Before I tell you my experience with them, I want to give a little disclaimer. This is just MY experience with them. Ultimately it comes down to using what works best for your little one. My daughter uses just the regular old formula.....not soy or anything like that.
We started out with Similac because samples were given to me for free at the hospital when my daughter was born. We had no physical problems with the formula. My daughter tolerated it very well. However, we did have a lot of problems with globs of the powder getting stuck in the nipple of the bottle, or at the bottom. Also, the powder itself was normally quite clumpy in the can making it a little difficult to make sure we were getting an accurate amount of powder for the formula. I would buy the pre-mixed bottles for when we were on the go. These bottles were GREAT because we were using 6 0z. bottles at the time and the premixed either came in the 8 oz minis, which you could attach a standard sized nipple (although not the Playtex VentAire nipples as they are designed differently than most others) to if you were so inclined and they had a screw top lid to store any excess formula. The bigger bottle of pre-made formula was much the same in that it comes in a plastic bottle with a screw top lid.
We then switched to Enfamil after being given a few free cans of it from a friend. Enfamil was a bit more granular in nature. I didn't have the clumping problem that I did with Similac, nor did I have a problem with clogged nipples or clumps of formula powder in the bottom of the bottle. My daughter tolerated the formula quite well. The pre-mixed Enfamil formula actually comes in cans. By the time we made the switch from Similac, my daughter was using 8-9 oz. bottles that can accommodate the full can. It would be a bit less useful for those moms using the smaller bottles, so I always recommend just buying the bigger bottles in the beginning if you're planning on using Enfamil. The company also sells pre-measured powder formula packets. Those are GREAT for a diaper bag. I highly recommend it.
The Kirkland brand of formula at Costco looks and acts exactly like Similac right down to the clumpy mess that it makes. While it is a very good value for the price, I haven't bought more simply because of the mess that it makes. However, if you're feeding your baby Similac and want to save some money, get yourself a Costco membership and stock up on this product! The savings alone will make the membership fee worth it!
The Target brand was basically the same as the Kirkland brand. It looks and acts exactly like Similac with a savings of almost half! It's great if you're in an economic pinch and need something to get you through until payday!
Sorry if the writing is poor. My daughter is crawling all over the place and it has literally taken me all day to finish this!
I also wanted to add that if you use Similac or Enfamil, you can go to their websites and sign up for their clubs. As a member of these clubs, they will send you $5 off coupons practically every month. Every little bit helps!
4 comments:
Our pediatrician said generics were perfectly fine since they're all FDA-regulated, but I did a lot of research before making the switch anyway.
I tried Costco but it made my daughter smell funny. I'm the only one who was bothered by it, but it drove me crazy. When I came home one day and could smell the formula from the doorway, I went right back out and got a can of Target's brand. So far I love it. I'm on my third can and there's no smell. Nutritionally, it's virtually identical to Enfamil LIPIL (what I used to use). The scoop for the Target formula is bigger than the other brands (same mixing directions) so you use more, but Target's brand is still much cheaper than Enfamil. It actually seems to dissolve better and doesn't seem to smell or stain as badly as Enfamil. My only complaint about the Target formula is a minimal one. The handle of the scoop is much shorter and since the scoop itself is bigger I'm stuck using the short-handled scoop. But for the same nutritional value, less money, and no funny smell, I can deal with the shorter handle. :)
I just wanted to add...my son was on similac and I loved it....I do know what you are talking about as far as the clumps in the bottle if not shaken well enough...but I didn't really notice it clumping in the can so much. However the Walmart brand (Parents Choice) is also pretty much the same exact thing. The BIG can of it was (I wanna say) around $16, so it was a huge savings :)
I noticed the shorter handle on the Target formula. I thought maybe I was nuts....but I'm glad to hear that I'm not!
Great feedback ladies!
Nope. I compared the two and then dumped formula from the Enfamil scoop into the bigger one. It's weird that they're not the same size. (Candace, AWC, who can't remember her Google/Blogger password.)
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