What Type of Formula Milk to Use?Posted by Moses Simon on April 23rd, 2021 Choosing to bottle feed your baby can be quite a hard decision to make. You must think deeply about why you think you need to bottle feed rather than breastfeed your son or daughter. Having made your decision to bottle feed, you should also think about the type of formula milk that's best for the baby. Formula milk will come in 3 forms: ready-made, concentrate and powder. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. Ready made milk formula is the easiest to use; all you need to do is open the container and feed your child its contents. more info with ready-made formula is it is the priciest option, so if you're attempting to save pennies it may not be the best choice. Formula concentrate is cheaper than ready-made, but you do need to add boiled water. The least expensive and most widely used form of formula milk is powdered formula. Together with having the advantage of being cheap, additionally it is the easiest to store. Both ready-made and concentrate ought to be stored in the fridge whereas you only need to stored formula made from powder, after it has been mixed with water. As you'll soon discover, you need to be prepared when you travel with your baby. You need to take with you everything you need to prepare your child's formula. If you are planning on staying somewhere abroad, you need to consider: will where you're staying have a fridge? Does it have facilities to provide you with boiled water if you are using concentrate or powder? What about cleaning facilities? Can you plug in your bottle sterilizer? Even though you are using concentrate or powder (and attempting to save pennies) I would strongly recommend buying some ready-made baby formula and keeping it stored in the fridge. You can then utilize it as a standby for when you need to make a trip out somewhere. As well as coming in three forms, baby formula comes in different types: the primary ones being cow's milk and soybean. As well as these basic formula types, there are also lactose free formula, formula supplemented with DHA and ARA, and formula for preemies. By far the most popular and probably the best for the child is baby formula created from cow's milk. Choosing the right brand is really a personal choice. All brands now sold in Western countries will meet their government's guidelines. However, different brands will contain different degrees of sugar and protein. All baby milk formulas are fortified with iron and Vitamin D (these can be without breast milk) and contain lactose (milk sugar). Brands such as for example Similac Advance, Enfamil Lipil, and Nestle Good Start Supreme are created with lactose and cow's milk based proteins. Soy based formula is now becoming more popular. Unlike cow's milk it does not contain lactose. If your son or daughter has lactose intolerance then soy formula milk may be right for the child. Brands include Enfamil ProSobee, Similac Isomil, and Nestle Good Start Supreme Soy. There's been some controversy concerning whether soy protein could cause longterm health implications to babies who are fed soy-based formula. However, a recent study, led by Dr Brian L. Strom from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, showed no difference in the long-term health ramifications of soy infant formula and the ones predicated on cow's milk. But if you have any doubts then stick with baby formula milk that is made from cow's milk. Goat's milk is gaining in popularity and some feel it is best for baby and the environment. Using goat's milk is most likely fine; however, goat's milk does only contain around 10% of the folic acid that is within cow's milk. So, if you are likely to use goat's milk, look for a brand that is fortified with folic acid. On the plus side, goat's milk formula does contain far higher levels of copper and antioxidant selenium. Some also think that babies have a lactose intolerance will do better by switching from cow's to goat's milk. Whilst it really is true that Goats milk does contain lower degrees of lactose, if your son or daughter is lactose-intolerant then you are most likely best switching to soy based formula or a lactose free formula of cow's milk. Lactose free formulas, such as Lactofree and Similac Lactose free are created without lactose, but do have cow's milk proteins inside them. Babies are not usually regarded as born with lactose intolerance, so these formulas are usually not needed. If your child is experiencing problems with cow's formula, seek professional advice before switching to a lactose free formula or soy-based formula. Other infant formulas include Enfamil AR (anti regurgitation), that is thought to be ideal for infants with reflux and premature formulas, such as Similac Special Care and Enfamil Premature. Again, you probably should never need to buy this type of formula as your baby's reflux is probably being caused by another thing. Again, speak to your doctor before switching to this type of formula. Very recently, new infant formulas have been introduced that are supplemented with DHA and ARA, which are located in breast milk and so are thought to help with an baby's development. Brands of these supplemented formula include Enfamil Lipil, Similac Advance, and Nestle Good Start Supreme DHA & ARA. Talk to your doctor about these and what benefits, if any, they might offer your child.Like it? Share it! More by this author |