Milk formula

[Leah3x]

Hi all,

can I please get the best formula brand for newborns? (In your opinion)

I've heard great things about Kendamil milk. Not sure about others.

They're all very very similar.
There's a good resource Here (First Steps Nutrition)

Thanks both

Please please do not ask these questions. Everyone will reply with different recommendations.

please understand that formula is the heaviest and strictest regulated product on the planet and therefore each “brand” is equal in terms of nutrients. One is not “better” than the other. There might be some differences in ingredient quantities, which means some babies might prefer one to another but there is no “better” one.

FWIW, I gave my child aptamil, and noticed he started getting a rash. People told me that Hipp Organic was “the best” (morons, the lot of them - something tells me the word “organic” makes them a good seller) and it gave him the worst gas and constipation. He cried about 72 hours straight. Turns out the rash was a cows milk allergy, which any formula would have given him.

Kendamil! Used for both of mine and it's really good. Both tried others to begin with as Kendamil premade hospital bottles were out of stock and they didn't get on well with them/didn't like them.

Also agree with pp! All babies are different, so all could react differently. Just because mine were good on kendamil, doesn't mean it's the best! 😊

We went for Cow and Gate purely because it's what the neonatal unit gave our DC before I'd even woken up from my C Section (I was very poorly). We figured if it was good enough for an unwell baby then we'd stick with it. We have found it to be great for both our DCs and we've been fortunate to have no issues like constipation, allergies etc from it.

All babies are different and there's no harm picking a brand that you can afford then trying others if it doesn't work out.

This ^^

Formula is so heavily regulated that it doesn't matter which brand you use, all the nutrients your baby needs are in all of them. So you don't automatically have to go for the most expensive brands

The best advice i ever had was to buy the formula that is available in your nearest 24hr corner shop / supermarket so if you run out at 2am, you can go and buy some more.

Buy what's convenient as nutritionally they're all the same (although Kendamil is the one that smells the most like milk to me - some of the others smell horrendous).

Mine were both Hipp babies. I started DC1 off on Aptimil (back in 2014) but he spat it up and a lot and was very windy. Once I switched him to Hipp he was fine. DC2 had it (combi fed) from birth and no issues at all.

@Mammamia23 please please don’t tell me what to do. I’ll ask whatever questions I like! I want to get peoples opinions so I will ask. I’m not reading the rest of your essay, goodbye.

thanks everyone else

They are all very very similar and so heavily regulated.

With the cost of living at the moment, I'd start at the cheapest and work from there. Aldi is the cheapest, usually followed by cow & gate I think.

If one doesn't agree, swap slowly to a different one. If more than one doesn't agree, consider looking at the comfort, lactose free etc options.

There is also no need to move them on from stage 1 - the follow on milks are a marketing ploy so they can advertise them as they're not allowed to advertise infant stage one formula or have store offers on it.

But it's the truth. All formula is pretty much the same. If you're looking for nutritionally superior then try breastfeeding. Otherwise go for whatever has the best availability.

Hi OP, as others have said our midwife’s advice for this baby and our 3 year old daughter is to buy the cheapest milk available or the one that is available in your local shop. All infant milk is heavily regulated - and can’t even be advertised in the uk (only follow ons can be) - they are literally all exactly the same in terms of nutrients. They may slightly vary in taste which will be very personal to your child. We went with aptamil which is fine - but v expensive so we do question that decision now

you may get variations eg hungry milk, but otherwise as above all of the standard ones are the exact same

Coming from a mother of 3, chose what is cost efficient and always available near you

We used aptimil tried cow and gate but baby fussed to much- switched back to aptimil and she was happy . We choose aptimil because they had lots of ready made formula and I was a little nervous about making formula to start with .

I use Cow & Gate because Lidl sell it cheaper than the other supermarkets.I've never had to but it is sold in my local shop too

It wasn’t “telling you what to do” - the advice someone gave about buying what’s convenient is the best. But do remember they’re all the same

@Leah3x I definitely wasn’t telling you what to do. I was kindly informing you that what one parent thinks is best another will think is the worst. Nutritionally all formula is the same. One parent will tell you they swear by Kendamil, another will tell you Hipp is the best, and this will confuse you more. As others have said, choose what is local to you and at the price you’re happy to pay. If your baby doesn’t like it, there are others to choose from.

So I assume if you didn't take offence the long post wouldn't have been an 'essay'?
People are trying to help...

I've had 3 babies and in my experience they'll decide whether a formula agrees with them or not. There's no best brand, just the best one for your baby. My eldest started on Cow and Gate as it was the cheapest at the time but it made her constipated so we switched to Hipp Organic where the milk protein is more broken down and that was fantastic for her. We started our second on Aldi which was at that point the cheapest but not out when our first was born - she was fine on that and stayed on it throughout. Our third was allergic to dairy and had to go onto prescription formula.

Formula is so heavily regulated that you can't buy anything that is going to be substandard for your baby. You could buy the most expensive brand and find that your baby just can't tolerate it.

Go for whatever one you can get easily at a local shop.

Lol. My essay just included my experience of aptamil and Hipp. So that probably helped her considering she wanted strangers advice on the difference between apples and pears

I'd go with one you can get instant bottles for, I don't use them often but sometimes we might choose to go out last minute so ideal to throw in the changing bag.
I used cow and gate with DD, it was fine but she did suffer with colic so with DS I wanted to try something different so went with Aptamil in case it was the milk. No issues at all and no colic.