[aniles]

For those of you who have brought children home, how did they do with American formula? My agency said the Guatemalan formula and rice is sweeter. How did your child deal with the transition and how did you make the transition over to the US formula?

Any other advice??

[krambk]

Ani, although we are a long way from coming home, I plan on buying a few cans of formula in guatemala during pick up, then gradually adding american formula to it until eventually it is all american formula. probably over a period of a week.

Hope this helps

[lifessence]

good luck and try not to worry about transitioning your baby. as long as they don't have a stomach issue when you bring them home - transitioning them to an american formula (same brand) should cause no trouble to their digestive system.

this is our experience....

we have been home for two weeks with our now 10 month old DS.

he was on similac advance in guatemala.

i found similac organic advance at target when i got home.

i brought a small can of his other formula from guatemala with me.

for the first week - i used half of the guatemala and half of the US

the second week i went to the pediatrician and i loved her.

her philosophy is this and i agree - if the child is not breastfeeding and on formula - they only need to be on that ICKY stuff for 6- 8 months if growing well.

well, our DS is growing fine!!!

so we together worked out this - (i should note i teach people about nutrition and help with all ages detoxing and getting healthy!)

he is off of formula altogether - drinking half goats milk and raw coconut milk 3 (8 oz bottles a day).

he transitioned from each fine. no complaints and enjoyed the natural sweetness of the cocnut milk.

in a week i am taking him off of goats milk - we don't do dairy and just giving him coconut milk and homemade almond or sunflower milk.

i give him a 1/2 tsp of black strap molasses twice a week for many wonderful minerals. he eats lots of avocado and vegetables.

we both agree keep the fruits and juices to a bare minimum and feed him tons of veggies.

he is doing wonderfully and his skin is getting soft again. his skin was very rough from a poor diet and no OILS, etc.

FYI - goats milk, coconut milk are as close to mothers breast milk as you can get! tons of healthy fats too!

i also give him a 1/2 tsp of cod liver oil a day and rub him down with lots of olive oil, or coconut oil, or almond oil, avocado oil - direct skin contact is the easiest way to get oils into the body (especially with kids)! if you can't eat it don't rub it on them. 99% of what is sold in the store is toxic to them and us.

[Mariais5]

Bryce had been on three different formulas in GC, so she went straight to Enfamil when we came home with no problem.. I would bring a can of formula home from GC and mix 1/2 and 1/2 if you think your baby will have a problem. We transitioned Bryce to whole milk at age 1, and I did go the 1/2 and 1/2 route for a couple of days..
The cereal in Guatemala is really a lot sweeter with a much finer texture than our cereals here. It actually smells like cake mix. Bryce wouldn't eat any type of baby cereal, but I'd try the 1/2 and 1/2 route here too.

[ej-momtobe]

Andres was on Enfamil Premium in Guatemala. When we finished that can, we switched him to Enfamil Lipil in the US. I could notice a consistency difference, but Andres had no problem taking the new formula.

[Bizzie]

Carson had no problem We switched him right when we got home, to Nestle Goodstart Supreme DHA & ARA and put Rice cereal with Apples in it for a little sweetness and he had no problems at all.

[mommytoEli]

well...i am not as ambitious as lifessence...but my son is also 10 months old and came home 2 weeks ago. he was on powdered milk...not formula...in guat...so we tried to just switch him to whole milk when he got here....he would not have any of that...he HATED it and threw it up after 2 sips. So we put him on a soy based formula and he loves it. He was really really sick when he got here...and got us all sick, too....so his dr said it was good he was on a soy formula b/c it would be easier on his upset stomach...once he got over that...he has been fine. Now...my problem is i can not get him to eat anything other than a formula bottle or rice cereal with applesauce or gerber fruit stars. anytime i give him ANYTHING else.....he throws up....THROWS UP...EVERYTHING he has eaten in the last hour! He is 33 inches tall and 21 pounds...huge....and starving...and he will not eat! i hope he is just being picky!

Now....I do remember smelling his rice cereal in guatemala and thinking that it smelled like it could have chocolate in it.....it was very VERY sweet. i think your best bet has already been suggested....get a can of formula and a box of cereal in guat and mix it...gradually reducing the amount of guat ingredient. then play it by ear...you'll know if your kid hates his formula...then try something new...sometimes you have to experiment before you find the right fit for you and your baby

[DPline]

mommytoEli&Ethan - Have you tried giving him Rice milk or Soy milk? My kids were on NAN and then my daughter switched to Good Start (my son was older and didn't need formula) but neither one of them did/do care for regular milk. Whole, 2 %, skim, anything. I really think it is a sweetness thing. For a while I bought Rice or Soy milk (they prefered Rice) and they were quite happy with that. They love yogurt and cheese, so we are eating lots of those now and I get some regular milk in them now and again with some Ovaltine mixed in it.

Good luck!!!

[coachmom]

I gradually switched ours to Baby Organics using the same half and half principle until he was totally on the Baby organics.. he did fine that way.
They get used to not having the sweetness after a while.
Doretta

[cerca]

Not to steal the thread but I second the rice milk. My kids love it (me too...we all have a milk intolerance) and you can get it fortified with calcium and Vit. D. It is great stuff.

Jess

[purplecat]

I switched my DD to Enfil Lipil,the second day I was there ,starting that morning. No mixing half/half. She loved it. She even would take more ounces at feeding time. Thank goodness no problems. The formula they have them on makes them very gassy.

[KKR213]

My son was on powdered Nan in Guatemala and I brought a couple cans home with me. But we arrived home at 1am and figured I would try the Similac with Iron liquid instead of going through the luggage and he drank it right up. Never even opened the cans! But all children are different so if he is on something you cannot get in the states you may want to bring some home just in case.

[waitingmom2b]

We had no problems. Mia was on Similac Advance and they gave us one container and we also took one from home. We ran out of what they gave us and just started her on the other container and she has done great. I wouldn't worry about it so much unless your child has a stomach issue already.

[uom88]

Michael was on SMA gold and we switched him to Similac Advance and he's had no problems.

[adoptnky]

Our guy has acid refulx problems and was on special formula in Guatemala. We've had him with us for 3 weeks now, and he's still on his Guatemalan formula! I bought a ton of it while we were down there.

Once I open the last can, I'm going to start mixing it with Enfamil AR (which is the equivalent to what he is on). I'd like to get him on regular Enfamil, as the AR stuff is hard to find.

Since he does have tummy issues, I decided that I didn't want the formula to be a change for him at first. Our FM did not start him on any food down there, so I've been able to do that. So far he's had Rice Cereal, green beans and sweet potatoes and he LOVES his food.

I would suggest getting some of his formula to bring home in case he does have problems.

Kim