Formula Problems

Babies usually lose weight in the first week after birth then put it back on fairly quickly. I don't know if the powder might be a bit different or maybe she is just now reacting to it. Is it soy based? She may have a milk sensitivity.

D.,

It could have been the bubbles from when you shook it to mix? I have a baby boy that is one month and that has upset his belly too. Try one drop of mylecon in the formula to get the bubbles out...

Hi D.,

It is very normal for your infant to loose that weight. Please do not let them sway you away from the best thing you can do in that babies life - breastfeeding.

You can stop the formula and go back to breastfeeding now, before it is too late and your milk can't catch up. Your milk supply CAN catch up now... drink loads and loads of water.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no fixed standard recipe for formula in the industry. Formula ingredients vary from type to type and brand to brand. So there is a high chance there is something in the formula that she can't stomach.

Powered milks are more processed than liquid milks. They are processed with higher heat than pasturization. The enzymes are killed. The drying method alters the properties of the milk.

Some formulas are made with gluten protiens extracted from wheat powders. Gluten sesitivity can lead to celiacs disease, in which the lining (the celia) of the intestines gets damaged and improper absorption and didgestion occurs (think irritable bowel syndrome.) It is painful.
Celiacs disease is becoming rampant and is way under diagnosed. it is possible babies who are put on GERD and reflux medicines actually have undiagnosed gluten intolerance.

They have proven that infants fed formulas are more prone to develomental delays,infections, and immune system disorders. I can say, from experience, that I see that case myself. My second child, my son, was breastfed. He is very bright, quick thinking, and healthy. My two girls were formula fed and I see a huge difference in them. One has been battling bone pains and UTIs for years, (soy feed) and the other one is mildly autistic. I recently came to the conclusion my autistic daughter might have celiacs.

Lastly, look this up on the web: "floride is a poison."
Hitler actually used floride in experiments on people !! Do not give floridated water to your baby. Or toothpaste, or juice that has floridated water in it, etc. Yes, it sounds unreal, the American government and the medical society perptuating poisoning thier own people. But it is indeed true.

Also why you are researching on the web, lookup: "soy's estrogenetic affects on babies in utero". Soy feminizes males and masculenizes females. It causes the testes to not drop and causes small genitals. it causes tumors in sexual organs later in life.It even affects babies and children.

Just my two cents,
Gail

Check with your pediatrician. For our daughters, the pediatric GI specialist told us to use GoodStart formula since it breaks down easier in their tummy. Watch the bubbles and use slightly warm. Good luck.

The hospital fed you a bunch of BS (pardon my "french"). It is NORMAL for babies to lose some weight the first few days, while Mom's milk comes in! Unless your baby was a preemie, she has the reserves to handle this. My son went from 9 lbs 11 oz to 8 lbs 14 oz the first week--by which time my milk had come in & he started gaining. Chances are your baby does NOT need supplementing--and the best way to increase breastmilk supply is to nurse, nurse, nurse--supply rises to meet demand. If you want additional advice and support, the go-to ladies are your local LaLeche League. They know way more about breastfeeding than most doctors. The formula is not made especially for your daughter--your breast milk is.

I would blame in on the switch to powder.
1) check the exp date.
2) the powder used to need mixed with WARM water! I used to use warm tap water, but that was at 3-4 months. 17 yrs ago.
3) Bottled water is not ALL good. I read an article on it a few months ago. SAM'S water, in particular, got a VERY POOR RATING! So be careful what water you buy, I use Crystal Geyser (bottled in MT shasta). I ddon't have great kidneys, so I am very careful to drink lotsa water, bottled.
4) Ask your doc
5) Return the powdered to the store. Don't use it again. Stick with what works.
6) sterilize those nipples and rings?
7) Many foods can upset yr baby's tummy when you nurse! Spicy, greasy, cucumbers, stirfry, you will quickly learn what you cannnot eat because your baby will get colicky.
Good luck!

the liquid version is thicker so if you are going to use powder as it is cheaper i would just talk to the Ped and see if they recommend a diffrent version of the powder. my son would not take regular powder enfamil but would take the liquid version we final got lucky with the AR enfamil which is a little bit more expensive than the regular but he kept it down and it was still cheaper than buying the liquid version.

good luck!

My daughter is 10 wks old, and was born 4 weeks early. We had the exact same issues w/all formula tried until we tried the soy Similac. Much better results!! Give it a try.

To specifically answer your question: I had to suppliment my dd with formula as well, (I had a low milk supply and we suplimented one meal a day until she weaned) and once switched from the powder to liquid on a trip thinking it would just be easier. My dd didn't like the different taste - same brand of stuff. Get some liquid and taste it compared to the other - I think you might be surprised by the difference. Also, I agree, bubbles can cause gas that makes their small tummies very upset.
Now as for all the strong opinions here: You're the mom - do what you think is best for you and your daughter. Take what you need from here and don't let anyone make you feel like less of a mom if you continue to suppliment. Your daughter will not be any worse for it - as long as she isn't alergic to something. The important thing is to feed her, and if you can do that just by breastfeeding, then more power to you, if not, that's okay too.
Hang in there.

