Formula feeding questions post here

rainydayluck · June 2014

I thought we formula feeders should have a thread to post useful knowledge, tips, questions, etc.

Post here!

rainydayluck · June 2014

I have exclusively FF both DDs and here are my tips FWIW:

The formula package usually tells you how much more volume you get once you add the powder to the formula - no more guessing!

Get eye level with the bottle when looking to see the water level. It can be totally off if you don't do that.

When the baby starts consistently collapsing the nipple, it is time to move to a faster flow.

Tap the scoop on the side after you scoop the powder to get rid of the air pocket.

bossyferg · June 2014

Best formula that is easy on the tummy for gas?

DBonfante · June 2014

I've been using Enfamil gentlease.

jsaffer01 · June 2014

My pedi told us to try enfamil gentlease, for his gas...

whimsy515 · June 2014

rainydayluck said:

When the baby starts consistently collapsing the nipple, it is time to move to a faster flow.

This is good to know. Thank you!

Xath · June 2014

Does formula really go bad 30 days after it's been opened? We're currently adding Neosure and Polyvisol to 2 bottles/day, but we don't use enough to go through a whole can in a 30 day period. I tossed half a can last month, and will probably end up doing the same this month.

30 days was the guidance the NICU nurse gave me, but I can't find it on the can. What happens after 30 days?

Beijingvol · June 2014

How much & how often are 5-6 week olds eating? (We had weight gain issues the first few weeks and I want to make sure we are on track.)

chillypenguin · June 2014

gertiebarden said:

Does formula really go bad 30 days after it's been opened? We're currently adding Neosure and Polyvisol to 2 bottles/day, but we don't use enough to go through a whole can in a 30 day period. I tossed half a can last month, and will probably end up doing the same this month.

30 days was the guidance the NICU nurse gave me, but I can't find it on the can. What happens after 30 days?

I saw somewhere on Similac's website that you need to use it within 30 days, but I have no idea what happens after that.

chillypenguin · June 2014

Beijingvol said:

How much & how often are 5-6 week olds eating? (We had weight gain issues the first few weeks and I want to make sure we are on track.)

DD2 is 6 weeks old and eats 3 oz per bottle. She eats about every 2.5-3 hours during the day and about every 4 at night, it ends up being 8 bottles per day.

whse13kittens · June 2014

i was told for FF babies they should be eating a total of 2.5x their body weight in oz. So LO is 8 lbs, he should be eating 20 oz/day. Truth?

Also, can you use faster flow nipples earlier than the months printed on the packaging? He's not even a month and he's killing the slow flow nipples but I'm hesitant to move to the medium flows.

rainydayluck · June 2014

Beijingvol said:

How much & how often are 5-6 week olds eating? (We had weight gain issues the first few weeks and I want to make sure we are on track.)

My LO is eating 3.5-4.5 oz a feeding about every 3-4 hours. Total per day is like 24-28 oz. My first DD was a terrible eater and it took us forever to get her above 2 oz, so I feel you on the weight gain thing.

rainydayluck · June 2014

Oh, www.fearlessformulafeeder.com (and their Facebook page) is a great resource.

Edited to make it clicky.

amberlowe08 · June 2014

I have a little gobble gut! He is 2.5 weeks old and is eating 3 ounces every 2.5-3 hours. He will cluster feed in the evening and go longer at night (yay). We have him on the similac advance and he seems to be doing well.

cnbean · June 2014

If you have a Costco in your area, their store brand formula is the absolute cheapest way to FF. And per my pedi its just as good a formula as any name brand.

frasey · June 2014

Also, remember that you can double up Similac cheques and coupons for some awesome store deals. I got mine for half price last week - $30 regular, was on sale for $25, and I had $5 cheques and $5 coupons. I got 5 tubs for $15 each, which should last us a while.

amberlowe08 · June 2014

mary97 said:

amberlowe08 said:

I have a little gobble gut! He is 2.5 weeks old and is eating 3 ounces every 2.5-3 hours. He will cluster feed in the evening and go longer at night (yay). We have him on the similac advance and he seems to be doing well.

