RateItAll: The Opinion Network

I like similac alimentum my five month old is on it .I tried three different types of formula this was the only one that helped his stomach. How long should he stay on it?

It has been 24 hours and I have seen a tremendous improvement in my baby's gassiness and temperament. My daughter is 6 weeks old and I have been breastfeeding since she came home from the hospital. She had been fussy and crying for hours a day and we were going crazy trying to figure out what the problem was. We tries Good start and Similac soy with some improvement, but she was still uncomfortable and gassy. We were desperate and tried the Alimentum. It is like we have a different baby. She napped several times today and sat in a swing and on her activity mat for a period of time without crying. She actually smiled multiple times. Prior to today we could not prevent her from crying unless we held her (even that sometimes did not help with the gas cries) or bounced or rocked her endlessly. I am sad that breastfeeding was probably causing her discomfort. I breastfed my first daughter for 7 months with no problem.
Of course it does have a strong unpleasant odor, but a small price to pay for your sanity and your baby's happiness.

I have a 12 week old baby boy, with some gas trouble. I would not consider him collicky, but his doctor thought it worthwhile to see how he would do with Similac Alimentum (I mostly breastfeed and have augmented my diet quite a lot also - no dairy, no spicy food, no gassy veggies...there's not much left for mom to eat!!) and hoped it would lessen his flatulence and help him to sleep better through the night. My son hated the Alimentum, he would generally drink 6 oz. of the previous formula we'd been giving him, and when given a bottle of Alimentum, he had a hard time taking 3 oz., and then would always spit-up...he doesn't generally spit-up, so this was new. I tried to stick with the Alimentum but after about a day and a half I switched him to Enfamil Gentlease, and he's been eating like a champ, back to 6 oz. bottles. Also, I noticed with the Similac Alimentum, his bowel movements were VERY liquidy, much more than normal. Just goes to show you, sometimes the only way to find out what works for your child is trial and error. Good luck finding what works best for you!!

I have a 5 week old little girl and because of latching on problems my breastmilk has slowly declined. I still breastfeed her what I can, but have been suplementing formula most of the time. She had a hard time with the regular, lactose-free, and soy so I have tried the hypoallergenic. First, I tried the Alimentum and it worked great, but her bowl movements were very liquidy and had a horrific smell. So then I tried Nutramegin but that did not seem to work for her. She was still straining way too hard (to the point of crying most of the time) and had much trouble with gas and passing bowl movements, so back to the Alimentum it is. I noticed that there were a lot of good comments about Nutramigen, but you really just need to try each of the formulas out for yourself because every baby's GI is different. Alimentum helps my little girl quite a bit and yes it is more expensive but there are ways to get it for free: (WIC if your income permits or through your insurance depending on your coverage, but you will probably need a perscription from your doctor) otherwise you can always find deals on ebay. FYI - Babies R' Us does sell it for about $22 where as other main chains (local drugstores - if they have it) sell it for about $26. Babies R' Us also sells it in bulk by the case. If you don't see it in the isle just ask a sales rep. I hope this helps! :o)

this is the best formula for my 5 week old daughter. It took three different formulas to find the correct one. She was always fussing, pulling her legs up to her chest, grimacing and making fists all the time. we noticed a change in about 48 hours and now when we put her in her swing or crib, she doesn't fuss at all, not even if she stays awake. She's more relaxed and smiling now too. Well worth the price. -Heather

I am only 48 hours in and it has helped my daughter. The product stinks really bad and my daughter seems to hate the taste but once down she seems to spit up a lot less. Only if they can do something about the smell.. YUCK!

After trying a couple of formulas this seems to be the one my daughter tolerates the most. I am still to figure out what I am feeding her thought because on the can it says that it is not "Formula". She is also going potty better, except everyone has to leave the room when she does, because whatever this is or has in it,is potent stuff. I must say though for the price, it better work wonders and it has for me. Oh! and the ready to feed seems to work better then the powder.

My son was very colicy also and my doctor switched us to Similac Alimentum. It is great! Within 2 days my son was alot better and no more of his screaming because of pain.

To Twinmom 101: It is true that breastfeeding is better, but you have to understand that sometimes babies cannot tolerate breastmilk. Babies with true milk protein allergies cannot tolerate most formulas, and breastmilk either. You also have to realize that young babies do not have taste buds yet, so to them this is their food.. they don't think it's gross or smells bad like we do. They get used to it and it is normal to them. You have to do what's best for your baby. If this works, like it did for my baby (it made a tremendous improvement!)- then it's a great thing. I think it's wonderful-- worked great for us. I would have loved to breastfeed, I breastfed my first child for a year- but I couldn't with this one-- she just could not tolerate breast milk.

I am a first time mom, and did not realize my child was colic. My daughter tried and rejected all Enfamil products. Her tummy loves Similac Alimentum and digests it so much better.

I too tried regular and soy formula as well as breast feeding but Similac Alimentum Advance has made a huge improvement with her fussiness and gas. I highly recommend the product (although the ready-to-feed liquid seems to work better than the powder for my baby).

My baby was very fussy because her body was unable to break down proteins found in regular formula. Even breast milk was making her upset. However, when the Doctor switched us to Similac Alimentum Advance the fussyness went away. I highly recommend it. (Isomil was tried as well and the baby was still not able to digest the proteins too well).

See my comments about Nutramigen. These hypoallergenic products are gross! Breastfeeding is best for avoiding allergies and stomach upset- this is really a last resort.