i'm not breastfeeding (for personal reasons) so is there any formula hats close to being as good for my baby?

Question

please don't ask why I'm not breast feeding or try to convince me that its better. i already know it is but like i said for a personal reason breast feeding just isn't in the cards. but i still want my baby to be as healthy as possible..

so whats the best formula to substitute?

Answer 1

I would just ask your pediatrician what they reccomend. I've heard good things about Similac Advanced. And if it's about the baby latching and stuff like that just know that pumping is an option. I've exclusively pumped for 4 months now.

Answer 2

Every baby is different unfortunately... And you choose what you feel is best.

I use Nestle Good Start this time. I have had gas problems with all 3 kids on similac. Go into the store and compare labels for nutrition information. Make a choice of one or two that you feel comfortable with. Try one and if you seem to have extra gas or spit up or whatever, try a different one. The first few days after you switch can be hard, but stick with it for a week or so before you give up.

Just because there have been improvements, doesn't mean the older kinds are less good. Babies have been surviving this long, and they are not all diseased and dying, right?

Answer 3

Almost all the formula companies have their own "closest to breastmilk" formula, it's not like it's a regulated claim so they all say it and there's no way to tell. Formula is formula...they have all types (dHA, Iron, Sensative, Soy, etc) but it all has to have baseline stuff so any formula is a reasonable substitute. It's not as good as breastmilk but if you refuse to nurse, whatever formula "agrees" with your baby is probably the best.



They will give you a ton of samples at the hospital, and you can discuss it with your baby's pediatrician in the hospital. I wouldn't buy lot of it ahead of time, because some babies get gassy or constipated from various types of formula.



A lot of people end up switching to Parent's Choice because it's cheap, or to whichever brands WIC covers (Good Start I think).

Answer 4

They give away the brand names at the hospitals and you knwo how pricey those get...I would start the baby off with a generic brand(they have the SAME nutrients and are made in the SAME type facilites as the brand names) I have been told Target sells a generic formula that is extremly similar to Enfamil with Lipil. Another talked about generic (or its just low cost) is Parent' Choice from Wal-MArt that formula now has DHA in it and is much cheaper.

Answer 5

enfamil with lipil or similac advance they are the same thing just different brand you could even go back and forth for that matter formula with DHA/ ARA in it!!! you might have to switch to one your baby needs if he has acid reflux like mine did ect.. but start off with that and you will be fine dont worry about it! ask your pediatrician for advice most hospitals give you some formula to take home which ever one they start the baby out with you can stick with unless there is a problem good luck and congrats

Answer 6

There's no answer to that, there is no way to know in advance which particular formula will have the least short term and long term side effects in any particular baby.



Also formula composition change constantly, what is believed to be best right now may in fact be proven unsafe in the long term.





When It Has to be Formula: Optimizing the Health of Your Formula-Fed Baby

http://www.naturalfamilyonline.com/go/index.php/226/optimize-health-formula-fed-baby/





http://www.askdrsears.com/html/0/T000100.asp

Now that I’ve said that, I know some of my patients decide to bottle-feed. If you do please discuss this with your health care professional, and investigate all of the formula alternatives.

Bottle-feeding Index



How Formulas Are Made

Comparison of Formula and Breastmilk

Choosing Formulas

Soy Formula?

Follow-Up Formulas

Comparing Formulas

Lactose-Free Formula

Hypoallergenic Formula

How Much and How Often to Feed

Safe Formula-Feeding Tips

Bottlefeeding Tips

Sterilizing

Choosing Nipples

Switching from Formula to Cow's Milk

Bottlefeeding Questions of the day



http://www.breastfeeding.com/reading_room/what_should_know_formula.html

In the meantime, commercial infant formulas are not only distant in composition from human milk, but various brands of synthetic milks aren't even comparable to one another. Contrary to what the name implies, there is no fixed "formula" for commercial synthetic milk. Content and quantities of nutrients vary widely between brands and types of formula (soy, cow's milk, and meat-based). According to formula manufacturers, a pediatrician should recommend an appropriate brand and type of formula for each particular baby--advice implying that each baby's nutritional needs are unique and that physicians can recognize these special needs upon examination and select a formula accordingly. This is, of course, neither accurate nor possible.



Compositional variance between formulas persists because manufacturers must attempt to simulate a product for which they do not have the recipe - a fact FDA officials recognize in their recent statement that ". . . . the exact chemical makeup of breast milk is still unknown." As Marsha Walker notes, "Formula-fed infants depend on products which can be quite different from each other, but which are continually being found deficient in essential nutrients . . . These nutrients are then added, usually after damage has occurred in infants or overwhelming market pressure forces the issue."



Iron fortification serves as a startling example of this ongoing experimentation on infant consumers. Today's breast milk substitutes are designated as either iron-fortified or low-iron. However, William J. Klish, M.D., chairman of the American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Nutrition (the body which recommends formula-nutrient requirements to the FDA) states: "There should not be a low-iron formula on the market for the average child because a low-iron formula is nutritionally deficient."



The Food and Drug Administration, which allows the mass marketing of low-iron formulas, states that "researchers continue to try to determine the best amount of iron for infant formula. While low iron formulas don't supply enough iron, the best amount of iron for formulas has not been established." Dr. Klish verifies that the medical community "did not have much data at the time the regulations [which are still in effect today] were written for different intake levels of iron." Studies are now underway to determine how much iron should be included in a can of infant formula. Meanwhile, commercial formulas can offer no real assurances that bottle-fed babies are receiving the proper amount of this vital nutrient. The late Dr. Derrick Jelliffe was quoted in a 1980 interview with the WALL STREET JOURNAL as saying, "Hindsight shows the story of formula production to be a succession of errors. Each stumble is dealt with and heralded as yet another breakthrough, leading to further imbalances and then more modifications."

Answer 7

Similac Advance Healthy Immunity is what my baby used in the hospital when I was too sick to go to the nursery and see her. It didn't make her spit up or anything so I thought it was good but now I breastfeed only even though I have a can of that on hand for emergencies.

Answer 8

I think you just have to pick one that you're comfortable with and only switch if your baby is having problems with that particular formula. There's no 'best' formula for babies. I believe they all have certain standards they have to go by, so they're all very much alike. I use Aptamil (Milupa), but I don't think they sell that in the US. It's a European brand.

Answer 9

There is no one 'best' formula, and no formula that is 'closest' to breastmilk.



If you can't/won't breastfeed, then you just need to find the formula that YOUR baby does best on, and is the cheapest. Which will require trial and error.



Start with any basic store brand formula. If baby does well on it, you're all set. If not, you could try a 'gentle' formula, or try ready to feed rather than powder (some babies do better), or try a formula without DHA/ARA (upsets some babies.) If baby still has issues, speak with the doctor about trying a hypoallergenic or soy formula, or look into donor breastmilk.

Answer 10

I was given Similac Advance at the hospital - I think all hospitals have one brand they hand out to new mothers - so that's what I used when I switched to formula. My son had no problems with it at all.

Answer 11

I breastfed and had a very low milk supply. Nothing would help it increase and I had to give it up and go with formula. I used Enfamil with Lipil.

Answer 12

i don't breastfeed either. enfamil lipil is as close to breast milk as you can get, even though you need to talk to your pediatrician to see what kind of formula you should use for your baby.

Answer 13

Emfamil actually uses the best ingrediants and has a lower sugar content. IF I were to somehow have to use to formula, that is probably the one I'd pick. Unless a better organic one came out.

Answer 14

I would ask your doctor about that.

I know Similac Advance says something about "being closest to breastmilk", but who knows if that's true.



What about pumping?