Enfamil Vs. Member's Mark...Any Advice?!?!?!

I used parent's choice with my children and they had absolutely no problem. If you have a brand name hang up just put the less expensive powder into the Enfamil can. You could also use Good Start. It is cheaper and it is still a respected brand. Good Luck.

I tried the same thing thinking the formula was the same. However, for some reason, it caused my daughter severe constipation that lasted for 7 days.

We used it with both my boys. It is so much cheaper and it has the same ingredients. I have recomended it to other Moms. Both my boys are smart and healthy. Good luck

Hi T.,
I switched my daughter from Enfamil to Members Mark Brand(sams club) formula at the age of 4 months. I only wish that I would have done it sooner !!! We never had any problems at all. It is so much cheaper than Enfamil. I ask my doctor before switching and he also told me that it was just as good as the name brand.

M.

First I will say EVERY baby is different so your little man may not have the problems mine did. I felt the same way, wanted to try and save if the generic formula was essentilaly the same. I chose the Wal Mart brand, Parents Choice, instead of the Similac he had originally used. He was about 6 or 8 weeks old when we decided to change and OMGosh, it was horrible. Of course I didn't realize it at first but it constipated him SO SO SO bad. He screamed and screamed for a good two days before I realized what it was that was causing all his pain. I switched back to the Similac and IMMEDIATELY he was back to normal. SO, just watch that if you decide to try switching. I am a first time mom and it was a totally horrible experience and I felt like I caused him pain because I was trying to save money....LOL. Hope this helps.

I breast fed for three months, then went to formula. We used parent's choice after a while of paying so much for enfamil. It's the SAME tihing!
I will say that we also tried the costco brand and it was not very good-really clumpy.

We used Member's Mark after using Enfamil for a long time and we had no problems at all with it!

my daughter was just switched from enfamil to members mark about 1 week ago, she is now very constipated and gassy, she screams all the time and i can feel the bubbles in her little tummy when i put my hand over it. she's getting switched back. yes, the fda does regulate formula basics but things are put in formula to make it easier on the digestive system. which is not a requirement because it is not a nutritional need. depending on the child's sensitivity would make the decision for me if i were you. my daughter has been sensitive sense birth. i don't even know why i changed to MM. I guess the savings blinded me. good luck

The name of the company that produces the "generic" baby formula (ALL of it when my daughter was using formula about 4 years ago) was made by the same company. Wyeth. They used to be the company that made the only formula on the market. They are also the company that has made ALL of the major advancements that the brand name brands claim to include in their formula.
I did a LOT of research when I found out that I would not be able to breastfeed as I wanted to make certain that my baby had the best available. After my research I was certain that the generic formula was for us. As a bonus it happened to be the generic kind thus costing less.
Just as a side note I will let ya know that the "recipe" for baby formula is highly regulated and that the difference in the brands is the binder that they use to hold it all together.
Hope this helps. Please don't feel guilty about using the store brand instead of the name brand. It was hard for me at first but I really felt comforted by the fact that Wyeth had made all of the advancements in formula which to me means that their R&D department was doing a great job at making nutrition for my baby. (not that there is necessarily a direct correlation but my daughter has ALWAYS been at the top of the charts for height and weight too....).
Good luck and enjoy the new baby.

I have a 5 year old son and 19 month old daughter. Members Mark and Parents Choice (Walmart) have the same ingredients as Enfamil. I used it with both kids. It does not foam as much as Enfamil either. I am having another child in July and plan to supplement my breast milk with either Members Mark or Parents Choice. My pediatrician says they are just as good as well.

My twins who are now four did the Parent's Choice which is WM brand (probably made by the same manufacturer as Member's Mark I bet). Both did great. Pedi said there is absolutely no reason you can't use the cheaper brands - Enfimil and Similac make a lot of money just on name alone. Like any pharmaseutical company, they spend lots of money to pay their sales reps to push their brand. As one person already said, the FDA regulates baby formula so it can not legally be "sub standard". If you notice any difficulties (extra gas, constipation, reflux) then you can always go back.

I used Member's Mark brand over Enfamil with both of my boys and had absolutely no problems with it. Both took it well and it did not effect them in any way.

Hi,
I used Member's Mark for both of my boys (now 7 and 3). I had the same name brand roadblock as you do. But I did it anyway just to try it. I fugured that if it didn't work out that I was only out ~$25. Which is why cheaper than being out many more $$ every time I bought brand.

I had zero problems and I recommend it to anyone I know who needs it. I also found it to be less foamy than the brand formulas.

HTH

I will tell you that my ten year old is as healthy as a horse...he was a memebers mark baby! I honestly feel that the Members Mark brand is just as good...I never had any problem whatsoever with it...hope this helps you!

We used the Target & Walmart brand formulas on our last baby & we didn't have any problems. He was having problems spitting up from the day he was born so we put him on the soy formula. Target & Walmart have the soy formula as well. The enfamil soy costs $26! & the target soy was $13! That was a huge savings. I asked the doctor about the generic & he said the same thing that they are all the same. I did notice that the walmart brand constipated him more than the target brand. Experiment with them & see whats best for your little one. My little boy is almost 2 & he is almost the same size as his 4 yr old sister! Healthy as an ox! lol

My daughter used Enfamil but to save money I would substitute or combine it with the Target generic brand. The Enfamil coupons I singned up for online and got in the mail really helped though. The Target brand doesn't mix as well (Clumpy) but she took it easily and the ingredients were nearly identical.

