Formulas

Be patient. I would think in time she will be able to tolerate a more normal thinness to her formula, and might not always need the iron which would allow her to work less for her bowel movements. Just be patient with her, in time her reflux might get better and then you can try a thinner formula. Good luck!

I agree with Laura. Patience. I am not sure how quickly you are switching but the baby might need a little while to adjust to the new formula. I am not a doctor but I would think thinner would be better. Also, sometimes premixed may work better (although it is much more expensive).

Good luck.
Eleln

Hello all- We are now on enfamil gentlease plus 1 tablespoon of rice cereal to thicken it. I love the premixed stuff but you are right it's a bit pricey We are now on zantac just picked it up today so hopefully this will help her as well. Thanks everyone and hope all is well

I just wanted to add a bit on the premix formula. That is all Imani would ever tolerate but it is very pricey. Sooo, I started mixing it in the blender. It worked great! The only thing is you have to let it sit in the fridge so the she wont consume all the "bubbles" the blender causes. I would make a batch of it in the morning, let it settle in the fridge and then give it to her during the day. Eventually, we were able to wean her off of it.

Good luck!

Cathy

Hey Cathy- since my post I have gone back to enfamil ar yet again. she has bad reflux and we just started zantac. she was on enfamil ar 24 calorie I put 55 ml of water and one scoop of formula and shake it. Then we tried enfamil gentlease plus one tablespoon of rice cereal again with 55 ml of water and just shake. I do notice right much foamy stuff with either one. The reason we switched was to try and help the gas and then after about a week of gentlease and rice cereal I felt like her reflux was worse so I switched the poor thing back to AR yesterday... Now I feel like the gas is an extreme pain for her again... I can't win for losing and I just want to make sure she is comfortable. I am calling the pediatrician friday anyway to check in with him about the zantac but I don't want to sound like a complete idiot and ask am I mixing the formula correctly... I know they used ready made plus a half teaspoon of AR powder in the nicu....I don't know. I feel like she is uncomfortable and stays pretty fussy when she isn't sleeping but then again I'm a first time mom so I don't know what's normal baby and what's not. Also; because of my mommy brain and lack of sleep can you explain what you mean by blending? Thank you so much and hope your family is well

Hi!

We tried the Gentlease and that didnt work well for us..so we just kept her on Neosure because of the extra calories.

When she first came home she was very fussy and had tons of what we thought was belly pain. She was already on Zantac and Reglan, so I spoke with her pediatrician about it and we decided to take her off of the iron supplements.

Definitely talk to her doctor about your concerns. You know her better than anyone else and there may be some suggestions he can give you to help her.

Are you laying her down slightly upright or sitting her up after feedings? If not, try this. It helps prevent the reflux.

Oh, what I meant was we mixed her formula in a blender. The NICU used the premade stuff and she got used to it there, since it is so pricey, I blended the powder stuff in the blender. If I ran out of the blended formula, I would make some in a bottle but let it sit for about 20minutes until all the gas/bubbles were gone.

I really hope your pediatrician can help you make her feel better. I know how hard it is when they are fussy and you try everything to make them feel better but nothing seems to work 100%.

Know you are a great mommy!

Cathy

Cathy- Thank you so much. I think we will definitely try letting it sit for a minute because I can imagine the bubbles and such are not helping her. That is a good idea. We may try the blender too. She seems a little bit better today(knock on wood)...I am touching base with the pediatrician tomorrow. Look forward to talking with you more

Katie, have you tried pumping her legs?

If you think it's gas try pumping her legs when you are playing or tummy time.

I remember pumping T's legs and her toots...heha.

