What brand of formula did you use for your newborn?

[wannabeprego]

Hi mommies,

What brand of formula did your baby start out on? I want to put some baby formula on my baby registry because it is so expensive and if anyone wants to buy some for DH & I then it will be very helpful. There are a million different kinds of formula and it can be confusing trying to decide what would be best.


My sister told me that when I have the baby the pediatrician/hospital will recommend formula to me but she hasn't had a baby in many years. Does anyone know if that is the case? If your pediatrician recommended a brand of formula did you keep your baby on that brand or have you changed it?

I did get some free samples of Enfamil newborn and Gerber brand formula when I had my prenatal counseling appointment.

 

[greats]

We use Similac Advance

 

[L.A Mommy]

I started off with Enfamil Newborn and now he drinks Enfamil Premium.

 

[bumpbear]

My daughter hated Enfamil so we went with Similac. I'd avoid stocking up in case your baby hates the brand you choose (like ours did!)

 

[Scottish mum]

Sma first milk I now use the ready made bottles amazing!! Safes me time for his night feed xx

 

[mellyboo]

We started her on enfamil a plus now we use similiac sensitive

 

[Mrs_Random]

In the UK midwives/hospital staff are not allowed to reccomend a brand - more because they are supposed to encurrange breastfeeding.

My hospital used cow & gate though on the ward.

My friend had the same issue as a pp, they got one brand and baby didn't seem to like it/ settle with it so they ended up having to try a couple before they found one that suited them - didn't use much out of the tubs they bought either so if they had stocked up they would have been left with loads they couldn't use.

Maybe ask for gift vouchers for a store you can buy formula from instead?

 

[LaraB]

In the UK midwives/hospital staff are not allowed to reccomend a brand - more because they are supposed to encurrange breastfeeding.

My hospital used cow & gate though on the ward.

My friend had the same issue as a pp, they got one brand and baby didn't seem to like it/ settle with it so they ended up having to try a couple before they found one that suited them - didn't use much out of the tubs they bought either so if they had stocked up they would have been left with loads they couldn't use.

Maybe ask for gift vouchers for a store you can buy formula from instead?

You can't use gift vouchers for formula. Again because they're trying to encourage breastfeeding. Same reason they're not allowed offers on formula, everywhere costs the exact same to the penny! x

 

[aliss]

The OP is in North America so she can use coupons if she wants. If you are choosing to formula feed from the start then I would recommend just picking one basic brand (without stocking up too much) and just start with that. I didn't FF from the start with #1 but we used Enfamil, then to Similac at 8 months. Similac was better on his stomach. They are all pretty much the same.

 

[corgankidd]

I top up with similac sensitive. I tried using similac advance and it gave him lots of gas. If you sign up on the similac website they will send you 2 large tubs of advance and sensitive plus a similac bottle for free as well as send you a bunch of $5 off coupons.

 

[Sunnie1984]

I agree, don't stock up too much, as your baby may not like the formula you pick.

I'd ask for vouchers (if you can use them for formula in the USA) or for money towards formula, as it is expensive.

My friend is a paediatric nurse, and she recommended we use Aptamil as the NICU found that less babies generally accepted that brand and had less problems with it.

I started on the Aptamil Comfort, which turned out to be a mistake, as it caused DD wind, which I didn't pick up until she was 5 months, because she had reflux and it masked the problems with the formula. We swapped to Aptamil 1 which has made all the difference.

 

[mtnprotracy]

We used Enfamil Newborn for the first 3 months, then transitioned to Gerber Good Start.....we love, love, love Gerber Good Start .

 

[DaisyBee]

Our dr said they usually recommend enfamil for young babies because of the vitamin d or something like that? But I was using similac and she said that was fine and not to switch. Both of my girls did best on similac sensitive.

 

[mommy0629]

We started out with Enfamil Enfacare to suppliment my bm, but that's a preemie formula that the NICU dr. put her on. She had tummy troubles after a few weeks so I switched to Enfamil Gentlease, better but still really gassy. Then I switched to Gerber Good Start Gentle and that's what she's still on. I did a lot of research on the US formulas and I prefer the Good Start based on the ingredients (not the nutrients, they're all pretty much the same there, the actually ingredients).

If you're in the US you can use manufactorer coupons for formula (sign up for them online when you choose your brand) and Target and Babies R Us have sales or promotions pretty frequently. You can use gift cards to get formula also, they're the same as cash so you can buy anything the store sells.

As was said, don't get too much and if you put more than one container on your registry, take them off. Pick the brand you want to try and just put one of those on the registry because what you can not do is return it. Your hospital will recommend a brand and your ped. may also and each will probably give you some samples, doesn't mean you have to go with that one though.

 

[wannabeprego]

Wow, thanks for all of the great advice and suggestions about what has worked for you ladies!!! You ladies are so wonderful and such a great source of info. The twins will be my first babies so I have alot to learn still.

Yes, I am in the states so a few of the UK brands weren't familiar to me, but I still apreciate the advice just the same. In the states it is pretty much our choice whether we want to breast feed or formula feed. I haven't decided which I am going to do although I am leaning towards formula because of the twins and the amount of food that they will need, either way they would probably need formula to make sure their nutritional needs are met because who knows if I would make enough milk to keep both babies full and happy. I need to do some research on the breast feeding vrs formula feeding to decide what will work best for me and with our situation.

I love coupons and free samples so I will have to go to some of those websites and sign up to get some free stuff. That is a really good idea to just ask for gift cards so that way I can use them for what I really need, whether it is formula or something else.

 

[aliss]

You might be interested in Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding which has a chapter dedicated to nursing twins. It is not easy, but the cost might be enough to encourage you to do it (if I can recall, I was spending $200/month on Enfamil for my reflux baby at Walmart a month, reflux babes probably take as much as normal twins lol), so that alone might help. You may also want to consider a hospital grade pump (which can rent for about $2/day) if you want to use bottles. Your body will make enough for twins as long as you are stimulating your supply enough.

Congrats on your twins! You've had a long hard journey to this point I see.... enjoy it!

 

[wannabeprego]

You might be interested in Ina May's Guide to Breastfeeding which has a chapter dedicated to nursing twins. It is not easy, but the cost might be enough to encourage you to do it (if I can recall, I was spending $200/month on Enfamil for my reflux baby at Walmart a month, reflux babes probably take as much as normal twins lol), so that alone might help. You may also want to consider a hospital grade pump (which can rent for about $2/day) if you want to use bottles. Your body will make enough for twins as long as you are stimulating your supply enough.

Congrats on your twins! You've had a long hard journey to this point I see.... enjoy it!

Thanks for the advice and the suggestions hun!! I will have to check out that book!! Yeah, I can see the formula is going to be pricey and with the two babies it is going to be twice as much, which is a good reason to look into breast feeding.