What is the best infant formula for a newborn baby?
Remember -ALL formula must have the same level of nutrition and ingredients by law. There are some specially formulated types for different issues, but the regular and soy varieties are the same regardless of name or store brand. The store brands are up to 50% cheaper, so you save a lot of money opting for those if you can!
Whichever one works for your little one.
Babies take different to each type of formula. My kids did well on Enfamil, where Similac just gave them gas.
Both kids, though, when they're older (6mos or so)....Target brand was FINE! Once they're little digestive systems are more mature, the sensitivity to formula types and switches disappeared.
So you'll have to just try different ones to see what your baby tolerates well.
The content (DHA, etc...) is federally regulated. So in that sense, all formuals are exactly the same.
There isn't. Meaning no matter WHAT formula, it will be TERRIBLE for one kid, and absolutely fantastic for another. It's trial and error. Most hospitals start with either Similac or Enfamil... but even then, there are half a dozen TYPES of similar or enfamil. It's a trial and error process. They're all quite different from each other. Each formula is stringently tested by the FDA and has the same minimum igredients (aka x amount of calcium, y amount of lipids)... but how they go about (aka sources) getting the nutrients into it AND how broken down they are reeeeeeeeally varies.
THAT SAID
The vast majority of infants do FAR better on 'premixed' of whatever brand than powdered. If your kid doesn't get gassy, constipated, projectile vomit, etc on powdered, count your lucky stars, because premixed (silky texture) is expensive as all get out.
((And ignore anyone who says the best formula is breast milk -because you know it will get said. Milk is NOT always best, despite what the catchy little phrase says. Mom can be adopting, taking meds, undergoing chemo or radiation, have structural issues, etc., etc., etc., etc., etc. -I can list 2 dozen reasons to avoid breastmilk like the plague just off the top of my head, although I'm definitely a proponent of nursing, it is NOT best in all cases. And baby can have numerous issues with breast milk including allergies and intolerances just to start an almost equally long list.))
I'd try breastfeeding first... it is the only nutrition in the entire world that is tailor made for your baby and offers many things not a single formula company can duplicate.
I'm with MandA M.....whichever one works for you little one.
We used the one the hospital used which was Similac after my
breask milk dried up.
I would try to go w/the one your hospital uses then try a different one if it
causes your baby too much gassy pain. Possibly Enfamil or another
popular, well known name brand.
We used the Target brand.
I have preferred Enfamil over Similac for my sons, primarily because the Similac smells, and makes the whatever the baby produces in the way of spit up and dirty diapers smell worse than other formulas. That was just my preference, my kids did fine with whatever formula we gave them, and we ended up using the Kirkland Signature brand from Costco because it was less expensive.
My first one was fine switching better the generic stuff at walmart and target and breastmilk. My second one is a little more picky and we have tried a couple different kinds. I would start out buying the smaller packages or using some of the samples from the Peditrician or hospital to see what works best.
Our Ped. says that the generics are the same thing as the expensive stuff so we were fine with that.
I used Similac and Babies R Us brand and my daughter did well with both. I found Enfamil to be to think for my daughter, but you will see here that lots of people love Enfamil. Which ever you decide, if you pick a name brand, go to their website and sign up. They will send you coupons to off-set the price of the formula.
We used the brand the hospital gave us to accompany breast feeding and when we finished the brand name ones we just switched to generics. Both my kids had no problems with the switch and they got whatever generic brand (walmart, target, BJs, Costco, etc) that I came across.
