$25 Visa Gift Card Giveaway from Perrigo Nutritionals

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have been provided by Perrigo Nutritionals Store Brand Formula

Today I wanted to share a little bit about feeding your baby.  Now as you may know, I have two children.  My daughter is now eight and my son is three.  Both were primarily breast fed, however, my daughter had a great deal of difficulty getting started with nursing and experienced some failure to thrive.  As you can imagine, that freaked me out!  I wanted to nurse and tried so hard to make it work, but she just wasn't getting it and loosing too much weight.

The nurses at the hospital intervened pretty quickly with a lactation consultant and we began supplementing both in the hospital and at home with formula.  I had always planned on nursing and was so set on it, that it didn't really occur to me, that there might be problems.  When there were, I was panicked since we needed something immediately and I had not done any research on formula and was pretty clueless on brands, the different benefits each might provide...well just about everything!

One thing my husband and I realized pretty quickly was that formula can really add up!  With name brands costing more than store brands, we liked the idea of saving money but didn't want to make the wrong choice for our baby.  Obviously we wanted the best for our baby, as all parents do!

Questions about infant feeding were my main concern as we became new parents and I wasn't alone in that.  A new survey of pediatricians (conducted by SERMO, the largest online network exclusively for physicians, in conjunction with Perrigo Nutritionals) looked at the most common questions new moms will ask, and one concern rose to the top: 52 percent of pediatricians say the number one topic of questions from new moms is about infant feeding.

Perrigo Nutritionals Store Brand Formula’s “Pulse of Pediatricians” Survey Results:

A new, nationwide survey of pediatricians looked at the most common questions new moms will ask. 97 percent of pediatricians say feeding is one of the top three categories new moms ask about and more than half (52 percent) of pediatricians say feeding is the number one topic new moms ask about.

• “Pooping” questions were second (43 percent of respondents). Sleeping was third (41 percent).
• The results were based on a nationwide survey of pediatricians conducted by SERMO, the largest online network exclusively for physicians.

According to the survey, 71 percent of pediatricians believe all infant formulas are basically the same; the brand doesn't matter.

• The American Academy of Pediatrics and other experts agree on the benefits of breastfeeding; these experts also agree that infant formula is a safe, science-supported, nutritious means to nourish babies.
• Most moms don’t know that the FDA strictly regulates formula to keep little ones safe, so store brand formulas, like Wal-Mart’s Parent’s Choice and Target’s Up & Up, are nutritionally comparable to national brands like Enfamil® and Similac® and meet FDA standards.
• By switching to store brand formula, a family can save up to $600 per year without compromising quality. Visit www.storebrandformula.com for formula coupons and more information.

New parents tend to ask a lot of questions; pediatricians shared some of the strangest questions new moms and dads asked. The strangest question from a new mom was, “Can my newborn have ice cream” and the strangest question from a new dad was, “Is it ok for my new born baby to go kite surfing on my back?”

The strangest questions shared above crack me up, but in all seriousness, my advice for new parents would be that there are no strange questions!  If you are wondering or concerned, don't hesitate to ask your pediatrician or the nurses.  They know you have questions, they know you are clueless, they are expecting lots and lots of questions...okay, well maybe not the one about kite surfing but you know what I mean!

Plus, it's better to ask a medical professional involved in your or your baby's care.  Their answers will be more specific and related to your needs, yes the advice books and input from friends and family is important but I have found our pediatrician's input to be the most important in many to most situations and you'd be surprised the wide range of topics he or she can give well thought out recommendations on.

Readers, what did you think about the results of the survey I shared above?  What questions did you have as a new parent?

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