Formulas, Formulas, and MORE Formulas

Hello again, everyone! I'm sorry it has taken me so long to post again, but things have been very busy lately, as my brother's wedding was this last weekend (in which I was a Bride's Maid), and my sister's wedding is in about a month (in which I am the Maid of Honor). So, as I'm sure you can imagine, I've been running, running, running trying to get everything taken care of without just going completely crazy.

Well, I figured I would share with all of you the fun experience I have been going through with my daugther and choosing the right formula for her as she seems to have a sensative tummy. I realize breastfeeding is the best thing for a baby. HOWEVER, I tried breastfeeding my daugther for a little more than a month, and guess what? I don't think I was meant to breastfeed. Unfortunately, I'm one of the few women out there that simply, honest to goodness, do not produce enough milk. This is not unusal, as my grandmother (my mother's mother) was the same way. I caught it soon enough that it wasn't hurting my daughter before I switched her to formula. My mother, on the other hand, was a VERY tiny little girl for her age when her parents finally realized that her mother did not produce enough milk to breastfeed. So, as I said, I realize breastfeeding is best, but not when you just don't produce enough milk.

The original topic I wanted to discuss was formula. If any of you do (or have) formula feed your children, what brands have worked for you? I am curious to know. My daugther began on Enfamil (Lipil with Iron). This formula, I believe, would work well for most babies. It's the closest thing they have to a mother's breastmilk. It also promotes brain and eye development. However, I truly believed my daughther was either lactose intolerant (because her father is) or simply had a very sensitive tummy. So after about a month of her spitting up quite often and always seeming to have gas, no matter what I did, I switched her to Enfamil (Prosobee Lipil). The Prosobee Lipil is pretty much soy milk instead of dairy milk for babies. This seemed to help a little bit, but the poor little girl was still spitting up and having more gas than the average baby out there. And TRUST ME, I tried everything. I burped her. I made sure she stayed upright for at least an hour after eating. I didn't move her around too much after she ate. Nothing seemed to work. She was still spitting up and having an awful lot of gas. So FINALLY, I have switched her to Enfamil (A.R. Lipil). This is meant for babies who spit up frequently. It is a milk-based formula thickened with rice starch. The fact that it is milk-based proves my theory of Angelina being lactose intolerant to be incorrect, as the Enfamil A.R. Lipil is working very well. It is easier to digest for little babies' bodies and reduces spit up by over 40%. The A.R. Lipil actually seems to be working!! Finally!! She hardy spits up at all anymore, and the gas she was always having problems with is virtually gone. I love it. It makes me feel so wonderful to know she doesn't have that nasty gas bothering her anymore. Because gas can be really uncomfortable for little ones! I'm sure the other mothers out there already know that. Poor little things! They're so innocent and just don't have the ability to stop painful things like that themselves. That's what we (the mothers and fathers) are for!

So for those of you are are expecting mothers or trying to decide if your child should be breastfed or bottle fed, please choose to breastfeed, if possible. It really is best. However, if you just don't seem to produce enough milk to do that or are just one of those mothers who can't because of time or other problems (I know there are several reasons out there), just try to pick the best formula for your baby out there. I wrote this post to try to assist any of you who are trying to decide whether or not to breastfeed or trying to decide the best formula to use. Enfamil really is a good brand for bottle fed babies, as they have many different types of formula to meet all babies' different and special needs. If you need more information on all the formulas (and other products they offer), www.enfamil.com is a wonderful website. If you click on "Products" and then look to the left side of your screen. There are several options there to help you find what you're looking for. You can see ALL of the formulas they offer by clicking on "Family of Formulas" or you can let the website help you find the best formula for your baby by clicking on "Formula Finder". Or just search around yourself and see what you can find. It's an easy but also very useful and informative website.

That's all for now. I hope to post more frequently from now on. Things have slowed down a little, which is a very nice break for me (and Angelina).

The Beginning of this Journey

Hello Everyone,

My name is Laura, and I am a first-time mother (as I'm sure you've figured out by now). I have decided to create this Blog to share with everyone who would like to hear about the new things I run into everyday with my new little girl. Her name is Angelina, and she is my angel. I will talk about things I learn as I go along and other things I have already learned, and other interesting instances and stories along the way (as I have a rather hectic, but intriguing life). The point of this Blog is to possibly educate and help other first-time mothers out there going through the same things I am and also to perhaps amuse the more experienced mothers reading this and give them a chuckle. If anyone has comments and/or stories they would like to add, please feel free. My goal is to make this entertaining, enjoyable, and a little educational. I will attempt to post a new entry everyday as I run into and learn funny things every, single day, usually concerning my daugther but sometimes including other aspects of my life. I am young, but I have learned a lot already, and since I never had a younger sibling...I would like to help prevent other people out there from making some of the mistakes I have (and still do) and also to help anyone else in my fun but somtimes very stressful "position".

So, as I said before, feel free to comment and ask me questions. I look forward to telling everyone about my beautiful little girl and all the other wacky, sad, happy, depressing, amazing, etc. things that happen in our lives.