Which milk is best for your baby?

My daughter Gaby has just turned one last March 26. Two weeks before that, I am very anxious on what milk to give her when she turns one. I am the type of person who doesn't listen much to other people's opinion even my doctor's (hehehe) so I always do my own research about things.

A week before Gaby's birthday we went to her doctor for her check up. I asked Dok Randy, her pediatrician on what milk is the best that I can give her. He only replied, "Pwede na yung Lactum, pare-parehas lang naman yang mga gatas." (You can give her Lactum, all milk are the same) And so I asked, " E dok sabi nila yung Gain maganda daw kasi nakakapagpatalino." (They say that Gain is good cause it makes the child smart). But then he said that when you start feeding your chil only full natural food, according to a Harvard study, it helps the child become smart and intelligent plus the genes the parents have. If parents are intelligent then the child would be one as well.

And so that afternoon we went to SM Bacoor supermarket so I can do a little bit of research on the prices. Then I did my research online using MIMs Philippines to enumerate and tabulate all the ingredients found on milks that I found in the market.

	Gain Plus Advance	Enfagrow A+	Lactum 1+	Nido Jr.	Pediasure	Progress Gold	Anchor 1+	Bonakid	Frisogrow
	(1.8KG) 1086.00	(1.6kg) 1082.75	(1.6kg) 722.65	(2.0kg) 829.75	(1.7kg) 1515.25	(1.6kg) 975.5	( 1.8kg) 679.75	na	(1.6kg) 1026.00
Price per 100mg	60.33	67.67	45.17	49.49	89.13	60.97	37.76	na	64.13
Per 100g of milk
ARA		15.8mg
Biotin	22mcg	13.3mcg	13mcg	50mcg	159mcg	9mg	15mcg	9mcg	21mcg
Calcium		750mg	930mg	830mcg	486mg	450mg	630mg	450mg	890mg
Carbohydrate	49.8g	65g	64g	53g	54.3g	64g	60.5g	66g	51mg
Carnitine					8.4mg
Carotene						95mcg			300mcg
Choline	118.3mg	100mg	38mg		149mg		86mg		75mg
Chromium					15mcg
Cl	771mg	400mg	330mg	575mg	496mg	495mg	590mg	495mg	560mg
Copper	440mcg	380mcg	300mcg		0.5mg	405mcg	250mcg	405mcg	280mcg
DHA		7.8mg		29mg
Energy	495kCal	425kCal	442kCal	463kCal	496kCal	450kCal	450kCal	450kCal	460kCal
Fat	24.7g	11g	14g	20.2g		15g	15g	15g	18.4g
Fe (Iron)	8mg	7.8mg	9mg	7mg	7mg	5.6mg	8mg	5.6mg	10mg
Folic acid	88mcg	80mcg	35mcg	150mcg	184mcg	23mcg	120mcg	23mcg	50mcg
Fructo-oligosaccharide (sugar)	0.34g			3g
Iodine	97mcg	45mcg	56mcg	97mcg	48mcg	86mcg	21mcg	86mcg	80mcg
K	1046mg	750mg	590mg	800mg	645mg	811mg	900mg	676mg	930mg
Linoleic Acid (omega 6)	3.5g	450mg	230mg	3800mg	24.7g				2240mg
Linolenic Acid (omega 3 DHA)	270mg	115mg	230mg	470mg					320mg
Lutein						90mcg
Manganese	64mcg	43mcg	530mcg		1.2mg	586mcg		586mcg	1000mcg
Mg	58mg	48mg	56mg	58mg	99.2mg	45mg	57mg	45mg	90mg
Na	200mg	178mg	120mg	250mg	228mg	212mg	200mg	212mg	270mg
Nucleotides	48.3mg					12mg
Panthothenic Acid	2900mcg	3200mcg	2200mcg	2.2mg	5mg	1351mcg	1.7mg	1351mcg	3100mcg
Phosphorus	444mg	450mg	450mg	510mg	397mg		580mg	360mg	740mg
Protein	18.8 g	16.7g	15g	17g	14.9g	14g	17.1g	13g	22.1g
Selenium			12mcg		11.4mcg		5.5mcg
Sialic Acid		108mg
Taurine	33.5mg	26mg	44mg	50mg	36mg				40mg
Vit A	1765 iu	1600iu	1500iu	1200iu	1280iu	750iu	932iu	750iu	425iu
Vit B1 (thiamine)	0.65mg	390mcg	450mcg	0.45mg	1.3mg	405mcg	0.5mg	405mcg	725mcg
Vit B12	2mcg	2.6mcg	0.91mcg	0.8mg	12mcg	0.95mcg	2.1mcg	0.95mcg	2.4mcg
Vit B2 (Riboflavin)	0.74mg	750mcg	630mcg	0.8mg	1mg	721mcg	1mg	721mcg	960mcg
Vit B3 (Niacin)	8.38mg	5300mcg	6500mcg	6.5mg	9.9mg	5180mcg	4.6mg	5180mcg	9.3mg
Vit B6	0.94mg	300mcg	540mcg	0.5mg	1.3mg	450mcg	0.5mg	450mcg	1050mcg
Vit B8 (Inositol)					40mg
Vit C	73 mg	53mg	40mg	40mg	50mg	54mg	40mg	54mg	115mg
Vit D	335 iu	150iu	330iu	185iu	253iu	225iu		225iu	8.1mcg
Vit E	13 iu	7.3iu	6iu	7.5iu	11.4iu	5.6iu	6.8iu	5.6iu	9.2mg
Vit K	41 mcg	41mcg	11mcg	19mcg	19mcg	23mcg		23mcg	22mcg
water		3g	2.6g	2.5g
Zn	3.7 mg	3.8mg	7.5mg	5.9mg	6mg	4.5mg	8mg	4.5mg	6mg
No. of Vitamins and minerals	34	36	34	32	34	30	27	28	33

My top three choices are Gain Plus Advanced, Enfagrow and Nido Jr. Why? Gain Plus Advance has a lot of vitamins and nutrients in it plus the DHA, and ALA contents are also okay. I gave Gaby this milk already and she’s been drinking this for a week now. The only thing I noticed is that her appetite on rice is not that big anymore. Though her poop is okay and she still drinks milk a lot. I will have to try this up to 2 months and try to transition her to Enfagrow A+ and compare the difference. I chose Enfagrow since all the key ingredients are there as well plus the ARA content. Prices of these two are bit high compared to others but its worth the try for my little girl. The last on my list is Nido Jr., compared to the two I mentioned earlier this is also has a list of valuable nutrients. Also Gaby has been drinking Nan milk after the doctor told me to stop breastfeeding which is also from Nestle. Nestle milk has low sugar content which according to my sister would be less harmful to the teeth. Also Nestle has probiotics which helps in digestion. And the best thing about this milk is that it is inexpensive. Based on my computation it only costs Php49.50 per 100 ml of powdered milk. But then if she’ll like Gain and she will still have a good appetite then I may stick on that until I need to change it for some reason.

As a mom these are the things I consider in milk for my baby:

1. Digestion
2. Appetite
3. Protection from Sickness
4. Taste
5. Stool
6. Allergies

Dok Randy is right, all the milk has the same ingredients but at different amounts. For those who are reading these, these are all my opinion but the table I showed you are my basis. It is still up to you to choose what you think would be the best for your baby.