Moo-adjacent: Picking formula?

[FastHands]

I'm super frustrated at the circumstances but I will almost certainly need to use formula as early as tomorrow to feed muh kid. Do brands/types really matter? What do I need to look for? I like to research shit like this to death and comparison shop but there just isn't time. So a point in the right direction would be much appreciated!

[cereal K]

I used the brand my pedi suggested. In my case, it was Similac. I don't know that there's much difference between the major brands other than price. My understanding is that infant formulas are pretty well regulated, so all of them should be able to provide the same nutrition.

FWIW, while I was in the hospital birthing G, when they asked what formula I'd be using, they would sometimes say "Similac or Enfamil".

If you, for any reason, go with Enfamil, let me know - I have a starter kit and coupon I'd be happy to send you!

[Deleted]

We had to use formula while in the hospital since my milk hadn't come in and he was really jaundice. They had similac, so when we left we just stuck with that, except we switched to the Generic Meijer brand that was comparable to the Similac we used to save a few bucks.

[stellas]

I got samsclub/costco brand formula. It appeared to be identical to enfamil and was half as much.

[CurlyQ284]

When we figured out that I wasn't going to be able to breastfeed, my lactation consultant recommended Similac or Enfamil. When he was about 5 months or so we switched to the Target brand since it's almost if not exactly the same and much cheaper. He did fine with the transition. If I had another baby I would use the Target brand.

[FastHands]

Oct 19, 2014 22:10:12 GMT -5 mooselovah said:

Age of babe - and any known issues? (Lactose intolerant?)

Woops, sorry.
8 weeks. He is prone to gassiness so I have quit dairy to make things easier on him, but we don't suspect lactose issue and I honestly don't think it's made a difference (been abt 3 weeks).

[lostlenore]

Oct 19, 2014 22:15:46 GMT -5 FastHands said:

Oct 19, 2014 22:10:12 GMT -5 mooselovah said:

Age of babe - and any known issues? (Lactose intolerant?)

Woops, sorry.
8 weeks. He is prone to gassiness so I have quit dairy to make things easier on him, but we don't suspect lactose issue and I honestly don't think it's made a difference (been abt 3 weeks).

You might want to start with one of the sensitive formulas then (similac sensitive or enfamil gentlease).  Those still made DS3 super gassy & I was also worried about dairy (his bfed older brothers both had MSPI), so I tried the purple similac "for discomfort" and it worked very well. 

[FastHands]

Oct 19, 2014 22:22:14 GMT -5 @aliciaroset said:

This said you should eliminate dairy for 3 weeks before noticing a difference.
kellymom.com/health/baby-health/food-sensitivity/

Yeah I was planning on giving it another couple of weeks to be sure. Mostly moot now, though, as he's stopped latching and I've never been able to get much at all from pumping. I'm going to work on reestablishing a good latch and/or improving pumping output, but I only have maybe 3 feedings' worth frozen, so I will definitely need formula at least for the immediate future.

[usuallylurking]

Oct 19, 2014 22:13:52 GMT -5 stellas said:

I got samsclub/costco brand formula. It appeared to be identical to enfamil and was half as much.

Yes, we loved Costco's (Kirkland) formula when we had to supplement/switch.

[livinitup]

My back-up formula was the free formula from the OB office. 

[stealthmom]

Oct 19, 2014 22:13:52 GMT -5 stellas said:

I got samsclub/costco brand formula. It appeared to be identical to enfamil and was half as much.

Same. Costco brand. 

[eb777888]

Oct 19, 2014 22:13:52 GMT -5 stellas said:

I got samsclub/costco brand formula. It appeared to be identical to enfamil and was half as much.

Yep. We liked Emfamil because David had reflux and it helped. Costco's knockoff was just as good.

[jinkies]

Another Target brand user here. My son had a sensitive tummy, so when I stopped bf I used the partially-broken down version of the Target formula. I had no complaints, and it saved us a TON of money.

[livinitup]

Oct 19, 2014 22:28:50 GMT -5 FastHands said:

Oct 19, 2014 22:22:14 GMT -5 @aliciaroset said:

This said you should eliminate dairy for 3 weeks before noticing a difference.
kellymom.com/health/baby-health/food-sensitivity/

Yeah I was planning on giving it another couple of weeks to be sure. Mostly moot now, though, as he's stopped latching and I've never been able to get much at all from pumping. I'm going to work on reestablishing a good latch and/or improving pumping output, but I only have maybe 3 feedings' worth frozen, so I will definitely need formula at least for the immediate future.

