Formula Question...which do you use?

peighton48182003

My dd turned 7 mths on Sunday.  I was fortunate enough to ebf her for the last 6 1/2 mths.  It is becoming more and more of a struggle to get her to nurse, so I usually don't fight it at times and will give her a bottle of bm mixed with a little formula.  I have another 200 or so ozs of frozen bm, but I have been dipping into my stash because my milk started to decrease around 6 mths when we started solids.  I try to pump when she takes a bottle, but I still usually come up short. 

Anyways, I decided to try the Gerber Good Start Gentle Plus powder formula that the hospital gave us.  I usually only add an oz or so to each bottle, but I do notice that the days where I add formula she is very gassy and sometimes cranky.  I know the Gentle Plus is suppose to be for spit up, gassiness, and fussiness, but I'm not sure if it's just her body getting use to the formula or if I should try and switch to something else?  Thoughts?   

violaplayer

That's a tough one. It sounds like it could be so many things.

I will say Good Start never worked well for us. Jimmy especially got very gassy afterwards. Similac Sensitive went over better with him.

Stupid question - what bottles are you using? We switched to Playtex VentAires and that helped a TON. They also make it easier to hold them more upright, which also cuts the gas.

Are you eating dairy? If no, it could be a milk-related issue now from the formula.

Sorry to add more to the mix but it really could be so many things. I would probably start with the formula itself though. 

chardonnay24

It could be caused by the adjustment to formula. We started supplementing at 3 months and switched totally to formula at 6 months and he doesn't have any problems now. It could also be that she doesn't tolerate that formula very well. I'd use for a week or so to see if she gets better and then maybe try a different kind. We use Similac Advance and we add a couple gas drops to every bottle. Oh, and be careful with supplementing that you aren't using the formula for more than a month after you open it. I gave A formula that had been open for a couple months because we used it so infrequently until about 5 months. He got really sick that night and I don't know what else would have caused it. I had no idea you had to use it that quickly!

MarSamWhitney

I would def try to switch up the bottles. Your LO could just be getting used to formula. I endedup switcing from Gerber to enfamil gentlease, an that was easier on LOs gassyness. Of course every bay is different. Try switching bottles first. Good luck.

mkrystalkay

The Good Start Gentle Plus didn't work out for either of my girls.  DD1 did better with Similac Sensitive and DD2 takes Enfamil Gentlease.  Every baby is different though and the formula game is just about trial and error.  

ms12345

We started her off on Enfamil, but she didn't like that much and switched to Similac Advance. She did well on it... we discovered that both the BJ's brand (Berkley & Jensen) as well as Walmart's Parents' Choice brand are essentially the same thing - after a little trial and error there, we ultimately ended up using Parents' Choice. She does great on it (and it's less painful on the wallet).

karen6784

We have had gas issues with the Good Start formula.  Neither of my DCs were able to digest it.  DD had a milk protein sensitivity and used Allimentum.  DS uses Similac sensitive (orange label). 

Formula is pretty well a trial and error process.  I would buy the smallest containers until you find the one that works.  

peighton48182003

Thanks for the comments and suggestions!  I forgot to mention that she has had bottles in the past and no problems with gas, so I think it's the formula.  I'm going to try it for a few more days and then switch to something else if we still have problems.

kendra223

If she spits up often, then I would try Enfamil A.R. It worked wonders for my daughter. Definetly just buy the small cans at first though, as another PP suggested.