Preemies and formula brand

So, I was told that preemies need a differet type of formula? any suggestions?

 

My 34 weekers left the NICU on Neosure.

 

We used Enfimil Enfacare, it was called E22 in the NICU...had to special order it from the pharmacy but we are in Canada so it may be different in the states.

 

It depends. Our girls left on Neosure (actually they left on breastmilk but my supply dwindled so we were told to use NS if we had to supplement later) but it made their reflux even worse so we switched to Good Start. Eve was IUGR so she was the biggest concern, but I figured if she couldn't keep it down then what was the point? Our ped never said anything, but she was not failure to thrive--just small (and still isn't on the growth chart at 16 months). I would ask your ped and see what his/her opinion is.

 

I agree with the pp. I would check with your pediatrician. Mine were on neosure. We had to mix it into breast milk and then when that ran out, we had to mix it to make everything they ate have a higher caloric content. But I think that if yours needed a specialty formula, the hospital or the ped would have told you. But definitely double check. If you do need a specialty formula, check to see if your insurance will cover it. Although neosure is available to purchase OTC, our insurance covered it 100%, but had to order it through the pharmacy to get it covered.

 

It totally depends on how preemie, what their weight is, whether they have any other issues... Many "near term" preemies (34-36 weeks) will do fine on regular formula but many docs want to put them on the higher calorie formula if they are lower birthweight. Before 34 weeks, they almost always get started on something in the NICU and sent home with instructions. If there is any reflux or feeding intolerance, they might get changed to a hypoallergenic formula.

Of course, breastmilk is better than any formula on an immature digestive system and some NICUs will use donor breastmilk because it is better on the gut and can prevent NEC, etc.

I can't see if there is a ticker because I'm on the mobile site. How old are your babies and how preemie are they?

 

My girls were on Neosure until they were about 6 months old. I am fairly certain that if your pedi felt your babies needed a special formula, they would have told you about it. Once we got the all clear to transition off of Neosure (it's super expensive!), we went to the Kirkland (costco) brand formula. :good:

 

We left the NICU on breastmilk fortified with Neosure. I was told that if quit pumping to do Neosure still. once I did quit, we did Neosure for about a week or so and they were SO gassy. I checked with my pedi and they said it was fine to switch to regular Similac or whatever we wanted. We were having no issues with weight gain. Basically Neosure is a higher calorie formula, thats it

 

Our girls stayed on Neosure until they were about 6 months old also. Then we got the store brand. I would check with your pedi and see what he recommends.