Similac Go and Grow

I don't know anything about formula but I have a strong hunch it's about marketing and keeping you buying expensive products longer than needed. Pretty much the same as pull-ups to me. You either switch to a milk product at 12 months or you don't.

I used formula for my 20 month old from 4 months on (I also have an exclusively breastfed 4 month old right now)...I used whatever I had coupons for between Similac Advance/Go & Grow or Enfamil Lipil/Next Step once she was the age on the can (9 months I think) until I transitioned her to milk at a year. The Next Step/Go & Grow formulas are supposed to be nutrionally slightly different but I believe the calories per scoop are exactly the same. Although the companies TRY to get you to keep your kids on formula beyond the 12 months..it is not necessary -- transition to milk. It will save you a bundle. In order to get our daughter used to the milk taste rather than formula, we heated it a bit in the beginning but that just lasted like 3 days. Of course, we had always given her room temp formula so I wasn't weaning her off completely heated bottles. And, do yourself a favor and never give milk in a bottle -- go straight to sippy cups or cups if you can. We did that and it made the transition easier.

I am not familiar with this formula, but the formulas geared towards after age 1 are not necessary. They are marketed for extra $$$ for the formula companies.

Hi,
My daughter started on the Similac Advance formula and I had seen the Similac go-n-grow in Target and it was about 5 bucks cheaper. So on our next doc's visit I had ask my pedi what she had thought of the product, since it is fairly new, she didn't know too much about the product, she just informed me to check out the label make sure it has all the vitamins and nutrients needed.
It states it's for older babies 9-18 months if I'm not mistaken. So once my daughter turned 9 months i replaced the Advanced formula with the go-n-grow.
And once she turned a year she was off the go-n-grow and on to whole milk.
I hope this information helped.
A.

Hi Michelle,

We were going to use this after our daughter turned 1, but our dr. said it's not needed. As long as your child is drinking milk (cow or soy) and is eating well, this Go & Grow is absolutely not needed.

Check with your dr, but it's another way for the formula industry to make money. Don't waste your cash.

K

I second what the previous poster said, and your pediatrician will as well. Those formulas for older than 1 are for the birds. There's no reason to continue them on any formula after that age unless maybe they were really premature or something and haven't caught up yet and in that case I would just use the regular formula. With all my kids, they didn't get any bottles or formula from the exact day of their first birthday and beyond. At that age I didn't have any struggles whatsoever. All my friends who went past that point had long time struggles with getting rid of the bottle.
I would say to start introducing sippy cups or straw cups with water in them if you haven't already and slowly try reducing the bottles now so that you are down to maybe one a day by the time they are a year old. Then you can do the happy dance and stop buying formula.

Unless your doctor tells you to keep your kids on formula past one year, I wouldn't bother. I transition mine to milk at 11 months (per the doctor's suggestion). Just start weaning to milk at that time and save yourself some money.

It is meant to help transition, if your kids are having a hard time adjusting to milk. Stick with what you are using until 1 year then I suggest mixing formula and milk to help them transition.

I bought this because it was cheaper than the Similac Advanced I normally purchase. I compared the labels and it seems the Similac Go and Grow had slightly more vitamins and minerals - I think Vitamin C and iron. Per my doctor's orders, I am going to start transitioning my 10 month old son to milk, however, it the mean time it appears this was slightly more nutritious than the regular Similac product.

We did not use it as my pediatrician felt that it's a crock...