Twins are still on 22 cal. formula

:itwins: Hi my name is Julie and I'm a new mom of 3 1/2 month old fraternal twins Olivia and Liam. My twins were born at 35 weeks and 2 days, my son weighed 6.5 lbs and my daughter weighed 4.7. Their Pediatrician placed them on Enfamil Enfacare 22 cal. formula and their weight has skyrocketed. (Liam 13.3lbs & Olivia 11.3) this was their last weight check as of 2 weeks ago. My husband and I are having a real hard time paying for this formula, Wal-Mart sells it for $13.22 a can but it adds up fast when you got 2 drinking 5-5.5 oz every feeding 6 x's a day. I honestly feel like they do not need to be on this formula any longer. I've met other moms in my hometown and their babies were born 8 weeks early and they are already off the formula. (Plus the babies are younger than mine) I guess every Pediatrician is different and I know ours has our kids best interest but how do I tell him that we are struggling to pay for this formula? My husband thinks one of the reasons he might not be taking them off is that doctors get perks from the drug reps from whatever formula they put you on when they sign you up w/the company. I've worked for a private doctors office for years and I know for a fact this is true. (nothing against the drug reps) ;-) I honestly don't beleive this is why he still has them on it. Also when I go to my Pediatrician they NEVER have any samples or coupons... Enfamil only sends me 1 coupon a month and I rely on the generosity of the people on Craigslist.com to mail me their coupons they no longer need. I had one women form LA e-mail me stating her daughter was no longer needing the Enfacare and she had 9 canisters left and she would give them to me for free.. I couldn't believe it!!!! I offered to pay the S&H abd she wouldn't hear of it. She told me she gets 12 canisters per month from WIC. I applied for WIC and my husband makes to much. They really make it hard for people to get WIC, I think any women who decides to have children should be allowed to receive WIC no matter what your income is.

Has anyone here ever used store brand formula (Parents Choice, Especially for baby) Their prices are great and it has the same exact ingredients as the Enfamil Lipil. If you go to Parentschoice.com and e-mail them once a month they will mail you a $3 off coupon for their formula. (People on E-bay are selling this information and I think it's totally wrong).

Well if anyone has any ideas or thoughts please share them with me, i would really appreciate it!!!

 

:sign0016: to TS! Congrats on your babies!

First I would just explain it to your ped that you are having a hard time paying for the formula and see what he says. Their rep should be able to get you some for free. Also, you can mix regular formula to have a higher calorie content, that maybe an option for you also. :hug99: s, I know formula is expensive!

 

I am not using a higher calorie formula, but I am using the Parents choice/Members mark formula that is comparable to the enfamil. I have not had any problems with it and it actually seems to agree with them better than the enfamil.

 

YOu can fortify regular formula to 22 cal. We fortified my girls formula to 22 kcal (with neosure) for Similac Lactose free. I dont remember just how much of the fortifier I had to use but, Im sure if you ask on the NICU forum or the Breastfeeding forum they could help ( I know you arent breastfeeding but Im sure some bf moms are having to fortify their breast milk for their babies, so they could give you the amounts you need to use) Maybe you can even call enfamil and ask them how to fortify regular formula to 22kcal? or maybe look around online?

This way you can get the cheaper formula and spend a TON less on the enfacare.

 

QUOTE(Megos99 @ May 2 2007, 09:45 AM) [snapback]240982[/snapback]
I am not using a higher calorie formula, but I am using the Parents choice/Members mark formula that is comparable to the enfamil. I have not had any problems with it and it actually seems to agree with them better than the enfamil.

I've heard from other moms that they have had problems with spitting up on the Enfamil and they switched to Parents Choice and they did not have that problem. Every baby is different so you never know how their little tummies are going to tolerate a certain formula.

 

My twins are still on the 22 cal formula. My DS omly needs it a couple times a days; DD needs it every bottle. Maybe you could ask your ped (or decide to do it yourself) if they need the 22 cal formula every feeding.

:wavey: Congratulations on your twins and welcome!

 

My Dr. wrote a prescription for it and my insurance surprisingly covered it. My Dr. explained that it was very important for the babies to stay on it. I would ask ur doctor and see what he/she says. I was getting sick of paying for it and told the Dr. that we needed to switch and that's when she said we could go that route. It's worth a shot.

 

I'd explain to your pedi that you are having a hard time paying for the formula. Mine got us tons and tons of free samples, and we never mentioned anything about it being hard to pay for (we managed okay financially). He signed us up for some multiple program and I paid for very little formula through the age of 6 months (I only supplemented, otherwise they got EBM).

And you can mix regular formula to 22 cal/ounce. Ask you pedi about this as well. At 6 months I weaned the girls and switched them to Costco/Kirkland brand formula mixed to 22 cal. It is under $20 for 2 large cans and my girls actually preferred it to Neosure.

 

QUOTE(becky5 @ May 2 2007, 01:43 PM) [snapback]240980[/snapback]
:sign0016: to TS! Congrats on your babies!

First I would just explain it to your ped that you are having a hard time paying for the formula and see what he says. Their rep should be able to get you some for free. Also, you can mix regular formula to have a higher calorie content, that maybe an option for you also. :hug99: s, I know formula is expensive!



Ditto...I didn't know about using regular formula to make 22 cal. until after my girls were off of it. I wish I would've known that sooner. It's so expensive. Mine were 3#14oz and 4#8oz at birth (they were 34 weekers). We stayed on it until they were 6 months old and then switched to regular. I too would just tell your ped that this is getting to be a fiancial problem and see what they can do. Everytime we went to the peds, our dr. would bag up 8 cans of the Enfamil version and give it to me before we left. It was extremely helpful!