Infant Formulas

I know every baby is different so I'll just tell you what worked for me. I started my baby on similac organic and first of all thought it smelled pretty bad and had a completely different consistency than breast milk (I supplement what I express w/formula). I let this go, but was forced to switch when my baby got constipated. After reading several reviews on similac organic, it seemed common. After more research, we switched to Good Start DHA and ARA and i love it. It's not organic, but it has the consistency of breast milk and no foul odor. Also, no more constipation. Hop this helps:)

I tried them all. Good Start worked best for us. There was less gas and fewer spit-ups. As an additional bonus, it was less expensive than the others.

Hi, C.!

Congrats on your new baby! Hope you are enjoying Mamahood! My Duncan is 14 months old and we are having so much fun. When Duncan was born, he nursed so well for 3 weeks and then, for reasons unknown, my supply dropped and he lost weight. We had to suppliment with formula and, even though with much effort I was able to bring my supply back up, he preferred the bottle and would only nurse once or twice a day and then by 4 months wouldn't nurse at all. Soooo...I had the same question you do - What formula should I use? Posed to the doctor, he said that they really all are about the same nutritionally and that Wegman's brand with Iron and DHA and ARA was just as good as the more expensive name brands. We compared the 2 and he was right. Now we have a healthy, bright and happy 14 month old who is 75th height for height and 60 for weight, LOVES music and takes a drumstick around the house experimenting with different sounds until he finds one that he likes, dances with his Mama and plays monster trucks, complete with engine sounds, with his Poppy.

I was so grateful for the doctor's advice. Our child is thriving and we saved, literally, thousands of dollars (the Wegman's brand was 1/2 the price of the name brands - $12.99 to the other's price of 24.99 for the same amount). If you don't have a Wegman's near you, take a canister to your pediatrician for his opinion or make the comparison yourself as they usually have the comparison information chart right on the lable and you will see that the differences are truly negligible.

A note on organics....I wish I could have afforded organic formula. It is MUCH more expensive than even the name brands. I made all Duncan's baby food from organic produce. Thankfully, Wegman's has a wonderful selection of organic produce at a reasonable price, as having had Duncan in March, I was much too busy as a new mama to put in my own organic garden last year. So, if finances are not an issue, I would recommend Earth's Best. I fed Duncan Earth's Best baby food if I ran out of our homemade or when we traveled.

I wish you the best and hope you find as much joy in mamahood as I have!

S.

I too was not able to breast feed for medicl reasons and had started my son on Similac. He screamed with gas pain and constipation. We took him to the pediatrician thinking he was lactose intolerant or something. The doctor recommended Good start and I thought he was crazy how is another BRAND going to help. Well was I wrong. There is something with those "comfort proteins" that worked miracles! My baby was a completely different child, I have also recommended it to other mother's with the same problem and it worked for them as well. Another good thing is it does not have the formula Smell(formula burps). It smells sweeter and it is thinner.
Hope this works!!!
Mother of a very happy healthy almost 4 yr old!
K.

Hi C.! Congratulations!!

I really think that the best formula really depends on the child. For my two girls it was Enfamil Lactofree because it did not make them gassy and fussy. It also did not constipate them. Similac is what the hospital started my oldest on and it was terrible. She was gassy and VERY fussy with Similac. I was always giving her mylicon and karo syrup to help poop. We went through a few brands with my older daughter before getting to Enfamil Lactofree and it was great for her. My second child started on regular Enfamil and we changed to Lactofree because we started to see fussiness. Changing to Lactofree was right for her, as well. I know people who think Similac was right. Others went with other brands but as I said, none but the Enfamil worked for my girls.

Good luck!
S.

Good Start is much "closer" to breast milk than the others. It's also easier for the baby to digest because of the proteins. No other formula is like it. This statement from their website explains why, and it's true...

"Our patented process starts with 100% whey protein, the highest-quality protein available in infant formula.
Then we break down this gentle whey protein into smaller, easy-to-digest COMFORT PROTEINS."

You can sign up for their savings club and it looks like you can get up to $300 or so in coupons. That's awesome. They have a whole bunch of different formulas (with DHA, without, with probiotics, soy, etc), so you can find the best one for your baby.

I used this with my son, and it was by far the best. Oh, I'd get the ready to feed that is already mixed. It's just so much easier. Good luck!!

Hi C.,
My dr. recommended that I keep my son on Enfamil until he was at least 2 1/2 months old. After that I switched to the Good Start products and he did better with them than the enfamil. It's supposed to be easier on their tummies. I also received frequent coupons for free or almost free cans, knowing how expensive formula is, it was really nice to have once in a while. Good Luck!

My pediatrician only recommends tried and true Similac or Enfamil (both are equally good). Nestle is better for babies with gas issues. Your best bet is to ask your pediatrician. We've used Enfamil with both our children.

