Formula feeding questions post here

[Deleted User] · June 2014

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lrmrtn · June 2014

We like Dr. Browns and Avent and use similac and enfanil pretty interchangeably. He goes back and forth between boob and bottle.

jsaffer01 · June 2014

I didnt breastfeed prior, but we use Dr. Brown bottles and enfamil gentlease formula. LO does great with this combo.

Helmink0804 · June 2014

We use similac advance. Bottles we have two different kinds and she really doesn't care which we feed her from- we have Tomme Tippie and Dr Brown natural flow.

ama7165 · June 2014

We are using Advent Natural bottles. Tried Tomee Tippee and DS did not like them. We are still using newborn flow nipples at 12 weeks. We used similac (in the blue container) and enfamil gentlease, we are still giving BM bottles and formula, about 50/50

Only DH and I have fed DS so far. Does anyone have any problems with their LOs taking bottles from anyone else? We haven't tried it yet, but I wasn't sure if that is something I should be concerned about for when he goes to a babysitter or daycare.

rainydayluck · June 2014

I saw this posted recently about the "best" bottles that mimic the breast:

https://www.lilsugar.com/Best-Bottles-Breastfed-Babies-16069693

jsaffer01 · June 2014

@mary97‌ double check to make sure you have a slow flow in the bottles. And make sure there didn't happen to be extra holes or something.

I have so many different people feed him just so he doesn't get used to me being the only one. And he has no problem. Just like he doesn't care who is holding him.

Helmink0804 · June 2014

Brooke has spit up a lot- where it has come out of her nose. She doesn't do it often- not even once a day- it's usually if she won't burp enough. Afterwards she's crying as if she's still hungry. Should we fix her another bottle or no since she just spit the last one up?

We give her similac advance- should we be switching to a different kind?

jsaffer01 · June 2014

Before we switched formulas my LO used to spit up like half the bottle every 5-6 feedings. And he then like 30min-1 hr later he'll be hungry so I would make a smaller bottle for him. So he has enough to fill, but not too much that he'll spit it up again, and get messed up with the feeding schedule. Or if he would last like 2-2 1/2hr hours I would then make him a normal size bottle.

But ever since we switched from Enfamil Newborn to Enfamil Gentlease he hardly spits up. Unless of course we have a lot of movement and jiggle his belly too much right after he eats.

ama7165 · June 2014

If my LO spits up alot and still acts hungry I offer him an ounce more at a time. Normally he wouldn't take a full feeding after that. How often does everyone replace nipples? We have been using the same ones since around 4 weeks old and he is going on 3 mths now. I thought I read about replacing them every three months, but I wasn't sure the reason and if it was necessary.

Helmink0804 · June 2014

I've never read about switching nipples. I know they make 0-3 and 3-6 like clothing and I was planning on just following that. I didn't know they had to be switch out often or what not.

stephierd81 · June 2014

jsaffer01 said:
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.

We are also using enfamil newborn and LO seems to be extra gassy. Is been hesitant to switch to the gentlease since I see the newborn says up to 3 months so I was concerned the gentlease may not have all his needed nutrients. I'm aware I can ask pediatrician. Just haven't been super ready to switch formula yet due to some gas because I know SOME gas is normal and we have had NO spitting up on the newborn. I guess what I'm asking is LO is 5 weeks old and so it would be ok to use the gentlease?? Thanks

jsaffer01 · June 2014

The doctor switched us to gentlease at his 2wk appt. but he was really gassy, and spit up every 5-6 bottle. And when I say gassy I mean from an hr after his feeding to the next feeding which was 2hrs away.. And once we started feeding him he would then fart the whole feeding. His belly was always hard, he was just miserable. That gas drops weren't even helping. So we took the docs advice and switched and he has been so much better, (minus today, still waiting for a poop).

mcnava · June 2014

We were using the level 1 nipples and DS was crushing them, so we decided to try the next level and those, the milk seems to come out too fast! I need a 1.5

kym1242 · June 2014

I'm trying to switch from breast to formula, slowly. Right now I'm trying to give her 2 bottles per day of formula. She acts like she hates it. How can I get her to love formula and continue to eat?

