Enfamil for silent reflux

[KittyB52]

DD is 14 weeks and has been on Aptamil Comfort for a couple of months, with Infant Gaviscon for nearly 2 weeks. Yesterday GP recommended switching to Enfamil AR, but the instructions say to make it up with cooled (room temperature) boiled water. Has anyone used it with a Perfect Prep machine?

Also DD is a hungry girl, and we just upped her bottles to 210 - Enfamil says 4-5 bottles of 180ml for her age. Is this because the Enfamil is more nutrionally dense than Aptamil?

Don't know on this one sorry, have they got a helpline number on the carton.

As far as I can see, it's a formula thickened with rice to reduce spit ups or possetting. Has your Dr explained why they are recommending this formula and what benefits you might see? Is it just spitting up that is a problem or does LO have other symptoms as well?

Personally, I wouldn't be too keen to us a formula thickened with rice as in the UK rice milks are not advised to under 5s due the high levels of arsenic. I'd be more inclined to push for a referral to a Paed and find out what's causing the reflux.

As for amounts, the amounts on the carton are only a guide, some babies will drink more, some less. It's really not worth stressing about

DD isn't sick, she brings up clear liquid (either saliva or acid) as well as being windy, hiccupy and unsettled.

I didn't know that about arsenic in the rice - that's quite worrying!

I'd push for a referral.

Reading the info about it online you have to make it up with cooled boiled water by hand due to the way the thickener works. You couldn't use the perfect prep with it as far as I can see.

It also has the same number of calories as other formulas, so it's not any different from that point of view. The amounts on the packet will be a guide so I would try and feed on demand still rather than trying to aim for a particular amount.

Thanks for the info about calorie content - that's good to know.

It seems very strange to make up bottles with cooled water after being told that hot water is needed to kill harmful bacteria in formula powder.

DD has been on Enfamil since Tuesday night, and has bizarrely been possetting more. She also seems to be going through a development leap, so is clingy, whingey and unsettled, which isn't helping us work out if the new formula is helping much. Will give it a bit longer and see how it goes.

Thanks for the advice, both.

Please don't worry about arsenic.

The reason why rice-thickened formulas are not normally recommended in the UK is because there is no evidence they are any better at dealing with possetting than anything else. But that goes for comfort milks as well.

Perhaps ask your GP what lay behind the advice?

Sorry, should have made myself more clear. Rice Milk is not recommended to under 5's due to the high levels of arsenic.. I wasn't referring to milks made from cow's milk and thickened with rice