Baby Formula Choices

I think for me, it depended on the age of my baby. When she was a newborn (she was a preemie) she did not take to similac very well, it constipated her. Similac is the same at Parent's Choice, and Kirkland brands. So I had to give her enfamil (plus it was a high calorie formula I was told to give her). Enfamil did not constipate her and all was well. As she got older (around 4-6 months when she regularly ate stage 1 foods and rice cereal), I switched to Kirkland/Parent's Choice/Up&Up (target's brand). She did fine on it. I think her little system was regulated out and she was able to handle all kinds at that point. I can tell you from experience, if I opened a can of Target/Wal-mart/Costco brand and set them in front of you, you would not be able to tell the difference. Those 3 brands are exactly the same, even the consistency of the powder. Look for coupons too! Have fun!
I wanted to add, you don't sound cheap! Saving a buck here or there really adds up! =)

Formulas a regulated by the FDA. I stood in the aisle of Wal-Mart comparing content and the percentages. I originally started with Similac but switched to the Wal-Mart's Peoples Choice. It is (was) nice and fluffy, not sandy or grainy compared to Emfamil, and super easy to mix - I did not notice a lot of foaming. Good luck and congrats on the adoption!

All formula is regulated by the FDA. The fillers are the only difference. My first had Enfamil and my second the Walmart brand. Both are healthy.

We used the Sam's Club brand as it was a bigger container of formula. I didn't notice any bubbling. But you will have to make sure whatever formula they send home with you that you gradually mix with the new kind. Otherwise it upsets the babies stomach. You will need to find which one works best for your baby. My 1st son couldn't take any of the formulas except the soy. Good luck and Congratulations on your adoption.

Well considering all formulas by law have to meet all the same requirements so cost has nothing to do with nutrition, it boils down to taste and some settle a bit better on babies tummys.

However I do have experience with the Costco Kirkland brand. GREAT price for 2 large containers. My daughter (surrogate/adoption) did great on it. Formula cost savings certainly paid for our membership for life I'd bet.

Earth's best organic from baby's r us. then continued with no hormone milk.

We've used costco's Kirkland brand with our son. He loves it and has done really well on it. My only complaint is that it foams a bit when you shake it up, but that doesn't really matter. You can also get samples of different formulas from the manufacturers' websites or from your pediatrician.

I would definatly say go with whatever one you feel is the cheapest that you want to start with. you can get samples of the parent's choice, (walmart's), by going to their website, you should see if you can do the same with the costco brand.

i would recommend the nestle good start formula. Their formula is MUCH better than the similac or enfamil, becasue they already have all that protein broken down, so the baby shouldn't have any reaction to it. I will tell you that the difference in ALL similac, and ALL enfamil, is just how far down the company has broken down the protein. Though they each seem to have a lot of types of formula, and they charge HUGE amounts of money for the more "specialized" ones, the difference is just that broken down protein. Nestle already breaks it down, and that's why you only see 2 types of nestle formula.

No i don't work for them, but i did my research on the formula's, when i had my daughter and decided what to supplement her with while i was nursing.

my cousin uses the Target brand and it has worked well for her. I used Similac, but if I had to do it over again, I'd use one of the off brands. I believe that the key is to pick the one you want and not change, because baby's sensitive stomach cant handle it. I had a friend who's ob told her it was just like switching brands of milk and the baby would be fine.....except that it isnt and she wasnt. She went from being an angel baby with no problems to having tons of stomach problems.

We used the Wal-mart brand (Parents Choice) on both our children, and they have enough varieties that if you need a special kind they have it. You don't sound cheap it's over 50% less than name brands. It's not any less quality your not paying for the free samples and diaper bags the name brands send in the mail or give out at hospitals.

Kudos to you, and CONGRATS!! =D

I use wal-mart brand gentle- and they sell it at Sam's club too (better value).
It actually mixes easier in the water than enfamil brand does.

I used it on both my babes and they are healthy and thriving.

Oh- and you might check into your local WIC program for help with formula costs... (Women Infant Children)

Good luck!