Beijingvol · June 2014

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jsaffer01 said:
The doctor switched us to gentlease at his 2wk appt. but he was really gassy, and spit up every 5-6 bottle. And when I say gassy I mean from an hr after his feeding to the next feeding which was 2hrs away.. And once we started feeding him he would then fart the whole feeding. His belly was always hard, he was just miserable. That gas drops weren't even helping. So we took the docs advice and switched and he has been so much better, (minus today, still waiting for a poop).

We have the same issue using Similac Advance. My pedi says it's fine that EFF baby only poops every 3 days (because she's not spitting up regularly.) We use gas drops & dr said to give mineral oil but I'm not sure how I feel about that. My pedi seems to not care/worry near enough for my liking & I can't help but feel like she should be pooping more often. Any suggestions?

jsaffer01 · June 2014

@Beijingvol‌ I get nervous when he doesn't poop every other day.. He usually poops at least once a day. We have our 1 month appt on Friday so I'm going to talk to my pedi about it. I have no idea how to make him poop. So I can't help you out with that.

Beijingvol · June 2014

jsaffer01 said:
@Beijingvol‌ I get nervous when he doesn't poop every other day.. He usually poops at least once a day. We have our 1 month appt on Friday so I'm going to talk to my pedi about it. I have no idea how to make him poop. So I can't help you out with that.

@jsaffer01‌ If you find out anything useful please let me know!

mcnava · June 2014

I was having this trouble too...at the 1 month appointment, the nurse was taking his temp through the bum and said if he's backed up, this will loosen it up...use vaseline to make it go in easier. Something to try. It def worked for me. He's been pooping ever since.

jsaffer01 · June 2014

So LO usually eats between 3-4oz every 3-3 1/2hrs, however tonight he downed his 4oz bottle and after I burped him he was still rooting. So I made him another 2oz bottle and he killed that one too. Is that okay? Is that like a cluster feed?

bossyferg · June 2014

Maybe part of a growthspurt? Mine did this too so i up'd his bottle from 4 to 5 oz now and he isnt so hungry as often now

kym1242 · June 2014

FTM here and I have started to switch from breast milk to formula slowly. She was pooping 3-4 times a day but now hasn't pooped in over 24 hours. Is this normal? Should I be looking into changing the formula already?

bridetobe9132013 · June 2014

My lo was using tommee tippee bottles and would choke the entire time, even with the 1s and variflow nipples. We switched to Avent (which leak and drive me crazy) and she still chokes but not as much.

frasey · June 2014

@kym1242 - no, don't change yet based on that. Its normal for babies to go a few days without pooping. I know that sounds crazy, but its true. And remember that it takes babies up to a week to get used to a new formula, so wait a while before rushing to switch.

@bridetobe9132013 which Avent bottles do you have? we have the slightly older ones like this and tehysometimes leak. When they do I just open it and reclose it, which seems to solve the problem. Not sure tho if you have the newer ones.

RachelCA29 · June 2014

Is it bad to switch between formula brands suddenly? We only supplement (1-2 feedings per day depending on how BFing is going) but we had some Enfamil A+ ready-to-feed that we got from the hospital. We finished that 2 days ago and I had an 8-pack of Similac Omega 3+6 ready-to-feed I was sent in a sample pack so we did one feeding with that last night.

Both are milk based formulas and LO has no sign of allergies or issues with either (but since we only supplement occasionally I'm not sure if we would notice otherwise). But I am now planning on EPing so I might need to start supplementing more. Is it bad to switch back and forth? I have lots of coupons for Similac right now, and just signed up for Enfamil ones. I think we can get Enfamil cheaper in the long run, so I'm not sure if I should just not use the Similac formula I have, or the coupons and just go with Enfamil from now on.

Thanks for the advice!!

jsaffer01 · June 2014

So I know if you make a bottle it's good in the fridge for 24hrs, and when LO started eating and stopped that bottle is only good for an hr because it grows bacteria. But how long is a bottle good for if you make and leave it out at room temp? Is it still an hr? Just to clarify I'm just curious I'm not leaving bottles out, I make them as I go, I don't pre make them yet, I probably will when I go back to work though.

bossyferg · June 2014

I believe at room temp its still only hood for the hour. Different formula varies on how long it is good pre made in the refrigerator. The similac sensitive to lactose liquid is good for 48 hours once mixed.

bossyferg · June 2014

How is everyone doing now with formula and bottles? Have most LOs gotten better with gas, etc now? My LO seems to be doing a lot better now after we switched about 2 weeks ago. Hope all rhe lil tummies are adjusting.

jsaffer01 · June 2014

My LO is doing pretty good with his gas since we changed to enfamil gentlease when he was 2.5wks old. However I've now noticed he is having a hard time trying to poop, so his pedi said we can try 1 ounce of water once a day to help him out. Also he's still not a great burper so we still use gas drops here and there, just not after every feeding like we used to have to do.

stina76 · June 2014

My little guy still has quite a bit of gas, but it's been a little better lately. I'm still giving him the gas drops and we tried gripe water.

