Formula Issues with New Baby

Have you tried taking her to the chiropractor? It worked wonders for my sons colic. We also put him on similac alimentum.

My suggestion would be to try the Pink Similac. I know that it is very gentle, and you mine as well try because I know Nutramigen is spendy. I know you can get a HUGE thing of Similac at Costco for about $28.00.

Hi, I like the Nestle Good Start in the green can with the immune support. It really helped my son with reflux and a diet change, and he's not too gassy. A recent study showed that relfux has been mistaken for colic. We tried the expensive one it does stink. Hope this helps.

Hi! I was on Enfamil with my first baby after I lost my milk and she seemed to always be fussy too. I now have a 3 1/2 months old who is now exclusively on formula and we tried Similac and she is doing much better than my first. It could be just that she is different from my first, but so far it seems to be working great for me. They have a lactose free one for fussy babies with colic, and other things too. The other cool thing is that Similac keeps sending me coupons for 5 dollars off so it makes it more reasonable. All I did was sign up for their mailing list (email and normal) and I get these coupons. Good luck!

My son had Colic and Reflux. We tried many formulas. The one that seemed to work best for us was Nestle Good Start with Comfort Proteins. I believe that it is broken down a bit more. When he was a bit older we also used Gripe Water for the belly issues and that seemed to help as well.
Hang in there, it is pretty common and takes a few months to work itself out. Once he hit 4 months things got a lot better!

My friend is having the same issue. There is lactose intolerance in the baby's family, so she switched to a lactose free formula. That has helped. They've switched to Dr. Brown bottles, and the tummy gas is really reduced. Last night they also tried smaller, more frequent feedings during the evening colic hours, and that seemed to help. No one cure all, but it all adds up to help a lot.

I agree with trying Nestle Goodstart. We had some issues also and put our son on Goodstart and had no problems. Switching formulas can be hard, but it is worth a try! Good luck!

My son had issues with formula, also. I started buying him lactose-free and he did MUCH better. When I read in Parents magazine that they compared Wal-Mart's Parent's Choice formula to more expensive brands, Wal-Marts formula came out ahead for nutritional value and it's AFFORDABLE. I get Enfamil from WIC, but the months I have to purchase additional formula, I buy Parent's Choice.

My son is going to turn 1 this Thursday. I had the same issue after trying so many, we finally found Kroger Brand Gentle comforts Complete, milk based infant formula with iron. You can only buy it at Smith's. Also when you change formula for about three days do half and half mixture with the old formula before you switch over completely. I am pregnant again due in March, I am taking the formula with me to the hospital for the new baby. Another trick my pediatrician told me was if you warm the milk always warm it, if you give it room temp., then keep it that way. Their little bodies respond better if it is consistent temp all the time. My son did better with less gas with the room temp. formula. I hope this works for you.

Hi H.,
I had the same problem with my daughter when she was a baby. I used the Nutramigen too, but that still did not help. My mother-in-law told me about peppermint extract. What you do is take a toothpick and dip it into the peppermint extract and then in the bottle with the Nutramigen formula already mixed. It work beautifully! It says that peppermint helps sooths an the stomach. Hope this helps.

I also realized with the Nutramigen versus the other formula, the cost works out about the same. You use less Nutramigen in each bottle then the other formulas.

Wish you the best.

B.

http://westonaprice.org/children/nourish-baby.html
http://westonaprice.org/children/recipes.html
-B.
www.nourishingconnections.org

I would try mangosteen juice. I can recommend a couple of good brands. It helps with allergies. We used it with our little one, and he is completely allergy free even though his older brother has severe allergies. His brother is helped by it tremendously. Also, our little one that we used it with was greatly helped by the video "The Happiest Baby on the Block". My cousin hated the book, but the video cured our son's colic. That's what worked for us. GL!

Hi there
My daughter had some tummy issues too and was put on Nutramigen. Unfortunately it is very expensive, but it was the only thing that seemed to work for her. She wouldn't drink it at first either, so the doctor recommended putting a little apple juice in it, about a half ounce, and that worked. She was about 6 months when she started it, so I'm not sure if your daughter is too young for juice yet. You should probably ask your doctor first. Good luck with everything, I know how hard it can be with tummy issues, but it will get better.

As you read all of this advice, remember that every baby is different and you'll have to find what works for your daughter. My twins are on two different formulas. They started on Similac Neosure, but once they hit their due date (they were 8 weeks early) we were able to try other formulas. Both of them had serious issues on Enfamil (I've heard of a lot of babies who have issues with Enfamil). They both do great on the regular Similac Advance, but that's too expensive for one baby, much less two. I've finally found that my son, who has the most issues with formula, does great on the Walmart Lactose free. My daughter gets really constipated from that formula though. She's on the regular milk based Walmart formula. Every mom will probably highly recommend a different formula, but it doesn't mean it will work with your daughter. Like I mentioned earlier, it's because every baby is different. Keep trying, you'll find the right one. Good luck!

Try the original Carnation GoodStart in the purple can WITHOUT added DHA/ARA. It worked miracles for both of my babies. We too tried Nutramigen and felt like the Carnation worked so much better, plus being less expensive. My first baby was very colicky as well and this formula helped a lot! We found any formula with the added DHA/ARA caused problems with our kids. Good luck!

