I am a new single parent and I needed to know what are the signs of my new baby not liking the formula he's being fed. I am giving him Similac now and he spits up constantly, sometimes throw up. I am not sure if he likes it or not or even if he can tell if he do. I am concerned because I know all babies spit up but he spits up alot. I just took him off of emfimil (gentle ease), which made him have a hard time with bowel movements.. what to do..his peditrician says to give him whatever he takes in but thats not helping me much... what do you think?
2006-12-15 12:04:03 · 21 answers · asked by collins2004_08 2 in Pregnancy & Parenting ➔ Newborn & Baby
I heard it's not good to keep changing formulas but of course I want whats best for my son. How would I know the perfect formula for him and is it okay to change formulas until I find the right one?
2006-12-15 12:12:53 · update #1
I have 2 boys and have had similar problems with formula. My now 3 yr old was bf for the first 5 months and eventually weaned to Enfamil. He hated it!! It was very hard on his stomach and he was constantly throwing up (as opposed to spitting up).
We ended up trying him on Nestle Good Start and what a difference! He went on to use the Nestle Follow Up!
With my second, who is almost 4 months old, I tried to bf but for medical reasons switched him to formula. I did this while still in hospital and the nurse gave me Similac. Awful stuff!! He would throw it up almost immediately and it would look curdled! Yuck!! The nurse wouldn't give me anything else so I had my husband get him some Enfamil. It's what our pediatrician recommended. Unfortunately it didn't agree with him either. So on to Nestle Good Start which I'm happy to say he is very happy with.
(He's only 16 weeks old and 18 lbs - do you think it agrees with him?!)
Although it's not recommended to constantly switch formulas, you want your child to be happy and healthy. Try each one for at least a week before switching and if he gets constipated easily - the iron enriched formulas, especially Enfamil - can make it worse. Talk to his doctor about what can be done to alleviate this and also what he/she recommends - write down your questions and take them to your appointment so you don't forget (which is easy to do).
Don't worry! Alot of motherhood is trial and error!! I'm sure you're doing great and congratulations on your new son.
2006-12-16 14:45:43 · answer #1 · answered by devils'littleangel 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is true that it is not good to constantly change your babies formula, it can cause him to have a lot of tummy aches which isn't good! We had the same problem with my son, and finally found some luck as far as tummy aches with Enfamil Lipil with iron. But as long as he is still having plenty of wet diapers don't worry about him not getting enough food, it always looks like they are spitting up more than they really are. And I don't know about your son but them problem with mine was just that the muscle in his throat that closes after the baby eats wasn't fully developed (which is completely normal) so it wasn't closing all the way allowing some of the food to come back up. My son is 4 months now and spitting up a lot less. Hope any of this helps, and hang in there I'm sure you and your baby will be fine.
2006-12-15 13:27:38 · answer #2 · answered by Jen W 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My daughter is almost 4 months old. We were having a really hard time with her spitting up and throwing up. The dr. sent us in for a diagnostic test called an Upper GI. We found that she has Severe GERD (reflux). She is now on 2 different kinds of medicine.
I have found that the only formula she will keep down is Enfamil AR Lipil. Its thickened with an easy to digest rice starch so it stays down better. You can get this at most grocery stores and target. Some walmarts carry it also. (Orange can). Also after feeding keep your baby upright for at least 30 minutes. Hope this helps!!
2006-12-15 13:04:20 · answer #3 · answered by greeneyed_girl 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My son had the same problem. We switched to a soy based formula and the vomiting stopped but the gas continued. We ended up using Dr Brown's bottles and soy formula and he did great! He had a hard time with bowel movements until he stopped formula, because of the iron. Good luck
2006-12-15 12:43:41 · answer #4 · answered by sienna_bay 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Similac and Enfamil both did NOT agree with my daughter at all. She vomitted, had stomach pains, constipation and was irritable. When she was almost 6 weeks, I changed 1 more time to Nestle Good Start ~easy to digest formula (has a purple label) and she was great. She has a very sensitive stomach and she loves this formula. I'd highly recommend trying it.
I also use the playtex bottles with disposable drop in liners. As my baby drinks from her bottle, The liners collapse and eliminate air bubbles. They sell bottle liners at Target for affordable prices and another time saving bonus, you know the bottle is always sanitary.
2006-12-15 14:45:36 · answer #5 · answered by hopeblue 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
how much are you feeding him ... if your feeding him an an appropriate amount of formula for his age (of course every baby is different by both of my boys were eating about 4oz about that time ... maybe even sometime 6 oz) and he is spitting everything up then I think it is the formula.
Do you qualify for WIC? WIC is amazing and they can really help with these type of questions!
both of my babies were picky about there formula also. I would call WIC and ask them (even say your a member and you just have a quick question). I think in the end we ended up buying a soy formula .
I hope everything works out
maybe this page can help
http://www.enfamil.com/products/formula_finder/index.html
2006-12-15 12:24:38 · answer #6 · answered by zealkiss01 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
From my experience SIMILAC is a tough formula. We used three tyes of Similac and finally my son did well w/ similic ALIMENTUM. IT was expensive but i wish i used it sooner b/c he was a miserable baby for 4 months until i switched. You must try a new formula for at least 3 days to find out results. Remmber that your baby cannot speak and that better results can occur if YOU make a decision to switch formula and stick w/ that decision. Lots of luck!
2006-12-15 12:26:49 · answer #7 · answered by Mer M 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I have a 5 and 2 yr olds. Mine both did fine on enfamil...but my sis's daughter kept having to change her formula and eventually tried carnation which worked wonders, she never had problems after that. The protiens are broken down smaller or something in carnation. I couldn't hardly ever find it though, I live in GA and my sis lives in SC. Also, my other nephew preferred his formula cold, straight from the fridge. His doc said it was fine to give it to him that way if he wouldn't take it any other way. Hope these ideas help. Good Luck!
Oh, I hope its not this, but have you asked your doc about gastric reflux? Some babies have it and can hardly keep anything down...
2006-12-15 12:12:34 · answer #8 · answered by Lisa Bee 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My son had a terrible time for months. We tried 4 different types before we finally settled on a formula that "stayed down." We ended up using a soy milk formula in the end. He just couldn't handle the milk based formulas.
2006-12-15 12:09:20 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
We also had feeding issues with my daughter. She had to use Nutramigen. When she was older, though, we switched her to Enfamil. It worked okay, but what worked best for use was Member's Mark at Sam's. It is cheaper and caused very little gas for her.
The nutramigen was really easy for her to take, and didn't cause problems with bowel movements. Did he spit up so much with the enfamil? if not, you may just have add a teaspoon of KARO syrup to help move the bowels...just mix it in to the bottle
2006-12-15 12:12:17 · answer #10 · answered by okiemommy2005 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