My niece used Target brand with her son and he did great. I personally used Babies R Us brand and my daughter did well. She spit up a lot and actually spit up less on the Babies R Us brand. Congratulations on the adoption.

Both kids started w/ Enfamil and then we switched to Walmart's Peoples Choice. It is half the cost of Enfamil and has the exact same nutrient levels as Enfamil. They both did great on it. Costco and Target brands have different levels of nutrients and were cheaper than Enfamil but more expensive than the Walmart brand. Congratulations.

Like sharon i like the Nestle good start for the same reason broken down proteins.But i am also just supplementing with formula too while nursing.So, i don't know how expensive it will be to use this kind of formula full time.
Good luck and congratulation.
N.

I see you have some great responses but I'll still throw my 2 cents in! I have used both the parent's choice and Kirkland brands of formula with my second son. They are both great. However the Kirkland brand seemed really foamy even after I let it sit for a few minutes. I can live with that, but then my son got constipated while using it. I checked and it has almost double the amount of iron as the Parent's choice brand. So I switched back to Paren'ts choice and haven't looked back since. It is great for my son. I will say that there are tons of great reviews on costco's website for the kirkland brand formula. Lots of people love it! Just didn't work for me. :)

I personally have used the Costco brand and the Target brand and did not notice much difference from the Similac that I usually use - If you compare labels you will find that they are all basically the same. Good Luck with your new little one!

wal mart and cosco brands are basically simalac or infamil. my daughter took nestle good start which was fairly priced.

I have heard wonderful things about Target brand formula. My friends doctor actually recommended it and said it is the exactly the same as name brand. Even Target diapers and wipes are great. I would google parent reviews on all of the formulas you have spoken of and get parent opinions. Congratulations!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, that's a lot of money! All baby formulas are regulated by the FDA, even the cheapiest cheap ones. So you don't have to worry about safety or nutrition or things like that with ANY of them. The all contain the FDA recommended amount of nutrients. That said, it's just a matter of personal preference. Your baby won't care which one you choose, except if it foams excessively (then s/he may get excess gas). I did Costco brand and it was FINE, by far the best deal (one large can lasted for about 5-7 days, and I believe it was $20 for 2 cans). I stirred, though, and didn't shake it. I've also tried the other store generics and they were equally as FINE (Target, Walmar, King Soopers). No problems, although I did get in the habit of stirring them instead of shaking them to avoid excess air. Kind of dumb to buy the expensive ones since they are at least 100% more money! Those companies spend a lot of money on marketing so why support that when you can get the same product for way less?

I use the Costco brand (Kirkland) and it is GREAT! It does foam a little, but so did Enfamil and Similac. Similac really constipated my baby so I stayed on Enfamil while he was little. Then he started getting a little fussy and we tried the soy, on both brands. Soy REALLY constipated him.
We then switched to the costco brand when he was 3 months old (at that time we had run out of free samples) and he's doing fine ever since then! The price really makes a difference!

At some point before using Kirkland I used Enfamil Nutramigen because he was acting like he was allergic to milk. If you're looking for a (very expensive) completely foam-free formula, then Nutramigen is the answer. I used two cans of those and then switched to the Costco brand cold turkey. He had an stomach virus and was fine after a few days.
Our doctor didn't recommend mixing up the formulas, he says you will only be able to tell if your baby likes/tolerates the formula if he's exclusively using it 24/7. It made sense to me so I didn't mix them up.

It is true that all babies are different - my friend's baby couldn't stand the Enfamil brand whereas my baby couldn't stand any kind of Similac formula (soy, milk based, sensitive, etc). So even if all formulas have the same/similar ingredients I suggest you start with the most affordable formula and then go up from there. Don't do any soy or sensitive formula from the start! All babies are fussy at the beggining so unless your dr suggests it, stick with the cheap formula!

Congrats on your baby and welcome to mommyhood!

We've used both the wal mart brand and the costco brand and found that when you shake it up there were LOTS of bubbles on top. So we randomly tried the store brand formula at smith's grocery store. Shook it up and next to no bubbles on top. :) So we switched to that completely.