moving to formula?irish mammies BTDT please

[*happy*]

not sure if im allowed to mention brands here, so feel free to move/edit this post if need be....
i've been weaning my almost 7 MO for the past few weeks....we are now just doing the BT feed & DF.
i'm running out of frozen BM so i'll have to start introducing formula in the next week or so.
my question if....what formulas have worked best for ye?as far as i know,the ingredients differ from country to country...hence my search for irish mammies!the pharmacist i spoke to said i should start her on aptimal 3 (age appropriate) but tbh, she was v young & didnt seem to have a clue re BFing!!!im slightly sceptical!!! a friend of my sister tried her LO on this & he had awful constipation so she put him on the newborn version instead (less iron) & it seemed to suit him way better.anyone BTDT with words of wisdom?

[Fiver]

FWIW, I'm not in Ireland, but when we mixed fed DS we stuck with a stage 1 formula until he stopped having it after he turned one.

[Lolly]

I would imagine that betwen the UK and Ireland that the ingredients are going to be very similar, if not the same. We used Aptamil with DD, I've heard around a lot that it's the *best*. For what it's worth though different babies react differently to formula so what suits one won't suit another.

I agree with PP that the first formula is absolutely fine nutritional wise up to 1 year, you don't need the follow on formulas. One thing you could do is to try the ready made formulas first to guage any reaction rather than buying the big tubs and potentially wasting them.

Laura

[potlaura]

Hi there

From Ireland here  and Aptimal is a good brand as far as I am aware I used it for my lo and although we had to change for allergy reasons it was my formula of choice iykwim.
I also agree with pp that stage 1 is more than fine for your lo age xx
Good luck xxx

[*happy*]

great...thanks ladies....stage 1  it is so!!!!she had 2 teeny bottles of it in the hospital when she was born & seemed fine with it so i will go with that i reckon.i didnt realise that nutritionally, that newborn stage one would do her fine until we change to cows milk....that's so reassuring to know!

[Lolly]

The only difference with the follow on formulas is that they have more iron in them and they are cassein (sp?) based rather than whey based - or it could be the other way around, I can never remember! They are made to be more filling on a smaller volume of milk so they can be harder to digest and the extra iron can be constipating.

They are also developed partly as a marketing ploy by the formula companies along with the bedtime milks and the toddler milks because they can't advertise the first stage milks!

Laura

[*happy*]

no way?really?come to think of it, i've never seen a newborn formula advertised & im always seeing the follow on ones on tv!!!!so is there any need for those other milks then?i'm moving her to formula once she hits 7 mo on the 16th....running out of BM!

[Lolly]

Technically not really any need! By 1 most babies should be moving to cow's milk, the toddler milks can have a use for toddlers not eating a varied diet BUT formula is very filling so that probably doesn't really help in the long run!

My two had a thickened reflux formula, it was a stage 1 suitable from birth formula but the dietician we saw said it was fine for them to have it up until they were 2 if they couldn't keep cow's milk down.

It's also why you don't get supermarket/ Boots points or money off offers on first milks - they legally can't do it for milks for babies under 6 months.

Laura

[*happy*]

wow!i had no idea!!!!that's good though...there's enough pressure being a new mom without being bombarded by formula companies....that's really good to know....i was standing in the baby food aisle totally overwhelmed by all the different types of formulas&foods on offer...& all so expensive too!

[Fiver]

As Laura said, it's part of the baby milk marketing laws that many countries have signed up to largely to increase BF rates, but also, as you say, so new mums aren't getting swamped with marketing/advertising pushing formula feeding.  Especially an issue in some less developed countries where water sanitation isn't necessarily what it is elsewhere.

As you say, *happy*, there's enough choice there on the shelves without all the manufacturers trying to put across why theirs is better than someone else's.

[*happy*]

how did i never notice the lack of newborn-formula advertising??!?!?! doh!!!!   it really does make sense though-fair play to whoever initiated that.
ugh.....there are just so many decisions to be made!!!!neverending!!! x

[Fiver]

Apparently a lot of FF make their decision about stage 1 formula from seeing ads for follow-on, whether that be conscious or subconsciously.  Like you, there will be others who just don't realise there's no infant advertising or think the ads are for both.

Advertising/marketing is a potent medium, whether positively or negatively

[*happy*]

def....i've seen it through the kids i teach....really disagree with ads etc targeting kids that then end up pleading with parents for x or y...it's peer-pressure of a different kind i guess