I used the Enfamil Gentlease formula. My daughter had a problem with gas, and it worked wonders.

C.,
I am a mom of 5 children ranging in age from almost 10 down to an angel that will be 1 next week. Here is my experience my oldestnever had breast milk, she is a beautiful, wonferful, loving extremely smart child, she is in 4th grade and on the honor roll. My alomst 6 year old was breat fed as well as bottle fed because i could not produce enough to keep her fed for about 6 weeks and then she was straight bottle and we have had absolutely no issues with her and she is also extrememly smart. My 4 1/2 year old I pumped for about a month and again could not produce enough to feed him and he was on the bottle and he is extremely intelligent. My youngest 2 where not breast fed at all and theyare both doing wonderfully. I have used similac, enfamil and good start. With my 3 year old i did have to use a special formula but it had nothing to do with not having been breast fed, he had to have a stomach surgery at 5 weeks. It need to be your personal feeling and if youare unable to breast feed you should not feel guilty or like you are not providing for your child. I have preferred enfamil over similac, it doesnot smell as bad and it does not stain as bad. i wish you the best of luck in making this decision and being comfortable.

What did the hospital start him on? Try to stick with that. If you keep changing formulas it will upset his stomach. If he is doing fine with that then stay with it. If he is having problems each name has different types. Like similac has like 4 different kinds. When my daughter was in the hospital they started her out with similac advanced but she wasn't drinking very much and spitting up what she did drink, so we tried the soy. She seemed better with that. But when she was about a month old the doctor told us to try the similac advanced again. She is doing great with it. But we stuck with the similac name. All are great. Go online for each and sign up. They will send you some great coupons to help you to save money. Formula is very expensive but like you I cannot breastfeed. If you have a BJ's or a Sam's Club join if you can. They are alot cheaper then wal-mart or other stores when it comes to formula, diapers and wipes. Also talk to his pediatrician on what they think you should give him.

I've used similac with my son when he was an infant. Then when my daughter was born, i started out with similac and then was advised by their pediatrician to switch to enfamil. she researched all brands for her own kids when she weaned from the breast and she came up with enfamil as being the best. so we switched too and i think she's less gassy than my son was.

We used Earth's Best Organic with DHA and ARA. We liked it because it was organic, and with all the hormones and antibiotics in non organic milk, we felt it was better. We also liked the consistency of it. No gritty residue or anything. It wasn't too think or too thin, and mostly my daughter responded really well to it.

C., the hospital will use whatever formula the pharmaceutical company supplies them for free, there's no benefit to that particular formula. Despite what a previous poster suggested, a hospital isn't recommending a "superior" formula, just one that they get for free along with a bunch of gifts. All formulas must meet certain minimum standards of the FDA, so while formula feeding does not supply the ideal nutrition of breastmilk, there are no "inferior" formulas. These companies would all like you to think their formula is better than the other companies' products, but there really is very little difference.

I used to work at the plant that makes Good Start Formulas in Eau Claire WI. It is a great product and I would recommend it to anyone. I fed this to my own children (after several months of breastfeeding)and never had any issues with the transition or feeding in general. I know the testing and the precautions that are in place while manufacturing the formula and the care that goes into formulating the product. The proteins are broken down for easier digestion, this means that the protein chain is in smaller pieces and causes less stomach upset for the baby. It is the only formula that does this. If you are changing formula do it slowly as recommended on the label. This will be easier on your baby's system.

I couldn't breast feed either, and my dr. had my use Enfamil Lipl. Don't know why, but that is what I used. I was able to pump and give breast milk that way, and interchanged the two with no problems, so not sure if that is the closest to breast milk or what.

If you are going on Wic they will require you to use Enfamil, so you may not have that option. It is a great program that helps tremedously with formula costs so it is well worth it to use what they give.

Hello C.,

If you're interested in organic, Similac makes an organic version as well. I used this with my twin girls and they had no issues. I believe Similac and Enfamil are made by the same company. Most importantly, studies indicate the powder form of ANY formula is best as there has been some concern of chemicals leaching into the formula from the bottles of ready-to-feed. Good news is it's also less expensive :)

R.

Hi C.. I was given Similac in the hospital for both of my kids. Unfortunately my daughter had very bad reflux so she was put on Nutramigen (hypoallergenic formula by the enfamil company). At 6 months, she was switched back to Enfamil. She has done great on it and is currently 9 months old and still on it. Many of my friends have used Goodstart and loved it. Similac, Enfamil and Good Start all have the same nutrional support that the baby will need. It is really what the baby or you prefers. My son was on Nutramigen also for reflux and then straight to whole milk at a year. I hope this helped you a little.

