Help Center & FAQs

Here you'll find helpful advice and answers to parents' most common questions.

Feeding Issues

Do my baby's crying sounds mean different things?

Absolutely. By the first month, you will be able to tell which cry means what, for the most part. Ask yourself these questions when the waterworks start:

Do they need a diaper change?
Do they need to be burped?
Are they too warm or too cold?
Are they uncomfortable?
Do they need attention?
Have they hurt themself?
Are they hungry?
Are they tired or over-stimulated?

Related: Understanding Why Babies Cry

How can I help my colicky baby?

Start by talking to your baby's doctor. If these symptoms are due to cow's milk protein allergy, your doctor may be able to suggest a specialty formula to help relieve colic in your baby.

Also, try these mom-tested tips for colicky babies:

Soothe your baby with motion-like walking, driving in the car, or pushing them in their stroller.
Try holding your baby stomach-down across your lap or arm, and rocking them gently.
Put on a “white noise” CD or turn on the vacuum cleaner to create a steady sound that could be soothing to your baby.
Try cuddling, or giving your baby a pacifier or swaddling them.
Be patient. Most babies outgrow colic at around three months.

How can I help with my baby's fussiness and gas?

Fussiness and/or excess gas can be caused by something you ate if you're nursing, or by a sensitivity to lactose in your baby's formula. Try these tips to prevent baby fussiness and gas.

If you're breastfeeding, lay off the spicy or gassy foods like cabbage, garlic, onions, broccoli and caffeine.

If you're formula-feeding, ask your doctor about formulas with partially broken-down proteins and reduced lactose that can help with fussiness or relieve gassy baby.

How do I know if my baby has colic?

Excessive crying, especially in the evenings, could mean colic. Colic can be brought on by a food intolerance. If you're nursing, try eliminating spicy or gassy foods such as onions, cabbage and other foods that seem to be upsetting your baby. If you're formula-feeding, you may need to switch to a formula created for babies with food intolerance.

What are multiple food protein allergies?

Multiple food protein allergies are a reaction by the body's immune system to the protein in two or more foods. When the food is eaten, a chain of chemical reactions occur within the body, causing an allergic reaction. Some allergic reactions occur within 30 minutes of eating the food, but can occur as much as 4-6 hours or days later.

In young children, the foods most likely to cause allergies are cow's milk, eggs, wheat, peanuts, soy, tree nuts, fish and shellfish.

Related: Cow's Milk Allergy

How can I be sure my baby is getting enough nutrition if they spit up a lot when they eat?

Adding rice cereal to infant formula increases the calorie content and changes the balance between protein, fat, and carbohydrates. Enfamil A.R.^™ infant formula is nutritionally balanced and more convenient than mixing baby rice cereal with infant formula. And, Enfamil A.R. is clinically proven to reduce frequent spit up. It has added rice starch which allows the formula to become thicker in the stomach.

Related: Why Do Babies Spit Up

How can I help soothe my crying baby?

Aside from addressing their basic needs, you can bring comfort simply by being you. Cuddling, rocking, stroking, talking and walking around with your baby are all time-tested methods.

Related: Soothe Your Crying Baby

How can I keep my baby from spitting up after every meal?

If your baby seems to be spitting up excessively, ask their doctor about formulas with added rice starch, which are designed to help reduce spit-up in babies.

Also, try these simple hints to help reduce spit-up in babies:

Make each feeding as relaxed as possible for them.
If your baby is crying and frantic with hunger, calm them before the feeding. That might prevent them from gulping air.
Keep your baby in an upright position while you feed them.
Make sure the hole in the bottle's nipple is the right size. When you turn the bottle upside down, a few drops of formula should come out. Then the dripping should stop.
Feed them smaller amounts.
Burp your baby after every 2-3 fluid ounces.
Avoid bouncing and very active play right after eating.

How much crying from my baby is normal?

The average 8-week-old cries for about two hours a day. You may notice this around the end of the day, when they're tired from all the stimulation. A fussy baby may cry more often.

Related: Why Babies Cry at Night

What is a soy protein allergy?

Soy protein allergy is similar to cow’s milk allergy, but it is the soy protein that causes an immune system reaction.

What is cow's milk allergy?

When a germ like a cold virus enters your baby's body, their immune system releases chemicals like histamines to fight it off.

This is good because it keeps your baby healthy. Sometimes though, immune systems get a little overprotective and cause the body to attack things that aren't really bad for it, such as casein and whey, proteins found in cow's milk.
Once your little one's immune system identifies cow's milk protein as a health threat, it will want to battle this protein every time they consume a milk-based product like routine infant formula. This results in persistent allergic reactions like colic, hives, rashes, and respiratory and digestive problems. While it might be upsetting to hear that your baby can't have dairy products, there is a very good chance that this won't always be the case. More than 75 percent of children outgrow cow's milk allergy by age five.
Still, you should introduce your child to foods made with cow's milk only while under the supervision of a healthcare professional.

