suggestions on formula from an (almost) EBF

marissabarone · May 2012

Hi ladies-

I used to post here and there on this board when I was still pregnant. Congrats to all of you! My LO is 3 months as of yesterday and I made it 10 weeks as an EBF. I have started to give her one 4-6 oz. bottle of formula at night b/c my supply began to decrease when I went back to work and also because she is a slow gainer (only in the 10th percentile) We started off with Enfamil Newborn bc that is what we had from the hospital and quickly switched to Enfamil Gentlease bc she became extremely gassy on the regular kind. All has been good for about a week and now she is getting really gassy again. I am not sure if its the formula or not. She usually sleeps about 6 hours at night and now she has been up every 2-3 hours in terrible pain. This never happened when she was EBF.

Do you think I should change formulas again? I am at a loss on what to do and am kinda new at this formula thing.

Thanks in advance.

Jen0204 · May 2012

We played around with a few different formulas and ended up on Similac Sensitive. However, they're still fairly gassy (they fart a lot - I blame that on H's genes!). Does your LO otherwise show any signs of discomfort or have excessive spit-up? If not, I wouldn't really worry about it. You could always try adding a couple of gas drops to each bottle and see if that helps.

btartaroind · May 2012

I feel like DS was gassier on Enfamil than he was on Similac, so we use Similac advance. I think FF babies do tend to be more gassier than BF babies because they take in more air from the bottle. Not sure if there's much you can do about that besides burp her a lot.

tittytwistertortoises · May 2012

My LO started showed similar signs at 3 months. Let's just say month 3 to 4 was the hardest. We went to pedi and she thought DS might have a milk intolerance or allergy. She switched us to Enfamil Nutramigen. It has worked wonders and we have our sweet boy back. I would check with dr first though before switching again. Good Luck

sparks2987 · May 2012

DD is pretty gassy little girl, hoping she realizes when she gets older all this farting is not attractive...lol

DD was more gassy on Similac so we switched to enfamil, she still gets gassy when she gulps the bottle, at night she acts like we didnt just feed her 2 hours ago and drinks like a mad woman. Anyway, I just give her gas drops. I would try gas drops before or after the bottle you are giving her.

Also when we shake the bottle, I let it sit a minute so all the bubbles disappear in the formula.

and of cource, bicycle legs and baby sit ups help her to relieve some of the gas.

jmccall79 · May 2012

My pediatrician told us that there's really not a big difference in formula, the gentlease, spit up, etc are more "gimmicky"...until you get into the one's that are soy, etc....but I wouldn't say that the formula isn't your issue, because we did try Good Start and he was a lot more gassy on that than Enfamil. What made a difference for us was switching bottles. You might want to try a different one...we started off with Nuk (he sucked the nipples too flat), went to Avent (really gassy and was suggested we try different bottle), used Playtex (the one that has the 'crooked' neck) liked those ok but he had a little bit of a hard time latching on that one, ended up with Born Free (seemed to work the best). I think they eventually grow out of though because I've since tried the Similac bottles, he really likes those, and I can use the Avent ones now too. So, my suggestion is switching to a different bottle and see if that helps.

marissabarone · May 2012

Thanks for your suggestions ladies. I have a call into our Pedi. I am using the gas drops (thank god for those) and just switched her bottles to the Playtex VentAir so hopefully this will help a bit. I guess I am struggling about this because I worked so hard to EBF and only when I introduced formula did all these problems begin. She is gassy and in pain (tightens up, screaming) and now is starting to spit up too, which she never did before. Maybe it is just a matter of her getting used to it,,,

jldubb0626 · May 2012

DS hasn't had issues when he gets formula, but from the start my pedi recommended the Similac Advanced. I'd talk to your Pedi but it may just be she needs to switch brands.

lancyjo · May 2012

marissabarone:
Thanks for your suggestions ladies. I have a call into our Pedi. I am using the gas drops (thank god for those) and just switched her bottles to the Playtex VentAir so hopefully this will help a bit. I guess I am struggling about this because I worked so hard to EBF and only when I introduced formula did all these problems begin. She is gassy and in pain (tightens up, screaming) and now is starting to spit up too, which she never did before. Maybe it is just a matter of her getting used to it,,,

We went from ebf to Supplementing to eff. When supplementing, Aria had awful "tummy trouble". Since I wasn't handling bf very well, we switched to ff. it helped her gas a lot, but she was still having more trouble than I thought she should. We were using Tommee Tippee bottles and Enfamil newborn. Since then, we've ended up with Playtex VentAire bottles and (generic) Similac Advance. Trust your gut, you know better than anyone what your baby needs.

Eta: now, Aria rarely has has pains or spits up. (rarely=seriously none in the last at least 4 weeks.)

Jen0204 · May 2012

If she's screaming and in pain I would definitely switch. How long has she been on it? I think I read somewhere that it takes a few days for you to see if a new formula will work, but with screaming and in pain I'd be inclined to switch immediately.

jewerner · May 2012

DS was soooo gassy, it would keep him up at night, he spit up all the time, and could barely burp at all. We switched him to Similac Sensitive and its made such a difference! Barely have to pat him to burp, and immediately started STTN

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