Enfamil makes a special formula for reflux: Alimentum (or something like that). The doctor should have told you about it.
We had that problem and switched to mestle good start in the green can (I can not remember what exctly they call it anymore), as recommended by her doctor. It made a world of difference. She was breastfed and formula fed as well.
Carnation formula worked well for my baby and that is after she was on isomil.
My son had reflux and after trying just about EVERY brand of formula and every specialty formula out there (I did not breastfeed) and we found Carnation Good Start to be the BEST!! His spitting up calmed and he wasn't as gassy... it was much gentler on his system then any of the formulas we tried! He was also on reflux medicine for a brief time but once we started the Carnation Good Start we slowed weaned the medication and he was fine without it! GOOD LUCK! :)
I have used Alimentum with good results. It is more expensive, but it was worth it.
My son had reflux badly. They recommended (at not even 1 month of age)I give him rice and oatmeal cereal in his bottles to help keep the formaul down. (this was recommended by a specialist) He didn't get cereal any other time during the day since he got it in his bottle. They said although my son wasn't fussy and they agreed he didn't require medication at this point, he could later be in pain due to spitting up over a long period of time cause by the acid. He said it was best to try and keep the food down. That's what we did. We 1st tried 1 tbsp of rice cereal in the bottle for 2 weeks and it didn't help but a little so then we went to oatmeal b/c it is thicker. Later we did end up having to add 1 tsp of karo syrup to his bottles b/c he was getting constipated. Once we got the combination down right, it worked like a charm. It would mean you wouldn't be able to breast feed unless you pumped. I have read up on all of the problems the reflux can cause them later in life and also with their throat and I am glad I choose to do it. My son still has reflux but he is able to keep things down. Good luck to you & God Bless!
~Krista
Hi there,
I have a 10 months old with severe reflux since about 3 1/2 months. Just an fyi, it will eventually hurt her. The constant reflux of the stomach acid will start to irritate and can damage her esophagus. My little guy takes previcid and reglan every day. YOu might want to get a second opinion from a pediatric gastroenterology specialist. My little guy had to switch to a formula called Elecare (very expensive) to combat he reflux and allergy issues he has.
You'll also want to keep a close eye on her weight.
The other thing that helps is more solid food. Introduce it asap. It stays down better than the liquids.
Good luck,
Lisa
Reston, VA
it is not suggested to give meds by the american peds assoc if the child is thriving. The meds do have neg side effects. If your baby is not loosing weight then the spitting up is not an issue. Spitting up is normal....even a lot of it. Usually it is from over eating, but could be for another reason. It is not normal and should be addressed IF che is loosing weight. Then it is often more like projectile vomiting. The only time I would consider giving the meds against the guidelines is if the child is screaming in pain constantly. (our case) That is... more than 3 hours a day of screaming.
Hi - You have already gotten a million responses but I had to add mine. Our pediatrician before meds suggested that we start adding a little bit of rice cereal (as much as it takes to keep things down) to our son's breast milk or formula bottles. This really worked like a dream. We started when he was about 3.5 months and we still do it now at 5.5 months sometimes even though he now gets some solids. I always favor a non-medicine response first if possible. Hope this helps!
I know you placed this request a while ago, but I just noticed it and thought I would give you what I used as well. I also see that you have a ton of responses as well, so here's just one more to add...
Both of my boys, which were also exclusively breast fed, were terrible with spitting up. Since they also didn't have a problem with losing weight and being fussy about it, we never got to medicine either. So, I just started reading a little about it and realized that they had milk allgeries (not diagnosed by the Dr.), if I had anything with milk in it. Once I started staying away from products that had milk, soy and/or eggs in them (VERY hard by the way), thier problems subsided. My first son (now 2 1/2 yrs) never had a problem with drinking milk on his own at 1 year, and he grew out of it by 8 months old. My second, has taken a little longer so far (he is currently 8 months old), however, I have found that giving him a teaspoon of GRIPE water a couple times a day has worked tremendously! (I wish I had discovered it 2 1/2 years ago). It is somethinig that is natural and you can even give it to them every 30 minutes if necessary, it's that gentle. I started them both on solids between 4-5 months as well, and it didn't seem to make a whole lot of difference (just different colored puke! :) Hope this helps, if you haven't found anything else yet.
My BF one month baby was the same. Bbaies mgic tea did help and soothed him instantly.