Infant Formulas

While breast milk is still considered the best form of nutrition for your child, baby formula steps in when your child can not drink breast milk or when you can not produce enough. Many babies are simply not able to drink breast milk because of certain medical conditions or the mothers are on medications that can seep into the breast milk and be harmful to the child. In many cases, infant formula is really the best way to feed your growing baby.

When you're in the final stages of your pregnancy, it may be a good time to talk with your new pediatrician about what kinds of baby formula they recommend for your child. Often, they can give you free baby formula samples to take home with you to prepare for the big day, and many hospitals will also provide you with free samples of baby formula when you leave the hospital. Use these samples to see what your baby likes and what he or she doesn't like before you spend a lot of money in the process.

Baby formula is expensive. And the more specialized the formula is, the more expensive it can be. For babies that are lactose intolerant, they might need soy based formulas. For infants that have acid reflux, they will need special formulas that are thicker so that they don't spit up or have troubles with acid in their stomachs. Still other babies have a lot of troubles with gas, so they might need a special formula for that. Some families want to have organic baby formula, so they opt for organic baby formulas over anything else on the shelves. An organic infant formula is no different from a traditional formula, but it is produced without any unnatural chemicals, ingredients, or hormones. Infant organic formula can be found at health foods stores as well as at many regular grocers.

Some babies might respond better to goat milk baby formula because of certain stomach conditions. Goat milk formulas for infants tend to be less taxing on a baby's digestive system, so they can be a good place to start when your baby is having a lot of digestive troubles. These are also good to have around in the unlikelihood of a baby formula recall as they are made differently from other formulations.

Is there a best baby formula? That's hard to say because every baby is different and needs different things. Some of the more popular brands are Nestle baby formula and Enfamil baby formula, so you might want to start with those.