What brand of formula do you use?

[akc]

OK, gals -

I've compiled the chart for the formulas with iron (not DHA/ARA, not soy, not lactose free), but I didn't really get pricing info from anyone, so here's what I have so far. If you want me to establish the price/oz, send me info otherwise I'll leave it at this. PLEASE KNOW THAT I AM NOT TRYING TO BE SOME SNOTTY, FORMULA EXPERT - JUST FELT LIKE I WANTED TO BE FULLY INFORMED SINCE I HAVE TO FORMULA-FEED ONLY (AND ONCE I STARTED, MY CURIOUSITY GOT THE BETTER OF ME)

MY TAKE ON IT: Here's my guess at the order of expense.

1) Cheapest - Kirkland (Costco) and all Wyeth-Produced Store-brands (SEE LIST BELOW, incl. Wal*Mart Parent's Choice & Target's Healthy Baby) Best bargain - You are PROBABLY going to be able to find sales or coupons for the store-brand formulas where the Kirkland is usually a relatively stable price.

2) In order for brand-names (note: these can still go on sale, offer coupons, or be in warehouses, but they are STILL more expensive than the store-brands): Enfamil (ususally less than other brand-names and comes in largest cans), Similac, Good Start (in all comparisons has been a little more)

3) Horizon Organic is the only organic formula approved by the USDA that meets FDA requirements. It is only sold in CA, WA, and OR and is (not surprisingly) very expensive.

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NOW, I've really been elbow deep if formula research (and even called a few companies), so I thought I'd post my findings on the whole formula industry and the Department of Health (DOH) USDA categories. I've attached the DOH approved formula list which is great to see what is out there, who makes it, and how it's categorized. It is as of 12/03 (will probably appear tiny in your browser - just click on it to have it zoom in and will print in normal size).

1) I called the DOH on this one. All formulas ARE identical in that they meet USDA FDA standards for having certain nutritional elements and at least certain amounts of those elements.

2) Same conversation with the DOH. All formulas are NOT identical in their exact makeup of nutrients and other elements within. This can be varied by manufacturer (which you can see in the charts). As far as I can tell in my unofficial survey of all the Wyeth-produced formulas, those ARE identical.

3) I did want to clear up all the confusion around who manufactures what. PLEASE look at the attached chart if you are interested because it will help clear up all the confusion around this (even my lists of the Wyeth-produced store-brands hasn't been completely up-to-date):

Mead Johnson - Enfamil

Nestle - Good Start

Ross - Similac

CG Nutritionals - Kirkland Signature sold exclusively at Costco (NOTE: this is a div of Abbot, which is a division of Ross)

Wyeth - ALL other store-brand formulas (NOTE: Wyeth is also a division of Ross, but a different one than Abbot), including:

* Albertson’s Baby Basics with Iron
* Albertson’s Baby Basics Soy with Iron
* Albertson’s Baby Basics with Lipids
* Amway Kozy Kids with Iron
* Amway Kozy Kids Soy with Iron
* BJ’s with Lipids
* Babymil with Iron
* Babymil Soy with Iron
* Best Choice with Iron
* Best Choice Soy with Iron
* CVS with Iron
* CVS Soy with Iron
* Eckerd with Iron
* Finast with Iron
* Finast Soy with Iron
* Giant with Iron
* Giant Soy with Iron
* Good Sense with Iron
* Good Sense Soy with Iron
* H-E-B Baby with Iron
* H-E-B Baby with Lipids
* H-E-B Baby Soy with Iron
* Home Best with Iron
* Home Best with Lipids
* Home Best Soy with Iron
* Hy-Vee Mother’s Choice with Iron
* Hy-Vee Mother’s Choice Soy with Iron
* Kroger Comforts with Iron
* Kroger Comforts with Lipids
* Kroger Comforts Soy with Iron
* Meijer with Iron
* Meijer Soy Protein with Iron
* Nash Finch with Iron
* Nash Finch Soy with Iron
* Pathmark with Iron
* Pathmark Soy with Iron
* Perfect Choice with Iron
* Perfect Choice Soy with Iron
* Price Chopper with Iron
* Price Chopper Soy with Iron
* Rite Aid with Iron
* Rite Aid Soy with Iron
* Safeway SELECT with Iron
* Safeway SELECT Soy with Iron
* Stop & Shop with Iron
* Stop & Shop Soy with Iron
* Super G with Iron
* Super G Soy with Iron
* Target Healthy Baby with Iron
* Target Healthy Baby Soy with Iron
* Target Healthy Baby with Lipids
* Top Care with Iron
* Top Care Soy with Iron
* Wal-Mart Parent’s Choice with Iron
* Wal-Mart Parent’s Choice Soy with Iron
* Wal-Mart Parent’s Choice with Lipids
* Wal-Mart Parent’s Choice Lactose Free with Iron
* Walgreens with Iron
* Walgreens Soy with Iron
* Walgreens with Lipids
* Wegman’s with Iron
* Wegman’s Soy with Iron
* Wegman’s with Lipids
* Weis Markets with Iron
* Western Family with Iron
* Western Family Soy with Iron

OK - Attached:
- chart of the regular formulas with iron, minus info on Kirkland's (if you've got it, send it to me) and the analysis of cost/oz (same deal - if you get it at a warehouse or find same price, email me or post)
- Department of Health list of formulas (will probably appear tiny in your browser - just click on it to have it zoom in and will print in normal size).

Hope this helps everybody. I suppose I should post this to the larger board, but I'll just put it here for now.

Alexa

[JElaineB]

Wow, you've certainly done a lot of work on this! :) I just have a comment on pricing, since you haven't gotten many responses on it. I don't know that a list of pricing would be extremely helpful anyway, because I have found it varies greatly from store to store and region to region. When DS was on formula, it was actually cheaper for me to buy Enfamil ready-to-feed quarts from Toys R Us than to buy powder from any place else (including Wal-mart, Target, etc.)! I could have bought the powder cheaper at Toys R Us, but the RTF was so cheap, and we were having water quality issues at the time, so I didn't. However, I have been to Toys R Us where my mother lives in a different part of the country and there is nothing special about their formula prices, so it definitely varies from place to place. I made my own spreadsheet when I first started formula feeding. I compared the price of all the different Enfamil with Iron (what we chose to feed) from different local stores, based on the liquid ounces that a particular can would make. I think people probably just need to shop around in their own area to find the best price, you never know where you may find it.

Jennifer
mom to Jacob 9/27/02

[akc]

Blendability?

Hi - I'm on the asking side again. I'm definitely changing from the Similac Advance, and I'm wavering between choosing:
the Kirkland Signature w/DHA and ARA
OR
the Wyeth- Wal*Mart Parent's Choice w/Lipids or Target's Healthy Baby w/Lipids (since they are the same!)
Part of that is b/c we don't have a membership to Costco (we do to Sam's) and Target and Walmart are closer.

My question is on the "blendability" of those 3? I did notice that Enfamil Lipil is WAY more blendable (just finer grained powder) than Similac Advance. Are any of those 3 more like the Enfamil? If no, has anyone tried those 3 and which did you find to be most blendable?

The good news is we're coming off of Similac Advance which most people find to be the MOST clumpy, so it should be better no matter what.

Thanks!
Alexa