Feeding Baby - Formula

Of everything that was hard for us, my son did well on formula. Some babies have a tough time on certain formulas, forcing moms to need to purchase the most expensive formula. (This is one reason that, IF YOU ARE ABLE, giving breastfeeding a try could help you in the long run). Our son had no problems with the cheapest formulas and going between brands. Because of this, we used up a ton of samples that we got and that friends gave us. 

Getting Free or Cheap formula

• Try the generic brands. They are in some cases more than half as much and nourish just as well. If you plan to formula feed from the start, you may want to bring your own to the hospital so you do not need to mess with transitioning to it. We paid about $11 per week for Meijer brand.
• Sign up with the formula companies. I heard that moms that say they plan to breastfeed get more free samples than those that say they plan to formula feed.
• Coupon! TheThriftyCouple (search formula) just started a weekly post on the best formula deals. Start stocking up while you are pregnant.
• Find some breastfeeding friends. They will probably have a ton of formula samples that they will not use and be glad to give to you. You might even want to try and contact your local breastfeeding groups to see if they would be ok if you stopped by their meetings and pick-up samples. Just be prepared for the possibility for some well-meaning questions as to your reasons for not breastfeeding.
• Freecycle
• Watch the budget4baby RSS feed at the top of the page for deals!

Other things you may need (please excuse the cut and paste from last week):
Bottles -

• We kept a bottle by my bed at night so it was ready to be mixed when he woke up.
• We kept a bottle with water in the diaper bag for easy use.
• He had 4 at daycare at a time. 
• Add a night or two where we were just too tired to do dishes.

We started off with two medela gifting sets that we we registered for. I also picked up some bottles at in free bins at mom to mom sales and boiled them, and the breastfeeding center would let you take bottles home as well. When we need more nipples or bottles, we went with the gerber three pack bottles (they are cheaper at meijer than amazon has them listed). They were actually cheaper than buying just nipples and the medela caps and nipples worked on the bottles just as well.

Steamer bags - We have hard water, so we would hand wash all of our bottles and nipples. They are a really good deal because you can use each bag about 20 times and they even have a place to check off every time you use it so you know how many uses you have left!

Formula dispenser - 

I loved these so much I felt they needed a picture. At one point, I would have been glad to have 5. Places I used mine:

• The diaper bag for formula
• The diaper bag for cereal
• For babysitters (pre-scooped, so they couldn't mess it up)
• Next to my bed (only had to refill every 3 nights) for late night feedings.

Bottle Brush - Formula gets gross if not rinsed out right away. Sometimes a bottle will get thrown behind the crib or the bed and is just NASTY a few weeks later when it is found. Get a bottle brush that has a nipple cleaner at the end to get any crustys out.

Are you willing to share why you choose/had to formula feed (disrespectful comments will be removed)? Are there any gadgets that you used to make your life easier?