I see so many posts about the guilt and if it’s okay and the long stories about how much you’ve tried and the pain it’s causing you. So I just want to say I see you but come to the dark side of formula feeding and leave that guilt behind!

I had the same fears and feelings but at almost 8 months it’s crazy how much formula feeding is just a regular part of our day and honestly not even on my radar anymore. It’s such a short season of life and I’m so thankful I can formula feeding my little muffin.

First time mom. Baby is 6 weeks old as of today and is fed Similac 360 total care, which is what they gave him in the hospital. Up until this week, I was exclusively pumping and making bottles 50/50 breast milk and formula. I’ve been weaning from pumping and currently down to 1 pump a day.

So now baby’s bottles are 100% formula. With this switch, he’s been having a harder time pooping. I’ve read that formula is more difficult to digest, so this isn’t uncommon. He had 2 poop diapers yesterday and so far only 1 today. However he’s been extremely fussy and upset about not pooping as easily.

My question is: does this get better? I plan on seeing how he does over the next few days, but when should I consider changing formulas?

Side note, I want to thank everyone in this community for “giving” me permission to go formula only. This wasn’t the feeding journey I wanted/expected for my baby, but I barely have any help at home (only when husband is home from work) and pumping was destroying my mental health. I feel so much better making this decision and my mental health has improved drastically. 💕

I’m expecting baby number 2. My first child refused bottles so I could only breastfeed/direct breastfeed. This has made me really scared to breastfeed a second time. While I’m glad I could give my daughter what she needed; it was incredibly isolating, exhausting, and scary (the idea of losing supply, getting sick, being the only source of food, etc).

So now I am contemplating only giving formula from the jump with #2. I would love to pump for a little and combo feed, but I don’t want to risk a formula aversion.

Any advice? 5w 5d hormones are already kicking my ass so I am thinking (aka ruminating and crying) a lot.

My baby is 8 months old and we did an expensive European formula for the first six months. She did great on it, but we have some unexpected financial stuff popping up and we are trying to find a cheaper formula. We tried Similac Irish Farms for a couple weeks and she hated it. Was fussy like her tummy hurt. We have been using Kendamil classic the past few weeks, but she is struggling with constipation. She has a well check coming up, so I will obviously ask her ped then, but I am wondering specifically about the Member’s Mark Advantage Premium (compared to Similac 360 Total Care). I know nothing about other formulas because I’ve always used the same for all 4 babies. Sorry this is long. Thanks for reading. Any tips appreciated! Edited to add we also tried Happy Baby and she spit up buckets.

I’m currently expecting twins and trying to get things ready, but I didn’t realise how many different formula dispensers and mixers there are until I started looking.

At first I just thought I’d pick one and be done with it, but now I’m stuck going back and forth between different brands and reviews. I even ended up scrolling through alibaba a bit just to understand what these machines actually look like from the manufacturer side, because a lot of them seem almost identical in photos.

The more I look, the more I’m not sure what actually matters long-term. Some people say certain ones are super convenient at first but then start leaking or stop working properly after a while. Others say cleaning becomes more of a hassle than they expected once they’re using it every day.

And then there’s the question of parts — I didn’t even think about that at first, but it sounds like with some brands if something small breaks, you basically just replace the whole thing.

Honestly I’m just trying not to overthink it, but at the same time I don’t want to end up with something that becomes annoying after a few weeks of sleep deprivation with twins.

For anyone who’s actually used formula mixers or dispensers day-to-day, what did you end up sticking with? And is there anything you wish you had known before buying?

My daughter was born between 6-7 weeks early (she is adopted and there was no prenatal care so we are unsure of exact due date). She is 12 weeks now, on Neocate because of sensitive stomach, and is eating between 17-21 oz a day. I know that is low compared to what I’m seeing online, but I can’t often get her to drink more than 2-3 oz per feed. I feed when she shows signs of hunger and go no longer than 3 hour spans during the day. Is this typical for preemies? She is gaining weight and seems to be doing really well, so I’m not sure if I should be overly concerned? I’m a FTM so this is all very new to me!

We have recently switched to EFF and coming from chaotic nursing timings generally I can definitely start a bit of a pattern emerging - ie. baby now goes roughly 4 hours between feeds, however the nighttime has completely changed. She used to wake up at exactly the same times each night when nursing and my body has absolutely adapted to it, however now the timings are completely different and also each night the wake up times are different because there will be one random feed in the day which will be 3 hours instead of 4.

