I recently switched my daughter from Enfamil Gentlease to Honest Formula. My daughter is mostly on breastmilk but I don't produce enough for her appetite. I supplement and the switch was relatively easy. My baby loves to eat so really I think she would take anything.
Here are some differences that I've noticed:
1. Packaging - It comes in tubs (no refills) and each tub is sealed. Unlike Enfamil, there isn't another bag inside the tub to transfer out. The tub has a pretty sturdy seal so I really like that. The tub also has a handy place to store the scoop instead of just stuffing it back in the tub. Basically, the packaging helps you keep it much cleaner.
2. Smell - Maybe because its organic but it does not have the funky formula smell. I feel its a lot closer to breastmilk like it is advertised. I know breastmilk smells nothing like the Enfamil formula that we use to have.
3. Texture/Consistency - The consistency of the milk once mixed with water is also a lot more like breastmilk. Its not so thick like Enfamil. However, it does foam up a lot which I'm not too fond of. I'm not sure if its the type of bottle we're using but there is a lot of foam as the baby is drinking it. Again, my daughter chugs it down so the difference hasn't affected her at all.
4. Price - Yes, more expensive. There are no coupons/checks that Honest sends you. But there is the bundles that help a bit and its shipped to you! I think the pricing is competitive to the other organic brands that Whole Foods carry for formula.
5. DHA - now, this is the annoying part but I understand. DHA is not in the formula. So, they have a separate DHA supplement to add into the to formula. Its pretty annoying since once open, the supplement needs to be refrigerated. And our refrigerator is down stairs while formula is upstairs. We feed BM downstairs (since the refrigerator is down stair so she drinks that during the day) and formula is fed only when she needs more (which is normally in the middle of the night or before bed). Luckily, you only add it in once a day but getting yourself to remember that, its kind of a pain. The reason behind the DHA being separate from the formula is to keep the DHA organic as well. If added, I guess it doesn't make the formula organic. And where and how they source the DHA make it necessary to be separate. It definitely is oily and constantly needs to be mixed.
I did get the free trial to make sure my baby would take it and she would digest it well. The can they sent me lasted about a week which was long enough for me to watch it go in and come out. If your baby is solely on formula, it make not be enough to see if your baby will take it well enough. We're definitely sticking to the organic formula and now I just can't get myself to even smell the Enfamil.
