Product Spotlight: Formula, Bottles & Food Stuff

miss_lynn9

Each week we'll spotlight a new category of product. Feel free to comment on threads like these throughout your time at the board, not just when they're in their week in the spotlight, if you discover something new OR are new to the board. This week it's.... Formula, Bottles, & Food Stuff

FTMs are encouraged to ask questions & STM/+s encouraged to share their knowledge based on experience. You can use any or all the prompts relevant to you below to share info in an easy-to-read format. Pictures/screen grabs, if put in spoilers, are welcome!

I think be talked about bottles in the BF thread too, I don't remember lol

For STMs:

Did you formula feed or supplement?

Any brands?

Tips for bottles or bottle accessories?

Did you use a bottle warmer?

As we get in food stuff, what do you reccommend as far as purees or did you do baby led weaning?

Favorite plates/bowls/bibs/utensils?

For FTMs:

Any questions about formula feeding?

Questions as you move into food?

To view the upcoming PSS schedule, see here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rQbG7NW_gG7e0zPEbfsTtC0BVCpGPKdi-Ss1XgrKYW8/edit?usp=drivesdk

Next up: Toys! 

miss_lynn9

Did you formula feed or supplement? We supplimented pretty quickly then eventually I gave up the BF fight and went straight to formula. 

Any brands? I used Enfamil A+

Tips for bottles or bottle accessories? We always made the bottles as needed. We would boil the water, mix the bottle, then run it under cold water to cool it down. I will not be doing this time. It was stressful having to do that while the baby screamed. I saw that people who'd make a jug at the beginning of the day, put it in the fridge and warm it up as needed. I'll be doing that this time. 

Did you use a bottle warmer? I did when I was able to get some breast milk, then stopped using it when we were making the formula. I will be using one this time since I'll be keeping it in the fridge. 

As we get in food stuff, what do you reccommend as far as purees or did you do baby led weaning? My Dentist recommend doing BLW. He said having her chew on harder objects will help with the muscle and bone development in her mouth. I was too scared so I tried puress and she hated it. I would mash up a carrot and she wanted nothing to do with it. I roastes carrots in the shape of fries and she would eat them all. So she chose BLW on her own lol.

If you want to got the BLW route, I highly recommend checking out the solid starts website. You look up a food and they provide nutrional and safety info on it and explain how to prepare it for their age.

Here's and example:

Favorite plates/bowls/bibs/utensils?

 I LOVE the silicone bibs with the bucket like this. 

And those jackets were amazing for helping to keep the clothes clean. 

https://www.amazon.ca/gp/aw/d/B07Y9M5Y7L?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

cheznet

For STMs:

Did you formula feed or supplement? Nope. Exclusively breast feed.

Any brands?

Tips for bottles or bottle accessories? But I did use bottles for my husband to feed him cause he wouldn't sleep more than an hour and a half at first -- Dr. brown, I think. 

Did you use a bottle warmer? No, just put bottle in dish of microwaved water.

As we get in food stuff, what do you reccommend as far as purees or did you do baby led weaning? Our son ended up having a lot of food sensitivities so BLW was hard. We started with mixing breast milk into baby oats (ground up oats). I made a lot of purees from this recipe book I loved, I will find it and post it. 

Favorite plates/bowls/bibs/utensils? EZPZ silicone dish/bowl. We still use it! Sticks to high chair tray so baby doesn't tip it over.

Wishilivedinflorida

Did you formula feed or supplement?

Both kids were breastfed until around 10 months when they both self-weaned. We combo fed pumped stash milk and formula for the remaining two months. 

Any brands?

DS was very picky and would only drink Gerber Goodstart and I had to cut it with BM initially. DD didn’t care and we fed generic Target version of similac. 

Tips for bottles or bottle accessories?

DS liked Tommee Tippee and DD didn’t care so I reused them. I recommend getting a preemie nipple for breastfed babies to start out with on the bottle so they don’t choke or get too gassy from swallowing air. Then you can increase the flow from there as needed. I used sterilizer bags for the initial clean out of the package. I like the Boon drying rack as well. 

Did you use a bottle warmer?

Yup, the Tommee Tippee one was great. DS was particular about temp and DD didn’t care (are you sending a theme here?)

As we get in food stuff, what do you recommend as far as purees or did you do baby led weaning?

We did purées into BLW. If you want to make your own baby food, you don’t need any fancy equipment. A simple steamer and regular food processor (or a fork and elbow grease) works fine. Pouches are extremely convenient to avoid needing a spoon on the go. 

The Baby Led Kitchen app was fantastic for recipes when they got a little older. I’m planning on making a bunch of those and conning my big kids into eating the “special” baby foods too so they have more variety in their diet. 

Favorite plates/bowls/bibs/utensils?

