Cow & Gate or SMA

[MrsMcNtobe]

Not really sure the best place to post this 🤔 but was wondering what people recommended out of Cow & Gate and SMA? I know they pretty much have to contain the same things nutrition wise but I’m unsure what to choose for when my little one comes.

Have also heard Cow & Gate have changed recently (removed palm oil I believe) which is giving babies a dodgy tummy but my baby won’t have had it before so it’s not like a change to them. Thanks! 🙈

My husband went shopping and came back with cow and gate so that's what we used!

I think they are all fairly similar. Although you may find certain brands suit your little ones digestive system better but you won't know that until he or she arrives!

I wouldn't over think it

I got cow and gate just because they do the pre made bottles that you can take into hospital but sma don't

Aptamil is great and the aldi own brand is exactly the same, according to the midwife. My GS is happy and thriving on it.

All pretty much the same. Which one do they stock in your local shop? That would be the decider for me.

You should watch the dispatches episode about formula on channel 4 on demand - shows how they are all the same!

Get whichever you can buy in your local shop. For us that's cow & gate. We're normally good at being stocked up but we have been caught out before and it's so much easier to nip round the corner than drive up to the main supermarket. Also the ready made bottles are really handy.

Cow and gate ready made has been a life saver. But truthfully we got the most available one which was the best price or a decent price, as they're so heavily regulated, they can't be too varied.

C&G do hungry baby, not sure about others, which could be good if baby isn't feeling full enough.

I used SMA with my first 3 babies, but this time I’ve decided to try kendamil.

It’s not that easy to get hold of in shops (although I was able to order some with my usual Tesco delivery) but you can opt to subscribe and have 2/3/4 tins delivered to you each month so I might do that eventually. It costs no extra and you can cancel anytime or up your order etc.

I like the fact it doesn’t contain palm oil.

@tigerjay SMA do do the premade bottles with the teats that you can take into hospital. I've seen them in Asda.

OP, I'd recommend starting with the cheapest and seeing how you go.
I started my son on C&G because it's the cheapest and most readily available. However, I found that the powder would get really clumpy when made up, and it would take a lot of shaking to get rid of. (Which in turn filled the bottle up with bubbles) DS had terrible pain from wind the first few weeks until we switched over to SMA. No issues since, but it is a bit pricier.

I've since been told that SMA has less cows milk or something in it than the Cow And Gate and Aptamil. Not sure how true that is though. I'm afraid it's all trial and error. 🤷🏻‍♀️

We use Aptamil and they also do the pre made tear bottles which was brilliant for the hospital

Aptamil and Cow & Gate are made by the same
Company and have exactly the same ingredients (allegedly) but aptamil is marketed as their "premium" product which is why the price tag is heftier..:

Had second baby in Germany, never planned to formula feed but we had to top up in hospital so used what we were given...which turned out to be a different brand every day, often different ones each feed!

So we continued with that once we got home. Started out with ready made bottles, swapping randomly between brands depending on what was available and then when we moved to powder a different box each time mostly.

Nothing terrible happened. I think this idea that you must stick strictly to one brand in case your baby gets an upset tummy is a myth perpetuated by the formula companies TBH. Of course there might be an ingredient in one brand that doesn't agree with a particular baby but essentially they're all the same stuff. If you have a cat you don't agonize over whiskers Vs Felix do you? You just buy both and see which one you like the best.