Product Spotlight: Formula/Food Stuff

redselig

This is a place for FTMs to ask questions about, S+TMs to share their prior experience with, and everyone to share what they're eyeing in the world of maternity, baby and postpartum products. Each week we'll spotlight a new category of product to help streamline and make it easier to refer back. This week we're discussing formula/food stuff! 

Please use the prompts below to try to share as much relevant info as you can in a format that is easy for those reading to navigate and respond to.

For S+TMs: 

• Individual (e.g., lifestyle) factors that might influence your choice:
• Favorite formula/food:
• Link/picture:
• Cost (either actual dollar amount, or just $, $$, $$$, etc.):
• What you like and don't like about it: are there formula/food items you don't have but are considering? Why?:
• Are there formula/food items you've tried that you absolutely hate? Why?: 
• Additional thoughts on formula/food?:

For FTMs:

• Formula/food you're interested in:
• Link/picture:
• Cost (either actual dollar amount, or just $, $$, $$$, etc.):
• Any questions for S+TMs?:

To view past Product Spotlights or the upcoming schedule, see
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1IrF0iah5XaJFdFTHzNVcIEq4ujZTwq_j1bG9W-bovNs/edit#gid=0

kloe818

Hubby and I are going back and forth on making our own baby food. He's thinking I mean buying stuff specifically for baby food and I'm thinking we just throw what we're eating into a food processor. Thoughts? 

jenotontx

One recommendation I have as a STM is that everyone should look into formula even if you are 💯 dead set on breastfeeding. I was so set on breastfeeding before I had my daughter.  Unfortunately it could not have gone more wrong for us then it did. We had to start supplementing before we even left the hospital due to how much weight she lost. I hadn’t even considered formula and really knew nothing about it or which one I would want to give her. After a lot of research I landed on Baby's Only Whey/Dairy. I spent sooo much time looking into formula after she was born though and was an anxious mess over it. Finding something organic with “cleaner” ingredients was really important to me. I’m not saying you should buy formula. Just at least think about the what ifs! 

If you do plan to formula feed or find yourself in that situation I highly recommend the Dr. Browns pitcher mixer. You can just make batches of formula and pour into bottles instead of having to scoop and measure in the middle of the night. It also eliminates the foam you get when shaking a bottle. Another tip I highly recommend is to try to see if your baby will drink the formula cold!! My daughter had no issue drinking it straight out of the refrigerator. It saves so much time when you don’t have to bother warming it up. She actually ended up preferring it cold to the point she didn’t want it if it got to warm. 😂

@kloe818 Food processor would work or just mashing things. I ended up combo feeding my daughter by using purees and baby lead weening style foods. We would buy some store bought baby food but would try to just feed her what we were eating as much as possible. 

momtomesthree

We did baby led weaning with our first and will do it again with our second, we had such a great experience!! Essentially you skip baby food all together and just serve baby table foods right from the get go at 6 months. @feedinglittles on Instagram is an excellent resource for this style of feeding. 

finnflan

@kloe818 - we started with purées for DD1 and did a mix of homemade and store bought (I wasn't down for puréeing meat, etc, it seemed like too much work). We then just started feeding her bits of what we had, mashed up as needed. When they’re first starting solids, most pediatrician here recommend trying one new food at a time, for 3 days. That way if there’s a reaction, you know what the culprit is and can eliminate it for a little bit and try again later. That could be something to consider for the first month or two, until you get a sense of any allergies or sensitivities. 

For this one I think we’ll just do baby led weaning. I was afraid of it the first time because the gagging freaked me out, but they all gag when learning regardless (and are SUPER good at getting the food back out) so I think we’ll just jump into it this time as we know what to expect. 

