Seeking Advice on Formula: Enfamil or Similac?

My daughter who is 7 now was on Enfamil via a WIC(women infant children program provided by the state) back then so now that I have a newborn they provide Similac. They assurd me that the same nutrients Enfamil provided were equal and even better in the newer versions of Similac. They say it is regulated by FDA. My daughter was not diagnosised years ago with reflux, but she had very bad gas and vomiting after most feeds. What helped me was sitting her up and feeding and only feeding about an oz. then burp and so on. Frustrated her because she was hungry, but it made feeding and life afterwards a little less messy and satisfied. Hope you find much success with your little one. I will keep you in my prayers!

My niece has the same condition. She uses the pink/white Similac. Her mom did the breastfeeding/formula combo and she was constantly cranky. The mom got sick and had to take some medicine that caused her to have to stop breastfeeding and go solely to formula. Since that change the baby has been less cranky. Also, they have her sleep in her carseat due to the reflux.
Hope this helps.
M.

My daughter started having stomach issues when we put her on Enfimil. I was told to switch to soy, but that was just a gross formula. I am a big believer in not feeding my kids anything I won't at least find tasty (not that I would want to drink large amounts of any formula LOL)
So anyway, I switched her to an organic Goat's milk formula
Here is the recipe:
36oz. filtered water (you can boil tap for 10 minutes for this)
12 Tablespoons of powdered Goats milk
4 Tablespoons Organic Maple Syrup
1 Teaspoon Flax Seed oil
1 Teaspoon Cod Liver oil
1 Teaspoon Probiotic (we use True Identity)

Also, make sure you give the baby a doze of Poly ViSol everyday because goats milk tends to be low in folic acid and one other vitamin that this will take care of.
Once mixed, you don't taste the fishiness of the cod liver at all. My daughter loves this formula
NOTE: this formula has 11 calories per ounce as compared to the 20 calories per ounce of regular formula, so if your child is underweight, you want to check with your pediatrician first.

See if you can get the low iron Similac; when I worked in Norfolk General's nursery we switched formulas every month and Enfamil months there seemed to be more gassy tummies. Breastmilk has an easily digested iron that's different from what can be manufactured, so sometimes switching to formula that has iron is rough on the babies. Better to use a low iron one and supplement with vitamin drops with iron if your pediatrician balks at the low iron formula (breast fed babies usually don't get iron supplements).

We went through the exact same thing you are going through with our son. He is now 10 months, and all his digestive issues are gone. Here is what we went through/did. First we went down the list of forumulas, like you have I am sure. We tried the Emfamil hypoalergenic one first, Nutramigen. We saw no change. Then our doc told us to try similac Alimentum. Our guy was on prevacid/zantac too for reflux, and then we had to start to put rice cereal in his bottle.

Our doctor told us that Nutrimigen and Alimentum are basically the same, but they break down the proteins using a different process. he said there is no explanation why, but some babies just do better with one rather than the other. Our guy did better with Alimentum, so maybe your little one would do better with Nutramigen.

When i say he did better, I mean that he stopped screaming from gas literally 24 hours a day. Like you we tried Mylacon, and it did NOTHING. They explained to us that some babies literally can feel their gut digesting the food, and while it doesn't "hurt" they don't like it ( I don't think I would either).

I can say that around 10 weeks he was substanially better, and that is when he had been on his routine of Alimentum with a bit of rice cereal in it with every bottle, and his medication. Also, I will get bashed for this, but the reason we went to Alimentum FULL TIME was because our doctor said, keep pumping and save the milk, and try just the formula for three days. We did this and he stopped having all the problems. I know some women will say it was my diet, but by the time we did this I had cut out basically everything from my diet from dairy, to spicey foods, red sauces, wheat, leafy vegetables. I seriously could barely eat anything. Even that did nothing for him.

I agree with what most will say that breastfeeding is usually best (I did with my first child until she was 12 months), but it just doesn't work for some kids. I think my son was one.

We have just recently been able to get him back onto regular similac formula, without medication.

If you need anything else, just let me know. I know what you are going through and it is so hard. Good luck!

First, go out & buy some Mylacon drops. They're MIRACLE drops. It really helps with the gas. Try a lactose free formula as well. It's best to be constistant with the formula. It's harder for the baby to digest than breast milk. She may not be lactose intolerant, but it ight help her get through the next month or so until she gets older & is more tolerant of formula all together. All of my kids, I have 4 (18, 12, & 7yr old twins) & 1 on the way were exclusively breast fed for at least 16 weeks. All of them took the formula differently when they started.

Good luck!!!