apologies if this has been asked a million times before but...

[hullabaloo234]

Which formula would you recommend for a newborn?! I am 34 wks pregnant with DD2 and will be unable to BF due to medication issues. DD1 was breastfed until weaned on cows milk at 14 months so have zero experience of formula, and feel a bit overwhelmed by all the choice!
Is it true that they are all pretty much the same and that Aptimil is no better then cow and gate etc?
Any help and advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you!!

Are you definitely sure about not being able to breastfeed? what medication is it?

otherwise formulas are pretty much the same so I would choose one that is easy to get in an emergency. Some even do newborn starter sets with filled bottles and teats that just attach to them

I take medication for an anuto-immune condition that I have stopped for the pregnancy but struggling and nee to return to it asap
easy to get in an emergency sounds sensible! will have to check and see what my local shop stocks! yes seen the starter packs and plan on getting a couple of these for the hospital/early days. got a perfect prep machine for following this. thank you for taking the time to respond xx

We used Aptamil as I used it with my first, then changed to Hipp organic follow on for the very shallow reason that it appeared nutritionally no different and was £13 for 2 boxes as opposed to 1 for £10

Oh and the perfect prep machine is amazing

oooh hadn't thought about HIPP organic, will have to have a look. my DP is popping to our local shop in a mo so will ask him to see what first milks they stock there for mid we are in a pinch and tesco etc are closed

I use what ever is the cheapest, although some babies dont like to swap around so prob best to stick to one in the early days.

thanks purple! Having trouble working out which one to try, but once I know I will stick with it, barring and problems. I have the perfect prep,bottles, Steriliser etc it's just the milk now and there is too much choice

OP, have you double checked with Wendy Jones, the specialist pharmacist at the Breastfeeding Network?

Fyi cow and gate and aptimal are both made by Danone

I breast fed but when we used formula for three months we bought HIPP Organic. I'd used three or four other formulas when nannying and HIPP felt creamier and more milk like than the others. Easy to get as well and price wise I don't remember a huge difference.

sadly the drugs I take are very toxic even for me,let alone the baby so I really won't be able to BF I am so sad about this, as I found BFing DD1 an absolute joy! I've had a few months to get used to the idea and am starting to feel a lot less guilt over the choice to take my mediction.

DP said shop had Aptimil, HIPP and SMA so looks good for HIPP, think we will give it a go. Thank you

I would suggest starting with what's cheapest and then if your baby has any problems that milk then you can have a change about. Make sure it's one which has ready made bottles in that brand as they are a god sending the first few weeks and for emergancys. I had a prep machine and hated it, have a much simpler and cheaper way of doing it if you want to pm me