Hi D.- Why not try just breastfeeding and ditch the formula for now? Most babies lose weight the first week and while your daughter lost it too quickly she may be over that now. Breast feeding works best when that's all you do if possible. You could try just the breast for a few days and your milk supply should adjust perfectly to what your daughter needs. Maybe find a La Leche League or some support. There is also the possibility that your girl is just "waking up". My second daughter was so quiet and slept so much I thought something was wrong. She found her lungs around 6 weeks and suddenly became the loudest person in our house. Good luck and enjoy all this, motherhood really is an awesome experience!

and the formula dibate continues. Where do i start? first son i wanted to breastfeed 100% that only lasted for 3 months has I had low milk supply and my son was a large baby at birth screaming for food every hour. He was up to 5oz at 2 months and keeping it all down. I started out with Simulac advance, that is when my hell started. He was up yelling and screaming at night unhappy. My mother told me to put him on soy as she had me on it as a baby since I was allergic to milk base. Sometimesd you can pass along the same allergies to your kids. Dr told her to put me on it and it worked great. NOT SO MUCH FOR MY SON. His pedi told me to just put him on Alimentum Simulac ready made and if he spits up and is still a mess put him back on the Soy. that day i put him on Alimentum "READY MADE" NIGHT AND DAY. He was so happy. I also used Dr Browns bottles. LOVE them!!!!! My dr told me Alimentum ready made is the best formula out there next to breast milk and I can see why. My son is 3yrs old has had one ear infection in his life and I only breastfed him for 3 months. He has always been very advanced for his age and in the 98% tile since birth. My second son who is 7months old today was 5 weeks early and was only breast fed for 2 months. I had to pump every hour as he couldn't latch on. I put him on Alimentum the day he got home for the hospital and rotated breastmilk with formula like my first son. He is a little more challenging them his older brother was. We found out he has acid reflex and spits up all day long since birth. I thought it was the Alimentum. Dr put him on meds for his heartburn. NIGHT AND DAY and still on the Ready made alimentum and I use Dr Browns bottles. He is physically 3 months advanced for his age. Rolling over at 3 months, crawling at 5 months and is now trying to walk at 7months. BUSY!!!I tried to use the Alimentum powder form 2 months ago to try and save money. NOT GOOD. He was a royal mess fussing and spitting up. My dr said the ready made is made properly with sterilzed water and is easier on babies tummies and doesn't recommend any powder formula's. I only have 5 more months left with this expense then he can go on whole milk. To have peace at night its worth it. My older son never went on whole milk at 1. He was on 2% because he didnt' need the extra fat since he was 31.5lbs on his first birthday with 8 teeth. If your still confused, ask the Dr. Babies react differently to formula's and when you find the right one its the best. Everyone is happier.

Good Luck.

So young and so many changes in such a short time. Using the powder should be ok, however mix it with warm tap water, bottled water has no flouride. After mixing it, let it set a while so the bubbles settle out. If you are primarily breast feeding and your milk has come in, you probably do not need to supplement any longer. She is getting older and will be awake and more verbal the older she gets.

Babys get gas. I would bet that it was just gas. If you eat veggies then nurse her she can get the gas from that, formula also gives gas. Try Malcolm drops OTC gas relief for babys. But also the older a baby is the more they have to get upset about.

Maybe from the air bubbles, she got a bit of gas and pain? Try mixing it with a spoon/utensil before serving instead of shaking the bottle to mix. Also, bottle fed babies need a bit more burps than breastfed babies. Try burping for longer? We used grip water and/or the mylicon drops for gas/pain and it seemed to help ease it.

md

With our two older daughters we had the same exact problem. We started out on the liquid stuff, but when we tried to switch to the powder, they just could not tolerate it and would vomit and cry after drinking it. I don't know why they reacted this way, but we just kept them on the liquid stuff until it was time to switch them to milk. If she was fine on the liquid Enfamil stuff, stick with that. You could always try later on down the road to switch to something else.

best advice i can give you is hire an IBCLC certified lactation consultant and get your milk supply up and nix the formula altogether! babies are supposed to lose about 10% of body weight in the first few days - they have excess fluid from birth - then they gain it back! they over-react in the hospital and love to push that formula. it is so contradictory when they say "breast is best" but then don't support it!!!

Hi D.,
I have 3 children, youngest is 9 months old I have used Enfamil with all 3 of them and have never had this problem, but of course each child is different. I would advise talking to your pediatrician. good luck
S.

D.,
It could be the bubbles. If the liquid works well, I would stick to it. Be careful about soy based formulas. Studies are showing it may be harmful to babies/children. Research it yourself before you go that route. Mylicon is safe in infants because it is not absorbed from the GI tract. It just coats the gas bubbles, reduces the surface tension and causes the big bubbles to form lots of little, less painful ones. We used it with our daughter and it seemed to help. Good luck and welcome to motherhood! :)

D., you got a lot of good advice, but wanted to share two things from my experience. My twin boys were very light when born at 38 weeks (below 6 pounds), and it was hard for them to latch on and suck, so we had to supplement from the beginning. I wish we did not. So many tummy aches and unpeaceful hours would have been easier for them had we not used the formula. I am certain from our experience that their immature tummies could not tolerate and digest complex formula as well as they would have breast milk. On days when they ate less formula and more milk, they were more happy.
Also, with the scandal in China, I would go only with organic formulas. All other formulas are suspect b/c they may use non organic milk from China, and if you have not heard in the news, they add melamine (a chemical) to their formulas, which causes kidney stones in babies. Not to scare you, b/c I think that Enfamil probably uses US made milk, BUT there is no guarantee. Also there was a report on internet, that US made formulas including Similac and Enfamil have a small amount of melamine in it. If you can avoid formula it would be the best. If you can't than Organic Formula is the choice. We use Earth's Best from Whole Foods and like it. Our boys like it too. Enfamil is high in iron, so that may give your daughter and upset tummy at such a tender age.
Good luck,
E.