H.,
We used Nestle Good Start for my son. He seemed to not have as much gas with this. It also mixed up pretty well. It is pretty expensive though.
Good luck, I know it is hard to try to make them comfortable but hang in there. It will get better.

Hi H.,

My daughter took Nutramigen with no problems via a sippy cup, but she was 5 months old. I would stick with Nutramigen for awhile she is soooo young and Nutramigen is much easier to digest! You can get Nutramigen samples occasionally from your dr. especially ones that are going to expire in the next few months. By 4 months most babies are able to tolerate more different things like Gentleease etc. Hang in there she is still super young. Think of her digestive tract as 'immature' in a few months things will be quite different.

R.

Lactose free made my daughter very constipated! She had tummy issues early too. I bought the concentrate of Nutramigen and mixed my batches of bottles in the morning.
She had a bad cold at 6 weeks and the Dr recommended cold bottles to help it soothe her throat, after that she LOVED cold bottles, try giving her cold bottles. It won't hurt her and may make it taste better. When my son came along I tried the cold bottle thing with him and he loved it too! I never had to heat up formula and it was great! The Dr told me it is just fine for them either way.
I wouldn't waste money on a lot of trying different formulas, see if your Pediatrician can give you samples. Also mine gave me coupons for the Nutramigen, once I started using it I got a lot of them in the mail by the manufacturer. Buying it in concentrate and mixing it with water was the best way for us and I bought it in bulk which seemed to help the cost too. Good luck! By 6 mos my daughters sensitive tummy had fixed itself and she went onto solids/then milk just fine

I have 2 daughters and i've put them both on Good Start. They never had any issues w/ GS either. So I could be biased. But it's worth a shot. Good Luck.

You may need to switch her to soy or lactose intollerant formula. Also, for colic, try putting baby on the stomach on your lap and gently bounce. Good luck!!!

May I ask why you are not nursing? I know it is a choice, but it is what our bodies are designed to do. It is free, doesn't smell bad and perfectly balanced for babies. I am sure she would do so much better with breast milk than formula. Have you thought about pumping? I would contact your local La Leche League for help and advise. About the colic...have you asked about reflux? My 5 month old has reflux and now with meds she is so happy! Good Luck and remember you can't spoil babies so hold her or sling her as much as possible...I bet she would be a happier baby.

My son had the same problems and his doctor prescribed him elecare

Hi,

We had this problem with our youngest. We found that folic acid enriched goats milk worked wonders for him. You can purchase it on the baking aisle of many supermarkets in powdered form and it is generally less expensive than formula. Just make sure you get the enriched kind. Folic acid is VERY important to brain growth.

Good luck,
E.

Hi, my baby girl has been suplemented formula with breastmilk from the beginning and we have had good results with Earths Best Organic(whey). She too had a lot of gas at first so we are adding some baby probiotics which are good bacteria that help with digestion. We are also adding a bit of Gripe Water that is a mixture of chamomile, fennel and sodium bicarbonate especially designed to ease gas. With these two additions our baby has been able to digest the formula with ease and also has regular bowel movements! All of these can be found at Vitamin Cottage, except the Gripe Water I found at Whole Foods. Hope this helps, take care! :) with love, L. and Lila (4 months old)

I would strongly suggest checking to see if there is anyone around you can purchase "fresh goat's milk" from. This is actually the next closest thing to mother's milk. My sister had a problem nursing and fed goat's milk to her baby instead. He is a very healthy 12 year old boy now. I would highly recomend you look into that as an option! I don't know that your medical doctor would support it because they do get kickback for promoting formula's, but talk to a nutritionist and research on the internet and you will find some positive feedback. As a side note, even when I was a young child, I couldn't tolerate cows milk so we drank goat's milk and I had no problems. I would strongly suggest it be fresh though. The store bought just doesn't taste good. Good luck!

Just asking gently... did nursing not work? She seems to have a delicate tummy and breast milk might be best. Even if its been weeks since you tried nursing, you can still nurse her - your body will respond to her needs.

H.,

Your poor baby! And poor you! I hope you can figure out what won't upset her tummy..and soon! I still breastfeed my daughter, but she does get formula also. She was the same way with regular milk based formula. After she would have a bottle, she would be so fussy. I tried Carnation Good Start and that would still make her gassy and she still spit up a lot. I then tried soy and nothing was different with that. Then I tried the gentlease formula and there was a slight improvement. After a about month I saw the lactose free and decided to give that a shot..It worked! It seemed like her gas went away almost completely and she rarely spit up. That's all I've been buying her since then. You should give it a try, it made a difference with my daughter.

On a quick side note, you might want to check out gripe water or the Mylocin drops. My daughter also had colic..hugs.. I tried the drops with my baby and they seemed to help for a little bit. I wanted to try gripe water, but my honey is anti anything the Dr didn't say to do first. So I didn't and I regret it! I heard such good things about it. Maybe look into those and mention it to your pediatrician to get his opinion. Also I was at Vitamin Cottage the other day and they have natural colic treatments if your interested in looking there. I hope this helps!

V.