Related: What is CMA?

What is the difference between cow's milk allergy and lactose intolerance?

Cow's milk allergy is an immune system response to milk proteins such as casein and whey. Lactose intolerance is a digestive system response to a milk sugar called lactose. Infants who are lactose intolerant lack an enzyme needed to digest this milk sugar. Cow's milk allergy and lactose intolerance share a few symptoms, such as gas, abdominal pain and diarrhea. But unlike cow's milk allergy, lactose intolerance doesn't engage the immune system and cause allergic reactions such as hives, skin rashes, breathing problems, or chronic runny noses and coughs. Another key difference is the age that children develop these problems. Cow's milk allergy is more common in infancy. Lactose intolerance is much more likely to affect children age three years and older. Even then, it is very rare.

Related: Lactose Intolerance in Babies

What’s the difference between a food allergy and food intolerance?

A food intolerance does not involve the immune system. Lactose intolerance is the most common type of food intolerance. Symptoms can include gas, bloating, stomach pain, or diarrhea. However, lactose intolerance is rare in babies and young children.

Related: Is My Baby Lactose Intolerant?

Why is protein causing an allergic reaction in my baby?

Although it is not known why any particular baby will be allergic to cow’s milk protein, there are at least two things that make it possible:

Your baby’s immune system is still very immature, meaning it is less able to distinguish harmful foreign substances from harmless protein.
The whole proteins in cow’s milk are made up of long strings of amino acids, which are able to stimulate an allergic response.

If the protein causes an immune system response, it causes an allergic reaction. What’s worse, if the issue goes unmanaged, your baby may not gain weight and grow like they should.

Related: What is CMA?

Will breastfeeding reduce my baby's chance of experiencing allergies, such as cow's milk protein allergy?

Although the incidence of cow’s milk protein allergy is very low in breastfed infants compared to formula-fed infants, it does happen. It is not an allergy to breast milk itself. Instead, the allergy usually begins after proteins, including cow’s milk protein, are passed from mom to her baby through breast milk.

If you are breastfeeding and your baby is showing allergic behaviors, elimination of common allergens such as cow’s milk, eggs, fish, peanuts, and tree nuts (e.g., almonds, pecans, and Brazil nuts) from your diet could help. It’s best, though, to check with your doctor or dietitian, to let them guide you on what to eat while breastfeeding.

If this doesn’t help, check with your baby’s doctor.

Will my baby outgrow cow's milk protein allergy?

Most children outgrow cow's milk protein allergy by the age of 3. However, this is not always the case. Doing something about the allergy as early as possible helps. Here are some other things you can do to lower the likelihood of food allergies for your baby:

No solid foods until at least 4-6 months of age
Breastfeed your baby until at least 1 year of age, if possible
Introduce new foods in small portions and one at a time. Watch for a reaction (several days) before introducing the next food
Talk to your baby's doctor about introducing foods that commonly cause allergies such as peanuts, egg whites, or fish

What is the most convenient way to travel with my baby's formula?

Enfamil^® gives you lots of great feeding options for when you're on the go with your baby:

Enfamil ready to use bottles, known as Nursette^® bottles

Just attach a clean, standard-size nipple to a Nursette bottle and you're ready to feed.

Enfamil Single-Serve Powder Packets

The powdered formula is pre-measured, making it especially easy to mix.

Enfamil powder

Simply prefill your bottles with water and carry the powder separately. When you're ready to feed your baby, just combine the powder and water, cap the bottle and shake well.

Enfamil Nursette® bottles, single-serve powder packets, and all Enfamil formulas are available through our convenient Enfamil® Shop as well as many stores.

What temperature water should I use to prepare formula from powder or concentrated liquid?

Mix our concentrated liquid or powder formula with cool water (35-75° F); it should feel cool on your wrist. If you prefer, you may mix with warm water but only if you plan to feed or refrigerate the formula immediately. Warm water is about 100° F or body temperature; it should feel neutral (neither warm nor cool) on your wrist.

At Enfamil, we are dedicated to giving the millions of babies and toddlers that rely on our formulas the best start in life.

We are currently experiencing increased demand for many of our brands. We recognize that the inability to find your favorite brands, in the format you are accustomed to, can be worrisome. We want to reassure parents that we have ample supply across the Enfamil family of brands to meet the needs of babies who rely on our formulas. We have increased production and continue to work with all of our distribution channels to ensure availability of product where you want it. Should you need assistance in finding the formula you need, please reach out to our Customer Service team 1-800 BABY-123 (222-9123).