It has only been two weeks and I appreciate that babies dont necessarily run on schedules like robots, but does it eventually settle into a predictable pattern with formula? I find that I am still waking up in my old nursing times and then just lying around awake for ages stressing about when I need to run down to warm up formula (I try and listen out for her stirring and do it in advance as otherwise she hungry screams - with breastfeeding it was just a quick pick up from the cot into our bed).

My baby is 4 weeks old. She was born 37+3 and weighed 5lb 7. She now weighs almost 7lb.

She currently drinks 3oz of formula every 3 hours. Based on the (2.5oz x weight) she should be eating 17.5oz but she is eating more like 24oz.

Everyone has said you can’t overfeed a baby but she will keep eating and eating. Even after 3oz she is sometimes looking for more. I am hesitant to move her to 4oz as I don’t want to cause damage to her tiny tummy.

I know every baby is different and 3-4 oz is recommended for her age but it seems like a lot for a tiny baby.

I was just looking for some reassurance or how much does your baby eat.

She is a little sicky but only tiny amounts sometimes.

I would love to hear from anyone, but specially those who switched to formula because of maternal health reasons.

So breastfeeding has been rough from the start, but we have powered through a lot of pain and hardship to try and make it work. I’m almost 12 weeks pp now and one thing we haven’t been able to solve is chronic clogs that have ended in mastitis.

Everyday I am fighting at least two clogs, sometimes more. They are painful, and more than that, it makes every feed stressful. Which breast do I feed him on (LO only takes one at a time) in hopes that he clears the clog? Every feed feels like do or die. Feeding is often painful because of the clogs too. I dread him waking up from a nap and needing to feed.

The absolute worst part has been my inability to hold or carry him. Because of the pain and risk of clogs, I can’t contact nap or babywear. I want to hold my baby without pain. I feel like I have already missed out on so much. I look at all the photos and videos we have already of mostly my husband and him. I want to be close to my baby without pain.

I really wanted to breastfeed till at least 6 months, and I don’t want to give up. I so badly want to make this work… but I’m incredibly depressed. I feel like breastfeeding has ruined this first 3 months together. I cry every night. I’m miserable. But at the same time, I struggle with the idea of switching. I wanted to do with for the health benefits for him AND me.

Idk… just looking to hear from others who might have had similar experiences.

EDIT: I should have included that I’ve worked with my OB and a LC extensively to work through this and the consensus is that I’m just prone to inflammation and therefore clogs. We’ve tried it all.

My 6-month-old baby boy has been on Nutramigen for 3 weeks now for suspected CMPA/reflux. Overall, he is doing really well on it in terms of comfort—he is settled, happy, and sleeping so much better than before.

However, I’m noticing a few lingering symptoms that are making me think the milk might still not be a 100% match:

 Feeding Flushes: While he is actively drinking his bottles, he gets a sudden, blotchy red rash/flush across his forehead and cheeks. It disappears completely a few minutes after he finishes feeding.

 Loose Stools & Nappy Rash: His nappies are still completely loose and watery at the 3-week mark, which has caused a really angry, raw red nappy rash on his bottom (the pharmacist gave us Clotrimazole cream for secondary thrush).

 Body Rashes: He also has mild, small, scattered rashes on his front and back that come and go but never fully clear up.

We actually have a prescription for Neocate ready to collect as a backup, but because he is generally so happy in his mood right now, I am absolutely terrified of changing his milk again and making him go backwards.

Has anyone else experienced a baby who seemed "fine" in themselves on Nutramigen but still had these skin flushes and bad nappies? Did moving to an amino acid formula like Neocate clear it up, or did the thinness of Neocate make their reflux worse?

Would love to hear your experiences before I make the jump. Thank you!

Hi all, my baby is about to be 6 months and has been combo fed. He gets two bottles formula a day and the rest breast milk. I have an older child who is 3.5 and I now need to focus more on him as he is starting school soon.

I know that I can easily wean him off but I feel immensely guilty. Nobody is pressuring me but its my own mind. With my first, i had supply issues but with this guy my supply is better. Perhaps that is why I feel the need to feed him for some more time .

I now feel like I should feed till 8 months but really what are these 2 months going to achieve. Ive started work and gym also so its all too overwhelming.

Plus he is too impatient at the breast now. Im just looking for support at this point I guess! Help me!

