I Have A "Soy Boy" - Why ISOMIL Baby Formula Made It Onto My Shelf
by - Written: Sep 03 '00 (Updated Jun 11 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Solved our problems of gassiness and irritability
Cons: None for this family
The Bottom Line: Isomil was the "main" part of my son's diet for his first year, with no problems - I highly recommend it.
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| KMINER's Full Review: Isomil Baby Formula |
Being a new mom is a never-ending learning process, I think everyone will agree. I am a mom who tends to need to analyze everything. How is this the best product for my son? What makes this diaper better? Which toy would be best for this stage of development? In my 4 months with my darling son, Colin, I have s-l-o-w-l-y come to learn, that sometimes you just make the most informed decision that you can, and go with it . It is with this thought in mind that I'd like to explain why we use Isomil with Colin, and how he became what my family affectionately refers to as "A Soy Boy".
Feeding, The First Days
Briefly, I decided to try breastfeeding, and did not have a positive experience with it. On an early, tired morning, I sent my husband to the store to finally buy formula. We had barely a clue about the different brands, types, etc. I told him to buy Enfamil because I knew the name from our Birthing Class, and what limited reading I had done on the topic. *I guess since I thought we were going to breastfeed I did not need to learn about formula*.
After a week on Enfamil, Colin was still extremely gassy. He also spit up some, but not to the point where that was my greatest concern. He seemed in pain when he had to try to pass gas or have a bowel movement, and it killed us to see him like so. Not knowing what to do, but having by this time read a lot of the baby books I had received we called Colin's doctor. He said Colin may be having a milk or lactose allergy and to switch him to a "soy based" formula. I didn't even know there was one. When we asked for the names of any, he suggested 2: Isomil and Prosobee. We chose Isomil because it was the first name he mentioned and we believed we had a sample from Birthing Class on our shelf .
Feeding, The Next 3-4 Months
The doctor said it would take 3-4 days for us to see whether the change in formula helped and we would see our "old, happy" baby again. For us, it took about a week for us to notice Colin seeming happier and less fussy. It took Colin about 1 month to start to have bowel movements more in the "normal" range, and not too hard and painful. At 4 months Colin was doing well on Isomil and we were pleased with the doctor's recommendation.
Long Term Feeding
Colin remained on Isomil formula until he was about 1 year old. We transitioned to soy milk and then gradually switched to whole milk without a single problem (we were told to look for irritability, gassiness, constipation, and etc). At the age of 4 he adores milk with a passion and has not had a single problem!
About the Product
Isomil is made by Abbott Laboratories. The are also the makers of Similac, the milk-based formula. Abbott Labs makes a range of formula for differing babies needs: Low Iron, No Lactose, Preemie, etc. This is very similar to what the makers of Enfamil and Carnation provide. So why did we not go with these products? Truthfully, mostly because Isomil works , so why mess with it? Carnation products are a bit cheaper in our area. And Enfamil products are about the same price here as Similac products. In our area, the 2 top soy formulas Isomil and Prosobee are the same price. So, if I used Enfamil, why did I not stay with the same company when switching to soy formula? Again, at that time I did not understand about the different product lines well enough to know which formulas were associated with which company.
Isomil can be bought in our area in 4 ways: Powder, Ready to Feed, Concentrate, and Fully Packaged. With powder formula, you need to measure and add boiled water. We did not prefer the powder, nor find it to be saving us very much money when compared to the Concentrate. I did not like how it always seemed like "grit" was in the baby's bottle, and I kept trying to shake it to dissolve. Ready to Feed is nice because is just needs to be poured into bottles, but costs too much . Concentrate (which is what we buy) comes in a 13 oz can, and boiled water is added to it. Fully packaged are a set of 4 already ready to go bottles of Isomil. All you need to add is the nipple, ring, and cover. Obviously these are the most expensive, and we only bought some because we are going to be traveling by car for 10 hours, with the baby, to visit family in NY and wanted the convenience.
Without listing all of the directions for preparing each version of formula let me just say that it is extremely important that you EXACTLY follow the directions on how to make the bottles. For the health of your child, make sure you are boiling the water, and measuring the exact amounts they mention. Make sure everything is sterilized if the directions say so . This is not a product that you "eye-ball" or guess with.
In terms of price, we find, in our area, soy formulas to be cheaper than milk formula. Isomil and Prosobee are the same exact price for a 13 oz can of Concentrate, $2.29. It is also important to shop around . We found the lowest prices BY FAR at Toys R Us. Walmart carries the formula for $3.49 a can, Kroger and Food Lion (both local grocery store chains) for $3.29 a can.
Eventually, I bought all my formula in the town I worked in, which is 35 minutes from the town I live in. Both their local Toys R Us and Walmart had the cans for the same price, as they were located next to each other and were competing for business. I more often found the formula in great supply at Walmart.
To help save you some money, each formula company has programs that you can sign up for to receive checks and/or coupons off the price of formula. We have found that the Enfamil brands send higher checks to us than the Similac brands. However, I received a number of $.50/can coupons for Isomil from my doctor, and Toys R Us lets us use 1 check and 1 coupon per total transaction. So I usually save about $1.25-$1.50 off my total purchase each time I purchase Isomil.
The web site for signing up for checks and information from Isomil is http://www.welcomeaddition.com
I would recommend Isomil if a parent is looking for a soy based formula. I must admit, I am a bit curious about how the other soy formulas measure up, but have decided not to make the switch.
* One thing this has helped me to learn is to be better informed about the different products on the market. I suggest that all expectant parents learn a bit about the different formula brands, just in case*
Recommended:
Yes
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