Please help - bottles and formula!

[drewid]

Hi

I'm thinking of putting my 6 1/2 mth old onto some supplementary bottles of formula. He's driving me nuts with breastfeeding, he just won't eat properly all the time anymore and its starting to wear on my nerves. Well, not starting, today I almost had a tanty it was driving me craaaaaazy...

Can anyone recommend which formula to use? He has not previously had any formula at all. I have noticed that formulas come in different stages - do I skip him automatically to the second stage? Confused...

Also, could anyone recommend which type of bottles to use? I am in the process of teaching him to drink water from a sipper cup, but it will be quite a while before he can drink a full feed from that.

Thanks heaps :)

[jamb]

I started off using avent but find them so rigid and unflexible. Highly reccomend Pigeon bottles and teats- very soft, flexible and has to be drawn back just like the nipple. You can get them from priceline or from the www.babyshop.com.au (same price pretty much but delivered to your door!)

I started off on s26 but bub got pretty constipated as is pretty common with that formula. On reccomendation from another bubhubber i changed to heinz blue tin, its GE free and half the price- no constipation either!

Good luck!

[oscarsmilkbar]

I'm a fan of pigeon bottles and teats too. My mum is a midwife and lactation consultant and highly recommends the pigeon range as the teats are fantastic for bubs......avent follows second too.

Formula ...I used to use Karicare which my DS had no problems with and it didn't look rich and creamy, and then swapped to Heinz 6months+ (red tin) and he didn'thave any problems swapping...and its around $11.50 per tin compared to around $18.00 for Karicare...

good luck with the formula and bottles :)

[Mumof3Princesses]

Due to me being unable to breastfeed at all, my girls were all fed using Pigeon bottles and teats and drank S26 till 12 months of age.

[channy]

I have been using Karicare HA (which is supposed to be easier for them to digest and can be used till 12mths). You don't need to use the 6mth plus formula, the only difference is they have extra iron but they are getting what they need when they have solids anyway. I use Happy Baby Variflow bottles, they open and close as the baby sucks so does not just pour into their mouth and they are really cheap unlike some other brands, only $3/$4 for 2 bottles from coles!! The best thing with bottles is just to buy one of a couple of different brands and test them before buying lots.

[petster]

Hi Nicole (and others!)

Thanks for asking these Q's - just about to go there myself! I'm going back to work in mid November for 2 days a week :( , and will have to give DD 2 feeds of formula a day (once my frozen EBM stockpile has gone!)... My Q to add to yours, is about the expiry date of the formula - I bought S26 Gold (???) and it says to use it within 4 weeks of opening! There's no way I'd use it up that quickly!! And it's too expensive to throw away! Any advice? Is it just a marketing ploy? Sorry for hijacking your thread Nicole :o !!

Cheers!

[wattle]

Hi Petster - there are small sachets available for about $1, sometimes they're hard to find, but most supermarkets will sell them. Good for trying to see whether bub likes it. I found that the sachet brand (can't remember which one it is) was NOT popular.

I gave it a few weeks and then tried the Heinz brand - it was a winner. Ds was about 7 months at the time, so I went straight to the 6+ months tin. Cheaper too.

I use the happy baby bottles (and I use a happy baby dummy too) and they're only $1.60 from Big W. Heaps cheaper. I never seem to have enough bottles these days. I just thought 2 or 3 would be enough, but it's good to have about 8.

[ThomasMum]

We are also using S26 Gold (step 2) and Avent brand for the bottles etc they (S26 Gold & Avent) are the best by far (for us anyway :)), and for the formula they have the stick-packs thingy contains 6 packs/box

FYI, every (2nd step) formula contains high irons (which is good for our bub brain) regardless the brand-actually this should be a must that 2nd step should have higher irons suppl!

Thomas'sMum

[Ky]

I used Evenflo bottles (not sure if you can get them in Australia) and SMA then Heinz follow-on formulas. I found there was no problem at all with either formula with regard to constipation.

I would warn you against buying the more expensive formulas as they have added ingredients that sound really good, but have been proven to only have a life in powdered form of a few hours, so you are ending up with basically the same as the less expensive brands!

I have two incredibly healthy, happy and active kids ... neither have had the weight problems that some people associate with formula feeding, nor have thier immune systems been compromised! They were fed ebm for the first 6 weeks or so of thier lives as due to physical problems (incredibly high hard palate on my dd and undiagnosed severe tongue-tie on my ds) they were unable to breastfeed. They got the best start in life and were not compromised by having to go onto formula once I ran out of milk myself.

My son, who was over 13lb at birth was drinking 170mls of ebm from day one in 2 hourly feeds ... looking back, it was a wonder that I managed to keep up with him for so long! He was drinking 240mls a feed when my breasts just suddenly quit!

[jarrahsmumma]

hi there,
i used the heinz formulas (he's now on the follow-on one) and the avent bottles and teats. i am finding now that the teats and bottles are leaking when i shake them. i think this due to the teats being about 3 months old, but they are so expensive i hate buying more :) if the pigeon ones are cheaper go for them...i would, in hindsight (ahh wonderful hindsight)

i think the avent have the wider neck and better flow for mums who swap between breast and bottle, i have seen other brands with the wideneck though.

if you can borrow or buy 2nd hand off eBay etc to try a few different sorts, talking to other mums at mother group each bub has prefered a different sort, then when you find the one bub likes (i.e. not causing too much wind, or too fast a flow) buy about 4 bottles and teats that is probably all you'll need past 6 months old.

best of luck
natalie

[petster]

Hi Cathy (and others)

Thanks for the tip about buying formula in sachets. I bought a 4 pack from the chemist (thieving buggers!!) of S26 Gold for $8.40. After much hunting, I then found the cheap single sachets of Karicare for 89cents!! A bit better value - especially seeing as how my DD threw a tantrum and wouldn't drink it!! Thanks again!!

Cheers!

[PinkBinkie]

:) Hi
Pur teats and anti-colic teats are good too. I also use the happy baby bottles and they are perfect. When I first started bub on formula I went and I bought 3 bottles with wide necks at $8 each. They were crap so spending more money doesn't equal quality. The same goes with formula. Just because the tins are covered in gold stickers doesn't mean they are better than less expensive brands, the companies just spend more money on packaging and marketing. My bub has been on Nestle Lactogen since 2 weeks old with no problems. Tins are only $10 compared to $18 dollars for some brands.

Jodi