Which is better - Nestle Good Start or Enfamil?

Question

I'm currently using Enfamil w/ Lipil on my 3 month old son. He seems gassy all the time and I always have to use Mylicon. I'm thinking about switching formulas and my pediatrician recommended Good Start. Does anyone feel Good Start is better? And if so, is Supreme with DHA & ARA better than regular Supreme?

Answer 1

I am struggling with the same question, so I called all three of the major brands to ask them what, if anything, makes them different. They each had a defferent answer.

Good Start only uses the whey protein from the milk. I don't remember the name of the other milk protein, but apparently, there are two milk proteins, one being the whey protein. Good start uses the whey protein only. This is the smaller of the two and broken down more easily in babies belly. Thne they break it down further. THis is what they call comfort proteins and may explain why many babies are less gassy and spit up less.

Enfamil is the only one that doesn't use table sugar (sucrose), so a baby that is sensitive to the sugar may do better on this brand.

Similac didn't offer anything specific that makes them different, but their packaging says that their calcium is better absorbed by babies. (not sure what effect that has other than just getting more calcium.)

There is a grocery store chain going out of business here. I hit about 7 stores to stock up on formula since it was 40% off! What I found was the Good Start was gone or in short supply first. Then the Enfamil. There was tons of Similac left in all stores. Could it be a sign that Similac was the least preferred??? I don't know.

So after talking with all of them, I think it is true that NUTRITIONALLY they are about the same, but depending on each baby, the different brands might work differently. i think with a baby that is gassy, spits up, etc. Good start might be worth a try. My baby had projectile vomiting and vomit coming out of his nose with Similac, Good Start has been working fine.

Oh, and the DHA and ARA are supposed to benefit brain and eye development and resemble the DHA and ARA in breastmilk. I think it's worth it, unless you are breastfeeding and only occasionally using formula (like me)... then maybe you could skip the DHA and ARA.

Answer 2

we had the same problem with our daughter...she was terribly gassy and very constipated. We were constantly giving her mylicon and little tummies to no avail. At first she was on Enfamil and then we switched her to similac...same thing and then to Nestle Good Start Supreme. I think the Nestle formula was wonderful and it smelled a lot better. It did reduce her gas by a lot however she still didn't seem to be 100% so we put her on Nutramigen by Enfamil which has helped 100 % that formula is liquid gold :) The Doctor said that the reason why she was gassy was due to the fact that she couldn't break down the protein in the milk and Nutramigen has that protein completely broken down. She will only need to be on this formula for a few months and then we are going to switch her back to Nestle Good Start with DHA and ARA. (I would use this brand because the DHA and ARA are only beneficial.)
So to sum this all up I would try the Nestle Good Start Supreme with the DHA and ARA and if that doesn't work try the Nutramigen. Good Luck and I hope this helps :)

Answer 3

My daughter was on Enfamil when she was first born. Then when we came from the hospital I gave her Good Start Supreme with DHA & ARA. At 4 months I put her on the regular Supreme. She's doing great! She's 5 months now and there have never been any bowel or gas problems.

Answer 4

My daughter was very gassy on regular Enfamil Lipil, so her pediatrician changed her over to Gentelease which is another Enfamil product. It really helped and quickly too!!

Answer 5

I used Good Start on my daughter from birth. She was a very gassy baby as a result and I finally got brave enough to switch her to soy based milk when she was six months because milk based formula really didn't mix well when I started her on babyfood. As for the brand names, they are all pretty much the same as far as vitamins and nutrients are concerned, so any brand of soy would be good. But when you find one that works well stick to the same kind.

I buy Target brand soy based milk for 0-12 months and it has DHA and iron in it as well. My daughter is very healthy and the formula is about $13 and lasts for a week.

Answer 6

I like good start very much !!!! My daughter is now 11 months and we have her on Enfamil nutramigen ( colic formula very expensive) I am very blessed to get wic to help with the cost (23-24 a can) Anyways when we could not afford nutramigen ( the cans we had to buy ourselves) I used good start!! It seemed that formula is good with colic too. Not quite as good as nutramigen but better than anything else. My daughter is still somewhat colicky at 11 months because of gas( that is what colic usually stems from) I would suggest you try that and if it is not working good try nutramigen. It is specially formulated for a baby with colic due to gas or a allergy to the milk. I bet good start will work though. My daughter was sooooooo bad and still has fits every now and then because of sever gas. Your doc. also should have told you about lepson drops that are a strong gas med. prescription. ( they help soooo much!!) Mine had them for like 6 months.

Hope that helps!

Answer 7

Enfamil is way too overrated. I use generic and my baby is doing great....I know someone who uses Enfamil, and although her baby is doing great as well, he is very gassy and fussy and he used to have to have a gas reliever like 3 times a day.....I rarely ever used any gas relievers, Good Start would be my choice if the 2.

Answer 8

I prefer Nestle Goodstart with DHA and ARA. I tried Similac and Enfamil but both of them my my children gassy. Goodstart has broken down whey protein to help them digest it better.

Answer 9

My 4 1/2 month old is on Good Start DHA &ARA and is doing fine

Answer 10

Nestle Good Start is better - my first child was raised on Enfamil and he was very gassy, too, so I switched to another formula. i raised my other three children on Good Start and they seemed like healthier babies than my first was while on Enfamil.