Hi all, my baby is now 13 weeks old. At 11 weeks everything changed. He started crying during feeds, wanting to look around and not drink, getting extremely fussy. He’s formula was changed at 5 weeks old and he has been fine with it. He is on goat milk. I use Dr Brown anti colic bottles. I have changed the teat size recently to size 2. I also give him Infacol as he gets colic from time to time. Sometimes he is fine, other times it will take me around 1 hour to feed him. I also try space out his feed time just incase im feeding him to early but its always the same reaction. I know that he is hungry because he does end up finishing the feed. Im just curious if this is normal behaviour for some babies or if i should get him checked out. I have tried feeding in a dark room, light room, rocking him, shushing him. Nothing works!

Any help or suggestions will be appreciated.

Hello everyone! We decided to switch our baby girl to goat milk formula to see if it would help her reflux and gas. We switched gradually, and this is currently day 4 of being on 100% kendamil goat (switching from kendamil classic). Yesterday she had three very watery stools, but today her stools have returned to normal. But she is soooo gassy and fussy today. She woke up last night grunting like she was in pain, and she usually sleeps 12 hours straight so that is so unlike her. She’s also spitting up quite a bit, which is usual for her but I’m wondering if she is either reacting poorly to the formula or if she has a stomach bug. She’s also not taking as much in one sitting as usual, about an ounce less per feed. She hasn’t had a fever, and is really a happy girl otherwise, laughing and smiling and all. She seemed to do much better on this formula for days 1 and 2, with reduced spit up and gas and just generally seeming so much more content, but now is not doing well. What do you guys think? Should I try going back to mixing the formula or should I wait it out? Is it likely this could be from a stomach bug? I had a low fever today and was nauseous, but maybe it’s just sympathy symptoms, lol.

Baby diagnosed CMPA with microscopic blood at 8 weeks old. Trialed alimentum and he still had post feed screaming, gas, etc so moved to alfamino. Doing better but his GI mentioned we could trial moving to a gentle formula now that he’s almost 6 months. Has anyone done this successfully?

I see benefit because 1) I don’t want to avoid the allergen and risk it becoming a longer term issue if it’s possible to test and he’s outgrown it 2) alfaminos clogs literally every bottle and is kind of a pain to feed because it’s always getting stuck 3) amino acid formula has increased his reflux being so thin 4) he used to chug alimentum RTF, he definitely doesn’t love the taste and I think would go crazy for a different type of formula 5) not covered by insurance - spending $700/month as he drinks 30oz a day.

Thanks!

5.5 month old has been on Similac Alimentum since about 10 weeks for severe reflux and sensitive stomach. He did great on it, but reflux and spit up have significantly improved since then so we decided to attempt a transition to Gerber Good Start Gentle Pro. We did a slow transition for about a week, then 100%. Of course he got a cold when we transitioned to 100%. He's been ok for a couple days, but today is day 5 and he's been having some crying episodes and pulling off the bottle. He's also been having what feels like almost constant diarrhea with mucus. I just can't tell if it's the cold or the new formula. He's very congested and coughing but getting better every day. I'm just so worried I have messed things up and his stomach is so upset. I'm not sure how long to stick it out or go back to alimentum. I did send a message to the ped, I just haven't heard back yet. Anyone else go through this?

My baby is 3 months old and I still feel like I haven't gotten the hang of bottle feeding. Basically, I find it very hard to know if she is hungry, to predict when she'll be hungry, and how much she'll be hungry for.

For example, for her first bottle of the day after 9+ hours, I'll always propose 150ml but she'll often only take like 90ml. But then later in the day, when she's been fed consistently 120ml every couple of hours, she'll suddenly demand like 180ml and I have to go back and make more. Sometimes she'll go only 2 hours before screaming her head off for milk and sometimes she'll go several hours and then only lackadaisically take that bottle.

My doctor + the back of the formula box seems to suggest that by this age, babies should be pretty well-regulated to have X bottles of Y quantity per day, and I feel so far from that.

Is this normal? Part of me is telling myself that adults have varying appetites throughout the day so why should we expect babies to be robots? My concern is mostly (1) logistics—lots of making milk she doesn't eat and/or having to go back and make more (2) feeling bad that I'm maybe bad at reading her cues (3) my doctor is pushing pretty hard that I shouldn't let her "snack" and hold to at least 3 hours between bottles and push for 150ml per bottle.

My baby is 7.5 months old, he's been combo fed with Bobbie formula since the beginning. He recently got what we assumed was a stomach bug, we had a couple of episodes of vomiting, the second was immediately after a formula bottle. Decided to stick with breastfeeding to be extra cautious.

Breast milk seems to be fine though? He'll sip on the boob all day without issue. He had gone 36 hours without vomiting so we tried another formula bottle (2oz). Seemed fine so later we gave him another 2 oz. Well a few hours later he vomited again!

