What's the best formula to use while breastfeeding?

Question

I have a 6 week old daughter and she's breastfed. I have tried to give her some formula for her last feeding before bed but she doesn't seem to tolerate the Enfamil with Iron, Carnation Good Start, and Similac Isomil. She was spitting up alot with Enfamil and Carnation Goodstart. With Similac Isomil she had extreme gas/fussiness. I was using Similac Isomil, her last feeding was Thur. night and I stopped for the weekend to see if that would help. She hasn't had much gas/fussiness yesterday and today. So I figured it was the Isomil. I have thought about trying Enfamil Gentlease. I would like anyones opinion on what formula's worked best for occasional supplementing. I have tried pumping but I only seem to get less than an ounce with both b*****s. I would just rather not pump. I have a Medela hand pump and I plan on getting a electric one this week to see if that will help get more milk. But in the mean time which formulas worked best for fussiness/gas?

Answer 1

Can't help you choose a formula.  Seems like it's trial an error to everyone I talk to.   But I can help with the pumping.  I am still breast feeding my 10-month-old daughter.  I pump out milk for her bed time bottle.  Though I didn't start that consistently until she was about 4 months old.  You may need to pump more than once to get enough for a feeding.  And I strongly recommend an electric pump.  We sprang for the Medela Pump in Style. Pump in the morning while she's eating from one side & pump the other.  Or pump both when she's finished.  It can take up to 20 minutes or even longer to get out 4 oz of milk.   You can combine milk pumped within a 24 hour period into the same bottle or pouch to be stored/frozen.   Don't forget to keep up your calories & water to keep up your milk supply.  I had a decrease around 8 weeks and couldn't pump enough or nurse enough.  I ate a lot over Christmas holidays and suddenly there was enough milk, that drowning myself in water hadn't fixed.  You've got to eat.  And lastly pump before you go to bed.  If your milk supply is low, pump extra during the day.  Don't worry if you're not getting a lot at first.  Your body should respond to the extra stimulation after a few days.  Good luck.   There isn't anything wrong with nursing your baby to sleep at this stage.  It's one of the most natural things in the world.   Don't worry about it becoming a habit until after 6 months.

Answer 2

I have a 8 wk old son with reflux (he is on meds). I had put the poor child through at least 8 different formulas before I found the right one for him. I mean I tried name brand as well as non name brand and the one that works best for him is enfamil gentlease (purple can). He only poops once a day and hardly spits up..unless he is really mad before he eats. We have no problem with gas building up in him now. He passes gas all day which to me is fine. I just couldnt stand to see him ball his knees up in pain because he couldnt get any relief. Hope this helps some.  

Answer 3

i had a lot of the same problems.. so i tried a couple of different things. my baby didnt like formula at all. so i nursed up until 6 months then my milk pretty much stopped producing, so i had to do something quick! i put him on similac for sensitive tummies and i would try 2oz breast milk and 2oz formula and it made a really big difference in gas and constipation, as well as transisting to formula all of the time, and after doing that for a while i just started giving him straight formula and he was fine. and then i started getting WIC and they provided Enfamil only, so i bought 1 more can of Similiac and i did the same thing, 2oz of each until i started giving him straight Enfamil and he did fine :) i had to do this also when i switched him over to straight cows milk.

hope that helps a little bit!

Answer 4

similac advance with iron

Answer 5

I had a similar problem with my son, except i wasn't breast feeding at the time. He just wouldn't tolerate any formula i tried to give him, so i took the advice of a friend and put him on soy formula. While he was drinking the soy formula, i noticed he stopped spitting up (well, less often than before i put him on it) and it also seemed to calm his stomach. When he turned one and i took him off the formula, he didn't seem to have problem adjusting to regular cow's milk.  

Answer 6

We used Enfamil Lipil with my oldest, and Goodstart with my youngest.  It sounds a lot like what you are going through, because both of my girls were breastfed, and very particular about what the would take if the breast milk wasn't available.  I too had issues with pumping, mostly because even the best electric pumps couldn't get the milk out like my babies!  I think that you are pointed in the right direction, and that you essentially need to find what works best for you and your baby.  I wish you the best of luck in finding out what it is she needs, and I thought I should also mention that my lactation consultant recommended that I not try and pump, to make extra bottles etc... until after 6 weeks so my milk supply could fully develop.  It sounds like you are at that mark... so again, good luck!

Answer 7

There is nothing better than breast milk.....NOTHING.

Answer 8

I had my daughter on Enfamil with Iron for the first two weeks, then switched to th dark purple enfamil gentlease for fussiness and gas and haven't had a problem since.  I love it!  the normal enfamil constipated her so much she'd cry and her bms looked like rabbit p**p, once she switched she was and go without crying.