Which formula brand to stockpile?

[kat4891]

I'm trying to decide which brand of formula to stockpile. Please help. How they are different? Can you mix and mach them? How much of it do u need?
I think that I'll start to add formula at 6-7 month and finish BF by 9th month.

[mzbeers]

I would wait and find out which formula your baby does best on, and then stockpile it. It's best to stick with one kind of formula. Others may have a different opinion.

[beth119]

I agree with the above poster.

My boys did fine with regular milk based formula, but my DD went through EVERY.SINGLE.ONE. sold over the counter. She couldn't have ANY of them.

[mnnice]

Originally Posted by kat4891 I'm trying to decide which brand of formula to stockpile. Please help. How they are different? Can you mix and mach them? How much of it do u need? I think that I'll start to add formula at 6-7 month and finish BF by 9th month.

If your goal is to exclusively nurse for 6 or 7 months I wouldn't stockpile anything in my house. Honestly, I can see no emergency (chemo, surgery, ect) where you wouldn't get a few hours of advanced warning. If you want to keep freebies I'd keep them at a breastfeeding supportive friend's house not your own. Going to La Leche League meetings was also helpful for me. You can start going when you are still pregnant.

BTW my plan was exactly yours with ds1 and I had 10-12 cans of formula around (all freebies). He pretty much refused all bottles at six months (he refused the breastmilk I pumped. We never even tried the formula.) I ended up giving the one brand to a coworker and giving the rest to a food pantry (along with the baby food he refused to eat).

I you need to nest I'd concentrate on things you know for sure that you'll need. A good carseat, diapers (most kiddos are in size 3 for a pretty long time), wipes, and easy to prepare foods for the postpartum period.

[CW&M Mom]

After having 2 on Nutramagin...I wouldn't stockpile either. Any formula I had purchased before hand....I had to sell. DS could not drink it.

Now once your on formula then stockpile if needed.....what we did with the oldest one who could have whatever...is we gave her whatever. You name it...she got it...and was fine.

[anaj06]

I only stockpiled for baby #2 and I stockpiled NGS because that is what DS#1 drank. I knew how iffy the stockpile would be and only bought if it was almost free. At that time, NGS put out $11 NGS checks all the time and the small can was only $11.99. So I had the checks going to 3 different households and I traded for them all the time, but prior to birth, I only bought them if they were $1.00 or less per can.

Well DS#2 came along and I was very luck. I had 41 small cans stockpiled when he was born and he drank NGS the whole first year. I was able to stay ahead of my stockpile running out until around month 10, then I ended up trading for formula checks more aggressively and paying a higher price for them, but still saving money. Up until that point, since I wasn't in a bind and had plenty, I only traded if it was a coupon/other brand formula/rebate trade.

My advise: Be careful and don't put a lot of money into it because there are no guarantees that your baby will drink whichever one you decide to stockpile.

[kat4891]

Thank you everybody for your help.
So far I got more diapers and wipes then I will probably need (full closet), 2 free Platex Drop-ins + 400 liners, some clothes and blankets, bassinet, stroller, car seat, crib and changing table, baby monitor, and (4) cans of Enfamil. All was free or close to it, lots of second hand though. Did I forget something?

[FunnyFace]

Originally Posted by kat4891 Thank you everybody for your help. So far I got more diapers and wipes then I will probably need (full closet), 2 free Platex Drop-ins + 400 liners, some clothes and blankets, bassinet, stroller, car seat, crib and changing table, baby monitor, and (4) cans of Enfamil. All was free or close to it, lots of second hand though. Did I forget something?

I so recommend a baby sling whether it is the Over The Shoulder Baby Holder or another brand. I invested $40 into OTSBH and it was worth every penny. Wish I had it for the first three and not just the last one. I have a front baby carrier and it was okay, but loved the sling.

[jenjacobs]

Originally Posted by kat4891 Thank you everybody for your help. So far I got more diapers and wipes then I will probably need (full closet), 2 free Platex Drop-ins + 400 liners, some clothes and blankets, bassinet, stroller, car seat, crib and changing table, baby monitor, and (4) cans of Enfamil. All was free or close to it, lots of second hand though. Did I forget something?

Every mom has different opinions on what they loved but for both my kids I loved a boppy for feeding time, and a swing or a bouncer - actually the only reason I got any sleep when they were newborns was because of a swing.

Other things I stockpiled before my daughter was born in July was baby shampoo/body wash (you can usually catch deals on huggies or johnson and johnson) and baby food (the jars have long expiration dates).

[anaj06]

Originally Posted by jenjacobs Every mom has different opinions on what they loved but for both my kids I loved a boppy for feeding time, and a swing or a bouncer - actually the only reason I got any sleep when they were newborns was because of a swing. Other things I stockpiled before my daughter was born in July was baby shampoo/body wash (you can usually catch deals on huggies or johnson and johnson) and baby food (the jars have long expiration dates).

Yes, the baby food is a great idea too! Watch your expiration dates but probably anything in a store now is expiring well over a year from now. I hit a K-mart super doubles when DS was about 2 months old and Gerber 2-packs were 10/$10 and I had 40 - $1.00/2 coupons, so started my baby food stockpile - 80 free 2packs. I then slowly kept adding to the stockpile as I found great deals.

Currently my 14month old is still eating the Beechnut homestyles for his midmorning snack and other random times because of the free coupon that is out (insert Q exp 12/31/09). I bought a 100 of them from a member on here and have used half of them already. I just buy 3-5 each time I go to a store that sells them.