Review of Baby Formula : Enfamil Premium Infant vs. Target ’s Up & Up Infant Formula with DHA

Being in this Mom business for a few years now, I already know how some people will react: Breast milk is best. I won’t deny you that opinion, because you are absolutely right due to breast milk’s nutritional value and pure content. The only problem is that many moms who want to breastfeed simply can’t, like myself, so they need to resort to formula. Now is there anything wrong with that? Nope. Or is there anything wrong with not choosing to breastfeed at all? Nope. How we feed our children is our own choice and as parents we know to choose what we know is best for them.

I was resolute in wanting to breastfeed my son. I did not want to use formula at all. After his birth, however, I found out some difficult truths: Mother Nature didn’t design me properly to breastfeed nor would she allow me to make enough breast milk for my son despite my insistence and diligence. I was able to breastfeed him for about three months, using a nipple shield and supplementing with formula.

At first, due to my naivety in motherhood, I insisted on only brand name, premixed formula. We used Enfamil, the same as the hospital had given me to supplement when I was having difficulties. I thought that there was no way the powdered kind was good enough for my baby, nor was any store brand.

After a while of expensive formula buying, I finally agreed to buy the powdered kind since it was cheaper, but it still had to be Enfamil. It wasn’t until after my sister-in-law told us about her use of the Target Up & Up brand and how much she liked it that I decided to give it a shot.

When compared, the Target Up & Up brand had nutritionally and content-wise almost everything exactly as the Enfamil brand did but it was nearly half the cost. My only concerns with the Up & Up were that it didn’t mix as easily as the Enfamil and it also had a yellowish tint to it. My son however, drank it with no problems and didn’t experience intolerance, all for which I was hoping. I continued to buy the Up & Up brand until he began drinking regular milk.

When I was pregnant with my daughter, I once again decided to try breastfeeding, knowing from doing research that sometimes women do better with breastfeeding the second time around. When she arrived three weeks early, neither she nor my body was exactly ready for the challenge. I tried my best, pumping when I could to increase my supply, but nothing worked for us. She was fully on formula by six weeks old.

I started using the hospital supplied pre-mixed Enfamil with my daughter, and then switched to the powdered Enfamil when we were able to go home. She had no problems with that switch, but when I tried to slowly switch her to the Up & Up brand to save us some money, I noticed that she became gassier and fussier after she drank it. I’m not sure why it happened, since both the Up & Up brand and Enfamil are still very comparable in nutrition and content. Since then, I started using the Enfamil Premium Infant formula with her, saving where I can with manufacturer coupons and sales at the local stores.

After a few months, I tried Target's Up & Up brand again. This time around, she had not one problem and never gave me any problems about taking her bottle. That formula became the brand we used from that point forward.

As with all things baby, I know that every child is different. Perhaps the reason my son had an easier time with the Up & Up brand is that he was a little older when we switched. For whatever reason, however, my daughter was just not able to drink the Up & Up brand in her early months, but I don’t think it is due to the product or the fact that it is store brand. Her little digestive system just may not have been ready for a change at that time. She now has no problems with it and buying it compared to the Enfamil brand has saved us so much money.

Recently on HubPages, I asked the question: What are your thoughts on generic, store brand formula for babies? From this, a variety of answers came about. Most who answered experienced no problems with store brand formulas, like Kroger or Walmart’s Parent’s Choice. One hubber did mention that there might be reactions in babies, similar to what my daughter experienced, but most seemed happy with the contents and nutritional value of generic brands. As far as cost was concerned, the store brands were definitely cheaper and affordable compared to the name brands.

My advice to you would be to do what you think is best for your baby. Again, breast milk is best, but if you are unable to breastfeed like me or choose not to, you should do some research, comparing the name brand formulas to the store brands. You’ll find that the store brands are half the price (which is great for these difficult economic times!) and pretty comparable in contents and nutritional value, but if you’re financially able, you might just prefer to get the name brands.

As for me: I have used both a name brand and a store brand. I have nothing against either as far as content or nutritional value is concerned. The health and happiness of my babies determined the type of formula I was able to use.

Do you have experience with store brand or name brand formulas? Thanks for reading!

©ThePracticalMommy 2011