Is it me or is finding organic infant formula comparisons impossible?

[KaarestaKJ]

Hello everyone,

Our DD is 4 weeks now and we are beside ourselves trying to locate good information on the two organic infant formulas that we've come across to nutrition guidelines.  Baby's Only and Earth's Best.  DD is currently on Earth's Best and is eating every 4-5 oz every 4-4.5 hours - which seem a lot to us.  

We brought her home using Good Start from the hospital and switched with no issues.

We did a visual comparison between Earth's Best and Good Start... it appears that Good Start has better nutrition based on the label.  But the added 'extras' scare the heck out of me.

I would love to hear thoughts, comments, guidance.  

We want to give our DD the best start we can and we know that the first 6 months is vital in her development.

Thank you,

K

[cristeen]

First, welcome to MDC.

Second, without knowing why you're formula feeding, a little bit about your own habits/beliefs regarding food, and what exactly your standards are, it's difficult to really answer your question.

If at all possible, I would suggest pumping to relactate. Breastmilk is the absolute best thing you can feed your DD, even if its only part-time. Barring relactation, donor milk is a great alternative. We used donor milk exclusively until DS was 7 mos.

As for the question you actually asked... The FDA has strict guidelines for formula, aside from ingredients, they're all much of a sameness. When we ran out of donor milk, we started using Earths Best dairy, and he did pretty well w that. But then they changed their recipe to include corn syrup, so we're now transitioning over to Baby's Only. A good idea for the ff baby is to include probiotics in every bottle. They're not getting the bacteria from your BM, they need it from somewhere.

I would absolutely avoid a soy based formula unless she tolerates nothing else. Umfortunately, pretty much all formulas contain some soy, so organic is crucial for avoiding GMOs.

Another option is to make your own formula. The only complete formula I am familiar with is the recipe from WAPF. All the other recipes out there are not intended for long-term use. This is however a controversial subject, and not something widely supported, even here.

[KaarestaKJ]

Thank you Cristeen!

A bit more of a back ground to help understand why we are FF.  Our DD comes to us by way of an adoption agency.  We met her exactly 1 month ago today, just hours after she was born and has been with us ever since.  We only found out we were selected just a week before the birth, so we've had quite a wonderful surprise, with little time to pull together certain resources.  All I know is we disliked the smell and ingredients of the formula she was on.

So, not sure if attempting to breastfeed without giving birth is an option, is it?  Or donor milk... That's another topic.  

We are currently using Earth's Best, I feel she is doing very well on it, but we are looking into Baby's Only based on the information/forum responses we are reading. I'll need to do some research on the probiotics you mentioned.  Any recommendations?

All any of us want to do is do right by our children!

K ( aka  )

[bodhitree]

Congratulations on your sweet little surprise.

I believe it is often possible to induce lactation if you are an adoptive mom. I don't know the details, but if you're at all interested in having a breastfeeding relationship, you could ask on the adoption forum here and those mamas will be able to point you in the right direction.

[cristeen]

It is possible to relactate, but in this instance I would also recommend looking into a Lact-Aid supplememtal nursing system. It will allow you to nurse her whether you relactate or not. We used it until 9 mos when he started spitting the tubing out (independent little bugger). You dont have to use it at every feeding, but even a few times a day will help facilitate bonding.

As for probiotics, ask at your local HFS about baby probiotics. I believe the one I have is from Country Life. You're looking for bifidus infantis at a minimum. The one i'm using has that and 3 or 4 others. Check for fillers - some use milk, some use maltodextrin (corn). That's a matter of preference and whether she shows signs of dairy intolerance.

Congrats on your new little bundle!!

[cristeen]

Realized i didnt answer your question about amounts...

At that age, it is a lot. Her stomach has been artificially inflated by the ff, quite probably in the hospital/ before you got her to accomodate staff scheduling. At that age, she should be eating 2 oz every 1.5-2 hrs. She should not be going 4 hrs between feedings during the day. That is an artificial construct created by over feeding. She shouldnt be getting 4 oz/feeding until sometime around 6 mos. And I know my guy didnt exceed 4 oz until after a year. Now he can take down 6 oz, occassionally more, but now he can bring me his empty bottle when he's hungry.

I did my best to follow the feeding guidelines you can find on kellymom.com. I wanted his experience to be as close to "natural" as i could make it with bottles. Certain things will be off (like total oz in a day), but most of the rest is still good advice, even for the ff.

[askew]

Congratulations on your new baby!!!

I don't know anything about formula,  but wanted to jump in and say that IMO the two best probiotics for infants are Udo's Choice Infant Probiotics and Natren infant probiotics. They are made specifically with children under 2 in mind. We gave the Udos one to both of our kids. 

Here are a few links I found on adoptive breastfeeding if that is of interest to you. One of my close friends did it, but she had a 6 month window before the baby was born. I don't know if that makes a difference. 

http://library.adoption.com/articles/induced-lactation.html

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/supply/adoptivebf.html

http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/516426