Formula milk which is easy to digest for sicky babies

[poonam322]

Hi
My little one is over one month old and has been on breastfeed since her birth. I have tried to combine formula milk(c&g normal and Aptamil normal) but she vomited all the stuff out with bile and become very weak and sleepy after the feed.
please suggest me some good formula milk for her as i dont want to keep experimenting as it is very heart breaking.She is a very happy baby otherwise and ok with BM(with no sickness).
I will appreciate any help !

Hi there!! My son is now almost 8 months old and I had a similar situation to you. Once I started to try to get my son onto formula, he was very sick. It made me feel very guilty for stopping the breast milk. The best I found for him was the cow and Gate milk. He took to it really well. However, I noticed he started to be sicky again after a few weeks and my GP suggested he does have reflux. So I moved him onto cow and gate comfort milk. As he was already on cow and gate he didn't notice a difference. The comfort milk is anti-reflux milk and is thicker, I actually believe that maybe my breast milk was thicker than the formula?? Maybe?? That's why he preferred the cow and gate comfort.

Anyway, after rambling I hope this helps?? Basically in a nut shell I recommend cow and gate first milk to begin with then at least if still sicky you can switch up to the comfort milk.

Best wishes! Rhi Rhi xx

Is there a reason you need to get her on formula?

Tbh, if she had such a big reaction to formula (throwing up bile is very unusual for a little baby), then I think all first infant formulas are going to cause the same reaction. They are basically all the same as the ingredients are defined in law.

If you need to switch to formula, then I would speak to your HV or GP about the reaction to formula that your DD had, and ask them for their advice about what formula would be suitable. This would be more reliable advice than strangers on an Internet forum!

Don't patronise her, it's a Saturday and so I'm sure she will visit her GP on Monday. Most moms like to get a bit of background advice from other moms who have been through the same thing. It's comforting knowing that others have been through the same situation. Having a young baby is worrying, she doesn't have to listen to any one's advice but it's nice to get a good view on what milks work well for other babies who have been previously breast fed.

All first formula milks have the same ingredients but the different brands are made up differently. Some suit babies better than others. My son is now prescribed first formula milk so if they are all the same, why would the doctor prescribe him a different one?

It would be very unusual to be prescribed a standard formula - if you are talking about a specialised formula then it won't be the same as cow's milk based "first milks".

There are specialised formulas for babies with cows milk protein allergies, lactose intolerances and so on that are prescribed rather than available over the counter. Which is why I suggested getting a diagnosis from a relevant medical person. I also though it would be worth mentioning that all standard first infant formulas that are available from the usual shops are fundamentally the same, so it's unlikely to be the specific formula that caused the problem.

poonam, I agree this is a very strong reaction to the formula, and if you are certain you want to add formula to your baby's intake this should be done with a doctor or health visitor's advice....I don't think that's patronising to say that, bumblebee.

Regular infant formula is not something doctors prescribe. It's not actually on the list of prescribable items. You must be mistaken. Or perhaps you are not in the UK.

Enfamil first infant milk is most certainly prescribed on the NHS. They make a 0-3 and a 0-12 formula milk and it is not a specialised milk. Enfamil do indeed make specialised milks but I can assure you I receive my prescription of 6 tubs of Enfamil first milk every month. This was due to the fact my son was very sick when switching from breast milk to formula milk at two months old. So I have indeed given the information you previously posted a question about. Sorry for helping you! It is common sense that you would seek advice from your GP about this matter, if you didn't realise that then I guess it is not patronising. I wouldn't like to post something and someone to just say to me 'don't post on forums getting advice from strangers - see your GP.' That I'm my opinion is patronising as any parent should know that anyway

Is Enfamil even available in the UK? I'd never heard of it before.

If it's Enfamil AR, then this is a specialised formula only available over the counter at pharmacies or on prescription. It contains an adapted rice starch which ordinary first formulas don't.

Throwing up bile is a really unusual reaction and should be checked past a GP or possibly HV before trying formula again. In fact, it should probably be checked out anyway as it's very unusual. The OP may not be aware of the fact that throwing up bile is unusual, and she may not be aware that all standard first formulas are essentially the same.

I didn't say "don't post on an Internet forum", I said that it would be more reliable information to get input from a GP or HV. For all I know the OP is going to the GPs on Monday, or even today, but surely it's worth emphasising that it's more serious than just a simple case of showing a preference for one formula over another?

You are right, Culture. Enfamil are specialist formulas. There are a few. GP would not be able to prescribe a non-spec one.

Enfamil make standard formulas in other parts of the world I believe. Riri, have you been prescribed regular enfamil formula via an NHS script?! How is that possible?

Hi fledermaus & rhi rhi
Thanks for your advise and i do agree with you that i should consult my GP.
The reason i want to combine formula milk with BM is because i had c-section and during first few days my baby had lost more then 10% of her weight so i had to start expressing the milk and feeding the baby with bottle and now baby is so used to the bottle that she doesn't like my breast and at times i run out of milk or due to shortage i cant express enough milk. So i thought of mixing Formula milk to top it up as the baby is not gaining the weight as much as she should be.I have already tried aptamil and cow & gate normal which was a total let down. I have bought cow & gate comfort now but have not tried yet as i am too scared.
I am going to see the GP tomorrow. hopefully he can sort something out !

I think given what you describe I would see if you can see a lactation consultant. They might be able to help. And speak to the GP about the vomiting. It could be cow's milk allergy - not lactose intolerance - and there are special formulas for this. Poor weight gain can be another symptom.

I hope the GP has some helpful advice today Poonam. I just wanted to add that it could still be possible to get back to directly breastfeeding, I that was something you wanted to consider. I would agree that a lactation consultant could help with this.

I had a C section and my baby was in SCBU for a while before coming home. We were mixed feeding when we came home - direct breastfeeding, expressed bm and some formula. We eventually got back to 100% direct breastfeeding. I felt it was helpful to use a teat on bottles that was not a free flow teat. Some babies can get used to the fast flow of milk from a free flow teat, leading to refusing to feed at the breast. I used the Medela Calma teats/bottles, there are other similar ones though.