Product Spotlight Series: Formula/Food Stuff

Re: Product Spotlight Series: Formula/Food Stuff

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  blaf322 member

  January 2020 edited January 2020

  We supplemented because I didn't produce enough milk to EBF.
  
  We used Enfamil Gentlease but the Similac Soy also worked well for DD. We just used Enfamil because my bestie was using Similac (her daughter is 6 weeks older) and we traded coupons.
  
  Because we bottle fed (breast milk) early on, we didn't have issues with her rejecting the bottle. We used Avent bottles with the size 0 nipples while paced feeding so that if I wanted to nurse again, she wouldn't be as likely to wig out because of the slower flow. Avent is easy to clean and not crazy expensive. We had some Dr. Browns bottles but they're a PITA to clean and I didn't notice a difference between how DD acted with those and Avent.
  
  Pro tip: go ahead and sign up for both Enfamil and Similac coupons. Best case scenario, you don't need them at all and can mail them to other mamas within the group to help with formula expenses. Worst case scenario, you have coupons for whichever one works well for your LO and can send the other coupons to another mama. We did this a lot within DD's BMB and between my bestie and I and it was incredibly helpful. I almost never paid full price for formula b/c of this.
  
  ETA: also, if you end up FF at all, have parents or siblings close by sign up for coupons for whichever type of formula you end up sticking with. 

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  JessDG member

  January 2020

  With DS I did a little bit of everything.  We had to supplement with a little formula in the hospital because he wasn't having wet diapers. I then nursed for a little while afterwards but he wasn't latching and falling asleep.  I EP'd for about 6 months and he had nothing but breast milk.  During that time we found that he had a dairy intolerance.  When I quit pumping, I had a butt ton of milk stored, so he got a bottle or two of breast milk, a day and the rest formula.  We had to use Alimentum, which is the hypoallergenic kind and is MEGA expensive.  (Like 40 bucks a can).  
  
  I would second @blaf322 's pro tip and get those coupons!  I had so many generous friends and BMB ladies send me coupons, which was SO NICE.  Definitely got my mom and MIL to sign up too.  
  
  Also, the hospital where I delivered gave me a little box of samples, and one came in the mail from both similac and enfamil.  Use those to try things out since they are free to see what your little one likes.  When we had to start the Alimentum, my pediatrician gave us a whole bunch of samples which was awesome too.  
  
  DS was not bad with taking the bottle and wasn't super picky about nipples (just mine...haha) so we just used the medela bottles that went with my breast pump and the medela nipples.  
  
  

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  stlbuckeye132 member

  January 2020

  We switched to formula when DD was a few weeks old because breastfeeding just wasn't working for either one of us, and I didn't have the dedication to keep pumping/I had a negative association with pumping from her time in the NICU. We used Enfamil Gentlease too. No complaints other than the cost, so definitely sign up for the coupons and buy it at costco or sam's! I tried switching her to the Target version of Gentlease, but it made her super constipated. That was sad b/c it was sooo much cheaper.
  
  We used Dr. Brown's bottles because those were the first ones we offered her and she took them, so we didn't keep trying others. This all depends on your baby though and what their preferences are. My recommendation is to buy one or two of several different brands/nipple shapes, and see what works best for you instead of stocking up on one type before baby is here. I didn't try any other bottles, so I have nothing to compare them to, but obviously they do have more parts than others. Once we knew we were using Dr. Brown's, I got enough to have two days' worth of bottles and ran the dishwasher very regularly so I didn't have to deal with hand washing them. I'll include the dishwasher bags we used for all the small parts in a spoiler at the end. We had two of these bags in our dishwasher at all times, and they're still there, just holding straw cup parts now instead of bottle parts. 
  
  We didn't use a bottle warmer, and after a few days of bottle feeding, DD had no problem taking a bottle straight from the fridge. Bless her heart, she was such an easygoing baby. Fingers crossed this one will be too, but idk if I can be so lucky. Anyway... once we knew how much she was eating in a day, we used this formula mixing pitcher (link in spoiler below) to make up a day's worth of formula and just kept it in the fridge since it's good for 24 hours refrigerated. It made our life so much easier than having to mix each bottle separately! And it made it easy to add just a tiny bit more to a bottle to top her off if she still seemed hungry after eating instead of having to make 2 oz of formula for her to only drink 0.5 oz more and then dumping the rest.
  
  

  Dishwasher bag:

  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07DY6BS6Z/?coliid=IMNHMFDPA84YC&colid=1U89C9LCZPTRB&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it
  

  
  

  Formula mixing pitcher:

  https://www.amazon.com/Dr-Browns-Formula-Mixing-Pitcher/dp/B001I481LM/ref=sr_1_4?crid=GXYE9NO2QFWT&keywords=formula+mixing+pitcher&qid=1580155216&s=baby-products&sprefix=formula+mixing+p%2Cbaby-products%2C145&sr=1-4
  

  
  

  Apparently I have brand loyalty!

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  blaf322 member

  January 2020

  @stlbuckeye132 ohh... good mention about the bottle warmer! We didn't use a bottle warmer either and DD was totally fine without it. Actually, we figured out that she would refuse bottles if we warmed them. Like, even after they cooled. It must have done something to the milk.
  
  It seems that BF babies tend to really care about temp because they're used to it coming out warm from mama. So, if you're exclusively bottle feeding (whether BM or formula) I'd recommend avoiding using the warmer. It just makes things challenging when you're out and about. 

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  blaf322 member

  January 2020

  OH! And, let's talk about water. I know there are varying opinions here, but mine is that if you're in a safe water area, you are completely fine to use tap water. We used tap water for DD starting with the first time we supplemented. I just don't feel like nursery water is needed.

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