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. It is advisable to think deeply about why you believe you need to bottle feed instead of breastfeed your child. Having made your decision to bottle feed, you should also think about the kind of formula milk that's best for your baby. Formula milk will come in 3 forms: ready-made, concentrate and powder. Each has its benefits and drawbacks. Ready made website is the easiest to use; all you need to accomplish is open the container and feed your baby its contents. The main disadvantage with ready-made formula is it is the most expensive option, so if you're attempting to save pennies it could not be the best choice. Formula concentrate is cheaper than ready-made, nevertheless, you do need to add boiled water. The least expensive and most widely used type of formula milk is powdered formula. Together with having the benefit of being cheap, additionally it is the easiest to store. Both ready-made and concentrate must be stored in the fridge whereas you merely need to stored formula made from powder, after it has been mixed with water. As you'll soon discover, you should be prepared when you travel with your baby. Additional info need to take with you everything you need to get ready your child's formula. If you are planning on staying somewhere abroad, you need to think about: will where you're staying have a fridge? Does it have facilities to provide you with boiled water if you're using concentrate or powder? Think about cleaning facilities? Is it possible to plug in your bottle sterilizer? Even though you are using concentrate or powder (and trying to save pennies) I would strongly recommend buying some ready-made baby formula and keeping it stored in the fridge. You can then use it as a standby for when you need to produce a trip out somewhere. As well as coming in three forms, baby formula will come in different types: the primary ones being cow's milk and soybean. Along with these basic formula types, you can also find lactose free formula, formula supplemented with DHA and ARA, and formula for preemies. By far the most popular and probably the best for your child is baby formula made from cow's milk. Selecting the best brand is 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 could be lacking in breast milk) and contain lactose (milk sugar). Brands such as Similac Advance, Enfamil Lipil, and Nestle Good Start Supreme are created with lactose and cow's milk based proteins. Soy based formula is now more popular. Unlike cow's milk it generally does not contain lactose. If your child has lactose intolerance then soy formula milk may be right for your child. Brands include Enfamil ProSobee, Similac Isomil, and Nestle Good Start Supreme Soy. There's been some controversy as to whether soy protein can cause long term health implications to babies who are fed soy-based formula. However, a recently available study, led by Dr Brian L. Strom from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, showed no difference in the long-term health effects of soy infant formula and the ones predicated on cow's milk. But if you have any doubts then stick to 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're planning to use goat's milk, find a brand that has been 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 levels of lactose, if your son or daughter is lactose-intolerant then you are probably 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 often 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), which is thought to be helpful for infants with reflux and premature formulas, such as for example Similac Special Care and Enfamil Premature. Again, you almost certainly should never need to buy this sort of formula as your baby's reflux is probably being caused by another thing. Again, get hold of your doctor before switching to this type of formula. Very recently, new infant formulas have already been introduced which are supplemented with DHA and ARA, which are located in breast milk and are thought to help having an baby's development. Brands of the supplemented formula include Enfamil Lipil, Similac Advance, and Nestle Good Start Supreme DHA & ARA. Speak to your doctor about these and what benefits, if any, they could offer your child.Like it? Share it! More by this author |