Without looking it up, do you know what SMA stands for?

[hunkermunker]

I was a bit surprised - surprised I didn't know until I read it this week, that is! I thought I did.

I don't know, why?

Oh, just looked at what I wrote.

Someone was objecting to formula being 'baby milk', as if breastmilk was not baby milk.

I meant that of the two kinds of milk you can buy (formula and cow) formula is milk for babies, cow is not. Because you do buy formula. You don't buy breastmilk.

About the "not intended as a breastmilk substitute" thing for follow-on - this infuriates me.

Babies up to the age of one, we are told, need breastmilk or formula.

So from six months, if they're having follow-on formula, surely it's a breastmilk substitute?!

And the advert for Aptamil says, specifically, "If you decide to move on from breastfeeding..." - the very clear implication being that you're not bfing any more, so use their follow-on formula. Which makes it a substitute, no? Grr!

? was under the impression that the follow on milk was from 1yo -2 yo. Am i completely delusional?

I thought you needed to use proper formular until they were nearly 1.

Clearly delusional

DEMissSmiling, it's perfectly fine to use infant formula until one. Follow-on was only invented so they could advertise the brand, after all.

some formula brands to "toddler milk" as well don't they? Though I'm not sure why anyone would buy that rather than using cow's milk or breastfeeding.

Not intending to go off the subject, but you can't use healthy start tokens on follow-on milk, I don't think. That must mean something. Ie that follow-on milk is pointless?

Thanks TA, that makes sense

I always thought that follow on milk is absolutely pointless, if you need to use formula you use it for the first year than cows milk after that. All that marketing and money in the pockets of the formula companies. I have seen the SMA advert (i think) showing a baby with a massive bottle of cows milk that they would not be able to drink saying this is how much iron that your baby needs in a day, but if your toddler drinks their follow on milk they will the right amout of iron that they need.

That is it with this growing up milk, is it the same as follow on milk, its suitable for up to 3 years, be dammed if im paying extra money for this rubbish when cows milk is just as good.

I live overseas (Cyprus) and SMA is called "S-26 Gold" I can't remember the follow on version, never used it, but it does sound more scientific than substitutional and perhaps is just honest about what it is. I.E. this brand is made by a pharmaceutical company, it's not breast milk, it's powdered milk.

There is no advertising of any formula here (follow on or not) as far as I am aware and a limited selection, not to mention quantity available in supermarkets. That said I understand that breast feeding is not that popular here.

Also it does bug me when people refer to Aptimil as milk in the same way that people refer to vacuum cleaners as "hoovers" iykwim. It's a very covert marketing scheme and has cemented the idea that it's a premium brand.
And it is a lot more expensive than other formulas and definately marketed to the middle classes....such as myself. I did BF my children, but I also gave them SMA and my reasoning was:

• that was the milk brand I had heard of and I knew that my mother gave it to my sister and I.
• And I tasted 3 different ones and that one tasted the best to me!