Follow on milk for 7mo

[r2d256]

Hi all!
I'm due to return to work in a couple of months, DD will be approx 8mo. Currently she is bfed to sleep and carried before being put down and wakes several times through the night. Me and DH are thinking of trying a bottle of follow on milk at bedtime as I do shift work and can't guarantee I'll always be there at bedtime. Does anyone have any advice to offer ? Which follow on milk is preferable for bfed baby (I'll still feed on demand during the day) she does have three meals a day and eats very well. Secretly hoping a bottle of formula will help her sleep better through the night
TIA

[dementedpixie]

Doesn't have to be follow on milk as all the first milks are ok up to 1 year as well. Follow on has extra iron so can cause constipation. Why not buy a few individual cartons and see if there is any that she prefers

[r2d256]

Oh wow! I didn't realise first milks would still be ok, thanks ! I'll try a couple see which One she likes

[MigGril]

The only formula the NHS recommends you use is first stage milk. Which can be used upto 12 months. As follow on milk contains more iron it can cause constipation which can be a problem anyway for a breatfed baby switching to formula so it's best to go with the first stage milk as it'll be easier for her to digest.

As for which one the general rule is the one you can most easily get hold of. Ie what does your local small store stock.

I would however avoid SMA there have been a few issues with their formula recently. Due to them changing ingredients.

[sentia]

We kept using first stage milk until DD started to refuse to drink milk when she was about 15 months. It's more controlled in terms of allowed contents than follow on as well as not having iron to cause constipation, so you know exactly what's in it. Some of them smell funny, try a few see what you and your DD like.

Oh, and none of them is "closest to breast milk". They're so heavily regulated in terms of content that they're very very similar, and all the non-specialised ones are based on cows milk.

[thenewaveragebear1983]

After faffing around with ds1 with first milk, follow on milk, night time milk, toddler milk, with ds2 he has stayed on first milk right through. No noticeable difference except you don't get any boots advantage points which equates to about 30p a box!
He turns 1 next week and will be on cows milk hopefully asap.

[r2d256]

Brill ! Thanks for your responses, I'm gonna go have a look at the options later today, will definitely be staying with first milk though !