Which formula are you using?

[Dalesgirl16]

Having a baby next month and plan to formula feed but I haven't decided which formula to use. Can anyone recommend the formula they use or have used in the past? It's likely that my baby will have milk allergy like my first child and need to move on to the hypoallergenic formula quickly but I need to have something to try. Thank you.

I read a tip of whatever is available in your local 24hr shop, just in case you run out in the middle of the night. Not such an issue if you live near a 24hr supermarket!

I combination feed, and use cow and gate. No issues, readily available and not too pricey.

I plan to combination feed and will be using Aldi formula

Very good tip! I was considering cow and gate as I heard it's easier to digest than Aptimil. I had no idea Aldi made formula!

I used aptamil with DD and planned to with our second but heard its not been great lately

I use Cow and Gate and she seems to get on well with it.

I didn’t FF but a good friend of mine used Aptamil with her first but her second DC couldn’t get on with aptamil when they switched their formula so she switched to a brand called kendamil which she found her very refluxy baby tolerated much better.

I combination fed for 2 weeks with cow and gate. However when swapped to SMA comfort because it's alot smoother and you don't get any bubbles in the formula. My LO had really bad trapped wind with cow and gate

We started on SMA (as it was available in the 24hr garage when I abandoned breastfeeding at 11pm on a Sunday night!). Had some digestive issues and HV suggested changing. Tried Aptamil and he was moderately better, but we didn't like it, we found it didn't dissolve well. Swapped to cow and gate and it suits both baby and us (he still only poos once a week though!)

We used Sainsbury's own brand for DD when it came out last year, after using Aptamil and Cow & Gate with no issues.

There's no formula that's "the best" for every baby. All infant formulas have to meet very specific regulations, so starting out with what's handiest to buy in your local supermarket or even what's cheapest isn't a bad place to start.

I used Aptamil for about 8 months and then swapped to Aldi’s own Mamia. I read that it’s made in the same factory as Aptamil and the ingredients list is near identical! My DS never batted an eyelid when I swapped so if I had another I would use Aldi from birth.

Ladies for those of you who have said here that you combination feed can u explain how it worked for you? How soon did u start, when do you breast feed and bottle feed. I really want to do it when im due in May but have heard mixed reviews im hoping it will work for me as I don't think exclusive bf is for me

We use Aldi's own at £6.99 for a 900g tub. They are basically the same and there are such strict guidance that you may as well just use the cheapest one.

We used Hipp with both DCs, and I’ll be using it with DC3 (currently pregnant). I had a lot of recommendations when pg with DC1 to try it as a lot of babies, apparently, seem to tolerate it well. Other mums I knew who switched to it (eg because of gassy babies) also found it seemed to be well tolerated, but obviously that’s just anecdotal evidence!

However I do highly recommend checking out what you can buy locally, in case you forget to stock up and need to quickly nip out. We have several stores locally that stock it, it’s usually in big supermarkets and Boots, but it does get stocked elsewhere as well. I’ll mainly be getting it in with my Tesco order but good to know where else I can go just in case.

FWIW DC1 could tolerate SMA if there was no other option, and DC2 could tolerate Cow and Gate. But both were fine with Hipp. Never tried Aptamil, they keep making it unnecessarily expensive so people think it’s the ‘best’ but it really isn’t any different. There are rather strict regulations around formula, it’s not like C&G etc are ‘budget’ brands akin to fast food!

On the combination feeding question @Lorrie3, my DS is almost 6 months old now, but he was, and still is a rubbish sleeper. I persevered with EBF till about 3 weeks old when I caved and got DH to give him a bottle at 6am so I could get a few hours uninterrupted sleep. DS wouldn't sleep on his back for aaaaaages!

From 3 weeks till about 16 weeks DS had a bottle of formula around 6am, then when he started sleeping a wee bit better and having longer gaps between feeds, these 6am bottles slowly weren't needed. 24 weeks old now and sometimes has a bottle on a Sat or Sun morning so I can catch up on sleep. I sometimes need to express in the morning for comfort, but I never get more than 40ml, but then, I've never had excess milk. So no need for breast pads, or wearing a bra to bed, or leaking at all really!

Combination feeding has worked really well for us, without the help of that single bottle a day for a few months, I'd have packed BF in completely at 3 weeks!

Cow and gate for my twins.

We used SMA but DC had a milk intolerance so all our milk is on prescription. It's a god send as a tub is half the size of SMA and twice the price.

We used aptamil premade for 6 weeks after I stopped ebf at 11 days. Used premade as locally its recommended by maternity units in the early days as is sterile.

Then switched to aldi mamia and DS has never had a problem with it. We occasionally still use premade if out and about and have forgotten to pack the change bag properly.

I looked at the ingredients and vitamins and theres virtually no difference between the two mentioned but the mamia milk is almost half the price.

Advertising for formula is sneaky, I still feel guilty every now and then because his formula doesn't have the word organic in it! No comment on those who use formulas that do of course, it's all just personal choice and some formulas work for some babies where others don't.