Not sure which formula to use, help!

[MrsPear]

Hi,

I have a 7 month old daughter who has been breastfed until now, but I would like to go back to work soonish and I cannot/don't want to pump so we will be introducing formula. Also we are weaning her and I want to use it for things like porridge as sometimes I struggle getting her to breastfeed during the day and it is a good way of getting enough nutrition into her.

How do I know what formula to start with at this age? What are the advantages/drawbacks of each formula that you have found? There seems to be a lot of choice and I am not quite sure where to begin.

Thanks in advance.

 

[preggymammy]

Cow & Gate and Aptamil seem to be the most popular... but then they are made by the same people and are virtually the same. Main difference being Aptamil costs a couple quid extra.

SMA doesn't get the best reviews. Hipp seems to be ok judging by peoples comments/reviews.

Judging by your LOs age you would be looking at follow on milk - thats no.3 with Cow & Gate. My LO isn't at that stage yet so not sure exactly on how much to give and trying for solids... maybe some of the other ladies can give more advice on that side.

Hope this helps!!

 

[MrsPear]

Thanks for that, it's really helpful.

Once you pick one should you keep to that one and not change?

x

 

[Accounts2010]

Ive used aptamil, and my lb is on aptamil follow on at the moment.

I think that cow & gate plus aptamil are the best 2. I agree with sma not getting the best comments. Personally I know a baby who had sma, that always had stomach bugs etc.

You can change milks, although may need a day or so to adjust to the new milk.

 

[NickyKB]

I would get a couple of the little ready made cartons of one milk (I use aptamil 1 but I started a bottle of formula at night when my LO was 4 months-ish and as I knew he got on with it i never saw any need to change). Lots of people stick to first milk rather than changing to follow on but if i had started after my LO was 6 months I would definitely have tried follow-on first. The main thing I would say is whatever you choose make sure it's practical for you - ie they stock it where you're likely to be shopping. I would give the first bottle during the day just so you can check it doesn't upset your LO's tummy and have them up all night with gas etc...

I think the industry is quite regulated so most of the milks are pretty similar the only thing i'd try and avoid is constantly changing milks to see if one is better than another. If you start with one and your LO is fine with it then stick with it.

For cereal/solids I just use regular cows milk. before I switched completely to formula at 7 months-ish i was worried about my LO's milk intake as his BF duration had completely dropped (this is partly why we changed as he would only latch for a minute or 2 having clearly not had much so i started offering a bottle afterwards and he'd take an extra 4 oz). once he was fully on formula he was clearly getting enough milk needed for nutrition so regular cows milk seemed fine for going with solids.

 

[MrsPear]

Good idea, I will get some cartons.

I use cow's milk on her porridge now but she has not gained weight well since birth (born on 75th centile, now below 9th) so I just wondered about putting formula on instead just to get as much nutrition in as possible. You're right though, I'm sure cows milk is fine enough at her age, she might just be a slow gainer.