formula

What formula are your babies on? Mine are on Neosure but it's so hard on their little bellies and my one little boy just has such a hard time with gas and I feel terrible for him. I'm going to the pediatrician today to see if he has suggestions but I wanted to see what you use or have used that you thought was good.

Thank you

 

Isn't neosure the one that's higher calorie? Sorry he's having such a rough time! I definitely wouldn't switch him off of that without talking to the ped!

Have you tried mylicon drops for him? Some people swear by putting it in the bottles, and some just give it to the baby before a feeding, some during, some after. Experiment and see if it helps him at all!

 

We were going to be on Neosure for the first nine months since they were preemies, but they had a milk protein allergy so we were on the Alimentum from 6 weeks on. I would try the Mylicon in each bottle and see if that helps.

 

I will totally try putting the drops in the bottle, I hope that works...that would be so fabulous. Yes, that's the high calorie one. I know that they have babies go on that until they gain weight and mine are a good size now so I am not sure what he would want me to do now
Thank you so much!

 

Mine were on NeoSure for about 7 weeks and then Claire started to get very bloated and gassy. She was also very, very colicky at the time. After trying numerous formulas, we settled on Alimentum as well.

They say that they need NeoSure for 9 months but really, some moms choose to exclusively breastfeed and not give them formula at all. If those babies are fine without all the 'extra' in NeoSure, then formula fed babies will be fine, too, on a different formula.

 

We only used neosure til they reached typical birthweight for newborns (maybe 8 pounds or something). And now Similac Advance for one and Similac Alimentum for the allergic one. We wanted to stay with Similac since Neosure is also a Similac product.

 

My babies were term and good size, I did not have to use Neosure, so we ended up using Good Start Gentle. My peanut was fussy on Enfamil, so I tried this brand and it worked very well for us.
Ask your pedi what they suggest, if there are no other issues and they gain weight properly you may be able to start them on a milk based one.

 

I would definitely try the Mylicon & I would also definitely talk to your ped. If they are gaining weight well & are a good size now, you might be able to switch them to a different formula.

 

Our boys came home from the NICU on Neosure as well, and within a few weeks we had to switch them because it was SO hard on their tummies. Of course, a lot of formulas were then. We talked to the pedi who didn't mind us switching from 22 calorie formula to 20 cal. We knew if there weight gain wasn't sufficient we could fortify their 20 cal formula with a little bit of Neosure. Anyway, we switched from Neosure to Similac Sensitive, then to Alimentum (which they hated and wouldn't drink at all), then to Gentlease. Around that time we also started dealing with reflux on top of their sensitive tummy issues, so we tried Enfamil AR (which constipated them horribly!). Finally we switched to Enfamil Premium which we thickened with a gel thickener that didn't constipate them, and we started giving them a 1/2 tsp of probiotic every morning along with their vitamins in a 2 oz "snack bottle" (I learned not to put them in a full bottle because that would be the bottle they didn't finish!). I don't know if Enfamil Premium was the answer, or the probiotic, or if it was because their intestines had matured some more during those 2 months we played formula roulette. I personally think it was the latter along with the probiotic, but whatever it was I was just thankful that for the past 7 months they haven't had anymore tummy issues, and their weight gain has been excellent. About a month ago we switched from Enfamil Premium to the Target brand with Prebiotic and they had no problems with that change whatsoever. GL, I hope you find a formula that your babies can tolerate soon!

ETA mylicon drops did nothing for our boys. I probably bought about 20 bottles worth, first adding some drops to each bottle, then later giving it to the straight by mouth, but they just didn't help us. The only thing I find mylicon drops good for is removing bubbles after shaking/mixing up formula. Instead we used Cocyntal homeopathic vials when our boys where having tummy issues and I truly think they helped a lot. You might give those a try.

 

We tried all kinds in the beginning. One of our two had reflux and very bad gas. We also found that Alimentum was the best for her. And we used mylicon drops and gripe water to help with any residual gas. Now that she's 6 months, we've been able to get her off the Alimentum and onto Similac Sensitive, like her sister. She just needed some time to develop more, I think. FWIW, we use RTF formula and not powder. Some people think there's a difference.

