Don't spend more than you have to!

It's never been a secret that I loved breastfeeding! In fact you can read all about it here.

Breastfeeding was one of the big things I felt that I missed out on with Noah. It's definitely one of the big reasons I wanted to be able to give birth to our next child.

That being said, I have nothing against formula. We used it with Noah and despite everything else that is going on with him the kid is healthy! We paid up the wazoo for his formula because he had serious reflux and constipation that we attributed to a dairy sensitivity, so the doctor recommended we give him Enfamil's Nutramigen. Talk about expensive!

It turns out that we probably would have been fine giving him soy formula instead, but we never tried. I have no idea why. After he was a year old we tried soy milk with him and he did fine. He still drinks it.

With Kiel of course you know I breast fed, but despite all my efforts to increase my milk production I never quite had enough for him, so we supplemented with formula when needed. I never felt bad about supplementing with formula, although it pissed me off that there was another part of my body that wasn't doing what it was supposed to. I do think "breast is best" as much for the health reasons as for the amazing bond Kiel and I have because of it, but when I say "breast is best" I mean it was best for us! I don't think you are doing something horrible if you choose not to. Its a personal decision and not one that anyone else should judge.

When we did supplement with formula of course we only bought the "best" for Kiel! No store brands for my child. They aren't as good as the name brand, right? I believed Enfamil when they said Lipil was best and store brands could not compare.

I used coupons whenever I could, but still that shit is expensive!. I'm thankful we only had to buy it occasionally.

So, imagine how pissed off I was when I received an email from MomSelect that told me about the false advertising the makers of Enfamil were involved in. Here's a little bit of the email they sent me:

In a landmark federal court case, a jury verdict confirmed that Mead Johnson, the maker of Enfamil LIPIL Infant Formula, has engaged in false advertising by stating that store brand-infant formulas sold at Walmart, Target, CVS, Walgreens and other retailers, do not provide the same nutritional benefits as Enfamil.

The jury found that Enfamil advertisements were false and misleading, especially since store- brand formulas have the same nutrients at the same levels as Enfamil. In the process, they have exposed the truth about infant formula: store-brand infant formulas are nutritionally equivalent to, and confer the same developmental benefits as, the more expensive national brands like Enfamil. Buying a heavily marketed formula from a big pharmaceutical company does not get you any closer to breast milk.
If you would like to read more about this you can go here, here, and here. Even Consumer Reports supports store brand formula.

It really busts my boiler when I hear of companies doing things like this, so when MomSelect asked if I'd pass on the information I said hell yes. I just want to know when Mead Johnson is going to reimburse me for some of that money I didn't need to spend!

Disclaimer: While I was offered compensation to post this information I have declined. I feel it is important that parents know this and not spend money needlessly. We spend enough money on our kids, use those dollars on something else!