Hi,
After 6 months of exclusively pumping breastmilk, I am starting to supplement with formula, along with the breastmilk. Which infant formula is the best? We have tried Enfamil and Similac and my daughter seems to spit them both up. I have heard alot of good things about Gerber Good Start lately? Has anyone tried this brand? Good? Bad? Any info. would be great. Also, I have about 2 months of breastmilk in my freezer. Can I mix breastmilk and formula in the SAME bottle to get her used to the formula while we make the transition?
Thanks!
I always used the gentle target brand. It's cheaper and has a chart on the back that compares it to similac. It's the only one my babies did not have issues with. I personally will never try the name brand stuff again because it is always being recalled. Never had that with the target brand, that I know of.
The one your child can tolerate the best.
Every baby is different as to which is best. If your baby hasn't tolerated either the regular Enfamil or Similac, it might be that she's not ready for the cow's milk protein in them. You might try Nutramigen or a soy formula. Neither of my kids could take the regular formulas, but both did ok with Nutramigen. It was more expensive, but worth it.
I used the formula to top off bottles at daycare, so I started with bottles with 1 oz of formula with 3 oz of breastmilk. Over time, as my supply dipped, the proportion of formula increased, and the amount of breastmilk decreased.
After a while, once they were used to the taste mixed with breastmilk, they would happily take a bottle of formula.
Good luck, and great job for 6 months of pumping! That is dedication.
We used similac because our pedi told us that it wasn't as sweet as the others and the kids would have an easier time transitioning to milk later.
I used similac with my kids but one of them had acid reflux so I had to use the kind that was made special for spit up..I always say check with the dr. but I think they are all supposed to be good. And if Gerber makes a kind special for spit up maybe try that one? Yes you can mix formula and breast milk its a good way to get them used to it! Good luck!
Gerber Good Start Gentle is excellent and most like breastmilk.
Absolutely you can mix the 2. If powdered, mix the formula w water first, then add to milk. Don't mix w the milk to make liquid.
________
"Best" is whichever one does NOT cause:
- Vomiting
- Gas
- Diarrhea
- Constipation
AND
- stays fresh while they're drinking. (SUPER important for slow eaters, as many are sour in 10 minutes and rotten in 20)
That answer will be different for different babies.
For my son?
HAD HAD HAD to be "premixed", enfamil lipil (or a very exp specialty formula)
He couldn't tolerate powdered of ANY variety (including enfamil lipil)... And was a slow eater, so even though he tolerated a couple brands of premixed, they started turning sour or rotten by the time he was finished with them.
For his cousin? Similar Gentle Powdered ONLY.
His other cousin? Any brand as long as it was cold.
Seriously... The answer for 'best' changes with each baby.
I bfed & then used formula later on it was different w/ all 4 of mine my 3rd never had formula she was exclusively bfed for 15 months..I only bought Enfamil w/ Iron it was well tolerated now my 4th is 7 months & my supply in freezer isn't much of a supply now so when I leave baby for a few hrs i'll leave formula never ever boguht Gerber but I received sample of it the kind I use is micmicing breast milk w/ comfort proteins (Gerber comfort proteins protect)this is the only kind my bay will drink refuses all others tried Similac,Enfamil & Parents Choice)never spit up w/ formula that I tried & has never spit up w/ this that I now supplement w/ use it once a day only 4 ounces.
We used Similac Advance premixed.
Not that much more expensive than powder and SO easy and convenient.
I would check with your doc but you do have to give them time to adjust to it before you rule O. out, I think.
Seriously it just depends on your baby, I would think. We did all the different Enfamils and were dealing with the gentlease version of Enfamil for a little bit (we too were supplementing while pumping breast milk). My son had terrible reflux though. We went to England for a month and I ran out of formula while there, and after reading all the labels to make sure the nutrients were all covered I picked "something" (not sold here) and he didn't spit up AT ALL! It was a miracle, so I knew it was the formula, not just my son's belly....so I tried Good Start and while he spit up a LITTLE bit, it was a million times better than his reaction to the Enfamil. We loved Good Start.
My younger son though, he spit up regardless. We ended up trying soy for him, and it worked for his needs.
