Best Formula for Severe Gas and Spit-up?

A., we had the exact same problems early on. I would highly suggest sticking with the Similac Sensitive since it works for the spitup but add 1 drop of Mylicon (or generic gas drops work just as well) for each ounce of formula and shake it up in the bottle with it. This worked WONDERS for my little ones gas issues. I tried giving her the gas drops straight as a single dose but it didn't do anything to help with the gas, so on the suggestion of a friend of mine I put them directly in the bottle and it was like night and day. I also like that this way she was getting a much lower dose of the gas drops than if I'd have been giving them directly with each bottle.

She still got some gas from the formula but the gas drops made the gas just move through her so instead of it backing up and making her miserable, she just tooted a lot and seemed fine. As she got older and the gas wasn't as bad I reduced the drops to 1 drop every 2 oz of formula. Now that she is 22m old I still occasionally put a few drops in her nightly milk if she's had something for dinner that I suspect might give her gas.

You have so much great advice. I hope you find something that works. I used Enfamil gentlease with my first son and mylicon gas drops. My second son had the same issues and was diagnosed with acid reflux...hence the spitting up. He had a prescription for that and I ended up using Similac soy. At that point I discovered gripe water. Where was it for my first? I couldn't believe I had waited so long to try it. Adding right to the formula or just by itself can work wonders. Best wishes to you.

Have you tried nursing? Formulas are harder to digest.

Well at 11 days old, might be hard doing too many switches of formula. Both my kids had gas and spit up and ended up on Similac Soy formula. It seemed to help, but they hard to tell since their systems are so immature at that age.

Hi A.,
I am sorry you are going through this... I have not delt with this issue personally but I know some of my friends have.. I used enfamil formula.. and some of my friends that had problems with severe spit up used a special type of enfamil go to www.enfamil.com
then under products there is an area of questions you can answer to help see what formula they suggest or you can call them directly (problems feeding) maybe also call your babys doctor do you think it could be acid reflux? also, maybe your baby's doctor has some free samples of formula you could try..
sorry I am not much more of a help.
Lenc

A.,

My son is now almost 7 months old, but we had issues with formula as well when he was a newborn. Honestly, I'm not sure we had the same issue, but my son was very uncomfortable all the time. He had gas and and acid reflux. We tried the same formulas you have tried, but none worked. Our doctor finally recommended Similac Alimentum. Alimentum is for kiddos with really sensitive tummies. It is broken down more and is easier for them to digest. It is pretty spendy, but as soon as we switched him over to that he was a completely different baby. We kept him on that for 6 months and just recently switched to Similac Isomil.

I hope this helps a bit. If nothing else at least you know that your baby is very normal and that a lot of newborns have this same issue.

K.
mother to Austin 20 months and Dillin 6 months

We used Enfamil brand that was a salmon color label - it's specifically for spitter-uppers.

best "formula" is the chiropractor...no joke. Give it a shot was amazing for our son! Who slept in a sleep wedge for a month before we decided to get him in! And he had the worst "silent reflux"...Oh and switching formulas too much over a short period of time is hard on the body!

Congratulations on your new baby! Can you breastfeed?? That would solve most of you issues..........hopefully!

Have you tried Soy fomula or the lactose free formula? If you are still having issues, then you need to take him to the dr. A friend of mines little boy would do this and he had an underdeveloped tummy and had surgery.

I had the exact same problem. The one and only formula my daughter could do was suprising Walmarts generic lactose free milk. Even soy was a no go. But the lactose free worked wonderfully. Good luck! :)

I also suggest using one formula for a period of time. If that doesn't work, try one that doesn't have milk in any form in it. I can't remember the brand that my daughter fed her daughter. It is expensive. She used the non-dairy based formula because her daughter tested allergic to milk. The pediatrist used a blood test. My granddaughter had same symptoms.

I would stay away from anything that has soy in it. Soy, as is milk, a common allergen. My granddaughter was also allergic to soy.

I think the name of the formula is something like Nutrigimen.

Its been a while since I had an infant but I had issues with formulas too.with both my younger ones:( Did you ever think a product like soy in the the formulas was causing problems. Another thing is switching formulas to fast. It is hard for the tummy to get used to another product. Time will tell and babies all have gas, its just less bothersome if its mild.

