Swapping Formulas

[Lovelybluesky88]

I’ve been trying and trying to get my baby into formula for months. She’s going to nursery in September and will be 8 months so needs to be able to take a bottle. I had wanted to feed an organic formula for ethical reasons, however she won’t contemplate Kendamil Organic and will only usually take a little bit of Hipp Organic. As an experiment I gave her Cow and Gate which seems her favourite by far.

Any suggestions for moving her onto my preferred brand? Should I use Cow and Gate to get her into the routine of having a bottle not a boob during the day, and then try to swap her onto an organic one down the line? I don’t want to confuse her by keep swapping and changing - we’ve tried all sorts of bottle brands and teats over the months and now I’ve found a sort of winning combination that’s great so maybe I should just stick to it on the principle fed is best and she’s happy(ish) even if it isn’t my preference? Is there any other organic ones which are more akin to Cow and Gate that she might like?

Thanks!

Hi @Lovelybluesky88 when you say they won't take the formula, are they drinking any at all?

A BF baby takes roughly 25 floz in 24 hours so if there's taking more than one ounce, that's a really good result. They'll get used to taking more as time goes on.

And yes, I'd stick to her preferred brand for now and think about swapping later.

@SiouxsieSiouxStiletto Thank you for your reply! Yes with the Hipp Organic she'll usually take about an oz although occasionally more (which had given me hope) before she gets cross, whereas with the Cow and Gate she'll drink 4-6oz without a fuss if she's hungry. I'll follow her lead for now like you say and see how she goes.

Recommend Aptamil (smells much better then cow n gate), they do an organic version too.
MAM bottles are the best by far!

I think you've got a plan then. Swap one feed every 2 weeks for Cow and Gate. This will get her used to the new amounts that she will need to consume as it's much more with a FF baby and it will reduce your risk of mastitis too.

Have you successfully swapped any feeds yet?

Once she's swapped over a few you could introduce the new formula. If she's not keen you could mix the formulas for a short while. It usually recommended but it's fine whilst you transition.

Have you decided how you want feeding to be when they've started Nursery? They only need 400 ml of Formula per day between 10 and 12 months so pretty quickly after starting you would probably get away with BFing first thing, on pick up and before bed with just one bottle at Nursery.