My son, now 20 months, started out using Similac Advance EarlyShield, because that’s what the hospital sent home with us (good way to decide on a formula, huh?). I went back to work part-time when Haiden was three months old, and our daycare provider used Parent’s Choice (Wal-Mart’s store brand), so we switched him to Up & Up milk-based formula from Target at the same time he started daycare.
Since PBM Products manufactures both Target and Wal-Mart store brand infant formulas (along with Sam’s Club, Kroger, Walgreens and other retailers), we knew that the only difference between Parent’s Choice and Up & Up formulas were the labels. Haiden didn’t have any problems switching from name brand to generic formula, so he continued using with the generics until his first birthday.
My daughter, Piper, is 8 months old. She’s pretty much followed exactly the same schedule that Haiden did. I was able to collect enough formula samples and checks to get her Similac Advance EarlyShield for free or close to it (I’ve become quite savvy since starting this website!). Once she started daycare with the same provider at three months, Piper started using the Target brand Up & Up infant formula, too.
I’m writing this because I know that some parents are skeptical of generic formula. I recently had a family member ask me, How can generic formula have the same nutrition when it’s half the price of name-brand formula? My answer: consumer perception. As long as people keep thinking that price equals quality, there will always be those parents who will spend $10 more a pop just for a name on a can of formula.
In fact, Mead Johnson, the maker of Enfamil infant formula, recently lost a lawsuit brought PBM Products, the maker of multiple store brand baby formulas. The ruling stated that Enfamil can not claim that their formula is superior to store brand formula. PBM Products also stated that their generic infant formulas have the same nutrients at the same levels as Enfamil!
On the flip side, I do completely understand that babies have sensitive digestive systems. What works for one baby may not work for another, regardless of how similar their formulations are!
That brings me to my question: What formula does your baby use, and why? Is it because it’s the best price? Is it because the hospital started using it and you continued? Is it because it’s the only formula your baby will eat or tolerate? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please leave a comment!
Andrea says
I LOVED Up and Up brand…and I loved the price! But…I wasn’t picky and used whatever free samples I received as well. My son didn’t seem to have any issues with me switching back and forth.
Gina says
My 7 month twin boys have had no problems with the Sam’s Club formula. It’s $20 for a big can and it lasts us 5 days (it’s less expensive than Up and Up). If you compare labels on any generic, they are all compared to Similac and Enfamil formulas. They are the exact same! My boys were premies, so they came home from the hospital on Similac NeoSure. Luckily, we had a ton of free samples so didn’t have to buy much (they are expensive!). The downside to generic is that they don’t have the special formulas like NeoSure.
Grace says
We switched to Up & Up brand version of Enfamil Gentleease about 2 months ago, with no problems (my son is 4 1/2 months). Saves us over $10 a can. Glad to know that the same manufacturer does all these store brands as I may now try Kroger or Walmart, since they’re closer to me.
Amy says
In the beginning, we supplemented with Enfamil Lipil and Similac Advance Early Shield ready to feed (the hospital sent us home with both). Once we ran out of samples, we switched to the Enfamil Lipil powder. Around 12 weeks or so, we switched to generic formula (Kirkland formula from Costco). Around 6 months, we went on vacation and used Enfamil Advance Early Shield ready to feed. We notices that she virtually quit spitting up with the liquid formula, so we switched to that. Ouch! It hurt our wallet (it was about $35 per week as opposed to $11ish per week with the Kirkland powder) but it was the best option for our daughter.
I sure was glad to switch my daughter from formula to cow’s milk, that’s for sure. 🙂
Ashlee says
We use Kroger and Target brand soy formula. My son has reflux pretty bad, even at almost 8 months, and milk formula really exacerbates the problem. I’ve used similac before and he doesn’t seem to care one way or the other about which brand as long as it is soy. For a while Kroger was printing $8 off a can of formula! I think it was to try to get more people to try it. And at $12.50 a can, $8 off was great!
Becky says
Similac Advance, then the Advance with Early Shield when it came out. We never switched because while the cost was inconvenient, it wasn’t out of reach (especially with the checks and coupons we always got). And, if it ain’t broke, why fix it? 🙂 I have no reservations with generic formula, but since my daughter liked what she was on and tolerated it well, I didn’t really feel the need to switch.
