Aptamil formula changed?

[Notsureabc]

I noticed it changed after a Tesco delivery. It not says birth - 6 months, whereas I thought first milk was both to 12 months (my daughter is 8 months now). Also the amount of fluoride has doubled ?

I presume it’s still okay to use for my daughter?

I’m talking about the age restriction there as she is over 6 months.

The milk is exactly the same - there was a note in the last pack I had saying it’s just a packaging change.

It’s fine - babies only need first milk for the first 12 months. This is about marketing follow on milk and getting you to buy that as it costs more.

It’s fine, follow on Milk is an advertising ploy. I only ever used first milk.

It’s not a restriction, its fine to use

Okay thank you all, I’ve hearf that follow on milk was just advertising and that’s why I always stick to the first milk. That’s why I was confused it said 0-6 months.

I noticed that as we went to buy earlier, it's not just the packaging it's also gone from 900g weight to 800g, price has dropped marginally but it's now the same weight as the aptamil in the tin from Lidl which is cheaper by almost a pound

Weirdly, it's cheaper to buy Hipp follow on than Hipp first milk - as it's usually 2 for £13, whereas one carton of first milk is about £8.50. If I had absolute proof that they were identical I'd give it before 6 mths, but I'm too nervous!

It also smells different and has less powder in! :(

Follow on milks aren't necessary but I buy them to get boots points and offers which you can't get on first milks.

Firstly, I think generally you can use the first formula for the first whole year. I usually start phasing it out a week or so before hand so they're on just cows milk by the 12 months.
Aptamil 1 is definitely different. It's extremely clumpy & half the powder ends up down the sink (well, it's too clumpy to go down actually). This is making my 4 month old very sick & she's waking very hungry all through the night as basically she's only getting milky water. After hunting old stock at nearby shops we're sorted for a little while.

The formula is different not just the packaging. My son is nearly 5 months and we've had no problem with it until 10 days ago when the new one came with our Tesco delivery. I didn't think anything of it but within a day of bottles from the new pack my son had a rash all over his face which just got worse as the week went on. I had assumed it was the heat and asked the pharmacist for advice. She told me to get a pack of the original formula and see if it cleared as she had had a few parents in already complaining of their kids reactions too. 3 days after switching back its completely gone. Don't know what we'll switch too as you're supposed to switch gradually but can't get any more of the original one. Worried he'll have another reaction.

Weirdly, it's cheaper to buy Hipp follow on than Hipp first milk - as it's usually 2 for £13, whereas one carton of first milk is about £8.50. If I had absolute proof that they were identical I'd give it before 6 mths, but I'm too nervous!

This is because the law which bans the advertising of first milk also prohibits any kind of promotions, including multi buys and discounts. It’s also why you can’t earn loyalty points on first milk.

The formulas won’t be identical. Follow-on usually contains more iron and must not be given to babies under six months. Some (although I’m not sure this applies to Hipp) will be casein based rather than whey based, and will consequently take longer to digest. The composition of first milk is tightly controlled by law, specifically to protect babies.

There have been a few posts on Infant Feeding about this. The consensus is that the Aptamil powder formula may have changed but the ready-to-feed hasn’t. If you need to do a gradual switch and can afford the extra expense for a few weeks then this might be a way to manage it.

I don't wish to derail the thread (or sound obtuse) but could anyone explain why there's such a black market demand for formula?

Vladimir I don’t know if this is the only reason but there’s a huge demand in China for Western baby formula. There was a limit introduced a few years ago on the number of tins you could buy in one transaction to try and stop people buying in bulk to export.

I just saw a post going on Facebook with lots of people saying it has changed and they’re having problems with it, with it not mixing properly and other issues.

I read on another forum that it curdles now (not sure how powder milk can curdle but that's what they said).

Cheers ThanksIt, I do recall hearing about the cap on purchasing and wondering why.

I've seen on facebook that it now curdles and it's making babies unwell, how true it is I've got no idea as I don't use formula but plenty of people seem to agreeing with it.

Look up #aptamil on twitter, lots of kids reacting to the new formula. Theyve changed the whey/casein protein balance I think.

Fun fact. 6-12m milk is almost always exactly the same as 1st stage milk. You just get boots point for it. Our little boy was on c&g 6-12m whenever we couldnt get stage 1 (thank you chinese bulk buyers).

Surprised this isn't a bigger topic on MN, it's all over my Facebook. Loads of parents saying the new formula doesn't dissolve and is making babies ill.

Apt ails response is that it's more sensitive to water temp so exact instructions on box should be followed for mixing.