Is there any difference between ready made formula and the powder forms?

[Benjy]

Hi

I've been struggling to breastfeed and while I am persevering and giving DD what I can, I am mainly feeding her Aptamil at the moment as I am producing only a small amount of milk. I've had useful suggestions re. breastfeeding on another thread but I have a, probably stupid!, question about formula. I have been using the ready made cartons of Aptamil but I am considering buying a can of powder and making up my own. Before I do I wondered if there is any difference in quality between the two and whether my baby is likely to taste a difference or react differently to the two.

[lulumama]

if you are struggling to breastfeed then the more formula you give, the more you will struggle to establish your milk supply.. and it becomes a vicious circle. how do you know you are only producing a small amount of milk?

i think that the ready made cartons are meant to be a bit easier for new borns to digest, but i might be wrong

it is definitely cheaper to buy a tin of formula and make up the feeds as you need, unlikely your baby will notice a difference.

[Benjy]

Thanks for your reply.

My mature milk never came in - my other thread is here. When I pump, I have never produced more than 20ml a day. She won't latch directly onto my breast but I have been using nipple shields the last couple of days and she has fed but sucks for a long time and still finishes a feed screaming with hunger. I am doing what I can because I believe some breastmilk is better than none at all, even the small amounts I am producing, but I am not producing any where near enough to satisfy her. No matter how many times I put her on the breast my supply doesn't seem to increase, which is why I am continuing with mixed feeding.

[anastaisia]

The ready made cartons are sterile, formula powder is not sterile. That's before you open it. So you ought to be really careful to follow the most up to date guidelines on making up formula; these are not always the instructions on the tin so its worth checking.

I don't know if there are any other differences.

[SheSellsSeashellsByTheSeashore]

i formula fed and afaik the only difference is the ready made stuff works out a lot more expensive.

if you would like to continue breast feeding then i think you should speak to bf counsellor/advisor before you switch to formula. good luck with it though

[lulumama]

have you had any face to face support recently, have you called the numbers on the breastfeeding blog? you could do with a second opinion if the NCT counsellor was unable to advice you re weaning off the nipple shields.

have you tried going to any breastfeeding groups or seeing a peer supporter..

so sorry you are struggling, you have been through so much already

are you putting her to the breast before you offer her a bottle?

i feel for you, i really do