For those who will be bottle feeding

Minmcgar · July 2014

Was curious what formula you plan on using? I am a FTM and plan on bottle feeding and have no idea which brand to start with! Any advice is welcome!

mariaculbreth · July 2014

With DS we got lucky and he took to enfamil. But then had to switch to the added rice formula because of his reflux. Don't be discouraged it may take a little time to find which formula works for your LO.

ve304856 · July 2014

mariaculbreth said:

With DS we got lucky and he took to enfamil. But then had to switch to the added rice formula because of his reflux. Don't be discouraged it may take a little time to find which formula works for your LO.

I breastfed DS for about 4 months, I also supplemented with formula durring the 4 months as well. I used Enfamil, then switched to the Gentle formula and eventually had to switch to the one with the rice starch. I have also heard really good things about the target and walmart brands.

portentosa · July 2014

I BF and used Enfamil because they sent free sample canisters (they are smart bastards that way) and DS took to it without any problems. At around 4 months I switched to Target brand formula that mimics Enfamil and is a LOT cheaper. Target has a version that mimics most of the big brands.

Bella2425 · July 2014

Last time I used similac because that was the free container I had. After a while we switched to target brand with no issues.

Hope to bf this time but if it doesn't work out I'm hoping to use target again.

jg1011 · July 2014

You should check with your hospital...with DS1, My hospital usually started him on Similac Advance. We went from there to Similac sensitive and then ended up on Alimentum (which thankfully my insurance covered bc it was a fortune!)

However, just heard from a friend that the hospital recently gave her Enfamil. So, it could vary,

conradraging · July 2014

crystalangel79 said:
My nephew went through so many, id start with small amounts. Dont stock up. Ive heard good things about gentleease but he ended up on a more expensive one and then they were out all the money they had spent on the other formulas. Id even just wait until he/she is born and see how the hospital brand goes down. If it goes well send hubby for some. If not you can try something else.

This happened with my nephew and niece. They ended up with Nutrimigen but tried a bunch that didn't go over well first.

meganmccr · July 2014

I used gerber gentle with DD after 3 months of BF and the transition went very well

SingleMom31 · July 2014

We started with Enfamil, but ended up with Enfamil soy after figuring out that she has an issue with dairy.

BrightMoon1 · July 2014

With both my daughters, I had a terrible time breast feeding, full of mastitis and open wounds, bleeding and scabbing. It was truly awful. And oh so painful. I tried my best to stick with it for as long as I could, and I pumped a lot too, hoping that would help, but it didn't. In the end, I only made it to 4 months with DD1 and 3 months with DD2. I will try again with this one and hope for better luck.
But back to your question about formula, with my first, who is 6 now, we tried the samples of both enfamil and similac that we received from the hospital and tried both for a few weeks each. But my daughter had so much gas and reflux she didn't tolerate them well. Then we found nestle good start, which I'm not sure if they even sell anymore, as I haven't seen it in awhile. She tolerated Good Start very well and we stuck with that. With my second daughter, now 4, after extensive research, I went with a more expensive organic formula that I found to be very reputable and containing slightly "cleaner" ingredients than the more commercial ones, called Baby's Only organic formula. We loved that formula and DD2 did wonderful with it. For me, it was definitely worth the investment. So I will not hesitate to use it again with this LO if breast feeding doesn't work out again.

ashaw512 · July 2014

I used enfamil A.R. With DD when I couldn't BF her anymore. She didn't have reflux but the little flap to her stack hadn't completely developed so she spit up like crazy until she was 10 months old. The A.R. Help a lot because it was thicker, similac was very foamy I didn't like it at all. I tried several different kinds of formula and the enfamil was really the only thing that helped

BabyMayinMarch · July 2014

We started with Nestle Good Start, but when DS had bad reflux from it switched to Enfamil Gentlease

Ss3457 · July 2014

I'm a FTM and I intend on breastfeeding for as long as possible, but in case of needing to bottle feed I've been thinking the same thing. I think I'm going to start DD on Enfamil and see how she handles that, but I guess it all depends on her eating habits and if she is sensitive.

bumpuser5078523 · July 2014

When I needed to supplement, I worked through the 5 random cans the companies sent us. We were lucky and Logan could drink anything.

We ended up getting formula from Costco. It was $18 instead of $40 for name brand, and it is just as good.

VFelton · July 2014

I have the Enfamil samples too. I will try that to supplement while trying to pump.

ritzgrrl · July 2014

jg1011 said:

You should check with your hospital...with DS1, My hospital usually started him on Similac Advance. We went from there to Similac sensitive and then ended up on Alimentum (which thankfully my insurance covered bc it was a fortune!)

However, just heard from a friend that the hospital recently gave her Enfamil. So, it could vary,

Same. The hospital supplemented with Similac Advance, and then we switched to Similac Sensitive later.

ETA: typo. Also, I'm intrigued by the Costco brand @doeie04. We have a membership there, so maybe I'll try that out if we have to go the formula route again.

Ceridwen21 · July 2014

We used Enfamil for DS, but now that we have a Target nearby I think we'll try that brand (generic equivalent to Enfamil) for DD.

Lizziemac217 · July 2014

Generic enfamil

Sammiethamma · July 2014

We used enfamil gentlease for my DD because she was getting constipated from the regular stuff. This time around I plan on using the target brand.

cozybluebear · July 2014

We started our son with Gerber... when he was a week old he became colic so we switched to Similac Sensitive. When that didn't help, we switched to Enfamil. We basically tried every cows milk formula until his doctor eventually switched him to soy. Unfortunately, soy wasn't even helping so we had to switch him to Similac Alimentum which is literally twice the price but it did the trick! When your baby is screaming in pain all day and night, youll pay anything! By 4 months, he was over the colic and we slowly starting transitioning back to regular cows milk formulas. We eventually had him on the Walmart brand which is half the price of regular formula and has the same exact ingredients. With this baby we plan to start with Enfamil NB and/or the Walmart brand it's equivalent to.

One thing I recommend is to sign up for all the formula sites amd get the free samples. Keep them on hand because you may have to try other formulas and it's much cheaper to use samples. As long as your alternating between cows milk based formula, switching is okay.

ConversationFear · July 2014

We will probably get a couple different ones, to see what LO likes/can tolerate, but it seems like all of my friends and family are big advocates of Enfamil. Whatever we use we will need to be able to get it at Sams.

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