 

I should add: any formula can be fortified to 22 calorie--we used to fortify DS's Alimentum, since he couldn't tolerate Neosure but needed the extra cals. The manufacturer can give you instructions on how to mix it that way.

 

We came home from the NICU on Neosure and it messed their tummies up so bad. We eventually after I quit pumping, had to switch to Alimentum for one and Nutramigen for the other. I know strange, 2 differnt formulas UGH!! DS was finally able to take Ali about 3 months ago and then 3 or 4 weeks ago we made teh switch to Similac Sensitive and that has been ok except for constipation.

 

Both of mine were on Neosure until they went to whole milk at one year old. We really never had any problems with it.

 

same here. they were having truly horrific poops and seemed so uncomfortable. we talked to our pedi and we tried transitioning initially to similac lactose free, then to regular similac since lactose didn't seem to be a problem. after about 6 months we then transitioned to target brand formula and they did just fine on it. it's nutritionally identical to enfamil and all formula is very highly regulated.

if you do decide to transition to another formula, make sure you do so slowly. we mixed a batch of each formula and started blending them a bit at a time over a week so that you went from mostly old formula to mostly new formula until they were finally fully transitioned. slamming straight into a new formula can cause all kinds of tummy distress.

 

I haven't seen it mentioned here but you could also try soy...Isomil was our savior - also Mylicon was my DD's savoir...she got a full dropperful every night until she was nearly 2...she was THE gassiest baby on the planet!

 

Mine came home on enfamil enfacare-they were little peanuts too. No probs w/ gas or constipation on this, and still getting their extra calories. Now at 6.5 months are on enfamil premium lipil.

 

my boys were 2 months premature and so were put on neosure in the NICU and then that's what i fed them when i was finally able to bring them home a month later. it made them EXTREMELY gassey and uncomfortable. after complaining about this to my ped for about a month, my ped said that they seemed to be gaining such great weight each week that it was no longer necessary to keep them on it. when i asked what a good formula would be for them he said that i could feed them anything i wanted, that they are all FDA controlled and even the generics are very good. i started them on Walmart's brand "Parents Choice" soy formula (*soy helped with their gas and spitting up, as did switching all their bottles to Dr. Brown's). the formula has a comparison chart right on the can comparing it to similac and infomil and the ingredients are equal to or superior to on all vitamins and minerals. they have been on this formula now for the past 2+ months and are doing phenominal; at their 4 month birthday they have already more than doubled their birth weight (which is awsome), no longer have ANY painful gas issues and are very very happy healthy boys. this formula not only saved our budget (less than $200 a month for twins), but it saved our babies from all the painful gassiness and and us from the sleep deprovation from it. i definately would never change formula's without double checking with your ped, but this worked GREAT for us... GOOD LUCK!!! :0)

 

ours came home from the nicu on neosure as well....our little girl doesn't seem to have any issues with it but our boy does. He is so constipated on it. They have an appointment with the pedi tomorrow that I am going to discuss it with him.

 

this was GREAT information to come by...i would have LOVED to have kept my premature boys on a 22-24 calorie food for the first year of thier lives, there has actually been recent studies showing that rapid weight gain in preemies gives them a significantly higher IQ. but i could not keep them on the neosure or the other brand because it was just tooooooo hard on their tummies (and that's saying it nicely...).

knowing that i can keep them on the soy formuly they are doing so well on and can make it into a 22-24 calorie formula is GREAT NEWS. i am going to call the manufacturer right now to find out how to mix it.

THANK YOU!!!!
:0D
mytessygirl

 

talk to your pedi about transitioning to a regular formula and boosting the calories with an extra scoop. neosure was too hard on our boys' tummies so we transitioned to similac sensitive and then regular similac and followed the doctor's instructions for boosting the calories. it made a huge difference in their comfort and poops.

at 6 months we stopped calorie boosting and we also transitioned to target brand formula. it's identical to enfamil lipil (and nearly identical to similac advanced) and since formula is one of the most highly regulated products in the US we were comfortable with the accuracy of the nutritional information. our boys did swimmingly.