Store Brand Formulas

Hi J.,
Three things, 1. I haven't been "brand loyal" most often I buy what I can afford and whether I am at Walmart, Heb or where ever I just use formulas that seem to be the equivelant of each other, I personally (the boys either) haven't had any problems. 2. you can go to eBay and find formula coupons for pennies on the dollar that can help curb the costs should you decide to stick with the Similac or try something else. 3. If you are willing to try, you can often find people locally on Craig's list (Similac is the preferred brand of the WIC program you can find people selling it for cheap for various reasons including that they have more than enough just type formula in the search under baby items, you'll be able to pick it up locally same day, sealed and unused. Hope that helps some, it's saved me in a pinch a few times!

1 mom found this helpful

J.,

It's been a while (3 1/2 years), but I switched my son to Parent's Choice from Similac and he had no problems with that. It saved me a TON of $$.

Good luck,
C.

It is pretty much like any other store brand/generic version. The ingredients are the same; just a different label. You can just start by making a bottle using half Similac & half Member's Mark/Parent's Choice brand for taste reasons.

I never used them since my kids didn't use much formula, but I have seen this question on here before and all of the responses have said that there is no difference except price. Several people said they asked their doctors and all said that the store brands were fine as long as your baby tolerates them. I would give it a try!

I have used Parent's Choice from the start.. at the hospital, they gave him Enfamil... my husband went to the store and notice that Enfamil and Parent's Choice had the exact same ingredients, down to the .01% So he bought it and we still use it.. my son is 10 months old.. Never had colic, gas, or any other digestive problems. I highly recommend it.

Our pediatrician actually suggested we try the Member's Mark or Parent's Choice brand--so we did and had no problems! He said they are all required to be the same basic formulas per the FDA. Definitely was a lot cheaper! Good luck!

Just in case you needed another vote- I used the Emfamil for my daughter until she was about 6 months and then called the doctor to ask about switching to a generic and he said it was fine- just like using a generic medicine. I use the HEB and the cost is half and I compared the nutritional info and it's 98% identical! I never had any problems switching and I used the HEB for my son now too and no problems.

LOVED the Member's Mark brand; We lived a half hour from Sam's. We would go every few months and stalk up on the formula! (and usually the diapers :)) Member's Mark gives your more then double the size of a regular can for less then the name brand price. Could not pass it up!

I nursed for the first year but at about 10 months or so I got so sick of pumping so I started supplementing with formula when we would go out somewhere. I always used parent's choice and it seemed just fine to me. I couldn't see any difference on the label, just the price. My son just loved the stuff and sucked it down. So I think the store brand is fine. Good luck!

I used the Target brand formula for my son because it's ingredients were exactly the same as the Similac. You can get the big can for the same price as the small Similac can. I haven't done that yet with my newborn, I will probably once she's a little older.

Hi J.,

When my daughter was little, she had some tummy issues and could only use a certain Enfamil formula (can't remember the kind now since its been a couple of years) but the cost was unreal! The only "off-brand" avail was Member's Mark and I could get one huge can for almost 2 cans of the name-brand. And I did ask my pedi and she totally supported it. If it makes you feel better, flip them both over and compare ingredients. And every once in a while if I had a coupon or couldn't get to Sam's, I'd buy the name brand and she never had a problem switching back and forth. Hope this helps!!

My daughter was on Members Mark and did just fine. It saved us SO much money!!! She's 2 yrs old now and smarter than ever!
Good luck!

hi! we used Kirkland, the store brand of Costco, with both kids and it worked GREAT! we saved a TON of money. take a can of each brand you are considering and do side by side comparison - they are the same. I did notice the store brand needed a little more shaking to get the powder to mix, but that was the only difference. with all the money we saved, i'll shake a little more! My sister uses the wal-mart brand and loves it also.

good luck!
K.

Hello I used Similac also, then we switched to the HEB brand when we did not have Similac coupons. It was great and the cost was about half.

Hi,
I started my daughter out on Enfamil and switched to Member's Mark. She is thriving.

I switched to Parent's choice with my son, and had no problems. If you look at the back of the can, the ingrediants and nutrition are the same.

J.,

When our son was an infant, we started off on Similac and switched over to Member's Mark with no problem. I think it's one of those things, in which you have to test it to find out if your son will be ok with the change. As a matter of fact, I switched over because a friend of mine, who's a mom also, was told by her baby's Ped. Dr. that Member's Mark was made by Similac. I never researched it, but I know Sam's Club sells the Similac product, so there may be some truth behind it.

Blessings,
E.

Three of our four used Walmart brand (currently using their gentle formula) and have had no probelms.

Although it's been several years since we dealt with formula - the memory of switching is still very vivid!

We were also using Similac and looking for a less expensive alternative. We switched to both brands that you mentioned and dealt with horrible constipation issues in our infant daughter.

I personally would not recommend it......

I used Carnation which is much less expensive and both of my kids did fine. My son was on similac at the hospital for 5 days and I put him on carnation when I got home and he transitioned just fine.

Of course, having said that, every child is different. Sometimes they handle the powder better than the cans of liquid....it really just depends on if your child will like it.

Either way, I wish you good luck and congrats on the new baby!

Hi J.! I used the Member's Mark (Sam's Club) and my daughter loved it, saw no difference from using regular then switching to generic brand. I'm with you on the cost, I exclusively breastfeed but sometimes I'll use formula. I had to introduce formula for my daughter because she went into the hospital and I could not breastfeed her. Best wishes!

we sure did! we called our pedi and he said as long as the ingredients were the same it was fine. the ingredients are the same for Sams Members Mark. this is what we ended up using. HEB brand seemed to bubble like crazy. I think for the first can of off brand we mixed the formulas half and half or even a little less. we used the whole can of name brand to get him use to the switch...we did this more for me than him. Sams has the best prices and the can is almost two or three times the size of a regular can.* oh yeah and Anne D is right about the diapers...look it up online.its much cheaper!!!