which formula to use? DD bit windy!

[lullahbelle]

I've just given up bfing after 10 weeks. I wanted to give up at 6wks so have 'soldiered on' for another 4 :-) I have started dd on SMA gold and she has been ok but she does seem to get alot of wind. does anyone know if the 'comfort' brands that cow n gate and aptamil do, reduce this. Also is it normal that she will do just one poo per day now she is on formula? (and the smell is awful compared to breastmilk poo!!!!)

no idea, sorry, just wanted to say well done for bfing for 10 weeks, especially as you've found it hard.
Hope your little windbag's wind eases

formulas are much the same as one another

i am not sure if changing will help

is she farty or burpy? Infacol can help them bring wind up more easily

yes i've started using infacol recently (for dd not me ) and it does seem to work

Thanks, she seemed to get more wind when bfing which is weird but i think she can bring it up easier on formula, i have used infacol but will try her again. however last night she was uncomfortable for about 4hrs and wondered if the formula might make a difference.

My DS who is 6 1/2 weeks is combination fed but mainly formula he has had really bad wind - at night after feeding he draws his legs up and squeeks!! We are using aptamil first at the moment but have been recomended SMA stay down milk which helps reflux but can also help babies who really struggle with wind so we are going to give that a go.

It is mornal for formula babies to poo once a day or sometimes even less according to the HV but if he looks like he is really struggling my HV suggested giving him a tiny amount of cooled boiled water in a bottle to help - maybe check this with your HV first but it has def helped DS to poo!!

HTH

I don't know what the difference is between the normal formulas and the comfort type milks but I would be inclined to stay on the normal type (do try a different brand) as far as possible - I think the comfort milks are for reflux babies, so might not be the best thing if your baby is not refluxy, if that makes sense.

Does anyone know what the difference is by the way?

Hi I used Aptimil on the advice of several doctor friends of mine. Apparently it's the formula of choice for most paediatricians so I figured that must be ok. DD didn't have any problems with it.

SMA gold made DD constipated and Aptamil was recommended to us. She has been perfect since we changed, and her poos are very similar to when she was breastfed. It's definitely worth a try!

Aptamil has been marketed very heavily to healthcare professionals, so it's not surprising doctors and other HCPs choose it - it does not reflect any issues of quality of the product, which is practically identical to other brands. The health claims related to various additives in the formula have been examined by the Advertising Standards Authority and they have been told to desist. You can find a blogpost about this here.

Comfort milks have potato starch in them - it thickens it.

I gave DS1 Aptamil as SMA really bunged him up.
However, he was a very vomity baby (lots of projectile) but I just thought that was him.
Anyway, DS2 came along who I also gave Aptamil to. He was also very sicky.
I changed to Cow and Gate as I'd run out of Aptamil and the shop only had one brand. DS2 hasn't been sick since!
I would try regular Cow and Gate. I've also noticed it mixes a lot better than Aptamil.

"it does not reflect any issues of quality of the product, which is practically identical to other brands"

It's true that the quality is practically the same between the different brands, but there are differences in the formulas which means some babies will get on with certain ones better than others. Unfortunately the only way is to keep testing until you find one that suits. You could also try using the ready-made cartons for a while to see if that makes a difference (although it's a lot more expensive) - again, slight differences in the ingredients may make a difference to your baby.

Cow and Gate for me! I started DS1 on SMA Gold and he was very constipated. C&G was great for him. DS2 - I started him on Aptamil as it was meant to be closest to breast milk but it made DS2 very 'sicky', this improved with C&G so C&G gets my vote.

Anything but SMA Gold gets my vote! If I had known then what I knew now I would have tried others, but I was told to stick with one

We also switched to Aptamil from SMA Gold for constipation reasons (recommended to do this by HV) and DD does seem to be better on it although she still doesn't poo very often - usually every second day, although sometimes less. She is partly breast fed and I don't know if this makes a difference, although she definitely receives far more formula than breast milk.

Thanks for the suggestions, i have given her regular ready made cow n gate and she seems to finish the feed and seems less windy- may try the powder and see how she gets on. It really is quite daunting trying to find the right formula, there are so many! I'll see what happens tonight as we've been having regular windy screaming from about 7pm til 10pm until she is tired out and falls asleep!!! do they grow out of the windy stage?

Not really, but it hurts them less and less, and by the age of 5 or thereabouts they are generally in hysterics over the whole subject

I think they tend to stop being so windy when they are crawling as all that movement gets the wind up by itself, IYSWIM.

The wind is coming out which is a good thing! The wind will abate as her digestive system develops.

Mine is six weeks and on Aptamil formula topped up with EBM. She does one or two massive poos a day and farts constantly yet I have found Aptamil to be the best for her as she brings up the others constantly and too much readymix makes her constipated.

Tbh I'd rather the wind came out than stayed in. She is a happy farty baby rather than a crying screaming distressed one! Personally the only formula I have found that makes for utterly horrific nappies and smelliest wind is the Aptamil Easy Digest/Comfort but I don't use it any more.

ds was a very windy and colicky baby, we tried every brand and found Hipp was the best for us.
SMA gold was awful, made him very bunged up and uncomfortable.