More Formula Reviews

There are still additional free samples of formula to attempt to quell Eleanor’s hunger:

Similac Pro-Advance

• When the Enspire by Enfamil made Eleanor double over in gas pain, we swapped it for Similac Pro-Advanced after only a day
• Again, Eleanor transitioned from breast milk during the day and Pro-Advanced at night
• At this point, she was getting to 10 days old and starting to develop a wake/sleep cycle – very primitive, but it wasn’t a sleeping-all-day-except-to-eat cadence
• She started sleeping consistently 4 hours with this formula (10pm, 2am, 5am almost consistently)
• This formula kept her satiated, and her intake was between 60ml and 80 ml every 2.5 to 4 hours

Enfamil Infant Formula, Powder

• Our pediatrician recommended this formula because it is the basic formula version offered by Enfamil
• He said, “unless your baby needs a specialty formula for health reasons, don’t by the ‘pro’, ‘premium’, ‘enfloral’, ‘amino’, ‘nutra’, ‘vidasol/tridasol’ blah blah blah”
• I am not kidding! He rattled off all those buzzwords!
• Upon looking at the Enfamil site, they’re (almost) REAL product names
• We switched to the basic Enfamil day 14 when the Similar Pro-Advanced ran out
• This was the first formula Ellie didn’t gulp down with relish – she spit this formula out, she refused a bottle here or there, she didn’t drink nearly as much of this before growing disinterested
• Again, we were using breast milk during the day and trying this formula at night, but Ellie did not like to eat this formula the way she gleefully guzzled breast milk or the other formulas

Time to give up Breast Milk

• Around week five, we all decided together to ween Ellie off the breast milk
• Our pediatrician mentioned that it was really up to Madrina when she no longer wanted to pump because it is a major inconvenience – we agreed
• We are forever grateful to Madrina for her taking care of Ellie for nine months of gestation and the extra weeks of nourishment
• We are very lucky mothers with a very lucky baby

Trying Formula Full Time (Enfamil Infant Formula, Powder)

• One of these 21.1 oz bad boys seemed to last Eleanor a full six days
• By week five she was drinking between 60ml and 120ml consistently and staying satiated between three and FIVE HOURS – that’s right! FIVE HOURS
• I wish the five hours stretches were all at night, so I could sleep for that long of a period (beggars can’t be choosers)
• At about $25 a pop for every six days, we’re looking at over $100 a month on formula
• If you’d like to contribute to our Ellie’s Formula Fund, I’ve discovered there’s a way to do this

• However, she’s happy to be on the same formula consistently – transitioning between breast milk and formula made her tummy gassy
• Her gas has improved, her baby acne has cleared up, there’s no more redness in her skin, but that may also be us taking a break from all the lotions
• I’ll let you know what comes up when we slowly reintroduce her to soaps and lotions again

Still to come “Enfamil NeuroPro Gentlease Infant Formula, Powder” but I am not about to crack this open just for the sake of writing a review. If Eleanor gets a tummy ache, I want to have this formula on hand to allow her to eat even if she’s got a tender tummy. With Covid-19, who knows if she will get sick due to all our self-isolation. I guess that’s a different story.