Please advise: which formula is best?

[Poochuk]

My ds is 8 weeks and is being bottlefed EBM and a formula feed occasionally. I am currently using Cow and Gate but just because thats what the dh returned from Boots with.

So wanted to get advice from mums who are formula feeding as to which formula you have found best, as all the prebiotics, AAs etc are confusing me . Are all formula milks created equal or are some actually better than the others?

Hi Poochuk, I am currently feeding my DS Aptamil First having firstly tried SMA Gold and then Cow & Gate Premium. SMA Gold made him constipated so HV recommended either Aptamil or C&G as they have prebiotics and are much less likely to make the baby constipated. Both were much better although my DS was very fussy feeding on C&G (refusing the bottle etc)so I switched to Aptamil. So far so good - have been using it for 3 weeks now (he is 13 weeks. I think it really depends on which one your DS gets on with. My older DS was absolutely fine on SMA Gold - never constipated although it's clearly much too rich for my 13 week old.

All just as good for baby as the next I think.... but some suits some babies and others don't! I used SMA just because thats what DH bought when I panicked after breastfeeding didn't go as planned. "GET ME SOME F*CKING FORMULA".... think thats how the conversation went.

We have used cow and gate since dd refused to latch on at er... 1 hour old (low birthweight so needed to feed quickly). Did try aptimil at one point but it made dd a bit sicky. Very much an individual thing I think depending on the baby.

We used HIPP organic - it was readily available in Sainsburys and other supermarkets. Our local pharmacy used to have babynat, which is the other organic one I know of.

Each baby seems to find one that suits them IYKWIM If they seem to be OK on Cow & Gate I would stick with it. We used SMA, but I have no idea why

i used to use Gold SMA and then switch to White SMA, both had been fine as no probs with constipation, BUT since baba was on White ive always given her water at every other day.

my friend is on Cow & Gate one but her 4 weeks old baba is badly constipated and got colic too so its depends on the baba

I used babynat because it was organic, had probiotics and omega oils in it. I would use a formula that had the essential fatty acids in it as I think they are important for brain development.
Why are you bottlefeeding EBM by the way? Is it a latching problem?

Breast feed for a long time - but from 7mths had a bottle at nursery. We used Hipp Organic, which seemed to go well. I'm interested in BabyNat though. I prefered to breastfeed as it was easier & free !

Thankyou all for the inputs. Aloha, the breastfeeding didn't work with me. A horrible midwife at postnatal ward, combined with inverted nipples, big breasts and add to that a tiny baby which resulted in me not being able to breastfeed, but so far have managed to express, and meet his needs and put some into the freezer too

DD has had Cow and Gate since she was about 4 weeks old. She's doing fine on this.

Poochuk, I think expressing is absolutely heroic and I'm amazed and impressed that you've done it so far, I honestly am. Well done you!
have you tried latching him on now he's a bit bigger and stronger? Just letting him sniff around so to speak, perhaps while you are in the bath? Might save you all the faff of expressing.
I mixed fed my ds and it worked well.

I used the cow and gate premium, and ds was perfectly happy with this choice. My friend advised me to, as sma made her baby very sicky and unsettled.

However, when I tried to switch to the more filling milk at 12 weeks (ds was drinking 38 oz a day!) he became constipated and unhappy, so I switched straight back to premium, which he stayed on until he was 1.

we used SMA gold with Jess, and it wasnt until we switched her to progress milk at 8 months that we realised it had been the sole cause of her sicky problem - it stopped overnight at exactly the same time we switched formula.

I have a tin of Farleys in the cupboard for this baby as an emergency backup if this baby refuses to feed from me the same way jess did.

Aptimil

whatever they sell in your local store thast open at 10 pm whn oyu run out