I had to stop breast feeding at 4 months and we put our daughter on walmart brand formula. When we told my doctor she insisted that we give her similac, she said although there are the same ingredients in both that there were not the same amout of ingresients. All store brand formula is not a good idea in her opinion it was worth the extra money to stick with the similac. She is a very experenced doctor as she was my doctor growing up and I am 28. Hope this helps

Similac organic- b/c it does not have the growth hormones or pesticides that the other formulas have. When your baby graduates to solid food, earth's best, gerber organic or organic baby are great choices to continue his organic feeding if you do not make the food yourself. Don't know what your medical situation is, but you too could benefit from eating organic to start detoxing your body. Good luck. The one problem with Earths Best organic is that it is in a can and has Bisphenol A which will disrupt the baby's testerone hormones and possibly cause genital damage. Please see: http://www.ewg.org/node/20944?gclid=CMSCntC5j5MCFQUilwodS...
P.S. I am a holistic health counselor who specializes in women and children's health.

I am not sure any one formula is better than any other - it's all personal preference or if your baby has problems with gas or lactose.

I was buying Enfamil and then I discovered a generic brand at BJ's Wholesale Club that was half the price for twice the amount of formula and it was EXACTLY the same ingredients as Enfamil.

Hi C.---try Earth's Best organic. It's a little more expensive, but worth it, I think.
best,
J.--mom to 5 and a half month old twin girls.

Our pedi recommends Good Start with the ARA and DHA (it's the green one). It's also the most expensive. I have also read up about trials and so far this one has come out on top of all the studies they have been doing. Good luck. (I can try to google the studies if you want and send them along to you.)

I wasn't able to breastfeed either. My son used similac for the past year and did well with it. We tried enfamil first but he developed too much gas. A friend had the opposite problem (gas with similac better on enfamil). I think most of these formulas have almost everything a baby needs. The best one is the one that works for your baby. If you go with similac sign up for coupons.

I liked Nestle Good Start. My daughter had some difficulty with spitting up. Doctor said she may have milk allergy and to switch to Soy. Enfamil Soy seemed to make her very gas. The other doctor in the practice recommended Good Start to all her patients she felt it was gentler on the stomach. Other people I've talked to felt the same way. Problem is it was difficult to find. But that was the Soy formula. Maybe it's easier to find the regular. Lots of Luck!!!!

Don't feel bad about not breastfeeding, for whatever reason. There are hundreds of millions of wonderful, healthy, successful people who were fed formula. To the contrary, my best friend has been breastfeeding for a year and is distraught because her daughter is in the 3rd% for weight, etc. She's "underweight" and frequently sick. Just so you hear both sides.
My own story is that I began to breastfeed immediately in the hospital, everything was great. Then it just wasn't enough and I began to supplement with formula - Enfamil Lipil with Iron. Ultimately, I went to formula - first the Enfamil, then Good Start - in an effort to save some money. Now he's drinking 25z a day of COSTCO brand Enfamil. Bless him, he's a good eater - obviously not fussy - and a good sleeper. He's 7-8wks old and will sleep up to 4.5 hours at night. We use BORN FREE bottles and they reduce his gas immensely, he burps right away and back to sleep.
I only wanted to share this because I am grateful to the people who turned me on to these items.
Never easy being a new mom!
Congrats!!

I went to the store and compared the name brand Emfamil with the store brand and it is basically the same stuff. I put my sone on Sam's brand as it was 19.00 for a 3 lb can compared to Emfamil's 32.00 for 1 1/2 lb can. My son is now a year old and we are weaning him off of formula and the doctor has been very happy with his growth all year. In my humble opinion save yourself some money and go with Sam's or BJ's ( my friend uses this and it's made by the same company) or even just the Wal-Mart or Target brand.

K.

Hey C.,
I completely agree with Kara's post...My daughter was started on Similac Advance while in the hospital...I was only able to breastfeed her for about a month and then she wouldnt latch on....For a while I continued with the Similiac advance at about $26 a can....I went to Wal-mart one day and took there brand and the Similac brand and compared all the ingrediants...and guess what they were identical...so from then on I switched to Wal-marts equivilant of Similiac.....BJ's and Wal-mart carry the same brands....so you can get a can 3 times the size of the Similac at BJ's for about $19.99....Although my daughter was a peanut (only 5.4 at birth) and still is a peanut she never had issues with this formula...if you sign up online you can get lots of coupons too. Hope this helps!!
Meg :)

I have two sons (the older son is 2years 10months old and my younger son is nine months old). Both used/use Similac Advance with Iron and had no problems so I highly recommend it! Good Luck!

Hi C., My daughter is 16yrs old and the hospital gave her Enfamil and that is what she stayed with...no problems whatsoever

I used Enfamil Lipil for both my kids. And I love it. Most hospitals give out Similac. But the plus with Enfamil is they send you great coupons $5-$7 off a container. That adds up over a year.