@jenotontx - yes, definitely good advice! I’d even suggest having a small amount of formula on hand (even just a pack of the ready made bottles and nipples). If you find yourself middle of the night thinking you may need to supplement for whatever reason, having that on hand can be really comforting rather than panicking about trying to find somewhere that’s open. And I totally second having them try breast milk or formula straight from the fridge - so much easier haha!

juliebeannn

Pretty much exactly what @jenotontx said. Breastfeeding went horribly for us (poor latch, tongue tie, low supply) so we were supplementing within the first month.  We just went with the formula that the hospital gave us as samples (Similac Pro-Advance).  I did some more research and decided to switch to Holle formula (European brand) but it didn't end up sitting well with DS stomach so we went back to the Similac.  We also did BLW and highly recommend it.  DS is a great eater and as a young toddler, he out ate some adults in my family.  Warning, it gets MESSY, but it's totally worth it.  

manillabar

+1 to the formula advice. I also had breastfeeding issues, and then my daughter ended up with milk protein allergy/other allergies so we ended up on a hypoallergenic formula by around 3 months. You just never know, it doesn't hurt to have a little bit on hand!  (I basically asked each nurse for some of the little ready to feed bottles so I was able to take some home from the hospital to have on hand).  

Also, all bottles are not equal! I had all these avent bottles that were supposed to be good for breastfeeding moms and then she didn't really take them well. We ended up switching to Dr. Browns, which worked better for us. So don't buy a lot of one kind of bottle until you're sure your baby will actually use them lol

treebagel

We used gerber baby food, and I thought they actually tasted good. Plus yobaby yogurts. And then eventually just tiny pieces of our food. No formula last time, hoping to keep it the same. I also let DS taste whole cow milk after he was like 8 months old (like less than an oz a day, just a taste) and by the time we could start cow milk he loved it already so the transition was easy. Some babies have trouble with the taste transition from formula or breastmilk to cow milk. 

kloe818

Apparently I'm going to have to research baby led weaning. Thank you ladies.

princessjenney

I'm planning to do BLW too, I did that with my oldest and I liked it a lot.

firsttimemamabear9

For food, I was gifted a baby bullet so I used to puree fruits, veggies and even pasta and rice for my girl until about 7-8 months. Then she all of a sudden didn't want to eat homemade food anymore, so we gave her ready made pouches from the store while also introducing foods that we were eating at meals. By 10 months she was done with baby food purees and was eating everything we eat I'm a stay at home mom and wanted to try making my own baby food, but when she didn't like it anymore I didn't want to force it on her.

Formula: We tried breastfeeding in the hospital. She had trouble latching so we supplemented the provided Enfamil because she was losing too much weight. I tried pumping for about a week but my supply couldn't keep up and my chronic nerve pain flared up with a vengeance. I started taking medicine for it that passes through breast milk so we switched completely to formula. Enfamil was about $40 for a tub of powder formula, so I used store brands instead that were $20. Parent's Choice from Walmart and Up&Up from Target were my go to until I set up a Costco membership. Now we use Kirkland brand baby formula. She's done well on all generic brands that compare to Enfamil, and in a month we will switch to "real milk."

My second is due in March and I don't think I'll do as much homemade baby food due to convenience. I will try breastfeeding, but will likely need my medicine again soon after birth because I'm already struggling during this pregnancy with nerve pain. I'll have no problem using the cheaper formula alternatives again if we need them.

redselig

Like most of you on this thread, I went straight to self-feeding. I wouldn’t say I did BLW because I also gave purées in silicone feeders. My mother in law stifled my efforts cause she would insist on spoon feeding him when we visited them. That really aggravated me. 

kloe818

Hubby is on board with the idea of blw

momtomesthree

@kloe818 it’s honestly so great. Makes it so easy when the whole family eats the same meal and you don’t have to think about what you’re going to make for baby (beyond making the needed modifications to make foods safe for baby)

finnflan

@kloe818 I found it really helpful to eventually watch a few YouTube videos on babies doing it so I could show myself that the gagging was normal and expected. Like I said, the gagging was what made me nervous the first time around as I wasn’t sure what was normal or not.