What's the most important thing for you in formula?

[MrsMar]

I'm just starting to introduce some formula for my 6mo ds and starting to wind down bfing, I'm a bit baffled by the number of formulas on the market. The hv said to use one with prebiotics (aptamil or cow and gate) but I can't find an organic formula with prebiotics. Are the two mutually exclusive? What's the most important thing formula should be, prebiotic or organic, in your opinion?

organic
they are all pretty much of a muchness anyway
and one that is easily available

why are you winding down BF, if that is not too nosy?

Message withdrawn

It's not too nosy lulumama, I'm going back to work soon. I'd love to try and keep up the bfing, but I'm a shift worker so don't do regular hours and I work 12 hour shifts. I'll try to keep at least one feed per day (or expressing if ds is in bed) but I've noticed my milk supply is really dwindling already and I've only cut out one feed so far (down to four per day) so I don't hold out much hope of my supply lasting. My sister was the same, once she stopped feeding every three hours the supply just disappeared completely.

We used a cranial osteopath for DS and he maintained that Hipp Organic tasted the most like breast milk so was good for a baby switching or mixed feeding.

I've been using Hipp organic abigaillockhart so that's reassuring to know, but it smells really wierd, kind of yeasty. I'm such a formula virgin, I guess they all smell like that

i see. can you express at all at work?

hipp organic would seem to be a good option then

Sadly not, I'm a camerawoman so out on the road lots, not much privacy for a bit of daily pumping. I'd love to, and I might take the pump with me to work for a few days when i go back to see how practical it might be but I don't hold out much hope.

Prebiotics sare not produced organically, so organic formula cannot contain them. Addition of prebiotics is unconvincing, according to the research, and not accepted as safe everywhere (though they are accepted as safe in the UK).

I use cow & gate prebiotics as it is the only dd2 will drink. (failed at bfing)

Another vote for Hipp Organic

All formulas smell, and taste, vile imo!

we get a soya one on prescription for dd. keep hoping she can stop but at 4 she weighs 12 kilo's and they bleat on that its not enough.

I say that having bottle fed two children

oh well, looks like I'll be sticking with the Hipp for the time being. Thanks for advice tiktok, I did think the combination of bacteria in prebiotics and organically produced babymilk wasn't something that was available. I'm still hoping the bfing will hold out... actually, while you're here tiktok... is there any thing I can do to keep the milk flowing? My sister had exactly the same issue, as soon as she dropped just one feed and went down to four a day her milk supply dwindled to nothing. I'm not convinced ds is getting much out of me now I'm down to four feeds a day (and two solid meals). Ds has had poo problems (all very dry and hard) which has left me thinking he's not getting enough fluid, and as the only fluid he's getting is milk from me, I'm concerned he's not getting enough. He's not great at drinking water, but I can get him to drink diluted juice, so it's not so much the prospect of dehydration that worries me, more the lack of proper nutrition if he's not getting enough milk. Any thoughts?

MrsMar - to maimtain supply you need to feed more often or express....that's the iology of it! If you notice that on four feeds a day, you 'dwindle' then you will need to find a way of making it five or six feeds....sorry not to come up with some fancy-dan way of avoiding this fact

Thanks for that tiktok... I thought that might be the case. I'll have to try introducing another pumping session to keep things going a bit longer (I already express in the morning for evening top ups, but I was planning on stopping that next week)