Which Milk?

[Emmiedarling]

I am planning to breast feed, so have done absolutely no research into formula. However, I want to buy a couple of ready made cartons as an emergency back up.

Are all the brands much of a muchness? Are there some that have less additives or are viewed as more natural? Or is ir simply whichever from Boots as long as it says 'first milk' ?

thanks and apologies for my naviety!

Hello there. My midwife with ds1 recommended Aptamil as it is thinner than most others on the market. I also used Hipp but it was a lot thicker. I mix fed my ds1 which turned out to be really complicated! I think it came from the fear of not knowing how much breast milk he had had. With dd1 and dd2 I exclusively bf and it was so much easier. Having lots of support from other bfeeding mums, drop ins,etc will really help. Try and get that all set up in advance. My midwife said that comparing bf babies to ff babies was like comparing cats and dogs. Pointless! Keep in the company of experienced bfeeding mum s too. The NCT bf helpline was fantastic too. I would be so bold as to not get any formula milk in 'just in case'. Good luck x

When I had to mix feed due to ds losing weight, I tried aptimil as its most heavily marketed as 'closest to breastmilk'. However, I preferred hipp organic, not least as it's far cheaper, and it smells nicer! They really are all much of a muchness. I'm sure i read hipp don't use fish proteins, which the others do, which also swayed me more to them.

I agree with pp, btw, and wouldn't get any in. Easy to send DH to a 24 hour supermarket if desperate. We chucked the mixed feeding and bf exclusively to a year once the lost weight was regained.

The HV told me that Aptamil was closest to breastmilk but really, bfing is SO much easier! I also wouldn't get any in 'just in case'.

If you buy some, you are WAY more likely to use it. The shops will still be open after baby arrives. Send DH out for it.

I bought two ready made cartons of Cow&Gate 1st milk just before DS was born - they are still in the cupboard and have an expiry date of 04/2013

It is easier to bf I am finding (even though I ended up with both DDs having bottles and formula by 4 months)

DS is 18 weeks on Friday and going great guns with BFing, I am finding it easy too and now plan to keep him going as long as possible

Good luck when baby arrives

Thanks for the advice so far. I don't have a husband/partner and live alone so don't want an emergency situation to arise and I'm stuck!

Really not planning

Opphs pressed post too soon. Really not planning to use it but you never know what life throws at you!!

Emmie in that case I don't think it matters which brand. They're all very similar in terms of content, but it's often down to the baby's preference and/or tolerance. Buy one that is easy to get hold of, that is stocked in the shops closest to you

Also there is a brand, I think SMA or Cow and Gate that make small disposable bottles with teats. Worth having for when you are sleep deprived and exhausted. It's called the first baby starter pack. Also C&G and Aptamil are made by the same company with different packaging but Cow and Gate is usually a bit cheaper. Good luck with the birth!

I prefer Aptamil personally, I used that when trying to get DD1 to take a bottle, she refused but it wasn't cos she didn't like the milk, she refused expressed milk too. I used Cow & Gate for DS and he seemed fine with it, it's very readily available at most shops (Aptamil sometimes not so easy to find at a Spar in the middle of a random village!). I do think you should be comfortable with your choice of formula IF you end up needing to use it, if breastfeeding is not going well then the last thing you want is the extra stress of needing to decide which formula you prefer.

I had 4 ready made cartons in the house from a few weeks before birth, I didn't find that made it any more likely I would use it, just happy that it was there in case. I don't mean in case I couldn't breastfeed, I mean in case I went on a nursery run leaving DD1 with DH/had a car accident/had to be hospitalised/baby at home starving - you get the picture! I BF DD1 for over 9 months and plan to do at least as long this time round, but I've still got some cartons in the cupboard that I've bought recently - this doesn't make me any less committed to BF.

Boots and Tesco both now sell the starter packs of tiny bottles of Aptamil (100ml or so) with teats like the ones in hospital, £8.99 for 12 I think? Cow and Gate & SMA are also available in those kinds of packs, as someone above has mentioned. Ready made cartons are about 70p? If you've bought a steriliser or breast pump it probably came with a bottle anyway, so just keep that as your emergency kit and you'll be OK I reckon?

Bought aptamil to have at home, the hospital supplied SMA as we started to mix feed before leaving the hospital. Don't think DD noticed a thing. It's worth checking if you have any fish allergies in the family as weirdly most of the brands have fish oil as an ingredient.

I asked this question to my NCT lady over the wknd. She said MW and HV aften advise Aptamil as they pay for some training! Apparently they all have to contain the same nutrients by EU law so by the sounds of things they are much of a muchness! However, I have no personal experience, just passing on what I thought was interesting info :)

Thank you all very much. Went will aptamil in the end - the newborn pack so i can put it in the back of the cupboard incase!