How often are you burping during feedings. Newborns need to be burped at least every ounce or so. So that is 4 burps in a 4oz bottle. I don't care if they are eating great and you don't want to stop, they will but then it will all come up with the burp at the end. They cannot handle any air until about 9 months. And the comment about all babies having gas, not true if you get the burps out. You have to do this or you will have a very uncomfortable baby.
As for formulas, we did Carnation Good Start for my daughter so she could have a bowel movement easier. I concur with the comment about sticking with something for a bit to see if it works though, that is the only way to find out truly if something doesn't work or does.

I would suggest a naturopath to see if he is allergic to formula. Also to make sure the gas isn't something else.
Can you give him breast milk until you know more?

This sounds just like my son at 2 weeks. He had problems from day one, but it took a couple of weeks to realize what I needed to do. My daughter also had reflux, but not the spit-up.

Both of my kids were put on a probiotic, my son at 2 weeks. He was breastfed, so delivery was more of a problem. The probiotic, like bifidus or primadopholus, which are better for the little ones, helped the little digestive system regulate its flora. They don't have enough of this good bacteria built up enough and they have gas and reflux.

Try adding about 1/4 tsp of a powdered form of either to his formula before adding the water. Make sure to give it a little shake when both powders are together.

I had to finger feed the powder to my son at 2 weeks, so it should be much easier with the formula.

You might take him to a naturopath, that worked so much better than the reflux meds that only mask the situation. They decrease the acids from being made, but that causes other digestive problems, too.

Good luck to your baby boy, I hope he can find some relief. You might also try Gripe Water, found in your grocery store with the baby gas drops or in the organic section.

D.

My son needed Enfamil A.R. It greatly reduces the spit up. The best thing you can do for the gas is burp more often. My son had a great ability to hold in his bubbles. If I let him, he'd vomit all his food even just from a little bubble. If you gently jiggle his belly, you can hear or feel air bubbles.

I had these problems with my little girly... we ended up only being able to use Enfamil formulas with her. And for her spitting up she was great with Enfamil AR.. it's just a little thicker, so you need to get some bigger nipples.. but it was fantastic!

We switched our son to Nestle Good Start. It uses just the whey and not the whole milk product which is much gentler on babies tummies. We noticed a HUGE difference with the switch. There are several types of Nestle Good Start you could consider using. We had used Similac and Enfamil before discovering Nestle Good Start and would recommend it to anyone with the changes it made for our son and the next baby we used ONLY Nestle Good Start and didn't have problems at all with formula for her. A friend of mine switched her daughter from Similac (what they gave her at the hospital) to Nestle Good Start and was also sold immediately, after the first bottle her daughter was a whole new baby.

I know this is not the answer to the question you asked - but, you didn't say why you aren't breastfeeding - it may not be too late to start, if you find a good lactation consultant to work with. Breastmilk is so much better for babies. Or if for some reason you aren't able to breastfeed, you could look into getting donor milk. and I'd agree that taking him to a good chiropractor or craniosacral therapist could help greatly.

It's possible he has reflux. If so, you might be interested in looking into your little one wearing a hazelwood necklace.
My friend's son had BAD reflux and was on meds for it (as a newborn). Her mom told her about these necklaces so she gave it a try. She says it basically took away his painful reflux. She was able to take him off meds after 2 weeks of him wearing it.
Anyway, she told me about them because my daughter has had eczema since she was 3 months and nothing was really helping (these necklaces help with a variety of issues from teething pain, to eczema, to reflux). Since she has been wearing it (over a year now) she hardly has any breakouts at all. They work by absorbing excess acid in the body (the wood has that natural property).
Oh, and they help a ton with teething pain too which creeps up on you faster than you may think!
You can find them at www.hazelaid.com
They're really cute too & safe for babies to wear because the clasp is made special (though you can also wrap the necklace twice around his ankle instead if you feel more comfortable doing that; the point is that the wood is touching his skin so it can absorb his acidity).
Hope it helps.

Try goat milk formula or buy goat milk from Whole foods/ New Seasons.

A.,

Hi. I used Enfamil Low Iron for my first child. We had her on the high iron, but it caused her to have horrible gas and when we switched to low iron it was a complete change. I don't know if that will help with spit up as we never had a problem with that. I have not seen it in the stores but maybe you could order it online.

N.