I'm assuming it's just a bug that's sticking around, but should I be concerned we have a bad batch of formula? New cans arrive tomorrow so I can't test out another can until then, but his appetite has started coming back and I don't have enough of a supply to fully feed him on a normal day.

We have been struggling with bottle aversion for the last month with our 4.5 month old (3.5 months corrected) - we think it was triggered by a cold and a congested nose which made drink milk hard work.
We have been recommended the rowena bennet method but I have a question - my understanding is that we offer twice, and then end the feed until they next show signs of feeding? However our little one is constantly showing hunger signs, we offer the bottle and then he cries or arches away after a sip. He sometimes cries that he is hungry and we have been getting by, by giving a sip at a time, spending a good hour trying to get milk into him. So if following the RB method, how would we know to ‘end’ the feed?

For Context, always been formula fed, we’ve tried different teats, tried a dark room, tried distraction (this seems to work the best and we often walk around whilst feeding), tried different positions (laying almost flat on a pillow seems to be best as he HATES being held). We have seen a GP, don’t think it’s reflux, but open to any stories/ suggestions/ help!

So I recently switched from Momcozy to the Papablic bottle washer. The main factor for me was the reduction in normal cycle duration. Momcozy had like 99 mins I think. And Papablic advertised 84 mins. It was a big deal for me.

After a few weeks of use, I’m noticing that when the 84 mins of normal cycle get done, the stuff inside isn’t really dry. There’s still visible drops of water everywhere and the HMI shows the dryer running at full speed. I know the dryer runs intermittently in storage mode. But I’m talking about when the 84 mins finishes and the HMI switches to show “72H”, it’s still actually drying.

Wondering if other people had the same issue. This makes me feel that Papablic just sneaked that extra drying time under storage mode to make it look like their unit is quicker. I don’t remember having this issue with Momcozy. Wanted to get your thoughts on this.

I‘m going to be a FTM and have no idea how much a baby drink from the newborn stage upwards.

How long does a Box of 600g or 800g last with your baby? How many do you need per month?

My son is just over 4 months old and weighs a little over 7 kg (about 15.5 lb).
He was breastfed until around 2 months old and then gradually transitioned to formula. Since birth, he’s actually increased his growth percentiles rather than dropping them, and he’s currently tracking very well on his growth curve.
He’s now exclusively formula-fed and typically drinks around 1,100 mL in a 24-hour period, which works out to about 37 oz per day.
We’ve always fed responsively and follow his hunger cues rather than trying to hit a target. He doesn’t always finish his bottles, and we don’t encourage him to. Sometimes he leaves some behind, sometimes he drains them completely.
What confused me is that my Huckleberry app recently gave me a message saying that babies shouldn’t regularly exceed 32 oz of formula per day and that higher intakes should be discussed with a pediatrician.
So now I’m wondering:
Is 37 oz/day actually excessive for a 4-month-old who weighs 15.5 lb?
Did anyone else have a baby who consistently drank more than the “recommended” amount?
Did their intake naturally level off later?
Is there a point where feeding to appetite becomes overfeeding, or should I just keep following his cues?
Would love to hear others’ experiences, especially from parents whose babies seemed to be naturally big eaters but were growing appropriately.

I'm struggling with some persistent guilt around formula feeding and I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced this.

My little one is almost 2 now, and we've been off formula since he turned 1. For the first few months, we did a combination of pumping and formula before switching to exclusively formula feeding at 4 months.

He's healthy, meeting all of his milestones, and a typical happy toddler. Logically, I know he's doing great. But I still find myself wondering why I didn't breastfeed longer or what I could have done differently to make it work.

Now that my husband and I are considering a second baby, those thoughts are coming up even more. I catch myself thinking things like, "I'll do it right next time" or "I won't give up so easily."

I know formula feeding was the right choice for our family at the time, but I can't seem to shake the guilt or the feeling that I somehow fell short. For those who have felt this way, how did you move past it?

My baby was just prescribed PurAmino and antacid meds for CMPA and reflux. Curious what other people experienced with this formula and how long it took to see an improvement or decide against it? Giving it 2 weeks at least for sure of course but was just wondering.

We used the Momcozy bottle washer for our first child and stored it away about a year ago. We got it out again for our second child and now when the cycle is finished there is about a half inch to an inch of water just sitting in the main tank. I've tried descaling with vinegar and water, I've taken all of the parts out and cleaned them, and have removed the internal filter and cleaned that. I've also cleaned the drainage hose and have tried to clean out the drainage hole as best as I could. Anyone else have this issue and a solution? TIA!