Enfamil: Powder vs. Instant??? Which is safer on the baby's tummy?

Question

A lot of my friends' doctors told them to switch to instant formula from the powder because if you mixed the powder form incoreectly (too thick or two thin) it can cause babies to have trouble with their bowel movements. Regardless of the price or how each works out for your usage, which do you perfer with it being safer on the baby's stomach?

Im feeding formula because Im unable to express milk even after pumping and stimulating.

So does the ready to use formula causes more gas even if you use Dr. Brown bottles?

Answer 1

I was using powdered form but now use ready to use.I also had to add my powder stronger for my baby to gain weight and it did not make a difference at all,I actually noticed alot more gas when i switched her to ready to use.

It did cause more gas to start with but within a few days my baby was back to normal and eating way more!Dr.browns are wonderful and worth the money!!I too could not breast feed due to dairy,soy and an unknown allergy.Ready to use is nice and easy it also has about 5 more calories than powder,the hypoallergenic that i use does anyways.
I live in Canada and Similac does not sell Alimentum in any form except ready to use,I went across the line to the U.S. and it cost me $35 canadian for a small powdered tin of Alimentum that my baby did not like.

Answer 2

your baby probably won't care either way, unless he or she has a significant reaction to either one. Some babies are brats and will only take the pre-mixed instant stuff which is more expensive. Why Enfamil specifically? My pediatrician office was really sweet and gave me cans of the powdered stuff (samples they had on hand) and I used any brand they gave me, my daughter couldn't tell the difference between similac or enfamil.....and I bought the store brand powder fomula - either meijer or kroger - and that's just because I don't shop at walmart or any of those warehouse stores. Eventually, at about a year, she'd vomit the formula........totally drink it down, but then would expell it, exorcist style minutes later, so I moved her to milk ( she was eating baby food by then, of course.) It's hard to balance the cost of formula and doing right by your kid, but go with the cheapest - the store brands are just as good as the name brands, and it all gets pooped out in the end! I sure wish she had taken to breast feeding!

Answer 3

The ready to feed is thicker and tends to be smoother than the powder. I bought the ready to feed one time, as we were just about to change formulas (she wanted us to start a new med, wait three days, then change formula). I did not want to open a whole new can of powder so I bought a quart........it was a noticeable difference.

I have to give her Ready to Feed now because she is on the AR for severe acid reflux. I measured the powder EXACTLY and it was just not as smooth. Plus I have read that the ready to feed AR is better for the reflux than powder. I have found that to be true.

BUT, I don't think it really matters with regular formula, as long as you mix it right. Too much powder and it becomes too heavy. Too little powder and they do not get the nutrition they need.

Answer 4

There is ready-to-use, powder and concentrate formula.

The ready-to-use is great for emergency feeding.
The powder and the concentrate need to have water added to them. Both are relatively the same cost... I found the concentrate slightly cheaper.

The concentrate will probably be easiest on your baby's tummy, because it is already completely dissolved.

Make sure you read the directions before giving it to baby. Also, I found that the store-brand formula was just as good.

Answer 5

My daughter is 3 months old and I have been using ready to feed formula since she was born. For the first tme last week I tried switching her to powder, I mixed it using bottles of nursery water with flouride. I hated it. By shaking it up it made tons of bubbles and foam, I even tried to pre make her bottles and let them sit in the fridge for a few hours, it was still full of bubbles and foam. I noticed that she was spitting up alot from it and also noticed that it didn't seem to fill her up as well as the ready to feed. She was hungry 2 hours later rather than 3-4 like she normally was. I think the ready to feed is thicker which filled her up more and kept her from spitting up. In my opinion I think the rtf is gentler on baby's tummy.

Answer 6

Steph: well according to baby fomulas"Powder or Liquids
they can be differet
1 liquid is an pre made that comes it's own can
2 Powder type known as instant form where water or milk added
well the safe one would be instant !

Answer 7

okay, Enfamil is the best baby formula so far that i know... it's good for your baby. I gave my baby Enfamil Lipil with Iron until she was 7 months old and now i switch to good start and i also give her sometimes Enfamil when i have coupons. I also heard that Good Start Supreme is good too, with Comfort Proteins for easy to digestion..well when it comes to mix in the bottle every 2 oz put one cup that comes with the formula in, 4oz two cups of formula, 6oz three cups of formula and 8oz four cups of formula and also it tells you on the back of the can.

Answer 8

I have found that neither one will effect the babies tummy if mixed correctly...I have found the Instant to be fool proof to mix...the only thingis that you need to refidgerate the remainder of the formula,and it needs to be warmed up before given to the baby, b/c that could cause stomach cramps if given cold..

Answer 9

breast milk is always best, but we used the powder and now that she is 5 years old we now realize she was constipated a few times. Not saying that was the problem but your question got me thinking.

Answer 10

Hi..I have used both. But I do prefer the ready to use better. But once my baby got about 6-9 months I went back to powder and he did well on it then. Thanks