Which formula?

[NomsQualityStreets]

DS2 is 8mo and has been EBF from newborn and is now having some solids along side BM.
He still wakes 4-6 times a night for a feed, I don't know if it's a comfort thing by this point or genuine hunger, and I'm quite tired and my back is not taking it well, I'm looking to switch to formula soon to be able to do shifts with DH and in the hopes he will be full longer.

I feel like a new mum and have no idea which follow on formula to get. Is Aldi own any good? Cow and Gate? - I think that's what we used with DS1. I remember reading that Aptamil made some babies constipated?

DS2 has a very big appetite and is 10kgs ATM - I don't know if this helps or should affect how much he has/ which one we go for?

Help!

There is no need for follow on formula at all. The milk companies manufacturer this purely to be able to advertise their brand as it is illegal to advertise first milk in the UK. First milk has recently been rebranded from 0-6 months which is misleading as it is fine for the first year. The first steps nutrition website is a good resource on baby milk.

Aldi milk is great ☺️ I used it before DS was diagnosed lactose intolerant and a few friends use it too

@MrsPatrickDempsey is there a particular brand that you would recommend ?

I have used Aptamil with both my kids but they recently changed the formula and there seemed to be a lot of reports of it making babies unwell. So rather than change to the new Aptamil formula with my youngest, I changed to Cow and Gate instead and he is fine on it, and it's also cheaper.

We had the same issue as you - EBF til 7 months and still waking up 2-4 times a night. I was so exhausted we started using formula too. She started having a bottle of Cow and Gate at night and loved it. Tried Aldi formula too but she doesn't seem as keen on that. She just turned 1 at the weekend so will be having whole milk instead before bed, but still one BF in the morning.

My daughter is a similar weight. Was 9kg and long at 6m but has leaned out loads since learning to crawl and walk and is just touching 10kg now at 1 year.

My midwife told me at antenatal class that all milk has to be the same quality due to food safety and government regulation so whether you spend a little on Aldi formula or a lot on Aptamil, they're essentially the same thing. Don't be taken in by any claims on the box, just bog standard first infant milk is all you need apparently. Although my baby won't even consider a bottle of breast milk never mind formula 😆

My baby girl has Aldi brand and she loves it. I gave her aptimal (pre-made) once when we were out for the day and it made her very gassy so won't use it again.

My girl was breastfed for a month and moved onto Aldi formula, I had some BM frozen so I combination fed her and she was fine. Aldi formula doesn't seem to have that horrible foam you get when mixing some formulas.

I did some research online and found a study that said Aldi and lidle formula had the least amount of additives.

You can read it yourself here:
www.firststepsnutrition.org/composition-claims-and-costs

It's a long report but you can gloss through it. The website it's linked too has some good information about infant feeding.

Also Aldi is a lot cheaper £6.99 per tin! Compared to £10/11 for other big branded formulas. When your on mat leave every penny helps! I didn't want to put my babies health at risk for the sake of money but after doing my research and trying other big brands I'm happy with Aldi. Plus baby seems happy too which is the important thing xx

I EBF for the first 3 months and then switched to formula, like PP have said, first milk all the way - follow on milk has only been made so they can advertise it!

We have the Aldi mamia milk. It's brilliant. Highly recommend.