Switching from Ready-to-eat to Powder Formula?

Try mixing a pitcher a day before and mixing it up really well to avoid clumping up. That seemed to help my son drink his with a bit less protest although we never did make the full switch. Also if you do the math you only end up saving like a $1.00 in a month. We thought it would be more cost effective and the fact that it's so portable but the portable part of it is what really got us. It clogged all the nipples, it was chalky, it didn't work out for us.
Good luck!

It's easier to mix the powder formula with lukewarm/warm water. Do not shake it up as it adds more bubbles, which leads to air in tummy. Swirl or use a mini-whisk to mix it. Also, follow instructions and do not tap the scoop to pack the formula. That will lead to it being too rich and heavy. Most instructions say to use 1 "unpacked and level" scoop per 2 oz. The formula will not be exactly the same each time and that's okay. Slight variations in foods are normal!

The ready made is thicker....sometimes babies with reflux will spit up the powerdered but not the ready made and doctors sometimes keep those babies on ready made longer or have them add rice or barley to the formula to make it thickdr to help it stay down. I would check with your ped.

When my kids were little I mixed half and half it worked.

Janette,

My daughter was the same way. We figured out when she was 2 weeks that she would only spit up the powdered formula but had no issues with the ready to eat. She is now 7 mos and i have switched her back to the powdered since she doesn't drink that much. I have not had any issues with the powdered formula like i did before. She may just grow out of it sooner or later. As far as the switching process, just switch. If you are concerned about the price, i used Similac and the prices were just about the same per ounce.

Try making a bottle with part ready made formula and part with mixed up powder formula. gradually increase the ammount of the powdered formula and decrease the pre mixed stuff.

GOOD LUCK! I have a ten year old (yes, you read that correctly) that still drinks formula at home because she has milk allergies. Since she talks and definitely voices her opinions, I just asked her what the problem is with the powdered. She definitely can tell the difference without seeing how I make it. She says it just tastes horrible. There is no difference in consistency or texture. (Which surprises me.)What I have done when I occasionally buy the powdered (in an attempt to see if she can tell...she always can) is mix a small amount of powdered up and then mix it with the RTU- maybe 2/3s RTU and 1/3 powdered. See if that works- maybe it will at least get rid of the powdered you have.

I had to do this when I went from breastmilk to formula. I started off with 75% BM and 25% formula per bottle. Then I gradually increased formula and decreased breastmilk until they were all on formula. It got them used to the new taste gradually and their system adjusted.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

When my kids were younger, they also preferred the ready made formula. However, that is much more expensive than the powder formula. I tried (and it worked) putting a little bit of the powder in the ready made formula. At first, you add maybe a teaspoon and gradually work your way up to a couple of tablespoons. Once she adjusts to that, you switch to the powder formula and add a little bit of the ready made formula to it. Eventually, you'll ween her off of the ready made. It'll take about a week. Good luck!!

We went through this with our daughter. Try mixing the two and slowly work up to the full powder formula. So start of with 1/3 powder formula with 2/3 pre-made for a week then go 1/2 and 1/2 for a week and so on till you're at the full powder formula. It takes awhile to do but it works better then just switching. I think it has something to do with the texture of the formulas. Good luck. Hope this helps.

It takes a while for the powder stuff to dissolve in cold water. Make the formula and let it sit for a while in the refrigerator or use room temperature water. The powder mixes much better in warm water. When I am on the go I bring a bottle of water and the powder separate. When it is time to feed the water is warm and the powder mixes great. This way you don't have to make sure the bottle is kept cold and my baby doesn't like cold bottles.

Hope this helps.