Hi Tracy,
My son was on the Member's Mark Gentle formula. He did just fine with it...I agree with you on trying to save money on formula!! The only thing I noticed w/ the MM is that it's a little bit more yellow (maybe b/c it was the Gentle) but it didn't affect anything! I would highly recommend it!
Good luck,
M.

I used Member's Mark for both of my boys. There is really no difference but for the price!
C.

I personally have breasfed all of my children but my youngest one had weight gaining/sucking issues in the beginning and had to have some formula and add formula to breastmilk bottles for extra calories. We just used the "free" formula we received. I asked lots of questions to my dr about the types of formula. He said the either Silmilac (sp) or Enfamil and Parent's Choice at Walmart were made in the same factory and literally the cans full of powered formula came off conveyor belt and one group got an Enfamil or Silmilac label and the other got a Parent's Choice label. I would assume the Sam's brand would be the same thing.

I use member's mark brand for my 9 month old and have been using it since he was 3 months old with no problems. Like you said when you compare the ingredients they are almost idenitical so why not save all that extra money you are spending on the name brand stuff. As long as your child is not sensitive to the formula he is on now I would say give it a try you can always switch back if you notice any problems.

It is the same stuff. I made sure before we switched and asked my Pediatrician and he said everything is the same. Some of the inactive ingredients may be different, but it's the same. I put my little one on it at about 2 months and we never looked back. We had to change the formula for gentlease because of some reflux issues, but we used the Member's Mark Gentlease. You will be fine with using it. We were and saved a whole bunch!

All formula is regulated, so there is no difference. With my first we used the expensive stuff and baby boy 2 got the Walmart brand. Both are very healthy!

I had the same dilemma with both of my kiddos. My daughter was raised on Wal Mart brand formula and my son has taken only Target brand. Both brands were EXACTLY identical when I held them side-by-side with the name brand (Similac). Both my kids responded well to the store brands and have turned out just fine! :) Best of luck!

I'm sure you've gotten a lot of advice, but the FDA guidelines keep a really tight reign on generic baby formulas, that they need to meet very high standards. I think they are completely safe for your baby. If he's only 5 weeks old, you could really save a lot of money using generic vs. name brands.

If you decide to use name brands, I would suggest going on ebay and purchasing formula coupons from people. Basically, they won't use them before they expire so you can buy them pretty cheap and save some money.

Good luck, whatever you decide!

They all have to meet the same standards set by the FDA. My daughter was on Enfamil Lipil and I used the Target generic brand (half the price) that was comparative to the lipil. She did fine.

We used the Member's Mark formula with my daughter after I stopped nursing her and it worked great for us. I also was a little hesitant to switch, but she didn't have any problems with it at all and we saved a lot of money!

Hi Tracy,
I used the members mark for about 6 months and my son had no problems with it. It also seems to mix better than the enfamil. I would recommend it!

L.

We did the same thing you are doing and it was worth it! The ingredients are the same and the cost so much less. I was reluctant becuase of the name Enfamil but apparently that name costs a lot!

Possibly someone has already stated this, but every formula on the shelf has to follow FDA rules. That means every formula needs to have the basics causing the Target brand to have the same ingredients in the same amount as the Enfamil as an example. Some market themselves as having DHA from what I recall, but again if you look at the store brand you'll find many times they have the same amount of that ingredient too.
I luckily could afford all types of formula, but after educating myself I chose to go with the cheaper product since it was exactly the same. My daughter is now 2.5 and is a vibrant, intelligent, happy kid.
As a Mom, don't think you're being a bad Mom for buying the cheaper product for your baby. You're educating yourself which makes you a great Mom!

We had twins and they were both on formula. I bought formula by the case on ebay for about 1/2 the price in the stores. This was Good Start Supreme. But you can buy any kind. Just remember to factor in the shipping cost when you set your maximum amount. It was also really nice that it was delivered to the house. Hope this helps.

I asked the doctor the question. Because I was also curious. He told me the kids that are going into kindergarten were on those formulas, costco, walmart, sam's. They are fine. They are the old versions of infamil and similac. The only difference is the newer ones have a newer formulation. Like for instance my baby is on similac advanced with early shield. They have done research and made a new formulation thats even better- he said. I chose to keep my baby on the newer formulation only because I felt it was better for her. I want the most nutritious.

Member's Mark and Enfamil are the same and made by the same company. I had my twins on the formula and they did great!! I tried some of the other store brands and didn't like them as much, especially the Kroger brand (it gave them horrible gas pains).

I tried to brestfeed and wasn't able to after three weeks with both of my boys. I really wanted to but they just stopped producing milk. I switched to formula and we used Member's Mark with both of our boys and the Dr. said that it is the same exact thing as Enfamil, but a LOT cheaper. I liked Member's Mark a LOT. You can go on the website and get a free sample too!

Hi T.,
Both of my little girls were formula fed on Member's Mark. We, too, switched because of the cost of leading brands. Before doing so I consulted with my pediatrician and he assured me that there's nothing wrong with the Sam's brand. Some kids can tolerate it, some can't...just like Enfamil, etc. It can't hurt to try, right? Good luck!

My twins were on enfamil until the coupons ran out and then we used either Parents Choice or Members Mark. My sister-in-law said her doctor told her that they were the same thing except that the WalMart brands are a different color because they are not bleached like enfamil. We asked our pediatrician and he said that they are the same. So we switched and had no problems at all and saved a ton of money. I had the same reservation at first because I was afraid I might be giving them something less nutritious but I think that is exactly what the makers of enfamil want you to think!