Best formula after breastfeeding?

[ChristmasFuckers]

Hello,
My DD is 9 mo and I have to stop breastfeeding her. (for many reasons)
Which formula is best in your opinion?

I used aptamil when moving breastfed babies on to formula and had no problems with it. It says it is the closest formula to breastmilk but i don't know how true that is.

They're all much of a muchness. Get the one that's most easily available in your local shop and if it agrees with your dd, stick with it.

Some of them make claims about how like bm they are but it's all marketing.

ok thank. so which stage milk I should start from?

If she's eating solids and having a healthy diet then normal stage 1 formula is fine. The added iron and stuff in the next stages can cause constipation. However, you can get offers and points and things on non stage 1 formulas which might make it a bit easier for you until she hits 12 months and you can progress to regular cows milk.

The law on infant formulas is very strict, so they basically have the same ingredients. Aptamil is priced as a premium product and heavily marketed to health care professionals, so they have succeeded in often having it seen as 'the best'.I am afraid it is total rubbish that Aptamil is closest to breast milk- there is no such thing as a formula being closer (or less close) to breastmilk.

Personally, I would choose initially based on what is most easily available in the nearby shops to you and see. There are some minor differences in formulation, so your baby may like/get on with one more than other, but there is no 'best' (or, indeed 'worst').

Hope all goes well for you.

Sorry, cross posts. Slow typing...

Thats the thing. shes not eating much solids (1 meal a day if we are lucky) and shes always hungry because my milk isnt enough for her. (she needs 3-4 feeds at night) So should I use staage one, but feed her 210-240ml each time? We will try really hard on solids too.

I feel very lost because I was really happy that we managed breastfeeding for 9months, but now we at the stage that it isnt that good for us anymore.

There's no evidence that sticking to the same one all the time is beneficial either, that I'm aware of. Breastmilk changes all the time, and all formulas contain the same basic ingredients by law, so no reason to stick with one. Unless your baby has a preference, of course. All the manufacturers want you to keep buying just the one, as then they get all the sales and not their competitors .

Ooo, 3-4 times a night sounds tiring . Were you able to bring her into bed with you so that you got some rest too? 9-10 months is a very classic age for that sort of behaviour, but it is exhausting. Feeding at night doesn't necessarily mean your milk is not enough, and only one meal a day at that age is not at all unusual either. Milk is the main source of nutrients up to 12 months.

In terms of amounts for bottles, could you be guided by her? She might still need feeding at night, irrespective of whether its breast of formula. Drinking large volumes is actually not that great for babies, as it can stretch their stomach etc. Breastfed babes are very good at regulating their own intake, so if you follow her lead you'll probably not go far wrong

Are you giving up bfing because you think your milk isn't satisfying her? Waking 3-4 times a night at 9 months isn't outside the spectrum of normal and there's no evidence to suggest she won't do the same on formula, only you'll have to be preparing bottles on top of waking up and feeding. Waking isn't always hunger either. Comfort, teething, developmental changes etc all impact sleep.

Do you want to give up bfing or would you like to try and continue for a little longer? And are you deciding to switch completely to ff or have you thought about mixed feeding? Or expressing to allow a partner/family to help out?

Sorry to ask questions if you've made up your mind but you sound a bit unhappy.

And solids can take a while for them to adjust to. They aren't the bulk of the diet until 12 months so a slow start is often normal too.

If you rang one of the bf helplines they would be very happy to talk to you about the breastfeeding if that would help, and should respect your decision to stop bf.

I gave cow and gate to take to nursery because it's the cheapest they are all the same anyway.

That doesn't sound to me like there is anything wrong with your milk, it sounds like normal breastfed baby behaviour. DS was barely eating solids by 9 months, in fact, I struggled to get him to eat much until 22 months and then suddenly he just seemed to want food and it wasn't a big deal like I thought it would be. (I think he is an extreme example and there was a lot of stress around his first birthday). Have you recently gone back to work? Often they do a sort of "reverse cycling" thing where they feed a lot more at night.

As others have said, formula is all much the same as each other. I would go for whichever is cheapest in your usual shop, or the only one which is a bit different is Hipp Organic, I think - being organic.

Well there is few reasons.
I am back to work in Jan and I will be out for 10-11 h a day so it can be very difficult to breastfeed.
Shes a lovely little girl. Very active but also my DD is very clingy. Shes with me 24/7 and does everything with me. I cant go anywhere and leave her for 5 min. Shes demanding food sometimes every h (shes pulling my top to get my breast) and not very keen on anything a part from breast.
We co sleeping from day one so at least I do not have to get up, but very tiring indeed :(.
I thought bottle maybe will help us to get over few problems, but I am not sure. I tried everything and I am really tired..
Thanks for the replies

Don't most formulas have a 6+ one for weaned babies? I used HIPP Organic and they definitely do.

The clinginess is more likely to be a developmental rather than a bfing 'thing' (usually due to baby being aware that you and she are separate beings).

You may find when you go back to work your DD eats more in the day and bfs when you are around (before/after work/days off) and is able to cope with that. Thats not to say she can't have a beaker of formula but she might prefer her milk from her Mummy anyway.

