Target Brand Formula??

I think it is just a coincidence. I do not have any experience with Target brand, but I quickly transitioned from Enfamil Lipil to the Costco brand - less than 1/2 the price of the name brand. My daughter loved it and we never experienced any problems. When I asked my pediatrician what the drawbacks could be, she informed me she did not know of any, but in her words, "Enfamil and the other name brands have been around for decades - you know you can trust them." I know she means well, but I trust that I like not going broke for formula!!!

We used Target brand for my daughter and it worked fine. I don't think she even noticed. The ingredients are the exact same so it's kinda silly to pay almost twice as much for the exact same thing.

Hi,
I tried the Target brand formula, for infants, as well as for the 9 month and older baby. I didn't notice my daughter needing to be fed more often. She averaged 6, 6 oz bottles a day, until she was put on whole milk.
I think it may have just been a coincedence, I would keep trying it and see how it goes.

L.

Target brands are awesome! My daughter loved it and never had any real issues with it.

Your son might just be going through a growth spurt and just wants more formula. I remember when my daughter was that age she would get that way too from time to time. Just give him an extra 2-3 ounces and see if that helps ease his hunger.

We had my daugter on Enfamil Lipil w/iron for 5 1/2 months but tried the Parents Choice from Wal-Mart after receiving a sample. At first we would do 2 scoops Enfamil, 1 scoop Parents Choice until we were sure she was ok w/it. Now we only use the Wal-Mart brand and she is happy, healthy, smart, and inquisitive. We're happier, too, because it costs 11.88 for a big can.

We've been using the Walmart brand all along for my 8 month old and it's been great. There are so many growth spurts and just general increases in need for food early on that what you experienced may have been a coincidence.

I liked the Walgreens brand of formula best and I loved their diapers too. I also used the HEB generic which was fine. Some Generics seem to froth a bit at the end of the bottle but Walgreens didn't do that.

I have twins and we used "on brand" formula for a few months. The doctor told me that all formulas have the same nutrition standards so I switched them to the HEB brand. They had no probs with the transition and seemed to like it. They are no longer on formula but were on the HEB formula for 9 months. I enjoyed paying $13 a can instead of $25!!!

I tend to think it was just coincidence. We've tried Cosco's brand of enfamil (Kirkland label) on our 3 month old and he was fine, except for more spit up - we concluded the formula made more bubbles and didn't dilute as well but that was remedied. Babies are pretty adaptable if parents don't get too paranoid!

I do foster care for infants, mostly newborns. I use Target formula almost exclusively. I have for that it cuts down on colic, the powder mixes better and the babies seem to like it better. I have not found that it takes more vs Enfamil. Maybe your son's appetite is increasing. HTH

my pediatrician said it didn't matter. Perhaps your little one is just going through a growth spurt. I think the Target brand will be fine and if it can save you money then go for it.

Think back to your first child when she was growing. I remember with my two that it was like over night hunger increased, then it would level out a bit and then again increase. He may be going through a little growth spurt and would have probably done the same thing with the name brand formula. Congrats on the new blessing.

I used generic formula for both my kids ( I used walmart brand b/c target didn't have their brand yet).
Target diapers are great,too!

We always had luck with the Wal-Mart brand called Parents Choice with both of our sons. I compared ingredients and it too was almost identical to the more expensive name brands. For the powder it ran about $8-$10 per can less than the others. It saved us a ton of money and worked just fine. Even our pediatrician said it was fine to use. Good Luck!

M.

J. I have switched my daughter (2m) to off brand as well we use similac and I have swithced to parents choice from walmart and she is doing fine!!! I did some resurch befroe though and found out that Simalac sells thier recipe to walmart so the parents choice is simalac just with a diffrent rapper. I also found out that enfamil also sells their recipe to target and thier brand is the same. If that is what you use then Target is the one you need to use. My doc was fine woth use switching but I did add and ounce of formula to start with just incase. Hope that helps.

J.,

Congratulations on your little boy!

I, too used WalMart's branded formula. Most of the store brands are made by Wyeth Nutritionals. I don't know if they still make it or not, but they used to make the SMA brand, which was very popular about 35 years ago. If you compare a can of these side by side with the two major brands, you'll find only slight variations in some of the nutritional contents. The store brands will have a little more or a little less than the national brands, but they worked just fine for both my boys when I had to stop pumping for them.

The very LAST can of formula we used for my daughter (my husband went shopping that time) was Member's Mark (from Sam's Club) version of enfamil w/ lipil. It was a huge can and was dirt cheap! And wouldn't you know, my daughter liked it better! Well, live and learn, next child gets that one right from the start :)

I haven't tried the Target brand but have tried the off-label brands at HEB and Randalls and they are NOT the same as the real ones and in all cases (I'm a nanny) the off-brand formula did NOT work out for the baby.

