Formula Feeding Question

Hi Ladies - Amelia is doing great with the formula - but my question is about mixing it, I use Enfamil and the Playtex bottles with the drop ins. She is eating 3oz every 3 hours right now. Well when I mix the bottles "to order" I shake them and notice there is a lot of foam / bubbles and this is making her gassy. Now I was mixing up 4 bottles at a time and putting them in the fridge then I just have to re-heat them (with ho****er in a cup) as needed but the convenience of serving them room temp was nice. Any suggestions on how to mix them without getting a lot of bubbles?

Thanks!

If you let the bottle sit for about 10 minutes after you shake it, the bubbles will go down quite a bit. That is what I tried to do when she was little and the bubbles gave her gas. When she got bigger it didn't bother her so I'd just feed it to her with all the bubbles.

Do you push the air out? I used like a wooden spoon to push the bags up.

Jackie

A couple drops of Mylicon in the bottle will make the bubbles disappear.

While I like Enfamil better, I do have to say that since this time around we have to use Similac (Dh has a forced work furlough for 6 months and we are using WIC) I find that Similac dissolves better- I always had problems with clumps and air bubbles with Enfamil. That being said, I did use the Mylicon religiously for my daughter- This time around we are needing it a lot more sparingly- I guess my daughter was just more sensitive to gas than the boys are. While the room temp is nice, I do mix up enough for 24 hours and put it in the fridge- I use a kitchen whisk, but I know people who have used a blender to help with clumps/etc. You could try mixing up the single serving in a seperate container with a whisk and then pouring it in the bottle- maybe it would have less bubbles in the actual bottle at that point.

Carrie

with my cousin's daughter they put in the mylicon drops...works great!!

Thanks ladies!

Jackie - I do push the air out, the bubbles are in the formula from the shaking. I happen to have a bottle of olive oil that is the perfect size to fit in the bottles lol

I use to just mix in a seperate cup first then pour into the bottle. Also I have a formula mixer wand and I love it!

hi liz!

love seeing the pictures of amelia on fb...shes sooo precious. as for the formula/bottles i squeeze out some of the bubbles too. or let it sit a few minutes then swirl the milk around the bottle instead of shake and they will die down. but i suggest just making a couple of bottles ahead and putting them in the fridge. as long as they are the original bottles you can put them in a bottle warmer, the bag and bottle will feel hot but the formula will b cooler. i just take a sip before i give and the rare cases its too hot run it under cold water upside down for a few secs. try and stay away from the new ones (the nursers) because while cuter they CANNOT be sterilized or used in a bottle warmer or they will melt. if you want room tempertaure...take a bottle out about 30 minutes before feeding time and it should warm up (unless you keep the house cold).

good luck
simone

we also use the playtex drop ins and similac. I have found that different formulas foam up more than others. We tried Carnation good start and Gerber Good start and those don't foam up at all. Enfamil foams up also. But my son didn't do well on those, he was too gassy. Babies for the first 3-4 months are just gassy by nature, it's not because there are bubbles or foam in the formula. Their little digestive systems are maturing and adjusting to food being introduced into them, so they get gassy. I've had 3 kids and learned it the 2nd time around that the fussiness usually goes away around 3 or 4 months and the babies are a lot happier and eat better. We use a lot of the Mylicon drops and actually Target has the same ingredient in their store brand, but it's a TON cheaper and you get more fl oz for your money.

We have stuck with similac and yeah it's foamy but if you let it sit for about 5-10 mins, the foam goes down. I have the bottles sitting with the water in em and then put the formula in just before he eats and shake it up. He eats 4 oz every 3 hrs usually and sometimes he'll go 4 hrs. Good luck!