I tried to switch it with my first son and he spit up and sometimes threw up every time!! My second son had no problem with it! If she is reacting to it, don't use it. Maybe her tummy just can't handle it. Each child is different! It's definitly cheaper and more convient, but some kids just can't take it:)

when we transitioned from the liquid neo-sure (which was almost $7 a quart!!) to powdered, they didn't like it at first... so we started doing half n half, then a little less liquid a little more powder, etc... until they were eventually just on powder... and OH the savings... also, we used the parent's choice formula from walmart (something we never tried with my daughter) and it has all the same ingredients as the expensive stuff... for like half the price... it was amazing the money we saved... so good luck, i hope it works out for you

Hi! The ready to made is thick compared to powder formula. Its like drinking a milk shake versus skim milk. I used to use both. The powder formula I would make ahead of time in a pitcher. I purchase one at Babies R Us especially made for formula. Although any pitcher would do the one at Babies R Us lessen the amount of clumps. When you are transitioning her use half of ready made and half of the powder already made and blend together. If your are on the go and want to make a bottle Babies R Us also sells a hand size formula mixer to remove clumbs in the bottle. When I was really in a hurry I would shake the bottle as hard as I could but it would have a lot of air bubbles which causes gas and it would still have clumps. Good luck! I hope helped!

Try a different powder. I don't know if you are using enfamil or Carnation or what, and you probably have a preference because of ingredients. I wanted to do Enfamil, but my daughter didn't want anything to do with it. I tried the Carnation with DHA and RHA and she liked it a lot. It still had plenty of nutritional value, but is a little sweeter...like real breastmilk. If she will take that, you can always mix the powders slowly together to transition her to the other brand. Also, have you changed bottles? The spitting up sounds to me less like an allergy (if the pre-made has the same ingredients as the powder) and more like an air problem. She may be getting more air as she drinks if the liquid is thinner than she is used to. Make sure to stop more frequently and burp her...see how that works. Good luck.

Try mixing it half ready made and half powder and see if this helps.

One thing that may possibly be the problem is not getting the powdered mixed well. What worked for me was a formula pitcher. I purchased it at Babies-R-Us for around ten dollars. I tell ya....I couldnt have lived without it!!!! It has a "grate" built in th top that gets that formula mixed. Another bonus is that you can make a days worth of fomula in the morning and simply pour as needed!!!

Just a thought,
Margaret :)

P.S. When I made the switch, I actually called the 800 number on the can...the "rep" that I talked to insisted that they are the same thing...take that for what its worth!!!

Hey Janette, I hope you get some good suggestions. I'm crossing my fingers for you. Unfortunately, I was not able to successfully make the switch from pre-made to powder until my daughter was much older. I tried several times, waited a month or so in between attempts, but she hated the powder type. I wasn't able to make the switch until she was over 12 months and her pediatrician wanted her on 'toddler formula', which only comes in powder (e.g., she lost weight soon after introducing milk--turns out she was allergic to milk... but that's a whole other story!!)

Ultimately I thought that the powder type might taste grittier than pre-made and perhaps that is why she refused it.

aha, I just remembered something... I was able to get her to consume a whole sample cannister of powder formula that we were given from our pedi. Of course, after she finished that and I bought the bigger $20 version, she then refused it. I was so disappointed... and of course her daycare was a bit stressed out that she wouldn't eat and kept crying, so that also prompted me to switch back to pre-made.

You might want to try mixing the premade with powder 1oz at a time, see if she'll take that for a week or 10 days, increase to 2 oz, wait... then 3 oz, etc.

Janette~~

Have you considered that what she objects to is our tap water here? Personally, I think our tap water is disgusting and I will drink it only if there is no other option.

I'd try a bottle or two of any of the brands that also come in a 2.5 gallon container. If she will take one, then buy that brand in the bigger container and keep it in your refrigerator strictly for her formula.

Of course the powdered product mixed with local water is the same NUTRITIONALLY as the pre-mixed product. However, having lived in 6 different states and one overseas country, I can promise you that tap water tastes different from place to place and San Antonio's water is the nastiest-tasting tap water I've ever had that wasn't out of a well. It would be silly for the manufacturer to expect the powdered product to TASTE the same as the premixed product.

HTH,
H.

Make a bottle of powder formula. Mix 1 ounce in her ready made one. Do so with each bottle for one week (at least 3 days). Then, add 2 ounces to each bottle the next week, etc. The bottle of powder formula is not being touched by her mouth, and therefore can stay in the fridge and be used to mix into her other bottles. Note: pour out an ounce of the premixed before adding the powder mixed.