Our LO is the same which is great for us because they almost wouldn't let us take her home from NICU after her 48 hours of observation due to not eating as much as they would have liked and then her not gaining weight her first week. Now she's eating like a champ and I'm almost afraid she's eating too much now. How much is too much?

Our doc told us that you can't really over fed. If they still seem hungry give them a little bit more. Worse case if they over eat they just spit it up. This happens here and there with my little guy, but I'm learning slowly what the right amount is.

amroke · June 2014

I am transitioning baby from breast milk (I was pumping) to formula and she has gone from a content little girl to completely miserable. We slowly decreased the BM and increased the formula and we are down to about 25% BM and 75% F. We started with Enfamil Gentlease and switched to Similac Sensitive after a few weeks because she was having such a rough time.

I know that formula is harder on their systems than BM, but I'm wondering how long I should stick with a formula that's making her gassy/constipated before trying a different kind. Evidently the rule of thumb is two weeks, but does it really take that long for them to potentially adjust? I find it hard to believe that. Will she adjust to formula eventually?

For what it's worth, I did the same thing with my son (three weeks of BM then formula) and he had a little trouble adjusting, but nothing like this.

amroke · June 2014

Oh, I think I neglected to say that she has also been gassy/constipated on the similac.

cbrust · June 2014

DD is 4.5 weeks and up until now has been gobbling down her bottles. The last few days she has really slowed down, but it seems like she is sucking the same amount, it's just taking longer to finish her bottle. We are at 4oz every 3-4hrs. The nipple isn't consistently collapsing, but it is happening. Is it time to go to medium flow?

Sdufort1216 · June 2014

amroke said:
I am transitioning baby from breast milk (I was pumping) to formula and she has gone from a content little girl to completely miserable. We slowly decreased the BM and increased the formula and we are down to about 25% BM and 75% F. We started with Enfamil Gentlease and switched to Similac Sensitive after a few weeks because she was having such a rough time.

I know that formula is harder on their systems than BM, but I'm wondering how long I should stick with a formula that's making her gassy/constipated before trying a different kind. Evidently the rule of thumb is two weeks, but does it really take that long for them to potentially adjust? I find it hard to believe that. Will she adjust to formula eventually?

For what it's worth, I did the same thing with my son (three weeks of BM then formula) and he had a little trouble adjusting, but nothing like this.

this is exaclty my issue. I am bf and started ff every other feeding. I started him on enfamil gentlease and after he eats it he's restless and fussy and he actually lasts half as long between feeding with formula which I find odd. I thought it filled them more?

rainydayluck · June 2014

cbrust said:

DD is 4.5 weeks and up until now has been gobbling down her bottles. The last few days she has really slowed down, but it seems like she is sucking the same amount, it's just taking longer to finish her bottle. We are at 4oz every 3-4hrs. The nipple isn't consistently collapsing, but it is happening. Is it time to go to medium flow?

I wouldn't think you need a faster flow, maybe she was growing a bit more and slowed down. How long are feedings taking? Ours usually take like 30 mins with burping and diaper changes (DD tends to fall asleep during feedings).

rainydayluck · June 2014

amroke said:

I am transitioning baby from breast milk (I was pumping) to formula and she has gone from a content little girl to completely miserable. We slowly decreased the BM and increased the formula and we are down to about 25% BM and 75% F. We started with Enfamil Gentlease and switched to Similac Sensitive after a few weeks because she was having such a rough time. I know that formula is harder on their systems than BM, but I'm wondering how long I should stick with a formula that's making her gassy/constipated before trying a different kind. Evidently the rule of thumb is two weeks, but does it really take that long for them to potentially adjust? I find it hard to believe that. Will she adjust to formula eventually? For what it's worth, I did the same thing with my son (three weeks of BM then formula) and he had a little trouble adjusting, but nothing like this.

