what's wrong.?!

I have recently starting FF DD and we started on the NAN GOLD as it was the one they had in Hossy.. Up until last week she was getting one FF and one EBM alternatively..(she was drinking 125ml EBM no problems and same with formula) the last few days i have switched to all FF, and she has been not drinking full bottles... no matter how much is in the bottle she'll generally leave half a bottle every feed... with the NAN it was 150ml..and she would only ever have 100ml at the most!! Today i switched to S-26 GOLD, (which stinks mind you), thinking i might try a different brand and see whether it makes a difference, since with S26 she only needs to drink 120ml... again this feed she only had half!.... I don't know what's wrong.. she's eating 3-4 hrly...

this formula feeding is so complicated!!

hello:

I wouldnt worry too much about it......

Remember formula milk does fill them up more , more quickly. 100 mls seems to be all your daughter needs at the minute.

When she is having a growth spurt i guarentee she will either feed more frequently and or need more milk from the one bottle.

Oh is she settling post the feeds at the moment.... if she is well as i said i wouoldnt worry to much ok

Cheers Ainsley

Hi there,

The amounts on the formula tins are a good guide, but my daughter who is 3 & 1/2 months old has never had near the amount stated on the tins, quite often she still only has 1/2 the amount stated. I have been advised that while she is eating and it putting on weight and is content not to spend time stressing.

Mention it to your doctor or health nurse at your next visit. If you are really concerned, make a specific appointment, but remember, like us adults, we all eat different amounts.

Heather

Dont stress she will drink it if she's hungry. My DD1 was FF fed and would always leave 60ml's at every feed and she was on nan gold too.

Haroula, don't stress too much hun, my health nurse told me that Madeleine should be drinking 180mL per feed now as she is 6.3kgs (based on 5 feeds within 24 hours [150mL per kilo]) but she has 180mL sometimes and other times she'll have 150mL and rarely only 100mL!! They go up and down a bit.

Sometimes, when Madeleine has not fed for 4 hours and she only has 100mL and stops, I burp her, change her nappy and then sit back down and try again. Most of the time, she'll then drink the extra 80mL!

Do you record her feeds? I do and find it really helpful.

hi haroula,

I found Gold formula to be alot thicker, so perhaps she is getting a full tummy quicker, or perhaps she is having to work harder at getting it out of the bottle and is tiring before she finishes?

I started DS on a gold formula, but changed on the advise of our doctor when it made him terribly constipated. I switched from karicare gold to karicare 1 from birth and the first thing I noticed was how much thinner it was, the gold one was thick like a milkshake, with all the extra bit and pieces in it.

To me its sounds like she is still getting a good amount and I'm sure she would let you know if it wasnt enough!

Things that I have learnt from FF my babies is that they rarely, if ever drink the recommended amount for their age (in my case my eldest was having 180ml bottles at 6wks old and my other three were only having 120mls at that age - both over and under the 'recommended amount') and that just like BF they will only drink as much as they need. The beauty of the breast is that we have absolutely no idea how much they are taking in at each feed, but with a bottle we know exactly how much they've had and this can be both good and bad because yes we know how much they've had, but we also worry if we think it's not enough kwim?

And remember that formula sits heavier in their tummys and is harder for them to digest, so if they still have something in their tummy at the next feed, they aren't going to want as much. Sometimes they will, particularly when they are having a growth spurt and at these times they may well want more to drink, so you just have to adjust it according to their needs.

ATM with Alister he was 5mths old last week and averages 160ml in each feed BUT sometimes he will only take 100mls and other times he will want 220mls, but the daily average is about the same each day, because what he doesn't have at one feed he might catch up at another.

Also the Gold formulas are notorious for constipation and really are no better than a formula that isn't 'gold'. I personally think that the gold formulas are a waste of money and they have literally only been around the past few years - when I went to FF my eldest there were no gold formulas at all with all their added omega 3's, DHA's and probiotics. I'm also of the belief that the gold formulas are simply a marketing tool to get parents to part with more money by making them so much dearer than other non-gold ones on the belief that the gold is the best. (and that isn't meant to upset anyone, but these formula manufacturers are sneaky ba$tards who only think of their bottom line).

At the end of the day though switching formulas may not make a huge difference to the amount that she has because every baby will have a different size appetite and will take what they need, whether it be a little or a lot.

I find with Nan, Pip will drink more of the silver than he will of the gold. So in hot days I send to give him the silver, so he's drinking more liquid IYKWIM?

But his drinking goes up and down, and I really find his volume increases during a developmental leap and then decreases again after the leap/growth spurt. So it may be as "simple" as that?

Thanks for all the advice everyone!! :D will try and not let it worry me! she is sleeping well and generally a happy baby! So i know i shouldn't really worry about it!

xxx

It is very tough to not worry isn't it!? When I put Oscar on formula (he went onto S26) and he rarely drinks what the tin says. He usually drinks 60mls less than what is recommended, whereas my nephew who is the same age as Oscar has always drank the recommended amount and weighs less than Oscar!! So as long as your bub is happy and putting on weight I would try not to stress hun.

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Also the Gold formulas are notorious for constipation and really are no better than a formula that isn't 'gold'. I personally think that the gold formulas are a waste of money and they have literally only been around the past few years - when I went to FF my eldest there were no gold formulas at all with all their added omega 3's, DHA's and probiotics. I'm also of the belief that the gold formulas are simply a marketing tool to get parents to part with more money by making them so much dearer than other non-gold ones on the belief that the gold is the best.

