[timni]

Well my dh and I have been trying to compare formulas and bottles. We are planning for our little one in a few months and so far I haven't found any place that compares the + and - of the different formulas and the different bottles. Any advice or direction would be great. All of my friends and family breast fed so I have no help from their direction.

Thanks
Elaine

[LisaCA]

we just started out with one formula and then switched around because of dd's issues. turns out she had a milk allergy. we must have tried about 5 diff formulas before finding the most expensive , nutramigen.

bottles were also fun. each baby has a diff way of sucking. for dd, she really needed a small nipple, not the wide bottle. she also sucked so hard that she tended to suck in air, so we eventually with the dr brown bottles, again the most expensive ($5 each). I think we really tried every bottle on the market, starting with avent bottles, then playtex, etc.

whatever you choose, buy small amounts, bottles and formula. your child may end up needing other bottles so you'll save yourself some money.

btw, you might want to register for formula online at the various manuf. websites. they will send you a ton of coupons, some for as much as $10 off! They're trying to get you and your child hooked .

Lisa

[BrandyHagz]

I don’t know if the still do it this way, but usually a hospital will start baby on whatever the Dr. recommends or whatever the hospital commonly uses, and that used to be either Infamil or Similac…The pediatrician at the hospital can probably give you some good pointers about what to use.

Like Lisa, I spent a lot on bottles of one kind (Playtex) and my son REFUSED to use them...he did end up going for the Gerber cheapies tho, so I wasn't so upset about it.

[redhedded]

Hi Elaine, We were like you, wanted to be prepared. We had a fully stocked nursery with clothes, diapers, wipes during our homestudy visits. The only thing we waited on was formula. The hospital will give you some of whatever your child was placed on at birth to give you at least enough time to buy it. Both of my babies, one now 2.5 years and the other 4 months, were started on Enfamil Lipil. At 8 weeks, peanut one had to change to ProSobee Lipil (soy based) due to lactose intolerance; after that she never drank anything else. My new baby had to change from Enfamil Lipil to the ProSobee Lipil at 3.5 months due to horrible eczema. BTW, we did not use powder, only ready to use. Pediatrician said powder doesn't really mix well and often does not digest well. She also said that the ready to use is more substantive and will stay with them longer than powder.

If baby has no gastrointestinal issues then I think some people try different formulas based on cost. I am not comfortable with that and would have stayed with what "was already working." Whatever formula your baby ends up using/tolerating, if you can, I would suggest buying in bulk (powder or ready to use) at Babies R Us. Even the Nutramigen that Lisa uses is less than $1.00 higher than the ProSobee that we use, per 32 oz ready to use can.

As for bottles, we have twice used the Playtex with drop in liner. They worked well for both of my babes, and I like that they are new and sterile everytime.

[Lovebug]

Hi Elaine!

Congratulations on your potential match!!!!! Such an exciting time for sure!!

Our son (now almost 15 mos old and on whole milk) started out on Enfamil Lipil with Iron from the hospital and never had a problem. I bought the powder formula in Costco. I never had a problem with the mixing...I boiled water and it mixed in fine. DS couldn't tolerate the ready to feed...he would spit it up. Like eveyone has mentioned, it is alot of trial and error in the beginning. We also use the Dr. Brown's bottles. He is ahard sucker, too and I think they really minimized the air he sucked cause thankfully he was not a colicky baby at all.

Hope this helps and can't wait til your little one is in your arms!!

[cmdunn1972]

DS started out using ready-made Similac Advance, but once he reached one month old, I wised up and switched him to powdered store brand with DHAs and ARAs, which is essentially the same thing only cheaper. (As a note, DS doesn't have any food allergies or sensitivities.)

As for bottles, we started out with playtex drop-ins, but switched to Avent when it got too annoying (and expensive) to buy replacement drop-ins all the time.