Newborn Feeding Series: Formula

jackie_dunny · June 2021

Hello and welcome to our "Baby Feeding Products" series at Product Spotlight! 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

(Stolen from July 2021)

sliztee · June 2021

If your kid ends up having a milk protein allergy and you're not interested in giving up ALL dairy (even processed foods), then you'll likely have to go the Alimentum or Nutrimagen route. Neither are cheap (about $40/can), both are effective, and your baby will feel much better.

RoseShadow873 · June 2021

I just used the Enfamil because I got it as samples first and it was fine. I have heard store brands are just as good though and cheaper. I used powder because the pre-mixed stuff costs way more. For diaper bag I would just take bottles filled with water and one of those formula dispenser containers filled with measured scoops. For the first few months I boiled water for formula and let it cool so that was a lot of work. Also the rules about how long you can safely keep formula after you mix it are pretty strict and it really sucks when you make too much and have to throw a lot away.

tmk2021 · June 2021

What brand of formula do you use? We used Walmart brand soy because my son had a milk protein allergy. It took a while to figure that out though, so we went through regular formula and gentle ease before settling with the off brand soy. In my opinion, name brand is just a waste of money. Go off brand, it’s cheaper and does the same thing for baby. They won’t notice a difference but your pocket will.

Any help navigating the three million options of formula types within each brand? Try not to get overwhelmed. All brands have at least a regular formula, a gentle or sensitive, and a soy. They’re for different sensitivities. My advice, get a small can of regular and a small can of the gentle or sensitive to start. If baby is overly fussy and gassy, go to the more sensitive formula to see if that helps. If they’re okay with regular though, stick to it until anything changes. Always ask your pediatrician too, they might recommend you jump straight to soy or allimentium depending on how your baby is acting.

Do you transition through different ones as your babies grow? We didn’t. As soon as we knew he was sensitive, we went to soy and stuck with it until 10.5 months when we eased him back to regular formula. Then we went to whole milk at one instead of toddler formula. The only time you need to continue formula after one is for growth reasons, but your pediatrician will go over all that with you. Don’t lose sleep over it, like I did lol.

If a family knows they are going to formula feed, 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? Regardless of your feeding plans, I urge you to have at least one small can of formula in your home. Take it from someone who learned the hard way, when your milk just won’t come in and your baby is screaming of hunger at 2am, you’re going to need it. If I hadn’t had two little single serve samples in my home, we would’ve had to go to Walmart in the middle of the night. Also, make sure you have gripe water or gas drops for those early days when baby bellies are adjusting to 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? We always used powder. We also never offered warm bottles, always room temp. Trust me, baby doesn’t need it. It cuts out the step of warming a bottle up, which is a huge relief in the middle of the night when baby is screaming. Our set up was also a big help for me. We always had 4-6 bottles of premeasured water on the counter, right next to the formula. When baby was hungry, we just added formula and stirred (DO NOT SHAKE bottles, that adds bubbles and makes baby even more gassy.) When we left the house, we had several bottles of premeasured water and formula in a dispenser found on Amazon. Easy peasy.

mac-n-cheesy · June 2021

We used Similac Alimentum or Pro-Sensitive. When we had to supplement while I was increasing my supply a few time because I was EP’ing.

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