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I have been using Karicare Gold Plus for Madeleine since she was a few weeks old and she thrives on it and has had no constipation. I have heard some Bubs do get constipated on Karicare but not my little Bub. I agree with you on the marketing factor but I wouldn't switch brands now because she is fine on it and it's not too expensive, I just have to shop around for the cheaper price sometimes!

thanks Oshani.. am trying S-26 Gold today.. see how she goes..

Thanks Bindy, am going to try Karicare Gold too... my Bro had this one for his two kids and set it was great!

OK, the s26 is a no go!! she hated it!! didn't even drink 5ml!! lucky i had a sachet on Karicare in the cupboard!!

off to supermarket now!!

Just to clarify, using that formula wont give every baby constipation, but out of all the formulas on the market it is the most likely one to do it. I'm glad that you've had no problems with using it Bindy, but it is something to be aware of when deciding which one to use. And naturally if she is doing well on it then you wouldn't change to another one.

One thing to also remember is that frequent changing of formulas could also give them tummy troubles and it may take as much as a week for them to get used to one type, so don't dismiss it after one feed, give it time and go from there.

My health care nurse (midwife as well) told me that one is the least one to cause constipation in babies. I'm confused...

Bindy, MCHNs don't always give good advice!! Sherie is right, the gold formulas are more likely to cause constipation. But it's great that is hasn't happened for your DD.

It's terrible isn't it, that you listen to these people (and my Paed who also recommended it highly) and they are giving you incorrect information. Not good!

Ahhh Bindy, that's the hardest part of it all. There is no truly independent source of information for different formula brands and any info leaflet you might get handed by your GP/Paed/MCHN it will almost always be produced by a formula manufacturer. Not in developed countries, but in the third world Drs are even paid/bribed/given gifts by these same companies to tell mothers that xyz brand of formula is better for their baby than breastmilk. Think about all the different notepads and pens and trinket type things you see in your Dr's office - they are all handed out by reps from different drug companies and while not on the scale of the third world, you will find that health professionals will have their preferences for certain brands.

The world of infant feeding is a very lucrative market indeed and if they can get you to buy the dearest product of theirs over their cheaper one, then they aren't going to complain are they?

I was the same Haroula! I was so worried DD wasn't getting enough because she wasn't drinking the whole amount in the bottle, but now that she's older she will drink a whole bottle almost every time. I think in general they just drink what they need.

There's an organic brand of formula called Bellamy's and DD loves it, maybe try that? (I think it's a bit difficult to find - i think it's only sold in Coles)

I trust my nurse/paed so I'm glad she's all healthy and happy, that is most important. Go Karicare Gold Plus!!!

Keira - thanks! I've noticed the organic brand too! May give that a go, we'll see! When you shake the bottle, does it froth up?? Karicare does, and is the only thing i don't like about it... i think it gives her more gas! So i use a fork, but it's hard to dissolve.

Karicare definately froths up alright. Madeleine gets gas, farts like a trooper however, I use IF too and she's not upset or anything...

Hi Haroula,

No it doesn't froth up... I think it's really good, plus, it's organic... I read the labels on each brand of formula and the Bellamy's was the best imo. It didn't have as many ingredients as all the others, which was another big plus for me, it just seemed more "natural" as far as formula's go... iykwim?

darn! we are still having issues... On thursday we got our 2 month needles.. so now i don't know whether she's playing up because of those, or she just isn't hungry..!!! Or could it be she doesn't really like the formula and only eats enough to satisfy her initial hunger and then stops!

Sometimes she stops after having 30-80ml screaming and then never goes back on bottle again..! could she have reflux?.... but after you stop trying to feed her she settles fine!!

i'm so confused!!

Haroula, it will be from the vaccinations she's just had. The Rota Virus vacc can really knock them for 6 when they have it - Alister took a full 2wks before he was completely back to normal. he wouldn't have proper, full feeds and was all over the place with it. Persevere with what you are using, she will start to improve again in the next few days.

Which formula did you settle on? Try giving her a little rest and then see if she will have the rest of the bottle.

Thanks Sherie, we are on Karicare Gold puls at the moment..and she seems to like it. Last night she ate a whole 100ml bottle when we went out to dinner and then 50ml when we got home!!! Then at 3:30m she had another 100ml!! and at 8:30am another 110ml!!! so i'm hoping that whatever was bothering her before the needles is over and the effects of the needles are wearing off! we'll see how today goes!! At the moment though, i'm one happy mummy! :D

Haroula - I'm exactly the same as you. Amy is pretty much on full time formula now and it really varies the amount she takes every time. She's supposed to be on 180ml now (she's on S26 gold) but she rarely rarely finishes 120ml. I'm making up 180ml and putting 60ml aside so that if she doesn't finish the bottle I can keep that 60ml for the next feed and it doesn't get wasted. I took her to get weighed today and she'd only put on 90g in a week. She's never put on a lot of weight anyway but it just stressed me out so much. But I'm so over the weighings now. I mean, she was due for a feed and had done two big poos in the morning so if I had gone at 8.30am just after a feed and before the poos she probably would have weighed 200g more!!! So I'm not going to worry about weight anymore. She does seem very happy when she's not hungry, she's feeding every 4 hrs and she sleeps really well. I'm just starting to think that she doesn't have a huge appetite and has a fast metabolism so she will never be a fatty boomsticks. I have to tell myself that or else I'll go crazy with worry! her weight is now 4.5 kg. I'm going to go up to the next size teats (medium flow) and see if that makes a difference.....i don't really want to change formulas cos she's not getting constipated and likes it (to a degree anyway!). I hope things continue to improve for you xx