Chiming in late on the organic formula - I went to the horizon "research"
page and found a very interesting set of graphs - they showed that growth
(length, weight, head circumference) was the same with the horizon formula
as it was with a "standard" infant formula. Then they showed that compared
to breastfed infants, growth was consistently and proportionally faster
with "a low protein version" of the horizon formula.
Two things - one, that this is a terrific chart for us to have on hand when
moms start to worry about their bf babies "falling off the curve" - just to
show that it is normal for bf babies to grow slower (and pair that with
yesterday's medline article about the risks of rapid growth and we might
just convince them!) I'm going to copy it and print it out for a friend
with a new bf baby asking about "normal" weight gain.
second - I don't get what the point is that they're trying to make.  Why
a "low protein version" - does the "regular" version cause even faster
growth?  There was no discussion of what the faster growth meant - was it
desirable? Normal? undesirable?  They don't say - very vague.

I really agree with Tina that the most useful approach here would be to
have Horizon and the makers of the "toddler formula" adjust some of their
website content to be more bf friendly.  In their list of ingredients, they
say repeatedly "found in breast milk" - so that seems good, but I'm willing
to bet that they would be receptive to more aggressive copy about
breastfeeding support - maybe something along the lines of "if you are
having trouble breastfeeding, please seek the support of a certified
lactation consultant" and "this infant formula should be used only in cases
where breastfeeding is not possible" - anyone want to take that on?

OK - finally - personally, I'm glad these formulas are around. When I was
working and pumping for my first, I had trouble pumping enough milk for him
for a little while (so common) and I got one sample envelope of organic
toddler formula "just in case".  Having that buffer took a lot of stress
off of me, and I really think enabled me to relax enough while pumping that
I was able to pump enough from then on (plus we were through the 6 month
growth spurt). Now I call it my "lucky formula", since I've had it through
26 months of pumping and never had to use it (I know, it's expired...), but
just knowing there was an option of not paying into "big pharma" gave me a
little peace of mind.  Address the bf issues first, of course.  Change the
labeling to be more bf friendly - but there will always be moms who need a
little formula, and personally, I think this is a decent option. Let's just
keep an eye on them, and be sure their advertising is WHO compliant and bf
informative.
Sorry to ramble on, and no flames please about the formula "just in case" -
I KNOW this is how moms get into trouble, but my child was over 6 months,
and I wanted something in case I spilled a bottle of milk or my DH left it
too long on the counter or some such catastrophe, since I had no buffer of
my own milk. And what a nice option for adoptive moms who never get a full
milk supply and need to supplement!

Kirsten Berggren, PhD and aspiring LC...

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