Big fan of Upward Baby silicone placemats and bibs. I also would just put food directly on the high chair tray and skipped plates til they were old enough to not flip them over. This only works well if you have the snap off kind of tray that can easily be rinsed and washed. We also got a lot of mileage out of the snack cups with lids that prevent spills but allow little hands to scoop food out. 

mamahosch

For STMs:

Did you formula feed or supplement?
we supplemented basically from the 2nd day we were home after his 2 day peds appt because my son lost too much weight from poor latching. We supplemented with formula at night and I EPed during the day and fed him the pumped milk. We eventually switched to full formula because mentally I couldn’t handle pumping anymore. Hoping to BF fully this time and pump for a daycare freezer stash. 

Any brands?
my son took well to Avent naturals so we will stick to those. Just need to buy new nipples for all the bottles we still have lol. We used Similac Pro Advance for formula but switched to the Target brand Advantage which he digested a lot better for some reason and sooooo much cheaper.

Tips for bottles or bottle accessories?
Definitely start with low flow nipples and increase as baby gets bigger. The boon bottle drying rack was great, and a bottle brush is a necessity lol. 

Did you use a bottle warmer?
we did at first for pumped milk that had been in the fridge and then we’d warm up the formula too for night feedings. But once we went to exclusive formula we didn’t warm it because we just either used room temp water or filtered fridge water and my son really didn’t care about temperature 🤷🏼‍♀️ he loved his milk no matter what lol.

As we get in food stuff, what do you reccommend as far as purees or did you do baby led weaning?
we did a mix of purées and baby led feeding. I got a great cookbook called Baby Led Feeding (not weaning) and my son did amazing with it. He had some texture issues and threw up sometimes but our pediatrician said that was normal with BLF!

Favorite plates/bowls/bibs/utensils?
silicone pocket bibs, ezpz plates/bowls, munchkin toddler utensils 

heytallmama

For STMs:

Did you formula feed or supplement? I breastfed/ used pumped milk through about 7 months and by 9 I’d nursed for the last time and we were on formula. I fucking hated pumping. 

Any brands? We wound up using the Target brand formula. It’s been ages so I can’t recall the type exactly, but it was the basic kind and she tolerated it so that was what we rolled with. I had a Medela pump so we used those bottles.  

Tips for bottles or bottle accessories? We had one of those dishwasher baskets for small bottle parts and that was one of the first things I bought again! 

Did you use a bottle warmer? Nope. If needed we’d run a bottle under hot water but we usually did from fridge or room temp water when we did formula. Honestly it made being out and about much less stressful because we never had to worry about warming up bottles. 

As we get in food stuff, what do you recommend as far as purees or did you do baby led weaning? I don’t know that we followed one method over the other, tbh. We did purées and pouches (because I am lazy and will happily pay for convenience) but we would also do BLW style. It honestly depended on the food, her temperament, and our comfort level. “Wing it and do what works best for us” worked once so here’s hoping it does again 🙃

Favorite plates/bowls/bibs/utensils? yes, our cheap IKEA plastic plates and bowls are still in rotation 7 years later and we used those utensils too. Bibs are best when they can be rinsed off in the sink (vs cute cloth ones- those are great for catching drool though). 

miss_lynn9

@heytallmama can you share the link for the dishwasher basket. I want it haha.

marebear15

Did you formula feed or supplement? first 2 were EBF. With my 3rd, I formula fed after 6 months of BFing. He had severe allergies and I couldn't keep up the diet anymore. 

Any brands? Nutramigen hypoallergenic. My husband would manage to find good deals online and through FB marketplace. That sh*t's expensive.

Tips for bottles or bottle accessories? We just used Philips Avent that I had left over from pumping with my 1st. So much easier. Bottle brushes were good to get inside the nipples. And I just threw everything into the dishwasher. 

Did you use a bottle warmer? I skipped the bottle warmer this time and would heat up a mug of water and put the bottle in that. 

As we get in food stuff, what do you recommend as far as purees or did you do baby led weaning? I did BLW with my 1st--not a fan. 2nd and 3rd babies I did store-bought purees from 5ish months until 9 or 10 when they started to do well with table food.

Favorite plates/bowls/bibs/utensils? Those silicone bibs are amazing! Everything else just gets thrown around, so I would mainly just use the high chair tray. Narrow spoons are good for when they first start eating, don't get the fat ones.

Wishilivedinflorida

Also wanted to say it’s probably a good idea to have a little formula on hand just in case you need it, even if you plan on EBF. You never know if you will need it and what those first days at home may bring. You don’t want to have a very angry hungry baby and nothing for backup! I also recommend trying to get some sample bottles and not buying a ton of one brand because some babies are picky. Once you figure out what they like, then buy more. 

heytallmama

@miss_lynn9https://www.target.com/p/munchkin-deluxe-dishwasher-basket-gray/-/A-13991502