I'm a big proponent of using store brands and cheaper brands but not on formula and certain other products that are clearly inferior.
L.

We have outgrown formula, but I remember finding out that I could use multiple coupons at certain stores and that made the name brands actually cheaper than the store brands.

I know you can use a target coupon and a manufacturer coupon on ANY on item and the savings are huge. Also, Kroger will give out those buy 1 get 1 coupons for formula too and I think I would also use a manufacturer coupon, that I got from signing up on the manuf.'s website too. I KNOW for sure you can also do double coupons at CVS.

I always look for an inexperienced cashier when I plan to maximize my discounts. Just also usually depends on store policy as well.

Hi J.,
I used Target brand formula the whole time for my son and I think it was just fine. Like you I compared the ingredients and thought, "Why pay almost double the cost?" One lady at my doctor's office seemed slightly horrified that I was using a store brand and tried to get me free namebrand formula. My pediatrician didn't seem to have a problem with it. I say as long as your baby is healthy, why not?
Hope this helps,
N.

I had the same question with my first. I asked my doctor and he said the 'store' brand formula is just the same as the 'name' brand formula. He encouraged us to use the 'store' brand for economic issues. We used it with our first, our second and our third. Although we had to switch to enfamil ar with our third for his reflux. The first two kids had no trouble with the 'store' brand formula. We did not use th Target brand, but we did use the Walmart brand. If you still have concerns, speak to your pediatrician. I am sure they will say it's fine.

Hi Jenifer I am the proud mother of a 2 1/2 year old that I can honestly say has tried just about every infant formula made. Because of helath issues i was out of work longer than i expected my neighbor (who delivered a month after i did ) son had digestive issues and the pediatrician chnaged his milk several times. My neighbor would give me whatever the formul aher son had at the time so yes, we used the Target Brans, the Sam's Brand and even Carnation. I couldn't tell the difference and evidently my daughter couldn't either because she literally sucked dwon anything we gave her. She is sharp as a whip and a handful to say the least :)

I switched between enfamil and Target brand without problems when my son was 9mo until he was 12mo. It was the one for older infants.

I chose to be a stay at home mom and that meant cutting back where ever I could. I chose to switch from Enfamil to wal-mart brand and I didn't see a change except in my check book. Good luck!

could be a growing spurt?????????

I have not used the Target brand formula but my 3rd was on Enfamil Gentle Ease for digestion issues and we used the Wal-Mart Parent's Choice brand. Like you I checked the cans and the "off brand" had the EXACT SAME ingredients and nutrition etc. We used it from 2mos. old on and were very pleased. The Enfamil was $24.00 a can and the Parent's Choice was $14.00. 3 kids or not, that is a big savings. I would recommend trying it again. Little babies go through so many growth spurts and weird eating times. That alone will make you nuts. Sometimes the cheap stuff is just as good. We also like LUVS diapers. The Parent's Choice diapers worked well until he was about 9 months old then didn't hold through the night. Good luck to you. Let me know how it turns out for you.

T. A.

The enfamil was too harsh for our son so we used Nestle's Good Start baby formula and never had a problem. He liked the taste, the price was affordable and best of all no tummy troubles. Wal-Mart at the time carried it, I'm sure anyone who sells baby formula has this brand, its wonderful & I highly recommend it. Its powder form not liquid. Good luck! PS..Also found out that out of all the diapers that worked the best and was affordable Luvs proved to be the choice over pampers for us. We also used occasionally the Wal-Greens brand diapers, for a generic off-brand diaper they worked quite well. Just a little added FYI for saving some mommy bucks! :o)

When my (now 2 year old) was only about 3 months old I switched her from Similac to the Target brand, and I didn't seem to find much difference. Just about all of the formulas out there are exactly the same. I think it's just keeping up with the "status quo" to buy brand name formula. You're doing the right thing by saving money, and I believe your little guy was probably just going through a growth spurt.

We used the Sam's house brand and had no problems at all. We verified all the contents against the contents of the Enfamil and it was so much cheaper it was silly!

Deb

We buy the off brands. So far we have never bought from Target. We buy Sams Members Mark. Its super cheap and we get a huge can for 17 bucks. Wallgreens and Walmart. We have tryed to use the off brand at H.E.B. Our pedi. said that it was fine to do that it was the exact same thing. Our son is a huge baby. He was 9 lbs. 1 oz and he is five and a half monts now and is about 22 lbs. As far as him being hungary all the time it might be time to up his oz of forumla. Our son is actually taking 6 oz now and some charts say he should be at 7 but hes happy and eats every four hours so were on track. Good luck. We love our offbrands and the pricing. Also look into Wic to see if you can get discounts.

They are actually the same formula. I use the HEB brand. Maybe he is a growing boy mama!

I used Target for my now 1 year old. No problems. We started on Enfamil.

