So, if you formula feed, why did you choose the particular formula you use?

[MyMILisDoloresUmbridge]

Just wondering really! A lot of people on the "anti-promotion" thread are saying that they were not influenced by marketing. So what did influence you? Family, friends, packaging, advertising, health professionals?

When I used formula I got SMA - I think partly because one of my colleagues mentioned it and partly becasue it seemed "familiar". So I guess that must have come down to advertising, somehow.

IMO they should be more information on formula from health professionals as many first time Mums have absolutely no idea about the stuff at all. There is also very little information on how to sterilise bottles or indeed how to bottle feed.

I really do not think if fact sheets for example were readily available from HV or Doctors(if they are I never saw one)that this would discourage people from breastfeeding. Just help people who had already made a decision not to, or to mix feed, to do so in a safe way and make informed decisions on the formula they choose. I think HV/Doctors/Hospitals/Antenatel classes etc make it perfectly clear that breast is best.

actually, now that I think of it, I was told in hospital that Aptamil was closest to breastmilk. I was still bfing when I went back to work after having ds1 but sometimes didn't express enough and left a bottle of Aptamil. Ds` used to frequently spew it all back up again! He never did it with breastmilk but it never occurred to me to try a different formula!

sorry haven't read all thread

was in hospital with ds who was dehydrated and losing weight

was offered two bottles, SMA or Cow & Gate

In a book I really like, written in the 40s, Cow & Gate is used by the heroine

so that's what I picked

i'm sure I'm influenced by advertising too as I find myself singing 'take good care of my baby' going round the supermarket

What book is that choosy?

With dd1, I started her on SMA as that was what she had in NICU. When she developed a lactose intolerance I tried Omneo Comfort before getting lactose-free milk and then at hv' suggestion trying Aptimil once her tummy had recovered.

With ds I tried SMA gild again as that had been good for dd1 until a cold caused her to get a tummy upset and he was fine with it.

I am annoyed that I had to find out about lactose-free milk myself and got zero support from the medical profession over it - the change in dd1 when she went on ot was amazing.

I am also glad I was shown how to use a steriliser in hospital when dd1 was in NICU b/c whne it all went pear-shaped I at least had some confidence I knew how to ffeed safely.

I wish hvs had info leaflets to hand out on this. And a demo at antenatal classes on using a steriliser is useful whethe ryou ffeed or bf - I needed it when I bfed dd2. As for adverts, I am oblivious. I vaguely remember one for follow-on that was organic but otherwise have no idea and didn't know Patsy Palmer advretises anything. If I had it wouldn't have influenced me as it's no different from anyone else using it - if she were a respected paedetrician then it would be different.

We ended up using Cow and Gate. There was absolutely no influence on this from advertising, family, friends, HV (in fact HV refused point blank to discuss formula with me in any way). Simply that when I was really struggling with BF but refusing to accept it DH got worried about both me and DD and went to supermarket. Knowing that I really wanted to BF he bought Cow and Gate because it said on it 'closest yet to breast milk' or something like that. Simple as that, whether there's any truth in that or not. That's what worked for us at 2am in a crisis. Also worked for DD.

In the hospital I was told by the BF support lady that if I had to use a formula I should go for aptamil.
DD has taken it at night well but I get cow and gate if there is no aptamil avaliable. Interestingly out of my NCT friends 4 out of 5 of us use it the other using Farleys.

Breastfed til 10 months and then moved to Aptamil because the only other breastfeeding mum I knew at the time recommended it.

book was In the Mink by Anne Scott-James. quote is (from memory so unsure if exact) 'I was terrified she had been feeding him sausages to supplement his Cow & Gate'

narrator was quite posh

hence probably i think cow & gate is aspirational

a very salutary book for modern parents tbh because the second half is all about the dilemma of whether to work or not while children are very young (like very young - she was back in the office in the second week) and most of her concerns are exactly ours

I bf for 4 months, then used Cow and Gate as that's what my friends used.

Then I noticed that Hipp Organic is cheaper - £5 a box v's nearly £7 for some of the others - and the packaging seems less wasteful, so I use that.

DS seems happy on pretty much anything. He's had the odd bottle of other brands from time to time and nothing has made much difference to him.

interesting that Hipp is cheaper! Normally organic anything is dearer!

I know!! Weird, but I'm not complaining.

In fact their jars are about the same price as other, non-organic jars too.

Makes you wonder how they can produce organic food at the same prices as non-organic food, when the rest of the time we get charged such a premium for organics.....

Read a research article that suggested the use of cassein based formula for allergic infants. Aptamil was the only one in the market at the time that was cassein based. DS was better with it, although TBH I believe that there is no such thing as the "best" formula, because every child is different, some will be at their best under one that would made other babies sick. IMO it is about finding the "right match" for the particular needs of your baby.

Jojay, my Dad was a research scientist and an expert on growing organic food. Once he gave a lecture explaining how in a lot of cases organic food could be grown more cheaply than other food. He was verbally attacked after the lecture by an organic vegetable grower who was livid that my Dad could say such a thing as he made his money by charging more for the organic label. Makes you wonder, doesn't it?

my mom had used cow and gate when we were babies and also said when we were small sma recalled loads milk powder!
glad i did as my sis gave her dd sma and it supper smelly

I bought a few cartons of don't-remember-what in Mothercare as standbys. The choice was very limited as they'd had a disaster during alterations and some of their ceiling had fallen in, they were generally low on stock.

So, once I'd got them home and had a glance at the box, discovered they had fish in them. So they went in the bin, and I got something without fish in, which I also can't remember what it was

Fish free is my first criterion, then see what I think from there.

I bought the SMA for ds1 as it seems the easiest to find if you run out.I was also very lazy and only ever bought the ready mixed cartons and SMA do the larger sized ones.I never realised just how easy it is to make up bottles-ds2 has the powder and it is so much cheaper!

My mother went out when I was sitting crying with DS screaming his head off. She came back with a tin of SMA Hungry Baby formula. That was it. He was 6 weeks old.

With DD1, I chose the formula because a) it was that or SMA b) I liked the name better than SMA (cow and gate).

Dolores - interesting!

I'm sure it's more complex than this, but you'd think it would cost less not to cover food in expensive pesticides wouldn't you!