Thickened formula

My one DD is a spitter upper, has been from day 1. I was just curious if the thickened formulas work. I know Enfamil has one and would appreciate some feedback. Thanks

 

Honestly, I see no different when I thicken and when I dont

 

We noticed a huge difference when we started using Enfamil AR formula, which is thickened with rice starch. However, the rice in that formula also caused both of our boys to stay very constipated. So we started making our own gel thickener (similar to SimplyThick, but way cheaper) and add that to their formula batches and the constipation problems went away. They still spit up a little from time to time, but nothing as bad as when they drank unthickened formula.

 

I agree with the gel thickener. DS1 was a terrible spitter until we discovered this. He still spit up on occasion, but not nearly as much. We never tried the thickened formulas, as I was pumping and bottle feeding, but I would think it might be hard to get the consistency right. DS1 needed his pretty thick during the peak of his reflux. Also, as PP mentioned, the rice can cause constipation, which can make reflux worse.

 

We saw a huge improvement in the amount of spit-up when we switched to Enfamil AR. We mix the thickened formula with Good Start so it's not quite as thick. Our girls occasionally get constipated because of the thicker formula and lately we've been adding a bit of pear juice to the bottles which has helped a lot.

 

How do you make it?

 

Do you use half Enfamil and half Godd Start-My twins are on Good Start.

 

You can find the recipe and helpful hints here. It seems like a pain, but DH and I are so used to it now that its no big deal. We make really big batches of it now (2 containers each mixed with 3 cups water and 9 tsp of xanthan gum powder) so we only have to make this thickener about once every week or more.

 

We started off using about 3/4 Enfamil and 1/4 Good Start and now we are doing almost half and half (but slightly more Enfamil). I also make a big pitcher of it every day and use an immersion blender to mix it.

 

Thanks for the link for the thickener recipe. We're going to try it!

 

I hope it helps your LOs! It's a super cheap alternative to SimplyThick, and less frustrating than dealing with adding rice or oatmeal to bottles IMO.

 

We use enfamil AR with my first. It helped, but he STILL spit more than other babies. I don't think I will do it again with these two (who are also huge spitters) because I had to constantly stay on top of the constipation issue, and because it was SO expensive.

 

We thickened Emaline's bottles until around 9 months or so, because she aspirated on her milk. It helped tremendously for this, but did almost nothing for spitting up. She's still spitting up fairly frequently at 13 months.