Cow & Gate Baby Milk

***** Why Cow & Gate? *****

When I first had Ellie, I began by breastfeeding. As she was so little, however (she weighed only 5lbs 14oz), she didn't really take to breastfeeding that well at first and she would only suckle for vey short lengths of time before falling to sleep. My midwife suggested that we complemented the breastfeeding with a little formula milk, to ensure that she was getting sufficient food.

I was surprised to find so many choices and to be honest, I didn't know which brand of formula milk to choose:
SMA, Farleys, HIPPOrganic, Cow & Gate, Aptimil......

I found it all quite mind boggling. All of the brands claimed to be closer than ever to breast milk and were suitable as either a replacement to breastfeeding or to complement it, but which one was the best??

My husband and I decided to try the 'Cow & Gate' milk. It wasn't the cheapest brand, but it wasn't the most expensive either and it was a brand that we both recognised and trusted.

Although at first, we did not use much of the formula milk, Ellie is now completely on formula.

***** The Range *****

Cow & Gate offers 4 stages of formula milk. Stage 1, Premium, is the only one that I have used with Ellie. There is an option for hungrier babies, which provides slightly different ingredients, an option for more sensitive stomachs and follow on stages of milk which provide more iron.

The Cow & Gate range consists of 900g boxes of powdered milk, which cost £6.28 at Sainsburys. You can also buy cartons of ready made milk in a 200ml and 500ml size. I have only purchased the 200ml cartons, which cost 48p at Sainsburys.

Cow & Gate also manufacture a range of baby foods.

***** Stage 1 - Premium *****

The Premium milk is in a green box / carton. It is suitable from birth until 12 months.

The pack lists the ingredients and nutritional value of the milk. In summary, however, the milk claims to be / have:
** Nutritionally complete infant milk
** Iron enriched
** Prebiotics
** Low Sodium and Gluten free
** Nucleotides
** Halal approved
** LCPs (AA & DHA) and GLA

Personally, I do not know what many of these things are, although the pack does explain in greater detail about the 'Prebiotic care'. Apparently, these are special nutrients, which are similar to those found in breastmilk and some fruit and vegetables.

On the back of the box of powdered milk are instructions on how to make up the feeds, the recommended amount of water / scoops relating to the approximate age and weight of the baby and some general guidelines on feeding your baby.

There is a telephone number (08457 623623) and web address (www.cowandgate.co.uk) for anyone needing help and advice relating to feeding issues.

The powdered milk includes a scoop and built in leveller.

The powder must be used within 4 weeks of opening. cartons of milk must be refidgerated when opened and then discarded within 24 hours.

***** My Experiences *****

At first because we were only using a little of the formula milk, we opted for the 200 ml ready made cartons. Ellie took to these well from the very beginning. They were handy to use, without the hassle of boiling water, waiting for it to cool and making up feeds. If I needed to, I could add a little more milk into Ellie's bottle if she was still hungry and it was handy to take the cartons with us if we were out and about.

The disadvantage to these cartons was that we often ended up throwing some of the milk away as we were only using the milk as a supplement to breastfeeding. Also, the cartons spilt quite easily when opening them and pouring.

When I swapped to using the powdered milk, Ellie was still mainly breastfeeding. She did not take to this very well at first and she would often bring lots of the milk back up. Maybe her stomach was too delicate to cope with the powdered milk??

I swapped back to the ready made cartons and ended up throwing the first box of powdered milk away, as it had been open for its '4 week' life.

Ellie has been back on the powdered milk now since she was about 3 months old and she is coping with it fine. She enjoys her milk very much and will quite happily polish off a 6 / 7oz bottle. She seems to like the taste and will cry if the bottle is taken away from her when there is still more milk left. The milk seems to satisfy her and she will usually go 4 - 5 hours before needing another feed. Very often her feed will send her straight to sleep and her last feed at night (usually 9 - 9.30 p.m.) enables her now to sleep all through the night, with her morning feed being at about 8 a.m.

Occasionally, Ellie will still bring some of the milk back up, but she is hardly ever really sick.

Personally, I sterilise her bottles either last thing at night, or in the morning and I then fill them with the required amount of cooled, boiled water. I pop the bottles into the fridge, add the milk powder when Ellie needs a feed and I then warm the milk in a jug of hot water. I have found my 3 compartment milk powder container very useful for dispensing the milk into the bottles.

This method works successfully. Occasionally, the milk powder does not fully mix into the water, especially any powder that gets stuck at the end of the teat, although a further shake of the bottle after the milk has been warmed usually does the trick.

A 900g box of powdered milk lasts Ellie for about a week.

The built in leveller works well and is handy for measuring the correct amount of powder using the scoop provided. My biggest criticism is that it is difficult to get the last few scoops of powder from the bottom of the box and I very often waste a scoop or two when the box is nearly empty.

Overall, I have been very happy with the 'Cow & Gate' Premium milk, although I have not tried any other makes to compare this to. The cartons of ready made milk are a useful starter and are ideal when the milk is being used as a complement to breastfeeding. These are also handy to use when travelling on a day out.

I would recommend this make of milk - I'm looking forward to trying some of the 'Cow & Gate' foods when Ellie starts eating solids.