Good Start vs. Similac Alimentum and another Gripe Water Quest.

Hi,

Yesterday I posted about my son (34 weeker/ 6 weeks yesterday) who was diagnosed with reflux, started on Zantac last week and just continues to cry and cry.

My ped wants me to change formula to the Similac Alimentum. I guess it helps with protein sensitivity and is easier to digest. The problem is that it's soooo expensive!

Doesn't Good Start have the same concept? I thought it broke down proteins too and helped with digestion. I would think Good Start would be a whole lot cheaper then the Similac.

Anyone here ever try both of these and like one over the other?

As for the Gripe Water - does that tend to make the babies sleepy as well as help them digest? I gave it to my son last night for the first time and he slept for 6 hours - he's usually up every 3.

Thanks again,
jody

 

from what I read the alimentum is a special formula for babies w/ milk protein allergies which is why your pedi probably recommended it as the good start while it is supposed to be easier digested still is milk protein based... except the soy
good start looked like it may be cheaper but may not work for your babies problem in which case I would make sure to ask pedi for coupons for the similac and also sign up with similac to get coupons on the mail. when I switched to soy I got a free case of RTF formula for each baby from similac from an offer from my pedi, ask if they have anything even some sample to help see if it works...

sorry I don't know anything about the gripe water..


Alyson

 

Gripe water helped my girls quality of sleep. It seemed to help them express the gas while they slept instead of the clench and struggle to help it pass.

 

I tried both and honestly, the Alimentum worked much better than the Good Start. Trust me, I tried ALL different kinds of formula before I bit the bullet and started purchasing the Alimentum. It was financially tight for a couple months but, like I said before, we only used it for 2-3 mos. Then I switched to Enfamil Lipil and it's working just fine.

I want to mention that we also added oatmeal cereal (per pedi) to their bottles since they were diagnosed with reflux (1 month old).

It definitely can't hurt to try the Good Start first and see what happens. It will take some time, but you'll find the right formula for your babies. It seemed like it took us FOREVER!

 

Good Start isn't the same as the hypoallergenic formulas (Similiac Alimentum and Enfamil Nutrigimen). It's just a mainstream formula that happens to be easier to digest. If your little one has a true allergy/intolerance it won't help. One of my sons was diagnosed with silent reflux and we used Nutrigimen for a couple of weeks. It didn't help and actually he refused to eat it after a while. I tasted it myself one afternoon - it's disgusting! From what I gather, reflux is a physiological problem, it's not caused by WHAT the baby is eating. We have had the most luck with Enfamil A+ Concentrate (it's not a special formula) (my son refuses the powder kind - don't ask me why!?). I suggest trying Alimentum for 2 weeks - you'll know by then whether it helps.
Gripe water doesn't cause drowsiness. But maybe your son is usually up often due to stomach upset/gas rather than hunger and the gripe water helped with that?



QUOTE(jkjulius @ Jun 26 2007, 01:15 PM) [snapback]307664[/snapback]
Hi,

Yesterday I posted about my son (34 weeker/ 6 weeks yesterday) who was diagnosed with reflux, started on Zantac last week and just continues to cry and cry.

My ped wants me to change formula to the Similac Alimentum. I guess it helps with protein sensitivity and is easier to digest. The problem is that it's soooo expensive!

Doesn't Good Start have the same concept? I thought it broke down proteins too and helped with digestion. I would think Good Start would be a whole lot cheaper then the Similac.

Anyone here ever try both of these and like one over the other?

As for the Gripe Water - does that tend to make the babies sleepy as well as help them digest? I gave it to my son last night for the first time and he slept for 6 hours - he's usually up every 3.

Thanks again,
jody

 

I don't think Gripe Water causes drowsiness either. However, it is possible that he is sleeping better because he is more comfortable.

 

Gripe Water never seemed to make our babies sleepy. My guess is that he slept longer because his tummy felt better.

 

My son used to grunt a lot in his sleep and choked a lot while eating, so our pedi put him on Alimentum, it was super expensive, and it stunk like heck!!! I didn't feel like we had a choice since the pedi. said that formula by name. So we used it for 2 mos. ( I still snuck in breastmilk) and he outgrew his "symptoms." Ask your pedi for coupons, and send Similac those "Welcome to the Club" postcard that you can get at your doctor, and note that you have twins. If you don't have those postcards, I can mail you 2 that I still have. I received about 6 FREE cases (each of 6 bottles of 24 oz. ??) You can PM me with your adress if interested.

 

I think that i have posted about this so much that soemoen else could probably write my post but....we had major problems with reflux and per the doctors help, we decided to go with no meds at first and hope that htey would outgrow it. We tried every single formula made by similac as well as Nutramigen. we even tried the Allimentum. They trhew it up like nothing else...we switched to the Good Start with DHA and ARA and still the same grunting and throwing up bottles. Finally, i got the idea to switch to the Good Start with out the DHA and ARA b/c every similac formula has it in it. It worked perfectly and we never had a problem with the formula again. We did put rice cereal in the formula at a month old to help keep it down at night but other than that, the reflux symptoms were gone and Good Start became our new best friend - no more puking babies!!!! Good Luck and I suggest trying both types of Good Start if one doesnt work since it's cheaper for you.

Amanda