Why need this
Great Alternative To Breastfeeding
Are you going to breastfeed your baby? During your pregnancy you will find that there is a lot of encouragement for mums to breastfeed their babies. Truth is that breastfeeding had additional health benefits for your baby and is a great way of bonding with your bubs. Unfortunately, breastfeeding is not always an option. It might be that your baby is not drinking well from the breast, you might not have enough milk supply or you might simply not like the idea of breast feeding. Remember that this is your baby and you will know what is best for the both of you. In the end it is most important that your baby is fed and if that is by using formula, that is a great way too. Formula is a great alternative to breast feeding as it has all the nutrition your baby needs but is still gentle to their sensitive digestive system. Our mums have fed their babies formula only, mixed fed with formula and top upped with formula. For some formula was a way to give themselves a break from breast feeding and for others it was a life saver. A formula gentle for your little bub’s intestines and with all the important nutrition is always good to have available.
Use it for
What Baby Needs
Some of our mums chose to start their babies on formula straight away and stocked up on it before baby was born. Others found that they needed to top up their breast feeding with a bit of formula and slowly introduced formula to their babes. When bubs was not feeding well, some of our mums started expressing milk to feed to bubs. When that became too cumbersome, they sometimes transitioned to formula feeding instead. When milk supply was low and our mums had tried all options to improve, formula was their go to. After 6 months a lot of our mums were using formula only if they had experienced issues with breast feeding. Each formula is slightly different and even one brand might have different options for your baby’s needs. Trying out formula with the sample sachets available at stores or online, is a good idea to figure out which one to use. The formula tins have feeding tables on them that explain exactly how much your baby would need. Follow these directions to give your bubs its ultimate nutrition!
Our Mum’s Tips
8 Tips For When You Buy Formula
Our mums have shared a lot of their thoughts and experiences about formula over the years. Things they consider most important when buying formula are the following:
- The right teat – there are teats available for each age, the difference being the speed of flow. Ensuring that you have the right teat might make the difference for a fussy feeder or upset baby.
- Formula stages – earlier stages are gentler on the tummy and easier to digest. For sensitive babies, choose an early stage.
- Sleep well – breast feeding support groups do not like it, but many of our mums believe that their babies slept a lot better on a formula feed.
- Gold formula – gold formula contains iron and can cause constipation. See if that is an issue for your baby and choose differently if you need to.
- Overfeeding – babies can easily overfeed with formula and vomiting might be the result. If that is the case for you, check the teat’s flow or try to pace the feed .
- Best formula – there is no best formula for all babies; you have to try and see which one is best for your baby.
- Changing formula – when you change formula it is possible that bubs will have a bit of a reaction to it. Give it a few days before deciding on something else.
- Mix feed – If you are using formula and breastmilk, it is possible to mix your formula with breastmilk.
Recommended Products
The Formula Our Mums Really Love
- Aptamil – there are different formulas from this brand that our mums liked:
- The Nutricia Aptamil Gold+ is recommended by many hospitals, according to our mums. Our mums experienced few problems with this formula: no spews, no reaction, no problems in general. Our babies slept well and some seemed to prefer this one. It is available in sachets to try it out.
- The Nutricia Aptamil® Prosyneo™ Sensitive is 100% whey and therefore good for sensitive newborn tummies. Our mums used this when they thought their babies often seemed to have a tummy ache.
- The Nutricia Aptamil Gold+ Reflux is a formula that some of our mums transitioned to because they were dealing with a colicky baby. This formula is a lot thicker so it does not come up as easily as normal formula.
- NAN – there are different formulas from this brand that our mums liked:
- The Nestlé NAN Comfort is a very gentle formula that seems to be good for babies tummies and does not cause constipation. Many of our mums experienced that their babies were happy to take this. The earlier stages of this formula are closer to breast milk.
- The Nestlé NAN Supreme was used by some of our mums when their babies were not doing well on regular formula and struggled with constipation. This formula is hypoallergenic which makes it easier for babies to digest. Our mums thought the extra costs were well worth it.
- The Nestlé NAN Organic was used by some of our mums. Their babies seemed to like it and did not have upset tummies.
- The Nestlé NAN Optipro is given in some special care units and is recommended by hospitals, according to our mums.
- S26 – there are different formulas from this brand that our mums liked:
- The S-26® ORIGINAL NEWBORN is preferred by some of our mums. They found this was the formula that worked best for them.
- The S-26 GOLD® NEWBORN worked well for many of our mums and bubs. Settled babies, limited amount of wind, good poop colour, no spewing and baby waking up for feeds at the right time.
- The Aldi Mamia Gold is used by some of our mums and there seem to be no tummy issues.
- The Bellamy’s Organic Beta Genica8 is preferred by some of our mums when wind and reflux was an issue. It worked for well for some of our babies.
- For cow’s milk allergy our mums preferred these formulas:
- The Oli6® Dairy Goat Infant Formula was used by our mums when their bubs have a diagnosed cows milk allergy. The formula is very gentle on their tummies and our mums did not experience any problems with it at all.
- The Bubs® Australian Goat Milk is another formula our mums loved when their bubs have cow’s milk allergy. It is best for sensitive tummies. Some of our babies loved this and slept a lot easier on it.
- Other formulas our mums used: a2 Platinum® Premium Infant Formula, Karicare Infant Formula Goat Milk (cow’s milk allergy)
Tip! When babies struggled with colic and reflux our mums liked to use the following:
- Brauer Baby & Child Colic Oral Liquid seemed to really help.
- Infants’ Friend Oral Liquid relieves wind and can be used from birth.