Star says
We started with Similac Advanced (dont remember if it was early shield or not) because that’s what the hospital sent us home to supplement with and I had the most free samples of. After BFing was over with she wouldn’t take the SA formula alone without constant reflux so we swiched to the Similac Soy. I tried going generic but the reflux returned so we stuck with Similac. Not cheap but we managed to get through with all the checks and such. I will try harder with generic with my next for sure after reading this article.
Maranda says
How do you get checks for Similac fomula? I am a member of Strong Moms and I never get checks or coupons.
Erin says
My 6 month old daughter started out with enfamil because that is what the hospital gave us but we switched to the Target Up & Up brand soon after and she is doing great. If you compare the labels they are almost identical. I also used the target brand gentle ease on my son who is now three and he actually did beter with the generic.
Molly says
We used Carnation with our kids. We were sent home with Enfamil but our son had a touch of colic. We tried Carnation and he seemed to do a little better. Otherwise we have used generic with all of our kids.
Nicole says
I also started my daughter on similac early shield after breastfeeding didnt work as I had planned…she got super fussy and gassy…just as she had on my milk, so dr recommended we try similac sensitive worked great, but super pricey…so at 6 months I switched her to parents choice they make one that is the exact match to similac sensitive, and which ever was on sale either walmart or target is the one I would buy. I will never BUY brand name with the next one
Toni LaFrankie says
We started with Similac Advance which was not good. He was fussy and constipated then over to Enfamil he was a lil better then to Healhty Good Start and he was almost perfect but the doctor put us on special Pregestimil which is an enfamil product that needs special ordered b/c milk intolerance and soy intolerance. We even have to use beech nut baby cereal b/c it has no soy or milk and gerber made him sick with soy. The doc says he will outgrow this and to start milk products like yogurt when he is 9months old.
Amanda says
I mainly breastfed, but since my husband and my mother were also signed up for the Enfamil Rewards program (as well as myself, of course) I stocked up on FREE Enfamil. LOADS of it!
Amanda says
I forgot to mention, I don’t think I saw this in the article… CALL THE MANUFACTURER… FOR ANYTHING!! I called Enfamil about once or twice a month for 6-8 months straight just to tell them they had a great product… they sent me a $5 check EVERY TIME. Sometimes two or three at a time… sometimes SAMPLES! They sent me 2 full sized cans of Enfamil AR, and since we had a bit of an issue with the vanilla flavored Enfagrow, they’re sending us 2 full sized cans of that as well. CALL, people, CALL!!! I’ve probably rec’d at least $400 in free formula from Enfamil. It’s amazing 🙂
Faith says
We started with Similac Advance w/ Early Shield but the girls were really fussy so we switched to Similac Sensitive. When we get free samples from Similac and Enfamil, I just mix a little bit of it (one scoop per regular cup) with the Sensitive to make the stuff I’m buying last a little longer. It seems to work just fine for my twins. I was reading reviews on Target’s Up & Up Sensitive and we’ve been using it for the first time this week. No problems at all! So we’re switching. It’s going to save us upwards of $80 a month!!!!
Stephanie says
I breastfeed for 6 weeks, then needed to change to formula, being a new mom I went with Similac- I guess b.c. I had free sample, Checks and the hospital sent us home with some as well. He has seemed to be doing fine, gassy at times. I have been considering changing to Targets Up and Up but I am nervous about it- reading yall comments I might be able to switch now- It would save up a TON of money! THANKS!!
Leah Rosenbaum says
I breastfed her till 10.5 months, then we were going to do half and half but she refused. she was on Similac for 1 day and reacted to the milk, we switched to soy Isomil (Similac company) for 3 weeks before the pediatrician switched her to Nutramigen-(Enfamil company) a hypoallergenic formula. Now at 16 months the GI wants us to try to switch her to EleCare-another hypoallergenic formula that is more calories per ounce.
how we paid for all this? Similac we bought one bottle and that was it, Isomil I bought through Diapers.com, Rite Aid-used their 5 off 25 coupons. someone on Freecycle gave me a few $10 off any Similac company formula so that was helpful. we also bought some in ShopRite-after you spend a certain amount on baby products they give you a $10 off $50. Nutramigen is covered by our insurance since there is a medical need for it, EleCare is probably also covered.
if someone needs formula for their baby but can’t afford it they should contact Wic, they provide formula for kids for are eligible, most kids are.
