what formula?

flymansWife · November 2011

we're still scraping by and haven't had to supplement yet, but its probably only a matter of days. supply is up a little bit but not enough to keep up.

how do you pick a formula???

L L CG · November 2011

I just used the samples they sent. Do you still have those?

SarahPLiz · November 2011

We just started supplementing this week because I was having similar issues. We chose the Babys Only Organic, which DH picked up from Whole Foods. I think Central Market also carries it. It doesn't stink nearly as much as regular formula. This is Sparky's 3rd day of having one formula bottle at daycare and he's doing well. He doesn't seem to notice the difference but he naps a lot better, I guess because he's actually full.

Taytee · November 2011

I felt guilty if I didn't chose something organic Embarrassed After much research and despite the cost, we chose Baby's Only for Emily. With Abby, I pretty much went on price alone and got the Kirkland's brand.

After tasting Baby's Only, I felt guilt(ier) for having given Abby the Kirklands because it really was vile tasting IMHO. Pretty much all formula is nasty to me, especially the hypoallergenic ones some kids need. The Baby's Only was pretty close to BM in it's mild non-offensive taste.

It was kind of hard to get a hold of though because Sprouts was frequently out of it and I usually just had to order through drugstore.com or diapers.com

ali-1411 · November 2011

Do you belong to Sams or Costco? Their brand really is the best deal. Layna was on the Gentlease version...actually I bought the store brand of wherever I happened to be...Target, Walmart, Sams, she never noticed the difference. She was on the Gentlease kind since she was a bit gassy but I'd start with the regular stuff.

BSE · November 2011

dd gets a formula bottle a day at day care (+ 2 breastmilk bottles), honestly she's never even noticed a difference and is willing to eat anything. i've just been using the samples i was sent which is currently similac advance.

if you dont have any samples i would just pick a brand to try and see if he'll eat it.

Sinafey · November 2011

When we gave up on trying to nurse we switched to Similac because we couldn't afford the organic and I felt too guilty to get the Costco Kirkland brand... After she was 6 months old we did switch to Kirkland and DD actually really preferred it. It doesn't clump as much as Similac, so we didn't have to shake as much and that helped with gas.

If we'd only supplemented a little I would've given DD the organic brand that PPs recommended.

ETA: Our pedi actually said that he used Kirkland brand, so our aversion to it wasn't founded in any real evidence. I was having so much guilt at the time about formula use that I was looking for some way to make myself feel a little better.. If it happens again we'll start off with Kirkland brand because I do think it's comparable (or better, even) to non-organic name brands at this point and it's WAY less expensive.

smb29 · November 2011

We used the Target brand last time and will this time as well. We used soy last time b/c M has a milk sensitivity but we'll start with their gentle ease version this time since O is gassy, unless he turns out to have a milk sensitivity as well.

mlf625 · November 2011

DS and DD both had generic - their pedi insisted it was every bit as good as the name brand and even canned in the same factories sometimes. Target's Up & Up worked best for DS and DD did well on Walmart's Parents' Choice.

MrsAJL · November 2011

We started with the free Similac we got from the hospital. Molly ended up going on the Similac Sensitive.

All formulas are technically the same as far as nutritional composition, but some babies do better on sensitive formulas or non-dairy versions.

Mrs.Purdue · November 2011

MrsAJL:
We started with the free Similac we got from the hospital. Molly ended up going on the Similac Sensitive.
All formulas are technically the same as far as nutritional composition, but some babies do better on sensitive formulas or non-dairy versions.

Not really. All formulas meet the same nutritional guidelines/minimums, but they vary quite a bit (to an immature digestive system) in chemical composition. They all have different amounts of different ingredients/vitamins, even though they meet the FDA guidelines.

We found that E's stomach couldn't handle Enfamil at all. She was either spitting up a ton (milk sensitivity) or she was constipated (very hard stools). Similac is better for her - regular poops of the right consistency and less spit up. I know a lot of other babies are the opposite. Some tolerate all of them and you can switch back and forth or go to generics. We tried HEB's generic Soy formula, but the spitup was back, so we're sticking with Similac.

If you end up trying generics, I believe that Target is closer to Enfamil and Walmart is closer to Similac (I might have that backwards).

I'd suggest trying a sample if you have it (similac advanced is what we got a few samples of), or your pedi could give you a sample. I know ours has cans in the office to give out. Try to buy a small container at first, in case it doesn't work out well (and since you're only supplementing, you might not go through a whole large container within the 30 days that it expires in).

Ruby44 · November 2011

I used the Kirkland brand for my daughter. I chose it because it was inexpensive and my pediatrician gave me the ok to use it. My son had to use the Enfamil one for preemies because he had trouble gaining weight. It was super expensive, so the pedi always gave me enough samples to get me by.

thethomps · November 2011

We used Similac Sensitive with the broken-down lactose for DD because she liked it better than Enfamil or the Target brand (we had samples of Similac and Enfamil and bought a small container of the Target brand). I would have liked to do organic but it was too expensive. Costco carries the Similac Sensitive in large containers, so that helped with the cost. They also have large containers and the to-go tubes of the regular Enfamil, in addition to Kirkland formula.