Nanny to Mommy

Whether you are a new parent or welcoming an additional child into your family, finding the right formula is essential for many families. Although breastfeeding is always an excellent option, this is not a possibility for everyone. In this case, knowing how to shop for a healthy formula that will keep your baby’s development on track and its tummy comfy is essential. To help you make the right choice, here are four of the best and worst baby formulas for your infant:

The mixture of infant-appropriate iron infusions, non-GMO ingredients and the brand name Pro-Advance recipe make Similac’s premium baby formula product the best of the best. If you want a product that will speed up your infant’s development and keep them happy and full as they rest up and grow, this is the choice for you.

The premiere budget-friendly baby formula, the Up&Up brand has hit it out of the park with this excellent product. Not only is it easy on your budget needs, but the Up&Up Gentle formula is known for being a great fit for infants with testy stomachs. Its fully non-GMO formula is just an added bonus. If you need to get a hold on your baby’s gassiness or crying fits, this is the product that will help you out the most.

If you’re looking for a formula crafted to mimic actual breast milk as closely as possible, Happy Baby has you covered. The hyper-organic ingredients, zinc and lactose infusions and stomach-friendly formula style will serve your infant well. If you’re wanting to provide as natural a feeding experience as you can, you should consider spending a little more to get the Happy Baby Infant Formula Milk-Based Powder with Iron product.

One of the Costco exclusive brand items (unless you shop online), Kirkland has been serving families baby formula needs for a long time. This formula is packed with DHA, Lutein and other important ingredients that boost your infant’s eye and brain development while completely avoiding artificial growth hormones and some of the other chemicals that you’ll want to avoid (and which we’ll be touching upon soon in “the worst” side of this list).

This formula uses goat milk as a substitute to cow’s milk, but the mixture of it being more expensive than many choices, and its use of sunflower oil keep it less healthy than its "organic" label would have you believe. The reputation for sunflower oil to come packed with hyper-processed chemicals and the sheer amount of omega-6 fatty acids in the ingredient will have negative impacts on your new infant’s development in terms of weight and how smoothly their bowel movements go. To keep your baby comfortable, be sure to avoid this product.

Although it can prove useful for babies with rare food allergies, this Nutramigen product is far from the best choice. The inclusion of soybeans in the product makes it much more likely to be packed with hyper-processed ingredients that come from GMO-packed sources. If you’re looking to keep your infant’s formula intake as natural as you can, you should completely avoid buying this baby formula product.

While Loulouka’s formula is a step up from Nutramigen in terms of hypoallergenic choices, it falls into a similar trap of using an alternative ingredient that can be packed with hyper-processed ingredients and GMOs. In this case, the culprit ends up being palm oil. The problem with palm oil is that it can create calcium reactions that will leave small “soaps” on your baby’s intestines that can lead to hard stool - which will then make your infant’s poops much more painful. The more you learn about potential formula ingredients, the more you realize it takes a lot of effort to keep up to date on what to avoid. Not to mention that palm oil is notoriously unsustainable from an environmental perspective.

There are a lot of good qualities packed into this HiPP formula product. However, one key ingredient spoils what would have otherwise been a solid choice for any health-conscious parent: aluminum. That’s right, some baby formulas contain controversial amounts of this heavy metal, even to this day. There are known links between heavy metals and increases in neurological diseases, so to play it on the safe side, it’s best to avoid this product. In some cases, poorly manufactured products have even led to NEC (Necrotizing Enterocolitis), a dangerous infection of the intestines that can lead to major complications. Having this awareness can help you avoid this danger, and a baby formula NEC lawsuit.

The sheer amount of formula choices out there can make the process of choosing one incredibly overwhelming. Thankfully, this list will help you identify some of the key ingredients you want to pack into your baby’s diet and identify some that you should avoid at all costs. With the right amount of effort, your infant will remain full, happy and healthy throughout these tiring first few months of their lives.