Loveandlight,
Liz

Hey Liz- I have tried doing that for her; she mostly gets annoyed but sometimes we do it anyway. She seems to get the gas out for the most part I know all babies suffer from gas and the noises I hear from her tummy I'm sure it's not all gas either but I usually assume it is. Hoping the zantac starts to kick in; she seems happier today so we shall see. Thanks

Best Regards
Katie

Katie,

Glad to read she is happier! Hope things continue to get better for her

Cathy

Hi,
I have a 28 weeker that we too have been having feeding
Problems..she has been home for 2 months now..the day before
She came home they did a numogram that did not show she had
Reflux a few days home she would act like she was trying to throw up
And would turn blue around her lips..I called the pediatrician and he said she had reflux and put her on Zantac she continued throwing up and always was fussy during feedings..most of the time we can only get an ounce down and she wants to stop and then maybe an hour later will eat more...the speech pathologist suggested we try her on Prevacid instead of Zantac and add cereal to her bottles...this is our second day on Prevacid and cereal in the bottles and she has been real fussy and now im having trouble getting her to eat at all...she has been on neosure since she started eating in the nicu...she hasn't been throwing up but has done nothing but cry while awake...

Hello and welcome to Share! Oh your poor sweetie, that must be heartbreaking to see her struggling so much with feeding. That must have been so scary for you too seeing her turn blue like that. I wonder if maybe switching to another formula would help? Maybe you could ask her doctor if she thinks that might be beneficial since it seems like maybe the medicines aren't helping. Though I do remember when I started taking something for acid reflux it was a full 24 hours before I started to feel better. Please keep us posted, I hope that you and her doctors can figure out something to help your little sweetie! Many hugs!
Stacy

Hi and welcome to Share. I am so sorry that your little one is struggling so much with feeding. Like Stacy, I think maybe a different another formula might help. Also, give the meds a little more time to work. It can take a few weeks to see an improvement. My son is on prevacid for reflux and if we change his medication we have to wait a few weeks until we can say it isn't working or needs a different does. Do you have a GI doctor? While your pediatrician might not see any reason to see one you could always request a consult and see if they have any suggestions for you. Good luck!
Laura

Hi and welcome to Share!!

I would re-ask my pediatrition and neonatologist about the neosure/neocate. That may be too heavy for a tiny belly.

Did you ask about allergies? Specifically, dairy? We had Tori(26wkr) on Enfamil script in the hospital, sent home on Enfamil 26cal. Which I would often mix to 28-30 calorie, and she was on that until about 18-20 months.

She's now 32 months and is still on supplements(pediasure and duocal) and just hit 20 lb's last month.

Good luck and hope she feels better soon.

Love and light,
Liz

Hi My daughter sophia was a 29 weaker I had the same issues she had breastmilk for the first few weeks then when my supply went down. They tried the neosure I would hear the drs saying sometimes the formula is much heavier she did not hande that well in the beginning. I tried different fomulas but Sophia had the issues with reflux and gas I use the simethicone drops they said it was safe before every feeding they could give your baby something else like the nutramigen or there is a similac brand out there too. I tried the enfamil ar she still spit it up I had her in her boppy and still do she is 6 months old now to help elevate her so shes not spitting up so much. at about 4 months maybe 3.5 I started adding the rice it was helping they have to outgrow it. I feel bad for her my step son had it so bad he was on malox and an antacid.

Hi,
Update on Cayleigh it seems the Prevacid is working a lot better we aren't having any reflux episodes and she is actually starting to eat a lot better these last few days and I have a scale at home and have been weighing her everyday and she is gaining weight so hopefully we are on the right regimen...I still feel like her formula doesn't agree with her because she is still real gassy and the pediatrician said when we got to 8 lbs he wanted to change her formula because Neosure is hard on the liver but last week at our visit we was exactly 8 lbs and he said he wants to keep her on it another couple of months

Hey ladies!!

I hope that both girls are doing much better with the reflux meds on board! My nephew needed that until he started to sit up on his own. Once he was able to do that, he was able to let his food settle a bit better before it caused problems.

Give the little ones a hug from all of us!
Tracy

Hello Hope your little one is on the mend. We tried my baby girl off the zantac in hopes she would be ok but alas I just called the pediatrician today to get a new prescription because I can see stuff coming up in her throat and worry about the damage it could be causing. Our pediatrician changed the formula pretty quick as my baby was also on a heavier formula in the NICU and it started giving her awful gas; she has a sensitive tummy and we are on Similac Alimentum; you should make mention of that to your pediatrican. Unfortunately it is a bit more pricey but anything to keep her out of pain is what I say. Anyway hope this helps; I would definitely stress a different formula. Keep us updated