Changing from exclusive to bottle

[PrincessZoe]

Hi, my boy is 6 months and has been on exclusive, I want to ask if it is ok to give him Aptamil 1... Breastmilk substitute or go to Aptamil 2... Though he is refusing to take bottle. He's also got real bad diaper rash.. pls, help.

[Lovefood1984]

There was a documentary a few months ago that said all formula is the same due to strict regulations over what is in it and nutrients etc and the companies just add extra ‘stuff’ for you to pay more, so therefore Aldi’s £7 a tin is just as good as Aptamils £12 a tub 🤷‍♀️ I know the stage 2 was designed by the companies to be able to advertise as they are banned from advertising newborn milk, apparently it just has a bit more iron in but the first stage is suitable from birth right up to 12 months anyway and then baby would then go onto cows milk. What I’m saying is I guess it’s up to you which one you want to buy and how much you want to spend (although I don’t profess to be an expert as we are on prescription milk so have no choice). I also have no advice on getting little one to take a bottle but I would look up which bottles are compatible with different teats as a lot fit each other so you could save some money buy only buying one type of bottles and trying different teats 🤔

As for nappy rash, I can swear buy the yellow metanium cream, clears it up really well (not that we’ve had many episodes, once at 4 weeks and again just now at nearly 11 months due to acidic poop 🤢) x

[PrincessZoe in reply to Lovefood1984]

Thanks a lot dear!

[Cheekymonkey85]

No baby on formula ever needs anything more that stage one- no matter the brand. As already said it's all to do with marketing because of advertising restrictions on the 1st stage. I only ever used stage one cow & gate formula for my daughter- but aldi didn't do theirs at the time or I might have gone with that.

Apart from extra iron (they can get plenty more from food instead) there's no real benefit to the stage 2. If I remember correctly it also contains more sugars so that put me off.

[PrincessZoe in reply to Cheekymonkey85]

Thanks and thanks again. But are you suggesting that I should buy cow and gate instead of Aptamil? Just asking as this is my first child, 🤗🤗

[Cheekymonkey85 in reply to PrincessZoe]

No not at all, you choose whichever brand you want, or baby likes. I chose cow & gate in the basis it was slightly cheaper than aptamil, if Aldi has sold their formula 5 years ago I would probably chosen that from a cost perspective as they all have to follow the same strict guidelines, there are only slight variations in recipes so are pretty much the same x

[Georgielouise]

Aptamil is definitely one of the best. I would go on to stage 2 because of his age. I used aptamil with my first baby and even went on to stage 3 before going on to cows milk , just because I wanted to make sure she had all her vitamins. I am using aptamil stage 1 for my baby boy who is six weeks. I will do the same with him.

With the nappy rash smother with sudo cream it is brilliant. Also a big pot lasts ages. x

[PrincessZoe in reply to Georgielouise]

Thanks, 🤗🤗🤗🤗

[NE90]

Childs Farm nappyrash cream is the best and it can be used all over the body as well...even the face!! As for milk....stick to cow and gate, the expensive ones are just a waste of money for the same product essentially x

[PrincessZoe in reply to NE90]

Thanks Sis, I appreciate!😘

[ChloeLeighCorn]

All formulas are very similar but there are slight differences. You won’t know which brands work for your baby until they’ve tried them. My daughter couldn’t tolerate cow and gate it made her really badly constipated but she’s doing great on SMA. You don’t need to move on to stage 2, there’s no real benefit it’s just a marketing ploy. Stick to stage 1, until 12 months and then switch to full fat cows milk (Blue top). When baby starts drinking less than 500mls of formula you’ll need to give extra vitamins.

For the bottle, it’s just a case of finding a bottle that baby likes. All babies are different but I love MAM anti colic bottles. My baby was exclusively breastfed and she took to these (and switches between bottle and breast) with absolutely no issues or hesitation. The dummy’s from mam are also the only she will take. All babies will have different preferences.

For the nappy rash

-leave nappy off for periods of time if possible for it to air out, just fold a towel and lay baby down on it in case of accident.

-use cotton wool and cooled boiled water rather than wipes until it heals

-change nappies more frequently than you normally would

-I use the yellow metainium first (only a little, it goes a long way and is very strong so over using it can actually make it worse) and then layer a thin amount of bepanthan over the top so it doesn’t immediately rub off the metainium onto the nappy.

[PrincessZoe in reply to ChloeLeighCorn]

Thanks a lot, I really appreciate. 🤗😍😘