Cheryl says
My daughter had a milk allergy when she was tiny and her pedi put her on Similac Alimentum for a while. She was a huge spitter and man did that stuff smell! We eventually were able to switch her to milk based formula, but some brands made her spit up more than others. And some brands stained worse than others when she would spit it up. The Costco brand was the most economical, but it would leave yellow stains on her clothes and foamed up really bad in her bottle when you shook it up. We landed on the Target brand eventually and loved not paying the Similac and Enfamil prices.
Lisa says
I exclusively breastfed the first 4 months but then when I began supplementing we started with the Similac Advance I had from the hospital. That caused first spitting up, then vomiting and hives so we switched to Similac Soy (we now know he has a severe milk allergy). I finally switched over to Up and Up Soy at about 9 months once the Similac checks started running out. It worked great! I will NEVER go straight to the costlier name brand formulas again. I know some babies can’t tolerate the generic (just like some can’t tolerate the name-brand) because even though they have identical nutrients, they are made a little differently. But why not try the cheapest alternative first? I did find that the Up and Up was a little harder to mix, but I just bought one of those $2 formula mixers and that easily and cheaply solved that problem. I still hate thinking about all the money I wasted on the Similac…
Katy P says
My daughter uses Sam’s Club Formula- has no problems. She was on Enfamil but we switched to Sam’s at about 4 mo old.
Joseph says
Buying what some call a “generic” baby formula should not be a concern. PBM Products in Vermont makes all the store brand formulas that are sold in the U.S. These formulas are required to meet all FDA requirements that Enfamil, Similac, and Gerber meet. Otherwise the government would not let these formulas on the market. It’s that simple. Decide on price and you can learn how to save using a savings calculator at https://www.parentschoiceformula.com/baby-formula-savings-calculator.aspx. $600 in savings a year is no joke.
Monica says
I could not breastfeed, so we used Parent’s Choice formula with my twins, and we did awesome. We started off with Similac, since that’s what the hospital sent us home with. Once we ran out of that, we had no idea what we were going to do… The cost was crazy. Hubby and I then did our research, and found out that the Store Brands were just as good, if not better than those very expensive Store Brands. We compared nutrition labels, and ingredients, and saw that Parent’s Choice was just like the other formulas that cost twice the price or more. We made the switch, and the girls did very well. We saved so much money (almost $1400) and were able to get other things that they needed.
I wish more people knew about the FDA regulations, and the fact that they could save so much money just by getting the Store Brands. There’s no reason to spend so much money on formula. We used that formula calculator that the previous commenter posted, and were very surprised when we saw how much money we saved in print.
Parent’s Choice often offers free samples on it’s website. I totally recommend that anyone give them a try and see how they work for their baby!
Roseanne says
I would have to say that Parents Choice is the exact brand as Target’s Up and Up brand. Luckily, I found out that both Parents Choice and Up and Up are the exact same brand as SMA. SMA is a top quality formula which used to be around back in the early 70’s and 80’s but, due to popular demand by customers for affordability, Similac and Enfamil took over in the US market for baby formula.
I personally used Similac for three of my children and my fourth child successfully accepted the Parent’s Choice and Up and Up brand with no irritation, diarrhea, or constipation. The SMA brand is the exact brand as Parent’s Choice and Target’s Up and Up brand. Although, the SMA brand could not survive the market in the US and is now back in the UK where they manufacture the product, Parent’s Choice and Up and Up are really not as generic as most parents think. All they are is a different label with top quality formula. If anything I would have to say that Similac and Enfamil are the generic brand to SMA if anything. To give my two cents, I give Parent’s Choice, Target’s Up and Up and Similac a top 10 rating. Enfamil, I have always had problems with all of my kids and I think it’s more of the generic brand on the shelves. That’s why you see more of their brand left sitting than you do Parent’s Choice, Up and Up and Similac Advanced. Feel free to comment in response!