mum to be advice!

[happyfairy]

so dd had farles formula 5 years ago after having a terrible allergic reaction to cow and gate and now im due again in a little while and i find they have discontinued all heinz milk?

so what would be best as i cant decide what to buy

have heard aptimil is the same as cow and gate so not keen to use tht after dd's problems on it

have also heard sma complaints from many other mums such as constipation/colic etc...

so what would you reccomend and why cause im stuck!? thanks

My DD gets a horrible rash when she has Cow & Gate, but we've never had a problem with SMA.

Hipp?

just because some babies react to sma doesn't mean that yours will.

cow and gate formula is made by the same company as aptamil but it doesn't mean that it or aptamil will upset this baby.

besides, I was in the shops yesterday and aptamil is now £9.50 or there abouts and C&G was @ £1.50 cheaper.

at those prices have you thought of breastfeeding may be cheaper?

Breastmilk? Most formulas are very similar so all carry similar risks of intolerance, constipation.

Is there a reason that you've decided to formula feed rather than breastfeed? Most formulas are based on cows milk, so the allergic reaction to it is likely, whichever brand you choose.

My oldest daughter was sick on cow and gate ( i think I cant actually remember clearly the brand) we moved to sma no problems.
My second was sick on everything, had reflux, recurrent infections nothing worked until he finally weaned off bottles.
My third was sick somedays fine others didmt make a difference although the worst sickness seemed to be after sma.
And my fourth was breastfed because I couldn't face another day of wiping sick of me!

I think it's trail and error :) pick one try it if it causes problems try another. I it is possible try breastfeeding i was very indifferent but actually it has worked out to ve easier after the first few weeks.

I did ook at the prices and think aqs about a fiver a tin last time i bought it !

think ill try sma and see how it goes.

and yes i know breastfeeding is best but the bottom line is i have looked in to it extensivly and decided to ff again based on the fact i dont have the support bf needs i have a 5 year old to deal with dh is in a job were he is often away training/ working odd hours plus theres a risk of him being away for a long period after ds is born. i dont have a family to provide the support and i just cannot spend hours sitting around establishing breastfeeding. it probably doesnt help that i dont know anyone who bf past 6 weeks at the end of the day myself , my brother my dh, sil and dd were all ff and have no health problems. sorry if that upsets anyone :(

sorry for sp my keybords sticking lol

happyfairy obviously you do what you want and don't feel pressured to do anything, but don't necessarily discount bf just due to a lack of support.

To be fair my DD is DC1, but I'm still bf her at 9mo despite pretty much zero support other than from health visitor etc. My family are all a few hours away, DH works long hours, including often abroad, and isn't much help at all even when he is here.

I can't imagine dealing with all the faff of sterilising and making up bottles, and having to pacify baby while making up bottles.

I do use the breast as a kind of dummy too and I just stick her on whenever she gets a bit grumpy (not as easy now she's a bit older but that's another story).

Friends of mine who have more than one DC are adept at sitting on the floor playing with an older child while feeding the baby.

Anyway. As I say you do what you want, but it's not necc true that BF is more hassle

I have ff 2 dds and am just about to have third dc, I used SMA with both and am planning on using it again. We never had any bother with it at all, no constipation, poo problems etc

You need to make sure whatever one you choose is stocked in your town - Hipp can be a bit of a nightmare to find if you don't live in a big town for example. It is trial and error I think finding a formula. I've always used Aptamil and never had any problems.

I happen to ive 5 mins walk from a 24 hour giant tesco lol and 2 mins from a local shop that has at least 4 brands so that wont be a problem!!!

i see sma does mini pre maid bottles in a pack so might buy one of those for the first week!

see what i dont get is there must be some diffrences in them as not all butter, shampoo etc is exactly the same despite being the same thing iyswim ? surly not talking about formula, making it a dirty secret does not make people want/try to breast feed more?

thing is i never found making bottles faff any more than loading the dishwasher or hovering the living room its just a job to be done for a few months.

fairy, there are differences but they are small, because all the infant formula in the world (literally) has to follow the legal stipulations of the International Codex, which all countries in the world sign up to, as members of the World Trade Organisation. This prevents someone popping up and making something new which has not been tested for safety and so on, and calling it infant formula.

The small differences might make a difference to individual babies, but there is no independent comparison of brands to enable anyone to say for sure....this is a drawback, IMO, because it means mothers who use formula have to do the trial and error thing. It also means that without independent comparisons, the way is left wide open for manufacturers to make health claims for their product.

Happyfairy - You should have your formula source sorted then. In terms of pre made brands to start with, Cow and Gate also do hospital starter kits too (last time I looked) but I read on another forum that Aptamil don't. Not sure about Hipp as I've never even seen it in a supermarket near me.