Follow on or stage 1 formula for starting formula at 6 months.

[Lizbiz89]

I'm thinking of getting my dh to give my 6 month old a night feed now just to give me a bit of rest bite. Just wondering if I need to get follow on or stage one? Not sure what the difference is tbh.

The main difference is that they’re allowed to market follow on milk and there can be price deals (3 for 2 etc).

6 month formula only exists so formula companies can advertise, there are no benefits.

Stage 1. Follow on milks can be harder to digest.

I’d stick with Stage 1 if you can. My HV said the follow ons are harder to digest and to ideally keep my LO on it until he transitions to cows milk.

Hi if you’ve never used stage one (seems from your post you have been EBF) then I would go with follow on cause it can go on offer which is helpful with the cost of stuff atm. I did this recently for my 8 month old so they could have some formula in a cup when I went back to work.
Nutritionally they are virtually identical. First steps nutrition is the best evidence based site to find info on all types of formulas ☺️

Thanks @SpoonGirl17 . I'm guessing your baby didn't take the bottle hence the cup? My ds hasn't had a bottle since 6 weeks so trying to give him a bottle is going to be interesting 🤣

Genuinely curious, what's missing from a follow on formula that would make it unsuitable for a newborn?

No she would not haha. But she took really well to a tommee tippee free flow cup from 6m for water and now the milk.

Follow in milks typically contain more iron which would be too much for babies <6m and they often have slightly more of certain sugars.

Hi, it’s the protein percentages I believe. Stage 1 has more Whey protein than Casein which is more similar to breast milk and Stage 2 is the other way around. Casein is more filling but harder to digest. Nutrition wise there is there isn’t much difference though.