Have you tried gas drops? Does your bottle end up with a bunch of bubbles and air from shaking? We add gas drops to the bottles and I have heard that stirring instead of shaking creates less air. With DD1 our bottles kept a lot of the air trapped and she had gas issues. This time we have awesome bottles that let the air out quickly and we seem to have less issues. Have you tried Enfamil newborn? We use that and I think it is supposed to be more gentle.

amroke · June 2014

rainydayluck said:

amroke said:

I am transitioning baby from breast milk (I was pumping) to formula and she has gone from a content little girl to completely miserable. We slowly decreased the BM and increased the formula and we are down to about 25% BM and 75% F. We started with Enfamil Gentlease and switched to Similac Sensitive after a few weeks because she was having such a rough time.

I know that formula is harder on their systems than BM, but I'm wondering how long I should stick with a formula that's making her gassy/constipated before trying a different kind. Evidently the rule of thumb is two weeks, but does it really take that long for them to potentially adjust? I find it hard to believe that. Will she adjust to formula eventually?

For what it's worth, I did the same thing with my son (three weeks of BM then formula) and he had a little trouble adjusting, but nothing like this.

Have you tried gas drops? Does your bottle end up with a bunch of bubbles and air from shaking? We add gas drops to the bottles and I have heard that stirring instead of shaking creates less air. With DD1 our bottles kept a lot of the air trapped and she had gas issues. This time we have awesome bottles that let the air out quickly and we seem to have less issues. Have you tried Enfamil newborn? We use that and I think it is supposed to be more gentle.

We give her gas drops with most feelings... There are definitely bubbles in the formula, I need to try stirring.

What kind of bottles do you use?

Helmink0804 · June 2014

Is it ok to give LO cold bottle?

rainydayluck · June 2014

amroke said:

amroke said:

I am transitioning baby from breast milk (I was pumping) to formula and she has gone from a content little girl to completely miserable. We slowly decreased the BM and increased the formula and we are down to about 25% BM and 75% F. We started with Enfamil Gentlease and switched to Similac Sensitive after a few weeks because she was having such a rough time. I know that formula is harder on their systems than BM, but I'm wondering how long I should stick with a formula that's making her gassy/constipated before trying a different kind. Evidently the rule of thumb is two weeks, but does it really take that long for them to potentially adjust? I find it hard to believe that. Will she adjust to formula eventually? For what it's worth, I did the same thing with my son (three weeks of BM then formula) and he had a little trouble adjusting, but nothing like this.

Have you tried gas drops? Does your bottle end up with a bunch of bubbles and air from shaking? We add gas drops to the bottles and I have heard that stirring instead of shaking creates less air. With DD1 our bottles kept a lot of the air trapped and she had gas issues. This time we have awesome bottles that let the air out quickly and we seem to have less issues. Have you tried Enfamil newborn? We use that and I think it is supposed to be more gentle.
We give her gas drops with most feelings... There are definitely bubbles in the formula, I need to try stirring. What kind of bottles do you use?

I use Playtex Vent Aire

rainydayluck · June 2014

Helmink0804 said:

Is it ok to give LO cold bottle?

I have. I think it is just a matter of if you baby will take it.

jsaffer01 · June 2014

I was using enfamil newborn, but had to switch to enfamil gentlease because he was so gassy on the newborn stuff. So IMO the newborn kind isn't more gentle then the gentlease kind.

frasey · June 2014

We give cold bottles.

rainydayluck · June 2014

This might help with amounts for formula feeding.

https://www.fearlessformulafeeder.com/2011/12/the-fff-quick-and-dirty-guide-to-formula-feeding-how-much-and-how-often-should-you-feed-your-formula-fed-baby/

ama7165 · June 2014

What is the best way to change to a different formula? Should I mix some of the old and new before going to 100 percent of the new stuff? Or is it ok to change cold turkey?

stina76 · June 2014

ama7165 - I was wondering this same thing. This is the second week I have been giving DS (almost 5 weeks) Enfamil (was BF'ing before) but we are close to running out and I have a bunch of Similac that I could use. Not sure if it's okay on their stomach to change so soon?

rainydayluck · June 2014

ama7165 said:

What is the best way to change to a different formula? Should I mix some of the old and new before going to 100 percent of the new stuff? Or is it ok to change cold turkey?

