Best formula

[Belle82]

My second baby is due this month

Although I fully intend to breastfeed, I put a great deal of pressure on myself with my first baby and I don’t want to do that again, so I would prefer to have formula in the house as a last resort, just encase.

Could any of you more experienced mums help me with some advice about the best formula out there. There is such a big selection.

Thank you

There isn't a best one tbh.

Maybe find one that you can get hold of easily

They're all broadly the same, they have to be (legally speaking), so just choose the one that's easiest for you to get hold of!

We use kendamil although it’s not as easy to pick up as sma etc. I like that it’s made in the uk and doesn’t have palm oil.

The one that's in stock in your local corner shop, in case of emergencies.

Infant formula is all nutritionally the same due to tight regulations. However, there are some variations in recipe that can affect babies with more sensitive tummies, e.g. palm oil vs no palm oil, whole milk vs skimmed.

Both of mine had/have a sensitive tummy, hence noticing the differences in recipe. DD1 would projectile puke on all but one brand, DD2 is a milk refuser and simply refuses to drink a enough of anything other than goat formula.

They are not nutritionally the same. We only really have easy access to Semper and Nestle where I live. You could tell by the nappy which one DS had been fed. The Nestle ones have way more sugar in them. I wrote and asked them why and their response was 'because we can'. Basically they bulk it out with a cheaper ingredient to the max they're allowed.

In England they really are pretty much the same. I'd get the cheapest one from Lidl or Aldi.

See which ones your local corner shop stocks and choose that one.

It also depends of you want to be able to buy the same formula as a ready made. I had a baby who wasn't fussed what formula they had but some are much more fussy. Aldi's own is god but they don't do a ready made and obviously if you run out or go away not always possible to get it.

I always found that SMA gave my babies quite bad constipation in that their newborn poo that was squeezed out like toothpaste rather than splattered out, IYSWIM.

So i used Cow & Gate, because it was always in every shop and in my local village shop too.

There is no real difference, make sure your local shop stocks it as people have said. I avoided SMA because they are owned ny Nestle and I couldn't bring myself to buy Nestle baby formula based on their past behaviour.

I didn't end up using but was planning on using kendamil if bf didn't work out.

As others have said, a lot of manufacturers use palm oil which is terrible for the environment and for health.

It depends on the child tbh, no best as they're all fairly similar. Start with one with good availability in your area.

We started with cow & gate (they do the little bottles with teats) but baby had problems, swapped to hipp organic and it's been great for her.

Recently watched a “Food Unwrapped” where they looked into the best formulas. As others have said, there’s a minimum standard for what they have to include in the ingredients so you could literally go for the supermarket own brand and it could be just as good as really pricey ones. Interestingly, they also found that those that make claims to reduce risk of eczema etc are based on little clinical evidence, and the NHS have a novas towards recommending Aptemil because a lot of their marketing gets in to their training! Basically, don’t worry- and don’t be sucked in to thinking the most expensive is the best.

We use Kendamil for our baby girl as it's made with full cream and has no palm or fish oils in. She's been on it for almost 5 weeks as I breastfed her for the first month but had to stop for a number of reasons. Kendamil has been brilliant for her and she's taken to it really well. They do a subscribe and save service so you can choose how many tubs you'd like delivering to your door, as it's not as readily available in shops as brands such as SMA or cow and gate. Although I'm sure the bigger Tesco's stock it and Morrison's.

Aptamil/ Cow and Gate and Aldi forums are all by the same manufacturer fyi.

There is no "best".
They all have to meet the same minimum standards but the actual ingredients do vary quite a lot so it isn't really true to say that they are all the same. Some babies will do better with one brand than another but you can't predict. I bet for every Mum who swears by a particular brand there is another who says it's the worst they ever tried, and vice versa.
There is no scientific evidence that supports any brand as being the best, and none is significantly more like breastmilk than any other. The best place to look for objective information on ingredients etc is the First Steps Nutrition Trust, but it often just comes down to trial and error.

@FatCatThinCat

They are not nutritionally the same. We only really have easy access to Semper and Nestle where I live. You could tell by the nappy which one DS had been fed. The Nestle ones have way more sugar in them. I wrote and asked them why and their response was 'because we can'. Basically they bulk it out with a cheaper ingredient to the max they're allowed.

You aren't in the UK then? Because neither of those brands are sold in the UK. UK legislation means that formula ingredients are very tightly controlled and therefore very similar.