Try sound. I mean, listen to the baby crying - even imagine the sound.  I got nothing from pumping - then one night, I was trying (dry spell) and the baby cried and BAM! hello huge let down. That worked great moving forward.

And I apologize in advance if this is terrible, unhelpful advice to a situation I know nothing about. Sorry! Formula is food! I hope you find a good balance. 

[stephogirl]

His pediatrician said to start with generic and move into name brand if the generic didn't work for him. We started with target brand formula and both DS1 and DS2 did just fine on it.

Good luck!

[captainmal]

I started DS on Enfamil, then swtiched to Similac, then to a different Enfamil. He seemed to do okay with different formulas at different times. We really just went with whatever worked best for the moment then try something new when we needed to.

[Deleted]

Our baby eats anything.

The only difference between the different brands is what her poop smells and looks like.

I used to buy whatever was cheapest (including store brand), but now I just buy Similac because it yields the least gross poop and I keep getting $5 off coupons in the mail.

[jenna]

We tried Enfamil, Similac, Costco Brand, and Gerber Goodstart Gentle. E did the best on Gerber Goodstart.

[thebreakfastclub]

My boy would eat anything, but we settled on Target sensitive.

Generic is the way to go if at all possible. It is almost always an extra 5% off with Target cartwheel and they would also print register coupons.

[katfco]

Similac gave Caleb horrible gas, so we switched to the generic grocery store brand (in this case, it was Meijer) and it helped immensely. He still would fart like a trucker a lot, but it didn't seem as painful.

[stellas]

Oct 19, 2014 22:44:09 GMT -5 livinitup said:

Oct 19, 2014 22:28:50 GMT -5 FastHands said:

Yeah I was planning on giving it another couple of weeks to be sure. Mostly moot now, though, as he's stopped latching and I've never been able to get much at all from pumping. I'm going to work on reestablishing a good latch and/or improving pumping output, but I only have maybe 3 feedings' worth frozen, so I will definitely need formula at least for the immediate future.

Try sound. I mean, listen to the baby crying - even imagine the sound.  I got nothing from pumping - then one night, I was trying (dry spell) and the baby cried and BAM! hello huge let down. That worked great moving forward.

This worked for me too. Envisioning nursing her or just looking at her picture did the same thing.

[chickadee77]

L eats anything. I used my free samples first, and now use Target generic, though I might try Costco because it's so much cheaper!

[CloudBee]

I would start with a name brand that you can find anywhere. Then once you see how they do, consider a switch to generic.

We had the best luck with Similac Sensitive. DS was a super-spitter, and had a very sensitive stomach.

[pitterwoo]

Mine had tummy issues (gassy and frequent green BMs). I cut dairy and it helped a little, but I got suggestions on here to cut soy too and it worked like a charm. There are few options for dairy AND soy free formula, so maybe try the regular ones first?

[sandytoes]

Similac premixed liquid worked best for my kids when I stopped bf. The powder gave them gas.

[vmars]

I've heard gerber formula tastes most like bm. We may also have to supplement with formula soon. I have an apt with the pedi next week. I am not pumping enough and my freezer stash is going quickly.

I hope the transition is easy!

[circa1978]

Our pedi suggested using the generic first - no sensitive tummies or anything - and go from there. We used Sam's and Costco the whole year with no issues.

[Deleted]

Go organic!  

Earth's Best brand.

[Deleted]

My pedi said any name brand was fine. We used Similac and had no issues. I tried Enfamil once and he screamed so I never tried it again. Next time I'll use Gerber Goodstart because it's cheaper.

[jssymom14]

Ask at both your pedi's office and your OBGYN's office for any samples they are willing to give you, often those "packs" have a lot of helpful coupons too. My OBGYN had enfamil and gerber samples and would load me up anytime I was there. The nurse said to call and she would pack a bag full for me if I ever needed it b/c people don't think to ask them and often times they would have to throw stuff away as it expired.

We used a variety of formulas, depending on what coupons and sale items I had, but she did not tolerate the up and up target brand well. Everything else seemed perfectly fine, and we would always wean from one to the next container but mixing the two types together gradually.