With DD1, I was far too lazy to do gradual transitions so I just switch cold turkey and had no issues (besides the issues we already had, lol), so I guess it just depends on the baby.

cbrust · June 2014

We also switched cold turkey the two times we had to with DD. She had problems on both previous formulas so I felt like it didn't matter to abruptly switch.

lrmrtn · June 2014

ama7165 said:
What is the best way to change to a different formula? Should I mix some of the old and new before going to 100 percent of the new stuff? Or is it ok to change cold turkey?

We've been switching back and forth between Similac and Enfamil because we have a bunch of both and LO hasn't had any issues.

stina76 · June 2014

Thanks for the responses on the switching question. He has been so gassy and uncomfortable, so I wasn't sure if it would make things worse by switching or not. Maybe he will do better on the new kind. I have been giving him the gas drops and it's offered a little relief for a short time.

For those of you that said that your babies had issues on formulas, what were the issues? I feel like it's hard to know if the tummy trouble is from the formula or just a developing digestive system? He has only had one day without pooping so far. Sounds like the tons of grunting, farting and uncomfortable faces are pretty common.

mcnava · June 2014

How do I get less bubbles when shaking the formula...I feel like the last bit of formula is always just bubbles.

chillypenguin · June 2014

stina76 said:

Thanks for the responses on the switching question. He has been so gassy and uncomfortable, so I wasn't sure if it would make things worse by switching or not. Maybe he will do better on the new kind. I have been giving him the gas drops and it's offered a little relief for a short time.

For those of you that said that your babies had issues on formulas, what were the issues? I feel like it's hard to know if the tummy trouble is from the formula or just a developing digestive system? He has only had one day without pooping so far. Sounds like the tons of grunting, farting and uncomfortable faces are pretty common.

For us, she will scream right after eating. Her stomach would also get really hard (she was not constipated) from gas and would wake up from a dead sleep screaming in pain. Her issues are kind of severe though. We have been though Regular Similac, Sensitive, Soy, and now we are on Alimentum (hypoallergenic). She also has bad reflux so we are trying to figure out if her issues are more reflux or milk intolerance (or both). With DD1, she just had painful gas and would cry, we switched her to Sensitive and she did great.

SurprisePartySue · June 2014

chillypenguin said:

stina76 said:

Thanks for the responses on the switching question. He has been so gassy and uncomfortable, so I wasn't sure if it would make things worse by switching or not. Maybe he will do better on the new kind. I have been giving him the gas drops and it's offered a little relief for a short time.

For those of you that said that your babies had issues on formulas, what were the issues? I feel like it's hard to know if the tummy trouble is from the formula or just a developing digestive system? He has only had one day without pooping so far. Sounds like the tons of grunting, farting and uncomfortable faces are pretty common.

For us, she will scream right after eating. Her stomach would also get really hard (she was not constipated) from gas and would wake up from a dead sleep screaming in pain. Her issues are kind of severe though. We have been though Regular Similac, Sensitive, Soy, and now we are on Alimentum (hypoallergenic). She also has bad reflux so we are trying to figure out if her issues are more reflux or milk intolerance (or both). With DD1, she just had painful gas and would cry, we switched her to Sensitive and she did great.

^ to a T. Except with Enfamil. We are now on their hypoallergenic called nutramigen.

rainydayluck · June 2014

mcnava said:

How do I get less bubbles when shaking the formula...I feel like the last bit of formula is always just bubbles.

We add the gas drops into the bottle and that takes away the air.

rainydayluck · June 2014

Just bumping to the top for our FFing friends.

Formula feeding questions post here

Re: Formula feeding questions post here

Choose Another Board

Search Boards