I feed my daughter the off brands most of the time. I used Target brand until I found you can get a HUGE can of the Enfamil at Sam's for SO much cheaper. We never had any problems on either.

We used Target brand formula and had no problems. To ease the transition, we mixed it with the Enfamil and reduced the amount of Enfamil in the mix over the course of a week.

Hi! I used the Target formula for my son for three months after using the much more expensive Enfamil. He did just as well on the Target brand and had no complications. I don't think we had to give him more of the Target brand either. I say save money if you can! The ingredients are the same.

J....formula is as important as providing your child with a well balanced meal. After reading so much information about growth hormones and artificial ingredients that cause so many health issues for a child life. The best route is organic; Mother's Earth is the best supplement formula(in my opinion.) Research your ingredients...you'll be scocked!!!

Maybe it's just coinicidence. He could be having a growth spurt. My now 6yo son always eats like a horse anytime he is have a growth spurt. He'll sleep more, eat more, then a couple of weeks later all of his clothes will be high waters!

Keep track of how much and how often he eats. If the Target brand is half the price is it still less expensive than the name brand, even if you have to feed him more? Try using a little more powder to the same amount of water to make it a thicker consistency, maybe?

If you look closely you will see that these "off" brands are usually made by the same ppl as the name brands. Its been almost 5 years since I had to use formula, but my best friend has a baby that has to be on similac sensitive and she got to where she couldn't afford it so she bought the walmart brand and the h.e.b. brand. we got to looking into it and found out that similac made both of these brands. so usually you are good! and at 1 month they usually transition to where they start taking more formula at one sitting.....at least mine did! ~~~~~~Good Luck~~~~~

T.

We use the Target brand exclusively and haven't had any issues. We previously used the Enfamil with Iron once I stopped breastfeeding. With the Enfamil my son was spitting up a lot so we tried different brands. Target seemed to be what worked best, he hasn't spit up much at all since the switch 4 months ago. There has to be something a little different with it although I don't know what it is but I'm not going to complain.

Good luck.

We used Enfamil also. Wesigned up for their club and were sent 3 $11 off coupons each montha ns tons of other great stuff like a development calendar, a diaper bag, and free samples. My mom and step-mother-in-law joined also. This more then made up for the price difference. Try the website. They have a sign-up page.
https://www.enfamil.com/app/iwp/ConsumerRegisterLoadConse...
Pampers has a similar club with $3 off coupons. They also donate a vaccine to a needy child for every package purchased. That isn't much since the vaccines only cost about $.05 each, but it is a vaccine that the child wouldn't have gotten otherwise. I think it is just a wonderful idea. Here is the coupon link for them.
http://www.pampers.com/en_US/promotions.do;jsessionid=FGM...
With coupons it is easy to get the name brand for the generic price (or cheaper sometimes!) Target still has the best prices on baby stuff. I used to make a specail trip to Target once a month to get all of out baby supplies. I hope that helps.

I don't know about the Target brand but the HEB formula is exactly the same as Enfamil. I learned this directly from a person in charge of private brand at HEB - and it too is 1/2 the price. My guess is that the Target is probably the same thing!

hi J.! i have discussed this very same thing with my pediatrician who is great and she informed me that store brand formula is just as good. The difference in price is the way it is processed and the factory. Target and wal-mart have their own distribution process whereas Nestle and the other brand names do not. The nourishment is the same as well as the ingredients. The brand names are in no way more 'beefed up' with more nutrients than the expensive stuff. I have learned being a new mother of a 3.5 month old that brand names do not necessarily mean more quality. so save away and do not feel guilty about saving money. Parent's Choice from Walmart is also awesome. My baby is not fussy or gassy and she looooves to eat! Think of every name brand possible, go to their websites, register, and start receiving coupons from them. nestle good start, enfamil and so on. Nestle offers this great 11.00 coupon that I have used several times as they keep sending them to me. But, you will realize that the savings kind of break even if you have purchased the cheaper brands before. Best of luck to you and please do not feel guilty about this.....that's how the brand names get ya...LOL!

Hi J.,
With my little one, I used the wal-mart and target lipid formula and had no problems. The only difference I noticed was that the generic formula was more clumpy than powdery like the brand name. After the free canisters of the expensive were gone, I was completely taken aback by the price of the brand name formulas. I read in a wonderful book "Baby 411" by Ari Brown, M.D and Denise Fields,

Q. I have chosen to feed my baby formula. What formula do you recommend?
A. The cheapest cow's milk formula with iron you can find. Get a warehouse club membership now, if you don't have one already. In general, the cheapest formula are the generic or store brands sold at discount stores like Wal-mart and Target. Buy in bulk to get the maximum savings.

I would buy or borrow this book for the first year of your childs life. I covers everything and I thought it was alot better than the What to expect in the first year. I say if it doesn't cause gas or colic, go with it because having a baby is expensive enough! Good Luck!