfacare too.

pumpkinbug

Is DS on meds for reflux?

I would definately talk to the pedi before switching and address or may even re-address your concerns.

DS is on Neosure due to FTT, which he obviously no longer has. He takes Zantac twice daily for reflux and take milk of magnesia for constipation/tummy problems from Neosure. I personally just know we have had a few problems since being on Neosure, but DS has thrived from being on it and is now successfully on the charts in the 10-25%.

Good Luck!

dmblack

Just a thought....perhaps adding a tsp of rice cereal to the bottle might help.  I used this with my son from the time he was a month old.  It seemed to help him a lot.

beefsbride

My DD had tummy issues with the Neosure, but DS was fine (they both had mild reflux and we had to put 1/4 tsp of maalox in their bottles, which helped).  Our pedi told us that they'd have to stay on Neosure until they reached the 50%, but we decided to make the switch to something else on our own.  With that said, we waited until they were gaining and over 12lbs each at 4mo.   

I would say check with the pedi and then make a decision on what you think is best for little John.   When we actually made the switch, we took it very slow (well, we tried "cold turkey" and it didn't go over well).  So we'd mix 1/2 Neosure , 1/2 regular Similac for a little while and then slowly incresed the regular similac & decreased the amt of Neosure. 

I know many preemie moms have found success with the Good Start forumula.  I had a ton of coupons and we tried it once but my picky eaters wouldn't even take an ounce of it.  So page me if you think you may try this one . . . I think I still may have a ton of coupons from one of our local grocery stores in C-bus for some good deals on Good Start (they spit out every time I buy my Similac - grr!). :-)

Oh, one more thing . . . we had to mix the Neosure for more calories (to make it 24) which is what really bothered DD's tummy.  Once we mixed it according to the can it wasn't as bad.  I have heard that you can mix regular fomula the same way to make it more calories (i.e. for us we used 3 scoops of Neosure in 5 1/2 oz of water) -- this may be something else to ask the pedi if you decide to switch. 

TheShellSeeker

pumpkinbug - yes, he's on zantac 3x a day.

bostonbride06

My son had IUGR.  First he was on Enfamil 24 calorie and right before he came home they switched him to Neosure.  I noticed a difference right away, he was miserable.  The gas pains and pooping problem were bad.  The pedi made him stay on it until he started to gain (he gained right away) and then we got the ok to switch once he reached 7lbs.  So far we have tried Gentlease and Alimentum.  They recommended soy but I did not feel comfortable giving him soy as a preemie.  We just started the Good Start 2 days ago.  So far passing gas and pooping seem to be easier.  Oh and Wyatt also has reflux.  He is on Prilosec.  He seems to be spitting less on the Good Start.  Bottom line I would get the ok from the pedi before you switch and definitely try the Good Start.

Mrs Manners

Neosure was hard on ds's stomach. By that I mean that it caused him lots of gas and constipation. He has reflux and we tried several different formulas once we decided to switch him. I didn't notice that any of them made a difference in his reflux except Nutramigen which made it worse because it's so thin and light (doesn't have enough weight to stay down in his stomach). We ended up putting him on Good Start Natural Cultures because it was easy on his stomach and eliminated the gas and constipation. I can't say that it did much for his reflux though. DS was 4lbs 2 oz at birth. He was on Neosure 24 cal mix in the hospital and once he came home (mixed with BM for the first month). Once we switched to the Good Start we mixed it to 22 cal concentration using calculations our pedi gave us. DS now weighs almost 21 lbs so he's gained weight VERY nicely. Our pedi wasn't a fan of us switching from the Neosure but I did anyway because he was so uncomfortable.