Maybe I am an awful mom, but really the formula goes bad in exactly 1 hour?? I don't follow that rule very closely, not saying that I leave a bottle out all day, but if it's a few hours.....We haven't had any issues so far.

Katzalia · June 2014

We're mostly FF with a little BF/pumping. LO was super constipated on Gerber goodstart gentle. The pedi had us use the vaseline/thermometer in the bum to help her poo, and when that didn't work, glycerin suppositories. But that was because it had been 3-4 days and she was uncomfortable. The pedi also had us switch her to enfamil reguline, and that's really helped her.

brizer21 · June 2014

mary97 said:
Regarding the 1 hr rule on formula, why can't we put the leftover in the fridge if it's done within the hour? I hate wasting formula because she only wanted a snack rather than the usual full amount. Sometimes she wants an ounce or two and falls asleep. I would love to save the other 2 oz for later. Package says once feeding starts to discard after an hour.

Its the risk of growing bacteria after eating... Even refrigerated. If you are using powdered you could always make extra and pour some into a new bottle to refrigerate... ie: make 6 oz, pour 3 oz into different bottle and refrigerate, feed LO 3 oz. The bottle in the fridge is good for 24 hours so you could use at next feeding.

On a separate note, we are using colic calm for gas/reflux and it seems to work really well! We also have her on enfamil AR.. We tried almost every similac type and she was miserable on all of them.

jsaffer01 · June 2014

My pedi said we could do an ounce of water a day to help with his pooping. His poops are normal he just seems to have a hard time getting it out. And we're using enfamil gentlease

jsaffer01 · June 2014

I have a question. Does your LO take forever to eat? DS takes no less than 20mins to eat. And he only eats that fast if he is really hungry. Other than that it usually takes 30mins for him to be done eating. Just wondering if others have a slow eater or if this baby just takes after MH completely. Haha.

letal316 · June 2014

My DD usually takes her time eating. Although, we really encourage that. Depending on how gassy she is during her feeding or if she's spilling, we'll take extra time to burp her and give her her paci in between to slow things down a little. It is definitely not uncommon for her to take 30 mins to drink 4oz.

Deems83 · June 2014

My 5 week old has been drinking 4oz bottles every 2.5-3 hours since she was 2/3 weeks old. My pediatrician said it's fine as long as she doesn't go above 32oz in a day. She has been very gassy and uncomfortable but we started burping her every oz and putting gas drops in the bottles and she has gotten slightly better. We have her on the ready made similac sensitive. Is there a difference in similac and enfamil in regards to one being better than the other?

jsaffer01 · June 2014

@Deems83‌ I've only used Enfamil, we started out with enfamil newborn and he was so gassy, so when he was 2wks we changed to enfamil gentlease and his gas issue has been so much better. We hardly have to use the gas drops whereas before we had to use them after every feeding.

My DS eats between 4-5oz every 3.5-4hrs. I'm just glad to hear my LO isn't the only one taking his time to eat.

Lbarron915 · July 2014

Ok, so this is only kind of related too formula feeding, but I'm not sure where else to ask it. There was a post today about when it's normal to get your period if you're breastfeeding. But, what about for us formula feeders? I'm 8.5 weeks postpartum and have yet to get mine. I bled for a LONG time right after birth (like, 3 weeks) but since then, nothing. Well, one day last week I had blood on my pantyliner at one point, but that was all. (just a little bit, not like a full period)

Sorry if that's TMI, but should I be worried? Have you all gotten yours yet?

letal316 · July 2014

I'm EFF and I got mine at 7-1/2 weeks pp. My OB said its normal to get it 6 to 10 weeks pp for formula feeders.

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