Choosing a formula

[Meeting]

How did you decide which formula to feed your baby? Obviously if you never used formula this won't apply.

I see a lot of people saying they're all the same but surely this can't be true? I'm leaning towards aptamil as they have a great product range and are available everywhere.

Look at what is readily available near you and in the supermarkets you use.
I chose Aptimil because I could get the ready made bottles easily for the early days and for travelling.

I went for Hipp Organic as the organic in the name swayed me plus I did my research and apparently it’s really gentle on the tummy.
I combi fed from 6 weeks for both my children and neither has any issues with it eg gas, tummy trouble etc

May be just luck though.

Im sure youll get every brand recommended on this thread but what to be aware of is that every baby will respond differently.

For example, the pp above me who had a good experience with Hipp is totally different to ours. It made one of our DC super gassy. We used cow and gate, but thats only because its what the NICU supplemented DD1 with as I couldn't pump enough, so no real thought went into it. But it didnt agree with some of our baby friends. Lots of mums rave about Kendamil but for my niece, it was too rich and upset her tummy.

The best advice I had was from our NCT course leader who said buy whatever is available in your local 24hr corner shop / supermarket so that if you run out in the middle of the night, you can buy more. If thats aptamil for you, then I'd say go for it. Once baby is here, you can always try a different brand if you think baby is unsettled on the formula and have ruled out all other causes.

I chose Cow and Gate because it was easily available and cheaper than some other options. I was combination feeding so perhaps not so worried about what to choose.

FYI there might be a change in formula feeding guidance from six months old coming - WHO may soon suggest that you can go straight to cows milk at this point rather than formula, because they did a big trial and babies grew the same whether they had formula or cows milk. I switched my baby over gradually from 10.5 months.

They are all the same in terms of what matters. UK formula is extremely highly regulated. Everything else is just marketing, and the marketing works as you can see people have very strong brand preferences.

When we were in hospital in Germany they gave us a different brand each day/feed, so I didn't stick to any particular brand when we came out of hospital either, and nothing bad happened. It didn't upset my baby's tummy, they didn't even seem to notice.

They aren’t all the same as in they don’t have the same ingredients but they all do have to adhere to very strict nutritional guidelines which means that whichever ine you choose your baby will get the nutrition that they need.

I picked one at random. It was fine.

I recommend looking at First Steps Nutrition for information about formula milk. They absolutely are all nutritionally equivalent and misty be by law. Some of them make certain claims but you'll find that the only studies that back up their claims are those which they have funded themselves. First Steps has excellent, evidence based information and can help you make a choice without all the advertising claims.

@Meetingthe first formula you should try, is the one that is stocked in the shop nearest your house. Consider if you want bottles with teats (for early days) and therefore settle on a formula which has these. If you try this first formula and your baby disagrees with it, try another.

It's worth noting that nutritionally, all brands of formula are equivalent, so from day 1 all are fine for your baby. They couldn't be on the shelves otherwise. How they manufacture the formula and get to that nutritional mark is another point and some babies might not get on with certain ones. Think of it this way: apples and pears might be nutritionally equivalent, brocolli and cauliflower might be nutritionally equivalent, but we might prefer one over the other. Also worth noting that post natal wards will have all sorts of ready made formula on the wards - if you're desperate they'll just give you the one in arms reach - ie there is no "best". For what it's worth, both mine got excruciating stomach pain with "Hipp", one got terrible eczema with Aptamil, and both absolutely thrived on "Kendamil". Others posters might have totally different experiences with these brands

I choose cow and gate for 2) cost 2) how readily available it was and 3) they had it in ready made and powder

and @Meetingi completely agree with what @OakleyStreetisnotinChelseahas said. Studies don't mean much. Formula Is the most regulated product on the shelves and all on there will be nutritionally equivalent. Clever marketing might make you lean towards one over the other (something has to sway you I guess) but one isn't better or worse. They will be manufactured differently and all babies are different hence all the babies of your friends loving aptamil, and yours hating it, for example. Start with the formula you have easy access to, and if the baby doesn't get on with it, try another

Noone has mentioned it but aldis Mamia! We started with one pot of aptamil, then got the aldi stuff that is clearly trying to imitate it. Both of my sons only had that after and no issues (and so so so much cheaper)

I used Aptamil honestly I panicked in the hospital and just picked one for the ready made bottles as I had planned on BF but I’ve seen others recommend SMA especially if they were a colic baby and needed the comfort formula apparently its gentler / better ingredients.

I chose the exact same for the exact same reasons!