For those of you who plan to FF

Hi! I spent a lot of time over here when I was pregnant- it seems like a lifetime ago. I wish I had time to pop over and put in my two cents for all of you, but my girls keep me hopping!

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know my formula experience. My first three girls were BF, so I had no idea what formula I wanted to use. In the hospital they used Similac, so we stuck with it. Our girls will drink nothing else.

Similac is very stingy with coupons. I have spent countless hundreds of dollars on formula, and have received two (yes, that's 2) $5 coupons. I have called, begged, and pleaded for more. They actually thought they were hooking me up and sent me two $1 off coupons. Umm... why bother?

On the other hand, I get tons of enfamil coupons. I only wish my girls would drink it. Just something to keep in mind when choosing formula in the beginning.

GL to all of you, and see you in the FY, Lisa

 

wanted to chime in too... BF my other children but with the girls decided to exclusively FF --
same story - similac was given in the hospital and they won't take anything else

I'm wondering if you can just take in (generic) or whichever brand you're planning on using and have them give it to your babies so that's what they are used to from the first... don't know if they will or not.. but just a thought...

 

My hospital actually had good start, which is what I prefer, and I could get a lot of coupons from them for just one, so I definetly plan to call them about twin coupons!

 

Similac actually sent me TONS of coupons (we used Similac Isomil exclusively) for $5 off each can.
In the beginning I was getting them every month or so & trading with friends who used Enfamil.
I registered both my girls on the Similac site & maybe that helped?
I definitely think it is helpful to go to pampers.com, huggies.com, similiac.com etc & register for free stuff!!!

 

we started with Good Start in the hospital and it has gone well. I think that Good Start is stingy with the coupons. I too was getting Similac $5 off coupon every month - I have passed them on to a good friend. I got Enfamil coupons too - and it seems that everytime I check out at Target I get $10 off Enfamil with Lipil. too bad that is not what we use!

I registered on the Good Start web site - they sent me 2 small cans of formula as my "twin" gift. I sent them a message saying that I never get anything from them in terms of coupons and they did send a few - but it took weeks! I complained again and got several more $2 off coupons if you buy two cans - like that goes real far. But over all considering I am spending $50 a week on formula I will take what I can get.

I feel lucky that my girls didn't have to change formulas to find something that agrees with them and also that they are able to eat the same formula - there are several moms on here that have to use 2 different formulas.

as a side note, my friend that just had her baby requested Similac at the hospital and they were fine with providing that. However, the baby needed soy and they had to have it approved by the doctor before they would provide it for her. That took several hours for approval - but that is a unique situation.

 

I found it best to phase in new formulas. 90% old stuff, 10% new stuff in the bottle for a week, then 80/20, then 70/30...gradually moving on to the new stuff. Worked well for my fussy, fussy eaters. It's a slow process, but it seems to work. It's easier to make these kinds of changes after 6 months or so when their little digestive systems are more mature. By 9 months my boys would drink whatever was on sale!

 

QUOTE(CHJH @ Dec 4 2008, 03:27 AM) [snapback]1096524[/snapback]
I found it best to phase in new formulas. 90% old stuff, 10% new stuff in the bottle for a week, then 80/20, then 70/30...gradually moving on to the new stuff. Worked well for my fussy, fussy eaters. It's a slow process, but it seems to work. It's easier to make these kinds of changes after 6 months or so when their little digestive systems are more mature. By 9 months my boys would drink whatever was on sale!


I did the same thing by replacing 1 oz of old formula with 1 oz of new formula every 1-2 days. That way we used pretty much everything that was given to us and the girls never noticed the difference. With all the free formula that I received from registering places, writing letters for twins discounts, and getting a few from the pedi I didn't have to buy formula until 6 months old and then I just went with the big cans of Costco brand. My girls were 1/2 formula, 1/2 bm though so we used 1/2 as much as exclusively ff babies.

If you plan on using a generic formula and the babies are given something else in the hospital, then just make a gradual change when you get home. As long as they are similar types of formula (like regular formula with iron versus something like soy) then you shouldn't have to worry about problems with the babies. Hospitals just have contracts with formula companies and the formula they use isn't necessarily what your babies actually have to eat. The reason that babies reject new formulas is usually because of the taste. Different formulas taste different.

 

I didn't read all the replies but did you contact your pedi? We got a case for each baby for free delivered right to our door!

 

I think I spent more for my singleton on Isomil than for my twins on Target ... Target is an Enfamil copy, my ped was 100% fine with it, and luckily so were the children (they're the "as long as it's food" type). My ds has been on hypoallergenic but that was no longer needed. He easily had 5-6 different types of formula in the first 2 months and didn't care.

 

QUOTE(tamaras @ Dec 3 2008, 09:51 PM) [snapback]1096484[/snapback]
Similac actually sent me TONS of coupons (we used Similac Isomil exclusively) for $5 off each can.
In the beginning I was getting them every month or so & trading with friends who used Enfamil.
I registered both my girls on the Similac site & maybe that helped?
I definitely think it is helpful to go to pampers.com, huggies.com, similiac.com etc & register for free stuff!!!



I was told by the reps that it depends on what time of year you give birth. I tried everything to get more coupons.... :angry:

 

They used Enfamil in the hospital and sent me home with some free samples. Went to the pedi's office for their first appt and got several more free samples. Registered with some of the formula companies and got more samples, incl Similac which I gave to a friend. I had to keep bugging the pedi's office since they have to tell the rep that we have twins, but I reminded them a couple of times and suddenly I got two free cases of Enfamil delivered to my door. We had already switched to Parents Choice but luckily my girls were never picky and I was able to use up the free stuff too. We got a lot Similac $5 coupons in the mail even though we weren't using it. I would have sent them to you had I known what a hard time you were having, but they are all gone now!

 

Earths best is also really really good about coupons. from formula to their foods.

 

Second the enfamil coupons. Also make sure you get your 2 free cases of similac and enfamil, they really help out. Mine weren't too picky with formula, so we switched to the Costco Kirkland brand. 2 cans cost $20, and they are comparable to both Similac and Enfamil.

 

Where can you access the Earth's Best coupons. I've never seen them here in Canada.