Product Spotlight 02/09: Formula

wanderlustsoul

Hello and welcome to Week 2 of our "Baby Feeding Products" series at Product Spotlight! Last week we discussed breast pumps and accessories, so this week we turn to FORMULA, for when we need a little hand from science to keep our babies fed! (Next week we will discuss bottles to figure out where to put all that pumped breast milk and formula, so hold on to those recommendations if you have them!)

What brand of formula do you use? Any help navigating the three million options of formula types within each brand? Do you transition through different ones as your babies grow? (Note: per my doctor, formulas are very regulated in terms of nutritional setup so you won't choose a WRONG one, but people may have tips on different brands to help with, e.g., colic or gas or certain allergies!) If a family knows they are going to formula feed, what should they have ready beforehand? And if a family does not expect to formula feed, is there anything they may want to know ahead of time or have prepared just in case they do wind up supplementing or using formula?

What about the mechanics of formula-administration? Do you use pre-mixed or powder formula? What's your set-up at home, and what's your set-up on the road in your diaper bag? 

Where and how do you acquire your formula? Do you have a good source for coupons? Certain stores to keep an eye on? Mail-order options? Assistance from medical offices?

Whether you exclusively formula-fed, or supplemented for part or all of your little ones' babyhood, any experience is appreciated! Obviously we are here to support each other with useful info, and are luckily past the tedious "oh no formula bad, only breast" stance from prior mommy wars: there are a thousand reasons why different families use formula, so let's help each other do it in an informed way! Please share!

Prior and Upcoming Product Spotlights

daisy528

With DS, we formula fed exclusively from about 2.5/3 months onward to 1 year. We started with Enfamil Newborn which is what he was on in the NICU, then transitions to the Enfamil Infant. That ended up being too rough on his tummy, so we switch to Enfamil Gentlease and it made a world of a difference. Eventually we realized that the store brand is no different than the brand names, so we switched to the Target generic version of Gentlease. Always used powder, though we kept a stash of premixed for when needed (sometimes being out and about premixed was easier). I didn’t use a formula pitcher, but looking back it would have made things much easier. 

I would suggest having formula on hand at the beginning. You never know when you might need to supplement. My friend just had a 10lb baby, and her milk didn’t come in right away. Her son was HANGRY, so she ended up supplementing and it immediately helped. She went on to maintain a full-time breastfeeding relationship, so a little supplementing won’t hurt in a pinch!

karacc18

I second what @daisy528 said about having some on hand. I exclusively breast fed both my kids and hope to do the same with this one, but I always had some on hand just in case. Having the pressure of "only breastmilk" is alot on the mom and if you need to supplement it is ok!! Make sure you have a can on hand because if it's 3am and you are having a breakdown with the baby you don't want to have to wait while DH runs to the 24 hour Walmart. 

DuchessOfCambridge

I EBFd DS until he was 6 months, then switched to formula. We had some similac samples he did fine with, and when we ran out we bought Costco brand (it’s similac with Costco packaging). DD needed Neosure added to my pumped milk at the beginning since she was a preemie but when we were finally done with that, we switched to Costco formula too. Neither of my kids had any issues with it. It’s $20/64 oz which makes it so affordable and lessened my guilt over not bfing when it’s “free”. 

We only use powder bc we’re not made of money 😂 we use regular tap water and just mix in the bottles. On the go I have 3 or so bottles filled with water and a little formula dispenser that has 4 compartments and each holds a bottles worth of formula. It’s worked well for us so far!

bntfroggie

I EPFd but I just wanted to say that your Pediatrician will have formula samples if you need them to help get you started or if you have concerns they aren't eating enough. 

I also got really really sick about 4 months into my second and literally couldn't feed her but she had a dairy allergy (she grew out of it), but we got soy formula that time just from Walmart to hold her over.

jessd0117

We got a bunch of free samples prior to having baby girl and they definitely came in handy. She has horrible gas pains and when I was having a tough time we tried the Enfamil Gentlease kind - actually made it worse and she got a bad bum rash. Switched over to Similac Sensitive and she loved it. We ended up switching completely over around 4 months. It was nice to supplement while we tried to figure out breastfeeding with their pre-mixed bottles that are like 2oz.

kime783

Our son was breastfed until 7.5 months but even then we did one formula bottle/day due to some feeding/swallowing issues and time consuming nature of the whole process. He then switched to formula until about 1 yr old. We used the enfamil gentlease and got it through Amazon subscribe and save to get the discount and have it delivered to our house. We also would buy the boxes of the on the go packets to have in the diaper bag with a bottle of water in a pinch (more expensive but super convenient bc pre-covid we were always on the go).