Baby product research

I think from the time we find out we are expecting a child we only want the best for them when it comes to baby products. I mean, who wants to be a penny pincher when it comes to their child? Is there anything that is "too good" for your child? I think not! When Raynor and I started shopping around for baby stuff, I guess I automatically thought the expensive stuff was probably expensive for a reason: It was the best! When we bought her stroller/carseat travel system I did endless research on them to truly find the safest option for our baby. In the end we went with a Graco Snugride Travel System. I decided on that one because I actually talked to a police officer that had seen the Snugride carseat survive a roll over crash and the baby was fine. God forbid that would ever happen to us, but if it did I can rest assured that Alexxa would be safe. Now, that Graco Travel System just so happened to be cheaper than the Chicco one we were considering by over 100 dollars! To Raynor and I, 100 dollars is a lot of money!

I think my biggest struggle of all boiled down to baby formula. Oh yes, the formula. Obviously you want anything you are putting into your child's body to be good right? Not even just good, you want the best! I knew beforehand that breast-feeding was best. I was not excited about doing it because, well afterall I had already shared my body with this little person for the last 9 months and I was ready for it to be mine again and wasn't exactly stoked about sharing it for another 6-12 months. However the research is black and white and to the point. Breast-feeding is superior to formula. So you can probably imagine my guilt and disappointment when it didn't work out the way I had planned. From the very first try, Alexxa wanted nothing to do with it and I didn't like it either. It would turn into this battle between her and I and would leave us both in tears. The second night we were in the hospital I broke down and called the nurse to bring a bottle. She did and Alexxa guzzled it down in about 2 minutes! Poor little thing was starving. I thought that after she got some food in her she might have an easier time with breastfeeding. NOT the the case. Over the next two weeks we met with lactation nurses three times, and had several more battles ending in tears. She had made up her mind about what she wanted and I had to swallow my guilt and give the child a darn bottle! Which brings me to my main point (I got a little off track) the baby formula! The hospital and her pediatrician had been giving me samples of Enfamil. I had about a 10 day supply of the liquid samples from the doctors office and while I was pregnant I had gotten 2 cans of the powder samples in the mail. Eventually though those ran out, so Alexxa and I went on our first outing together to Target. I went down the formula isle and gasped in shock! Sitting there on the shelf was Enfamil formula at about 25 dollars a can, Similac for about 27 dollars a can and then there was Target brand for about 12 dollars a can. Now I sat there for, I don't know how long maybe about 10 minutes thinking. What was the difference? This store brand couldn't possibly be as GOOD as the name brand Enfamil Lipil the pediatrician had given me right? So what did I do? I bit my lip and spent 25 dollars on Enfamil.

I drove home still thinking about the Target brand vs the Enfamil. So that night I got online and did some research. Here is what I came up with:

*EVERY can of formula on the market today MUST meet FDA regulations. There are specific procedures manufactures must fallow to make it. So wether you are feeding your baby Enfamil, or a generic brand, the baby is getting a safe, FDA approved product. As long as the Formula contains iron, your fine. The majority of baby formula is actually made by the same company! Therefor, the generic brand comes out of the same factory as the name brand! The extra 13 or so dollars? Its pretty much for the fancy label.

*Why do pediatricians and hospitals give you name brand samples? It boils down to money. Pediatricians and hospitals get hit by marketing campaigns, samples, and kickbacks in order to give away samples of name brand formula. Enfamil and Similac (the leaders of the baby formula empire) know that once you get your baby hooked on "what works" at the hospital or on the samples your pediatrician gives you, you are then less likely to switch products. Enfamil and Similac are also big enough companies that they can afford to dazzle you with samples and coupons, but when those run out you are forced to subject your money to the 25 dollar label vs the 12 dollar one.

*What is are the major differences? There aren't any. Wether its Enfamil, Similac, Nestle, or generic the ingredients are almost identical. As for the generic brand, if you compare the label to one of the name brands eventually you can find the one that the generic is replicating. The Target Brand just so happens to be an identical match to Similac Advance. 12 dollars vs. 27 dollars!

So there you have it! After Alexxa enjoyed her 25 dollar can of Enfamil formula, we went to Target and bought 2 cans of the Target brand for less than the price of 1 can of Enfamil or Similac. I fed it to her at her next feeding, expecting her to maybe get a little upset tummy over the switch, but nothing happened! She loved it! Lesson learned. The expensive stuff isn't always the best, and now Raynor and I will save hundreds of dollars over the first year of her life. I now feed my baby Target brand formula and I do it with pride!