Which Baby Formula is Best?

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of PBM Products. All opinions are 100% mine.

<p>When I was pregnant with Caleb, I had planned on breast feeding.  I had these lofty goals of exclusively breast feeding for the first year.  There were some women in my church who were doing it and it seemed to be going pretty well for them.  If motherhood has taught me anything,it's how to catch a curve ball. Caleb was born just a couple of weeks early, and he was only 5 lbs 6 oz.  his placenta had become detached from the uterine wall and he had not been receiving enough nutrients.  Therefore, he could not wait for my milk to come in, he needed to be supplemented with formula.  the hospital had some free Similac to give me and so that is what I used while I was there.  When I went home, I had the same brand of formula stashed in my closet pantry.  I had receive 4 full cans of it free in the mail. I continued to supplement Caleb with formula, but he mostly breast fed and sometimes went several weeks without formula supplement.  I thought we were doing just fine... then another curve ball.  

<p>My milk production was unable to keep up with Caleb's enormous appetite during a growth spurt when he was 6 months old.  I started feeding him rice cereal and without the constant nursing, my milk just stopped.  Caleb had formula for the next 6 months. I kept buying the Similac because it was the only thing I knew about. I wasn't prepared to buy formula. I didn't have a budget for it, or any knowledge about it and I felt like I was stuck. I bought the Similac at Costco so I could get a better deal, but between that and the diapers and the wipes, I was really breaking the bank.

<p>If I had only stopped to think.  Where did all of that free formula come from?  If every woman with a baby in the hospital was given as much free formula as i was, who paid for it?  Companies who give things away like that don't do it without expecting a return.  I was reading an article today about name brand vs.  store brand formula.  I had never thought about it before but all of those "free" samples drive up the costs of name brand formulas.  All formulas have to adhere to minimum nutrition standards, and so you aren't skimping on nutrition when you get a store brand formula.  That's not to say that all formulas are created equal, but it's wise to understand what you are paying for.

<p> Some estimate calculate your savings as high as $600 a year if you use a store brand rather than a name brand.  If you think that name brands are a high quality than store brands, you may want to think about this.  Many Simliac formulas, the very kind that I fed Caleb, were recalled last month.  There was apparently a chance that the affected packages contained a small beetle that could cause upset stomachs in little babies.  Now, an upset tummy may not sound like much, but no one wants to see their baby suffer unnecessarily.  On top of that, a tummy ache for a baby can mean a long and sleepless night for mom and dad.  And to add insult to injury you fed your baby a bug!

<p>I'm a believer that "the Breast is the Best", but I also believe that you should be educated on all of your options .  So, if you are pregnant or nursing, then I suggest you look into what kind of formula you would feed to your baby if the need should present itself.