Formula Recommendations?

While soy doesn't smell so wonderful, and isn't nearly as good as breast milk, it is so much better for baby than cow's milk. I hope you try it!

I recently went to a meeting where a women was talking about nutrition. The one thing she said was stay away from soy. YOu can do a search on the internet for it but one website i cam accross was http://www.soyonlineservice.co.nz/ The one thing that stood out to mean the she had mentioned was what soy can do to boys. Which is make them infertile. she recommened almond milk and organic formula.

I used powdered Isomil (soy-based) formula for my older daughter, but my 2nd daughter was very sensitive and threw up a lot, so the pediatrician recommended Alimentum (also by Ross). Please do not give you baby straight soy milk, as implied by one of your respondants! He/she needs either breast milk or formula at least until 1 year. A helpful website I found is http://www.keepkidshealthy.com/infant/infant_formula.html. It describes the different types of formulas. Hope this helps. By the way, I had no breast milk and so both of my girls were almost exclusively formula-fed. They are healthy, strapping 18 and 14-year olds now, and neither has ever had an ear infection or taken a single antibiotic! So you can relax about formula.

Hi C.,
We supplemented with Similac Isomil soy formula. Our daughter did very well with it. We only gave her, at the most, 10 oz a day because breatsfeeding was her primary nutrition. She wasn't gassy nor did she have colic. We picked soy over milk-based because we didn't think she needed to have any dairy products until her system was more mature. She is now 15 months and drinks whole milk and is tolerant of all dairy products. Hope this helps.

Please do not go straight to soy milk or cows milk. It will not give your baby the nutrition she needs at this age. Plus it is not recommended until babies are at least 12 months of age.

Good Luck!

All 3 of my daughters were on soy formula after I stopped breast feeding them. The first two were incredibly lactose intolerant, and the third one was born after I had developed Type 1 diabetes, and there was a study that said that children of Type 1 mothers were 3X more likely to develop Type 1 if they had been exposed to cows milk in the first 18 months. The formula I used each time was Prosobee. My daughters are now 20, 16, and 5, and don't seem to be any worse for having gone this route.

If you go with straight soy milk as opposed to formula, make sure you find a full-fat soy milk as many have reduced fat which doesn't make them good choices for children under 2.

Hi,

I have to supplement my baby as well and was having all sorts of issues with formula and finding the right one for him. He was very gassy and had colic. He had a terrible reaction to soy formula. Ultimately, we ended up with Alimentum (by Similac) and he is fine on it. It is hypoallergenic and all the proteins are pretty much broken down so they have to do little to digest it. It is very expensive though and he does not like the powder form of it, so I have to purchase the already made liquid form of it. I'm not sure why you don't want to use a cow milk based formula. If I could, I would since Alimentum is so expensive! I would try Nestle Good Start first and if your baby has issues with it, I would then go to Alimentum or see what your doctor recommends (he may recommend soy)-most babies are just fine with cow's milk based formulas.

I stopped breast feeding just around the same time as you, or backed off I should say. But I used the Horizon baby formula. My son loved it. You can look it up on line and read more about it. It's been awhile now since I've used it so I can't remember the details on it. There are so many products out there. You'll find something that works for you!

I also agree with the gal's response below a ways. If you haven't started your little one on solids yet, now is the best time. Definately whole grains and baby food (vegies & fruit).

Hi C.,

I had to supplement my son too. I tried several formulas and was happiest with Good Start Supreme with DHA and ARA. It wasnt foamy like others and he had less trouble digesting it. Its a little more expensive than some but we found it to be the best for us. It is milk based but the proteins have been broken down so that they digest it easier and have less problems with their tummies. Give it a try and I think that you will like it.

Good luck!

R.

I did use cow's formula - the organic from whole foods. I stayed away from soy. There are other options: goat milk and blends which recipes you can find online. Goat milk is the closest to human milk! I was also able to get breast milk from friend moms I know. That was a huge blessing. There are companies you can buy fresh human breastmilk from, but it is pasteurized, from strangers and expensive.

We started using Good Start Soy with my daughter when she was 5 months old as reccommended by our pediatrician. Because she had some gas/severe constipation issues, the doc suggested soy because it is easier to digest, does not cause constipation or gas, and makes a generally easier transition between breast milk and formula.

She drank it until she was 12 months old: she LOVED it, but had absolutely no issues moving right to cows milk at 1 year. It had done well for her digestive track.

I did my own formula with almond milk as base...I added liquid vitamins for children but only put like half a teaspoon of Brainchild vitamins and minerals too...and for protein you can add hemp, pea, or anyone you choose I like pea the best!!! Do not worry about the taste, for baby formulas taste horrible and the could not car less!!! Love, G.. :0)

Try Good Start. They have cow based formula and also soy.

YES!! Goat milk dolled up with some extras. I, too, had to supplement, started with the traditional over-the-counter mixes and was very disappointed in the results. I always attributed the fussiness my son had about 1 hour after eating to just being tired. Well, turns out it was colic and it all changed when we tried the goat milk. The ingredients in the OTC mixes are also pretty poor in terms of good nutrition and healthy fats. I also would not go with a soy based formula, likely for the same reasons you express concern.

