Formula Question - Kimberly, WI

I know this has been posted here before, but here is a more digestible, whole foods option:

Formula Recipe
1 quart goats milk (Powdered has less Vit.A – 6% as opposed to 10% liquid)
1 Tbsp. carrot juice
1 Tbsp. flaxseed oil
1/4 Tbsp spirulina
1 Tbsp molasses
3 Tbsp. maple syrup
400 IU Vitamin D (water soluble)
1000 micrograms (not mg) folate

*use of powdered goats milk with
vitamin D and folic acid already added
is easier to keep on hand*

Add the flaxseed oil first
then the molasses. It will come
right off and you will get the entire
teaspoon.

The best kind is carnation good start. I have tried many different kinds on my children and that is what the doctor recommends and it really was easy to digest also. Otherwise if you are looking at something that isn't as expensive wal-mart has parents choice with iron which is very close to the same ingredients and it works just as well.

Hey Mel, the best formula to use that is designed to be more like breast milk from my experience is Similac Advance Early Shield. And for good digestion, you can go with Similac Sensitive or Similac Isomil. They are both good for digestion, fussiness, spit-up & gas...they are also both soy formula, milk-free, lactose-free & has iron in them. I heard Enfamil is a good brand as well but most people I know uses Similac. But go to Similac.com & Enfamil.com, sign up with both of them & get free samples to try before you buy...and read about their products & see which formula is best for your child.

I use Good Start (green or purple can). It is the only kind my little boy would take. Good Luck!

I personally don't like Simlac greasy and just bubbles alot and is thick.

I love Enfamil. My daughter is on a predigested formula and it's for sensitive or allergy kids called Enfamil Nutramigen it's really exspensive but you don't get the annoying side effects or problems common with formula. It's good for colic babies or reflux babies especially. It doesn't cause gas, or constipation like so many formulas.

I've also heard really good stuff about carnation goodstart.

I use the Target brand formula of Enfamil Gentlease. It works great for my baby. The pediatrician also suggested adding pear juice to the bottle to help avoid constipation. We haven't had any problems! Good luck!

Honestly there is hardly any difference between the name brands. There very minor differences between name brand and store brand which seem to cause some babies issues, but it all depends on your baby's digestive system. My son had issues with the milk based ones at first so I had him on soy formula until 11 or 12 months, when I got a free sample of a milk-based one and he did fine with it. Now I buy whatever is on sale and he has no issues with any of them.
You can expect constipation at first with ANY of them, different colors in stool, and your baby will probably have more gas.
Similac and Enfamil are the most popular name brands. My son has had pretty much every kind at some point, and my niece only had Enfamil Gentlease until she was on whole milk and did fine.
You will probably get a whole bunch of different answers here, but you basically just have to try them and see what works for your child. Ask your Doctor for free sample cans so you don't have to go spend a bunch of money before you know what will work.

Here is some more information from the National Institute of Health http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002447.htm

Hi M.:

I've seen this response in your post a lot, but I would go with Good Start. The probiotics one has a lot of positive digestive benefits as well. Good luck!

Carnation Good Start worked really well for my daughter and I had several freinds and family switch to Good Start when their babys were having tummy problems and it help greatly. Good Luck!

All formulas are required to have basically the same ingredients. Compare labels. I always used Similac.

When I switched from breastmilk to formula with my daughter I started on Similac because I heard it kept their poop soft like breastmilk. I liked that they had constant coupons but it did not work for my daughter. I had multiple friends who had bad experiences on Good Start so I skipped that. I went to Enfamil and had fantastic results. I believe it is a superior product over Similac for how it tasted (it is sweet like breastmilk) and how my daughter responded to it.

If you want to save money, try the Target or Walmart brand formulas, they are made by the same company. I have two friends who strictly used Walmart brand and their children are healthy and well fed and they saved a ton of money.

I believe formula is a matter of preference and you may have to try multiple ones to find one you and your baby like. Ask your pediatrician for samples to see if your baby will take it.

