Formula

[anon7683]

Hi,

I am giving birth and am planning on breastfeeding but just in case that does not work out I wanted to ask - what are peoples opinion on HIPP Organic v Kendamill as I am trying to decide between these 2. I dont love the fact that HIPP has Palm Oil and Kendamill is 'cleaner' but I have heard that it can be too thick?

Thanks so much

The best advice I read was if you’re wanting to breastfeed don’t buy formula for ‘just incase’ as you’ll have a bad night and want to reach for it.

Or, in my case, it saved my DH having to go out in the middle of the night when our DC wasn’t feeding properly due to a tongue tie and lost a rapid amount of weight.

Formula is not the devil.

Fed is best, after all.

I think there is little difference between them.

I disagree with PP. DD2 used to get so hangry she couldn’t latch. I used to give her a few sips of formula to calm down so she could latch properly.

My little one was a fussy feeder and after lots of difficult and very painful breastfeeding nights, we moved to a mix of breast and formula feeding. You need to do what feels right for you and exactly as @TooHotWaterBottle says, fed is best!

You could buy tiny prep bottles that are ready made and see what your baby prefers when the time comes. I ended up trying near enough every brand with my little one until we found one that she could tolerate and like.

We used Aldi formula as it was the cheapest. No issues and the children are never ill.

Terrible advice. My daughter couldn't latch on at all the first due to undiagnosed tongue tie. I really could have done with a bottle

It’s sensible and organised to have some formula at home for just in case. Reduces stress as you know it’s there if needed.

Thank you. Almost exactly same scenario here. It’s posts like these that add to the guilt parents feel if they can’t feed for any reason. I have myself terrible PND over not being able to breastfeed.

We’ve tried a few and settled on hipp, had no issues since he’s been on it as before he was windy and constipated. He really took to hipp, he’s 10.5m now and been on it since about 3m I think

I exclusively breastfed but from memory the hospital gave babies Aptimil so you may want to consider if you want to bring your own or change if you are in the under 5% that want to breastfeed and can’t.

We bought a few cartons of Aptimil in prep. No mixing or having to sterilise water. Ready to go.

Having it in made us feel prepared and while breastfeeding was difficult after an unplanned c and induction I was lucky to not have been in tha under 5%. Good luck.

I would go and get the box of ready to feed (with the sterilised teats) as your just in case supply and then you've got something easy to reach for in the first few days if you do struggle. I recommend looking up how much they will need though as it's teeny volumes in the early days and a top up might literally only be 20ml or so, so if you're establishing breastfeeding then giving them a huge feed might disrupt that if you see what I mean. If you have access to lactation support they're often really helpful too! Good luck

I agree. My daughter ended up in scbu dehydrated and all of mine had jaundice which didn’t go away with breast feeding alone.

I swear some would rather see babies suffer than have formula.

If you do need to use formula, it's usually a case of seeing which brand they will take/suits them.

DS had really bad reflux, we tried Aldi, Aptamil, Kendamil, SMA and Cow and Gate.

He wasn't as vomit-y on Aptamil, so we went with that. A shame, Kendamil is vegetarian so we were attracted to that one but it didn't suit him.

It's also worth considering which brands are sold in your nearest shop. E.g. Our Sainsbury's sells Bonya but our nearest shops, Waitrose and CoOp don't sell it.

I read some advice that said to use a brand that is easy to find in stores local to you so you can get hold of some quickly if you need it.

That said, when I was struggling to breastfeed DC3 (after having no issues with the first two) I went for Aptamil as it was said to be the closest to breastmilk. Probably just clever marketing, but it made me feel better about breastfeeding not working out.

Formula can be trial and error and everyone will have different experiences. I BF for a week but it was such a difficult experience so I went onto Aptamil which gave my baby awful wind (although only the powder, not the pre-made stuff) and now we’re using Mamia/Aldi.

And yeah get some just in case, even if it is just the ready to feed pack which includes teats. My nipples and breasts were so swollen and sore on day 5 that when baby woke for a feed at 4am he couldn’t get any milk. It was a Sunday and we had to wait until 11am for shops to open; it was horrific. I tried to hand express, but nothing would work.

Mine had a mixture of Aldi and breast, and she was absolutely fine.

DS stopped feeding at 6 months, we used kendamil, the ready mades are thicker so we used the powder, he got a lot of reflux with Aldi own, but we only tried kendamil other than that as he got on well with it

All formula is virtually the same; it's the most highly regulated foodstuff in the world. None are unclean. If you end up using it, get the cheapest or most locally available to you.

I wouldn't buy in advance if you're planning to breastfeed; you can always get it as needed if it ends up being required.

I BF both but I had the aptamil bottles that are ready made on stand by (and I gave a few to them when my nipples were bleeding and so painful and I needed a break!) I would have gone with Kendamil but not sure if it’s all tescos or just mine, but they didn’t have the tiny bottles that come with the teats for when they’re just born hence why I chose aptamil.

We used kendamil organic with DD1 and didn’t find it thick. They don’t do premade in organic though so would have to be powder if organic is what you’re after specifically. We had formula in for DD2 and I EBF, just felt better having it there just in case (or if god forbid I ended up ill in hospital so DP could feed bubba - sounds dramatic but it happened to my friend)

Rubbish. If you’re struggling and need it desperately at night, good luck at finding some.

OP the ones you have mentioned are expensive and cheaper ones will be just as good. You may need to see which one suits baby. As previous poster has said, buy the one your local shop sells because when you are running out you don't want to be going round lots of shops or waiting to get delivered.

Taken from NCT website
Which formula milk nutrients are best?
If a substance has proven benefits for your baby and can be added to infant formula, the law requires it to be added to all formula. So buying a more expensive brand of formula does not mean that your baby will grow or develop better than if you were buying a cheaper one. The basic nutritional profile of the majority of infant milks is actually very similar.
In the UK, the ingredients in infant formula are strictly regulated and each manufacturer must follow strict national and EU guidelines on composition. Formula producers have to add formula milk components in accordance with the regulatory framework of the Infant Formula and Follow-on Formula Regulations 2007. They also have to comply with any relevant changes to those regulations and to regulations around foods for special medical purposes.

Mine are older now, but both had Cow & Gate. Went with this because it was slightly cheaper and was readily available. Also no palm oil. Baby formula is closely regulated so I don’t think there’s much between them really. I’d start off with something easy to get and go from there.

We use Kendamil and always been very happy with that choice, although have nothing to compare it to as never used any others.

Disagree with the post that says not to buy any as you'll give in. Had some on standby with my first and never used it, she was ebf. With my ds, he wasn't gaining enough weight so we bought formula, steriliser etc and it sat there for 2 weeks until I decided he needed it to gain more weight. You won't 'give in' if you don't want to/unless you need to. He's been combi fed for 10 months now and very happy with that decision.