On the formula front a stage 1 (from birth) formula is the most appropriate as it doesn't have an excessive amount of iron in it (~95% of the iron in formula isn't able to be absorbed by baby any way - bm it's~50%) and whilst not 'closest' to bm is certainly closer than follow-on milk is.

She was very clingy from day one. It took her 3 months before she accepted her dad. (he couldnt hold her, bath her etc) and as she gets older its getting worse. Thought bottle would help her to get a bit more independent.
I love breastfeeding and we never had any problems, but I am very worried about her not eating 'normal' food.

Nothing more 'normal' than mother's milk.
My ds weaned himself at 11 months and we never considered formula.
It was just regular food.

There was a thread on here recently about a bottle fed baby who was much the same as yours so it doesn't seem it's the feeding method that counts more the child themselves

There is a great book called 'My Child Won't Eat' that might help (it's just been updated and re-released so you should be able to get hold of it fairly easily).

Will she eat off your plate if you have her sitting on your lap? That might help encourage her interest in food if you do it together?

Thank you for your help
She does try finger food, but always plays with it never eats. I am bit worried because shes very active. Shes trying to walk already so needs a lot of nutritions and vitamins. Maby I should give her a bottle before she goes to sleep at night? Do you think that will stop the hunger at night? I think most of the times is a comfort feeding rather than hunger.

She will get vitamins and minerals from BM (though will need extra iron, vit D & zinc at least). Good foods to give are strips of beef and sticks of
cheese (for iron/zinc & vit D - though sun exposure is good for vit D)

I'm not sure a bottle will stop her waking unless she is waking purely for hunger if it's comfort she might not be so pleased...

I've just read 'My child won't eat' Not eating many solids at this age is perfectly normal .

Your DD sounds like what mine was, I was already doing 10-11 hour days at this point plus she was already walking. If she's active then clearly she's getting calories. Plus babies normally get more calories from a milk feed than a solid feed so in that respect it makes sense she wants/needs milk more than solids.

As you allude to in your post, you don't have to suddenly switch from one to the other.

FWIW DD weaned in my pg at about 14 months. It was clear she still needed the food, she fed last thing at night before bed and woke at 5am (sometimes earlier) to wolf down some porridge, it was about a month again before she starting sleeping later and didn't need feeding as close together as possible. Not the same as switching to formula but just my experience. She still woke as much, but was settled with her dummy versus breast.

what a difficult position you're in. I expect you're also getting comments now about 'clingy' babies and about the low food intake.
As SoH says nightwaking at this point is still normal and often it's because they've woken and need some physical contact rather than 'just' hunger.
I've found that some babies just need more contact and closeness for longer than other babies (all 3 of mine have been different and my friends, both FF and BF have said the same).
Beofre the age of one milk should be the main source of nutition in any case and many children don't really start to eat solids til later in their first year. FWIW mine went - DS1 at 5.5 months had a chilled carrot stick for his gums and he chewed a lump off and swallowed. DS2 was around 11 months then got a cold and went off food again til he was about 12-13 months. DD was 14 months before she was really interested in food (not that she's ever been that interested, she's 2.9 now). They all eat now.

A bottle of formula might help but I've known plenty of people who have said it has made no difference to them. Also worth bearing in mind that 9 months is prime separation anxiety time

Gosh that sounds very overwhelming for you . 9 months without 5 mins to yourself is very wearing, and it can feel v worrying when you feel your baby should be eating more than they are. I second (third?) the suggestion of the book "My child won't eat" by Carlos Gonzalez. It's very reassuring .

This article on "velcro" babies and toddlers has been reassuring to me at many times when I have felt completely stifled by one child or another's constant demands. It won't always be like this.

One question to ask if you're very tired, is what will get you the most rest at night? It may be that taking on a big change (like stopping feeding at night or switching to bottles in the night) might actually lead to more battles and less sleep for you. Sometimes, for some people, just rolling with it, or mentally agreeing with yourself to 'review' things in a week, a month or whatever can give them permission to just say "yes, I'm exhausted, but this will pass and I just need to do what I can to get by for now". Not sure if that makes sense?

Is there anything you can do to get more rest? Can you put your head down for 20 mins whilst she has a nap during the day? could DP/DH get up with her in the morning occasionally whilst you get 1-2hrs of good quality sleep alone? Is it just you and her co-sleeping or DP/DH as well? If the latter, would you sleep better with them in a different room for a couple of nights (or vice versa)?

I agree that the independence thing is probably not especially related to method of feeding, but more likely to be a personality and age thing. I've found all of mine much more Daddy-friendly from 18 months-2yrs onwards, but the clinginess has varied between children and manifested in different ways at different times. At the moment, she's probably just figuring out that you are a physically separate person from her, and that might be a bit scary, hence the need to be v near you constantly. How does he feel about her reactions to him?

Things will be different when you're at work, she is bound to eat and drink something when you are not physically available. There will be a time of transition, but she will get used to the new arrangements. I know it's hard, but try not to panic too much about that in advance. It is very difficult to predict and plan what will happen , even when it is fast-approaching.