Has anyone switched formula from the one they started you off in the hospital with?

Question

I have a two week old baby and she is getting gassier by the day. She will fall asleep and then wake up 5 minutes later throughout most of the day making gassy type noises. I was thinking of switching to a soy based formula.

Answer 1

Don't switch the formula, maybe the brand, if they gave you similac try enfamil. But seriously call the doctor before you switch to a different formula type all together, and see what they think, in the mean time Mycilin drops are awesome.

Answer 2

Usually the hospital gives you the brand that they have a contract with. At my hospital, it's similac. So we started my son on that, and he was extremely gassy, constipated, and wouldn't sleep. He would cry for hours, and when he had these bouts, he was only comfortable in one position- lying facedown across someone's forearm while they paced and rubbed his back. You could just tell he was in pain.

We went through that when my sister was a baby, so I already knew about soy formula. I switched to that, and he was better immediately.

If you do decide to switch, just make sure you tell your pediatriction.

And since people are mentioning it, my son had no problem at all switching to whole milk. We did it gradually, and at first he was extremely gassy, but wasn't acting like he was in any pain. We decided to start with 2% instead, and then work our way back up to whole, and the gas went right away.

Lactose intolerance runs in my family, and it's very common with young babies. That's a part of the reason why you're not supposed to give them cows milk until 1 year (the other reason is that cows milk doesn't have the special nutrients infants need). It's not really an allergy, just an intolerance that causes the symptoms that our babies seem to share. In almost all cases, babies grow out of the intolerance and switch to milk and other dairy foods just fine.

I've also seen people on Yahoo Answers say that giving a baby soy formula makes them more likely to get a peanut allergy, but I never experienced that or heard anyone not on the internet say that. One of my son's favorite foods is peanut butter.

If you don't want to go to the soy, try a different brand. My sister-in-law used Infamil, and I hear good things about Nestle Carnation. Don't go with the low iron except as a last resort, because the babies need the iron, and if you do a low iron formula, you'll have to suplement with vitamin drops (which taste NASTY and make horrible stains).

Answer 3

With my first child I switched formulas quite a few times to use the samples I received. At the time I did not realize you are not supposed to do that due to infants' sensitive digestive tract. Fortunately it did not bother her. Now I have a one month old and I have only changed it once because WIC does not use the brand the hospital fed her. I would ask the ped first, but with my experience it's OK to change it once--especially if she is gassy (although if you switch formulas and the problem is still there, it may be something you are eating.)

By the way, my friend had an extremely gassy infant and said that Infants' Mylicon works wonders.

Answer 4

Neither of my kids could tolerate the iron in the formula most doctors recommend. They would get gassy and sometimes their tummies would feel hard from the gas that got built up. I would try a low iron formula first and then if that doesn't work, go to a soy formula. You want to use soy as a last resort. It makes it harder to switch to milk when the time is right.

Answer 5

Always check with your doctor before switching formulas.

That being said, I raised 2 kids on soy formula because they both had a problem tolerating the "regular" formula. My first shrieked in pain for hours at a time and had horrible gas and diarrhea. She suffered for about 2-3 weeks before the doctor and I changed her to soy. As soon as I made the switch, she was a new baby. My second baby started down the path you described above and I switched her immediately.

FYI... neither of my children had a problem switching to regular milk at the appropriate time. I never even heard of such a thing and my doctor never mentioned the possibility of a problem.

I say, check with the doctor, but do it.

Answer 6

I switched my son from Infamil to Carnation Alsoy for the same reason. I did it right after he got out of the hospital. Make it a gradual transition. It should be fine. It worked for my baby. He's 6 now and still loves the taste of Soy and Organic Milk. But you should look into Carnation, it has comfort proteins that will help break it down. You can also contact the Magazine Very Best Baby. They sent coupons for up to $8.00 on formula. **** Luck.

Answer 7

They give one brand at the hospital, but if your baby can't tolerate it (and you choose not to breast feed), definitely switch formula. Soy formula is good. My daughter was born early and the doctor put her on Nutrimogen (light blue can), which is soy based, until her digestion matured. It's very gentle (but rather expensive).

Call your pediatrician and let them know your concerns..

Answer 8

I haven't switched formula I was always told you shouldn't do that unless of course you have a problem with the one you were on like the baby couldn't handle it. I would run it past your pediatrician before switching. Good Luck

Answer 9

Yes, we switched my son after the first couple of weeks. We did just switch to a different brand though, not a different type. I think in total he has bounced back and forth between using enfamil, similac and parents choice. He hasn't had any problems adjusting to any of them.

Answer 10

I changed my baby's kind about 2 days after taking her home.
she was not a happy camper with the one that the hospital gave her.

we would feed her and exactly one hour later she would spit it all up.

i found out later that she ready did not like that brand.

similac is what she is feed now and she likes it.

i did not call a doctor but she did have gas for about 2 nights and that was it. my sister inlaw who is a nurse said that she was going to get gas anyways becuse they are just geting use to eating.