Formula question - when to switch??

[JustMare]

My 3 wk old son is very gassy and spits up quite frequently. Once he burps, he's fine. He's a good burper, but some times it takes a while for all the gas to come out. I don't think he has a severe problem at all.

How do I know what's considered "normal" fussyness/gassy and when it's not normal and time to switch to a gentle formula?

I called my Ped today and got the nurse. She said I can use some gas drops or switch to Isomil formula. I'm not really fond of soy products. I'm wondering what's the difference between Nestle Good Start (real comfort proteins or marketing ploy?) and Enfamil Gentlese - both are milk based. We're currently using Similac Advance.

I plan to put a call in tomorrow morning to speak directly with my doctor on this.

Thanks for you help,
Mare

[megs4413]

a couple thoughts:

switching the formula to something for gassiness/fussiness may give you your answer. we didn't realize DD has a lactose problem until we swtiched her to isomil cause she had a tummy bug (on the advice of the ER) and she suddenly was a different baby. we switched her back when she was "all better" and my devil baby resurfaced...she was 8 wks old.

i woudl avoid isomil like the plague. seriously. and i'm sayign that after having my DD on it until she was 1!

similac makes a lactose free version...you could try that if you want to stay with similac.

enfamil has several varieties that are suppoesd to help with this. i think the gentlease( or whatever it's called) has an added enzyme that predigests it a bit and breaks down some of the lactose. it might be a good place to start. but you'd be switching brands and some peds aren't too keen on that.

talk to your ped! i would try sooner than later, we suffered those 8 long weeks and it was really like having two different babies. good luck!

[elephantmeg]

I would first try adding gas drops to the formula (2-3 drops per bottle). If no results in a day or so then I would switch to goodstart, I've seen a lot of parents have good results with it. I would give the goodstart at least 3 days, maybe a week. If you are switching to soy you really have to give it 1-2 weeks. Just keep in mind that whatever you do end up doing, he might grow out of the sensitivity at 4 months or so. DS was sensitive to the milk I drank for the first few weeks but was fine after that. Have you looked at the bottles you're using? DS did much better on the Dr Brown's. Try them or the collapsible bag system and see if that helps. Hugs! HTH a little

[LarsMal]

I agree with pp- try the drops first. I used to put 3 drops in DS's 6 ounce bottle of formula. I would also avoid the Isomil if you can. Only go to it as a last resort.

DS started on Enfamil (the regular kind), then he was on Gentlease, Good Start, Allimentum for a couple months, and then finally back to Good Start. (This was all between 7 mos and 1 year!) What we found out is that he is allergic to milk protein, which is different from the lactose, so lactose free wouldn't have made a difference for him. For some reason he could handle the Good Start from 10-12 months.

Like pp also said, give the new formula at least a few days (maybe a week) to see how DS adjusts.

Good luck!

[eliasmom]

I recommend giving Good Start a try. DD was very very gassy on Enfamil Lipil, so we switched to Gentlease. EEEEEWWWWW. I think it helped a tiny bit w/the gas, but it stank. Seriously. I switched to Good Start on the advice of my ped and we have not looked back - it made a huge difference (much more than the Gentlease, btw). And it doesn't stink at all.

Gas drops are always worth a try. I also used Gripe Water - we started it for DD's colic, but it actually seemed more helpful with the gas than the colic ;)

[denna]

From what I have read Nestles Comfort Protein is just a marketing ploy, there is no such thing as 'comfort proteins'.

I am not sure why Isomil is so horrible? What did I miss?

My DS had horrible reflux (crying, arching back, spitting up constantly). We tried the AR formula and he got way too constipated (Screaming with each bowel movement) when we switched to Isomil it was a like a totally different baby. He was happier, spit up much less and was just very content. We have had no problems with soy formula.

HTH