Formula Reviews

A review of the formulas we’ve tried from the free samples we received:

Similac Pro-Sensitive & Pro-Advance 2 floz Premixed Bottles with One-time use Nipples

• Many parents may recognize these 2-oz-wonders you receive from the hospital
• They are preportioned and come with a corresponding nipple; therefore, it’s as easy to feed as 1) Shake 2) Add a nipple 3) Feed
• As a brand new parent, these were a great find for us
• Eleanor only needed to scream for an instant before a bottle magically appeared in her mouth – no waiting
• The downside is how expensive these little devils are – when I looked online I saw them as a package of 6 for $9 – ouch

Enfamil NeuroPro Infant Formula, Powder

• As soon as we got home, we made the switch to mixing powdered formula (therefore Eleanor’s second day)
• There was overlap between the premixed bottle at night because I was too overwhelmed to mix a formula bottle with a screaming baby at the same time
• That soon became easier to mix formula with water (hey, new mom here!) and no longer needed the pre-mixed with regularity
• With this formula, we woke Eleanor every three hours to feed her because she was so young
• This formula kept her satiated for the three hour intervals based on what she was willing to ingest (started with 30 ml each time and eventually built to 60 ml)
• Overall, baby slept – like a baby – for most of her time on this formula and woke every 3 hours per being so young (so it’s hard to say anything either way about this formula)

Breast Milk

• We have been very fortunate that Birth Mom (Madrina) offered to drop off breast milk every couple of days as she pumps
• The best positive for Madrina is she is able to lose baby weight faster and still indulge in the occasional sweet because breast feeding eats your body alive
• For Eleanor, she gets all the benefits of anti-allergens and antibodies that breast milk provides (Comment below any additional benefits I may not know about)
• The downside became very apparent that the breast milk DOES NOT last as long in Eleanor’s system – she became hungry again between 1 to 2 hours
• No wonder my sister-in-law said she needed to be up almost 24 hours at a time when they were newborns – breast milk only satiates 1-2 hours!
• Therefore, for all the great benefits of breast milk, we only fed it to her during the day so we could get a little extra sleep at night

Similac Pro-Total Comfort

• Made the switch to this formula when the NeuroPro ran out when Eleanor was about 6 days old without incident or discomfort
• She transitioned between breast milk and Pro-Total Comfort easily each night/morning
• Eleanor’s intake varied and her satiation period varied alongside, but the longest sleep I got was over 4 hours with this formula – YAY!

Enfamil Enspire Infant Formula, Our Closest to Breast Milk Ever, Powder

• Maybe it was the switching between formula at night and breast milk during the day, but this formula was a tough switch for Eleanor
• She had the worst gas of her 9-day-old life while transitioning to this formula
• We’re talking screaming her head off, sharp gas pain, only bicycle kicks and being held upright would help it subside with the worst smelling farts assaulting the whole room
• Eleanor was not a belchy baby and did not spit up, but the gas pain and the farts, oh baby!