Formula

[Ashley1102]

I am a week away from my due date so I am not sure what brand of formula will work well with my baby. I have gotten some samples and bought the really cheap similac formula at walmart with the $3 off coupon. It seems lately that similac has been running the best deals and I believe that is what I am going to start by baby with. I came across another really good deal (or at least I think it sounds like a good deal) to get 48 of the little 2 oz ready to feed bottles for a little over $10 and am trying to decide if I want to order them or not.

How do you decide how much to stockpile of formula since your baby could end up needed to change to another brand

[foggierbard9]

I actually had a pretty big formula stockpile, and just hoped my DD would be fine using it. I did have 2 small powder cans of Similac Soy that they mailed me and a small can of Enfamil that I got from them as a homemailer, but all the rest of my stockpile was Similac regular formula. My DD was fine on the Similac, so I might have just got lucky.

[CW&M Mom]

I had to sell my stockpile with #2...because we had to put him on Nutramagin.

With #1 I used whatever formula I had at the moment. She never got used to what exact flavor...and that was the easiest way to get it cheap.

[blossomed]

Your pediatrician will also start you out with a few cans (and if you need to change they usually have varieties to offer - dont forget to ask them for coupons too!) and the hospital giveaway coupons are sometimes really good too. One option is to go to the wholesale club, (some will take the formula checks not coupons but the checks) and that combined with your dr freebies will give you a chance to get your stockpile together.

[OneHotMomma]

I always stockpile diapers and wipes and such but never formula. I wait to see what the pediatrician and hospital have the baby drink, and look for deals from there. I stockpile for mine after the baby is here so that I know what kind they need. Be careful though. My twins started out on Similac Advance but they cried all night. We had to switch to the sensitive kind and now they sleep through the night with no tummy aches.

[kschick96]

I would hold off on stockpiling formula until you know what works for your baby. DS has to have Similac Advance-nothing else works. We even tried the Wal-Mart Brand of this two different times-once when he was a newborn, the other when he was about 6 months old and it reacted awful with his tummy-you would think it would be fine becuase it is almost the same thing, but there was enough difference in the two it made him sick.

One thing bad about formula is that you can't just take it back to the store-no returns, once you've bought it you are stuck with it for good.

Congrats on our baby! I wish you a happy and healthy delivery (hopefully soon)! :)

[mbcalder]

[QUOTE=kschick96;2742527]One thing bad about formula is that you can't just take it back to the store-no returns, once you've bought it you are stuck with it for good.

QUOTE]

you can return/exchange formula at WalMart with receipt (non WIC of course).. i had bought DS Gentle Plus and had to switch him to Soy Plus.. and they gave me full return amount. i had even used the 11.00 checks and i got full amount back.

[mommytaylor]

Not sure, I stockpiled but I did it after they were born while breastfeeding after trying different brands here and there. Both my kiddos went from breastfeeding to milk-based formulas around 8 months. Neither had a problem taking any kind of milk-based - but since I breastfed for 8 months with each, their tummies and spit up reflexes were very different than a newborn's when they went to formula.

[loladooder99]

I wouldn't stockpile formula because you never know how your baby will react to it. My first son did fine on regular milk based formula no matter the brand and didn't mind any taste differences. But I just had my second son 4 weeks ago and I had to switch him to Similac sensitive from the regular advanced. But I found the best deal on formula if you couldn't get the similac checks to use on the ready to pour quart bottles at walmart was to buy the powdered members mark formula at sams. I had signed up for the similac coupons but didn't get them enough to make a huge differences. So per oz the Sams brand formula was the cheapiest. It only comes in regular milk based and the gentle lactose reduced.Its all regulated by the fda and has the same stuff. My son is almost 3 and has only had one cold and no ear infections. Talk to your peditrician about it. If you can afford it the little 2 oz bottles of ready to feed are a life saver when your sleep deprived in the beginning. The hospital gave me some and my doctor gave me some to try out. If i could afford anything i would use only the ready to pour. I constantly second guess how many scoops im putting in when mixing the formula cause im so exhausted. For powder formula I highly recommend buying the doctor browns pitcher to mix it. Keeps the bubbles down.

[sallyann]

I wouldn't worry about getting too much of a stockpil if you're getting the formula close to free as it can always be sold. Luckily my boys can take anything so I've never had a problem with using a couple sample cans even if they're not our usual brand.

Good luck with your new little one, congrats!