The goat milk is much closer to breast milk because the molecules are smaller and therefore easier to digest. The formula is as follows:

1 qt goat milk
1/2 tsp probiotic (we use Metagenics powder)
1 tsp Liquid Pediatric Vitamin (NF Formula)
1 tsp Fish Oil or Cod Liver oil (for omega 3 fatty acids) - Carlson's brand is a highly tested one that monitors mercury levels and is sold at Whole Foods
4 drops liquid folic acid

The best buy on goat milk is from trader Joe's (2.99 qt). The expense is definitely worth the happy baby on the other side. Happy baby = happy Mommy and Daddy :) Hope this helps!

I would advise getting the book Nourishing Traditions by Sally Fallon and Mary Enig, a fantastic nutrition book based on well researched ancestral nutrition and not the latest nutrition fad or the industry/government-based advice. Sally Fallon devised some very nutritious infant formulas you can make at home. Or you may be able to get the same info on westonaprice.org. If you can get raw goat's milk from a reliable source, it is also more similar to human milk than cow's, and my kids thrived on it. I would make soy formula your last choice, as unfermented soy can have de-mineralizing properties as well as hormonal ones. Soy and almond are common allergens also. Traditional Asians almost always fermented their soy and ate it in much smaller amounts than Americans tend to. I just noticed someone else recommending the same book, and agree about raw cow's milk also, but it is hard to get!
C.

Hello,

another suggestion if the goat's milk formula doesn't work is a raw-milk based formula. Many infants and people who seem to be allergic to pasteurized cow's milk do fine on raw cow's milk, and it also has many other health benefits -- my whole family drinks it now! I used a homemade raw milk formula to supplement breastfeeding for my youngest child, and even though he tended to be gassy and have stomach pains even with breastfeeding, he thrived on this formula.

I initially found the recipe for this formula in my favorite cookbook "Nourishing Traditions" by Sally Fallon. Instead of transcribing the whole recipe, here is a link to a website that has several other recipes as well: http://www.realmilk.com/formularecipes.html. Good luck!

Is your concern allergies? Our second child was allergic to both dairy and soy, so formulas were a problem. For our third child, our allergist recommended supplementing breast milk with Nestle's Good Start formula, which is cow's milk based, but is hydrolyzed (the proteins are broken down) making it easier to digest and less likely to cause an allergic reaction.

I don't know much about the other formulas. We don't have any allergies in my family so we went with standard milk based formula and both my kids did great. If you do go with milk based check out cost-co kirkland brand. MUCH less expensive (it gets pricey once you start buying it regularly) than any other brand out there and has the same composition as Enfamil and Simalac. Good Luck

I have an 11 month old and he's been on Enfamil, LactoFree since about 1 month old. We have loved it. My son rarely get gas and doesn't burp up often. I highly recommend it! Good luck!

First off - Could is just be that your little one is hungry and ready for solids? A good clue is if he/she reaches for your food and makes you feel guilty when you eat in front of him/her. ;-) Start with some fruits and veggies (apples, bananas, pears, avocados, green beans, peas, sweet potato, squash, etc.) and then move on to grains (we're doing steel cut oatmeal). You might see how that works before supplementing with formula, which is not a 'whole food'.

In terms of formula, I think the best is Earth's Best Organic, but they've stopped making it temporarily. In the meantime, Baby's Only organic is a good one. It says it's for older babies, but that's only because they want to promote exclusive breastfeeding for the first year or so. A few friends of mine have asked their pediatricians and this was their answer.

Good luck!

Hi C.. I know how hard this decision can be...I had to start supplementing at 10 months after exclusively breastfeeding (now 11 mo.) twins. They took some formula in the hospital because they were premature (the hospital recommended Good Start) but after 1 month refused any sort of bottle at all so I nursed, nursed, nursed until they were 10 mos and I could not keep up with their needs. As far as choosing a formula, I cried everytime I mixed it for the first couple weeks. I used the Good Start. When they were brand new and in the hospital, one of my twins had a hard time with the milk based Good Start and we used the soy Good Start which helped as far as being able to keep it down, then of course, they were breastfeed with no supplements for the next several months. When we started up at 10 mos they were both were able to handle the milk based product without any difficulty. They were never gassy, uncomfortable, nauseated, fussy, etc. My pediatrician told me as long as you are able to drink milk and eat milk products when you are nursing, there is no reason to go soy as the milk based formulas are the most nutritious. Although soy has high protein, it is also very high in estrogens and the proteins can be much more complicated than a milk protein for tiny bellies. Both of my girls eat soy products such as tofu and veggie sausage but I am refraining from soy milk as it does not have the necessary nutrients and, again, the high estrogen factor. As far as the Earth's Best formula goes, I love the Earth's best cereals and use them exclusively; however their formula was lower in iron and nutrients than the Good Start by a considerable amount. Considering that your iron levels drop in your breastmilk quite a bit after six months, if you choose the Earth's Best you should make sure that once the solids are going strong you are providing enough iron rich foods to your baby. Earth's Best cereals are all iron fortified.

One other thing from experience, as soon as I started supplementing my milk dropped dramatically, the girls didn't want to have to work so hard for the milk and enjoyed the freedom of a sippy cup and so now they are 99.9% weaned, a lot earlier than I had planned.

Good luck,
P.