Our daughter used the generic brand her first year, which when comparing labels was similar to Enfamil. In researching, pretty much all of the store brands are made by the same manufacturer, so if that does work for you, you can buy where it's most convenient or on sale. We switched between Target, ShopKo and WalMart store brands. I liked that the generic brand didn't foam as much when mixing it up compared to Enfamil.

I have also heard good things about Good Start, but we never actually used it ourselves.

Similac makes a new one called Early Shield. It has prebiotics in it so your baby's poop will be soft like a baby that is breast fed. We switched to it with our son when he was 4 weeks old. He is almost 8 weeks now and has had no problem with switching and his poops are exactly the same as they were when he was on breast milk. Check it out on the Similac website if your interested.

our pediatrician always recommends Good Start. She said it is the most broke down, therefore the easiest for the babies to digest. That being said, all babies are unique and some work better with different kinds. It's pretty much a trial and error process. Good luck!

My little one always did best on Good Start. Enfamil made her terrribly constipated and fussy. I just couldn't stomach the smell of Similac.

Keep in mind that a lot of the store brands are made by the big-name companies and just sold under store labels. It's my understanding that Member's Mark (Sam's Club) and Parent's Choice is really Enfamil. I think that I was told that Target's store brand is actually Similac.

I've never had a problem with Enfamil. We tried a few different kinds on my oldest (Similac, Nestle, Parent's Choice) and Enfamil was the only one he would take (we ended up needing the lactose free variety). It also seems to mix more smoothly without leaving any chunks of powder.
I'm in the process of switching my 10-week-old baby from breast milk to Enfamil formula and he doesn't seem to mind at all.

Our pediatrician recommended Similac Advance Early Shield. It is a new formula which is closer to breast milk (it has ingredients to support the immune system).
Here is a link to the Similac site, I hope it works for you:
http://similac.com/baby-formula/similac-advance-earlyshie...

We used Carnation Good Start for quite a few months with my first child, and she did great, no constipation or anything...eventually, when we went to full time formula feeding, to save $$ - we switched to the Wal-Mart "parent's Choice" formula and she had no problems, and it is about half the cost!!!! We also used the Sam's club Member's Mark brand and also had no problems, and saved even more $. We used powdered and mixed it cause it would last longer in non-mixed form.

My son is currently rejecting the bottle, whether formula or pumped milk....but from 6 weeks till 3 months, he was taking a bottle of similac daily, as we had 2 free sample cans from signing up on their website. Once we ran out of those, we switched to the Sam's Club brand and then he started rejecting the bottle shortly thereafter....we don't know if the rejection was due to the formula, but it seems not to be, since he won't drink pumped milk from the bottle either.

Anywayy, they are all good and have to meet certain standards, but if you want ot save about half of the money, buy the Generic/store brands, they are just as good for the babies!

Jessie

My kids did the best on Good Start. They seemed to digest it really well. I used it to supplement and also when I gave up breastfeeding.

All three of our kids usd Goodstart, I don't remember if it is by Nestle or Carnation now. But it digested easily and didn't foam up when shaken.

I didn't read all the posts but I noticed a lot of different opinions. My kids LOVED Enfamil and really only would drink that. I think we also found that Sam's Club gave us a great discount so, it was nice to have a big size can of it instead of always having teeny cans around the house that you'd go through too quickly. Not sure when you plan to introduce it. But, if your babe is already eating cereal . . . the best way I found in introducing something new was when I added it to the cereal since they loved it so much. Also, have your husband or someone else offer it first. Right now, if you've been breastfeeding exclusively - the baby is expecting breast milk from you. I made sure I wasn't in the room or was working whenever the bottle/formula was given. Then the baby kinda knew there wasn't much of an option. Hopefully you got samples from your pediatrician. If not, ask for some OR ask for some samples from the distributors. It definitely doesn't hurt to get freebies and you don't feel like you're wasting your money (since formula is expensive) if your babe's tummy just doesn't handle certain formulas as well or dislikes it all together. Do expect a bit of an adjustment period - babies tummy's are quite sensitive. Slowly introduce new things and give it a grace period of 3-5 days at least unless you see any allergic reaction of course. That's the same thing they tell you with introducing veggies/fruits/other foods. Good Luck!