Whether you are weaning your baby off of breast milk or just simply searching for the right baby formula to supplement with breast milk, which brand is the best and most gentle on your baby’s digestive system?

Because there are so many types of baby formulas out there, I have narrowed down the list to the top 5 baby formula brands that are on the market today.

Top 5 Formula Brands

Enfamil Premium Lipil- This is by far the best brand on the market, though it’s the priciest. It’s the only formula that actually promotes growth and development. It also supports eye and brain development and supports the immune system. It’s the closest formula to resemble mother’s breast milk because it contains DHA and ARA.

Similac Advance Early Shield- This particular formula has prebiotics to aid in proper digestion. It also helps build immunity.

Nestle Good Start- This formula contains comfort proteins also known as whey proteins. It is very gentle on a baby’s digestive system.

Parent’s Choice Milk Infant Formula- This is a Walmart brand and is the closet to the Enfamil brand.

Bright Beginnings Milk Based Infant Formula- This formula contains vegetarian blends and nutrition levels which are recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

It’s best to consult your baby’s pediatrician before deciding on the best formula for your baby’s health and well being. Remember, breast milk is the best milk that your baby could ever consume so consider this before shopping for baby formula. If you are unable to nurse at this time for whatever reason, hopefully this list of baby formulas will give you a head start in searching for the proper nutrition for your sweet baby.

Do you give your baby formula or do you nurse? Maybe both? Please feel free to share your experiences with us.

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Sources: Enfamil, Similac, Brightbeginnings, Parent Choice Formula

Have you ever been shopping for a humidifier whether for your own sweet baby or for someone else’s and discovered they are either labeled “cool mist” or  “warm mist”. What’s the difference and which one should you choose?  This question I asked myself just recently and I ended up doing some pretty extensive research on the subject since I wanted the best for my baby girl.  Here is what I found over at eHow.

Cool Mist Humidifiers

Cool mist humidifiers are recommended for young children.  “It helps treat asthma and allergy type symptoms.”  Cool air is easier to breathe than warm air.  If we think about this in detail this is so the truth.  It is definitely more difficult to breathe warmer air causing discomfort, so this can be a potential danger for newborns and infants with breathing issues if you choose the warm air humidifiers.

Cool mist humidifiers are known to be easier to clean and trap less bacteria, etc.  Rinsing this particular humidifier every few days cuts down on germs in the environment.  They are also known as environmentally friendly since it tends to use less electricity than warm mist humidifiers.

Warm Mist Humidifiers

Warm mist humidifiers are ideal for treating cold and flu symptoms.  If you experience congestion, stuffed up nose, and aches, the warm mist helps relieve those miserable symptoms.  Warm mist humidifiers also kill any mold present in the home.  If it a cold time of year it is best to consider a warm mist humidifier.  This helps warm up a room especially at night.

Many people prefer warm mist humidifiers because they don’t make any noise like cool mist humidifiers do.  Again, if you have a small child or baby residing in your home, consider the cool mist.  You want the best for your little one, especially during those “sicky” times of year.

I just recently noticed that there are humidifiers that have both cool mist and warm mist settings.  This is the one we went with since it was so hard to decide what was worth purchasing.  Basically, you may spend about the same amount on a dual setting rather than just one setting.

Hopefully this cleared some things up for you regarding the differences between “cool mist” and “warm mist’ humidifiers as it definitely helped me as confused as I was.  How about you?  Which humidifier do you find works best in your home?  Maybe you have a dual mist humidifier.  Feel free to share your experiences with both.  We would love to hear from you.

Image: Wikipedia Commons

Mom-Approved “Must Have” Sleep Aid

We just heard back from one of our blogger friends at the Kindred Spirit Mommy with a review of the Bosom Baby Nursing Pillow.  Lindsey is pregnant – and moms that actually use these products often provide the best feedback.

Spoken like a truly pregnant mom, Lindsey says that having a pillow between the knees doesn’t just make sleeping more enjoyable – it’s necessary to make sleep POSSIBLE!  And she considers herself a new convert to those who love sleeping with Bosom Baby:

“My first pregnancy I used several pillows in an attempt to stay comfortable, but this time I have one of Luna Lullaby’s Bosom Baby nursing/maternity pillows and I love it!  I use it in bed between my legs at night and during the day it resides on the couch.  I’m actually uncomfortable sitting on the couch without it.  I have even considered dragging it with me to friends’ houses.  At a small get-together we had at a friend’s house the other night I wished I had it while sitting on their couch.  I just may start bringing it with me everywhere.”

> Read the full review from Lindsey at Kindred Spirit Mommy

Congrats to this week’s winner!

Congratulations to Jill from North Carolina, the winner of a free Bosom Baby pillow as part of the Kindred Spirit Mommy contest!  We’ll be sending your gift out soon just in time to enjoy for the holidays!

Bigger and better than expected

This week we received another review back from a blogger reviewing one of our products. And this time it was the team at Macaroni Kid, a popular mom blog from York PA, that tested out our Soothing Swaddle Blanket.

We’re pleased to report that they were especially impressed with the size of the blankets – which are over 3 feet long and much longer than many competitor blankets.  And even though they had experience with swaddling their children, they found great value in the instructional DVD that comes with the 3 packs.

Here’s a sample from their review:

That was always a problem that I had with my other swaddling blankets, they never seemed big enough. Along with these extra large blankets comes a DVD with step-by-step demos on how to swaddle your baby. Even after having a child and learning how to swaddle her, I found this helpful for future use and with the larger blankets I know it will be much easier!

> Read the full review from Macaroni Kid

These days, Luna Lullaby is getting more and more requests from Canada to review our products.  And as eager as we are to get them into the hands of parents everywhere, we sent the Zebra nursing pillow to our friends at Mommy Time Out for a product review.

Use for sleeping or twins

One of the things Mommy Time Out mentioned in their blog was how much they loved the oversized shape of the pillow and what that means for parents:

“…I wanted to curl up with it and go right to sleep.  I’m not even pregnant and I’ve used it to sleep.  Breastfeeding mommies can use the pillow to allow for comfortable feeding. It is also great if you are really lucky to be nursing twins!…”

> Read the full review at Mommy Time Out

Enter to Win a Free Blanket

So for those of you who like a little something FREE, jump on over to Mommy Time Out and check out the contest rules and take a chance at winning a free nursing pillow of your choice!

> Enter to Win!

A “natural” review from a real mom

Recently we sent our special “New Mommy Package” to the popular parenting blog site Natural Mama so they could “kick the tires” so to speak.  One of the interesting things is Vivian thought the Bosom Baby pillow was “multi-functional” which is something we’ve been trying to promote for years.

To clarify “multi-functional” – Vivian says:

“…it also fits every waistline, a great maternity sleeping pillow, it has removable washable covers, it’s good for twins, and it has a soft, luxurious covers. This nursing pillow is multifunctional, and is designed for you and your baby. The pillow was really nice, wish I had that nursing pillow when I was still breastfeeding my daughter.

> Read the Natural Mama Review of Luna’s products

Enter to win a FREE pillow or blanket

As part of their review, Luna Lullaby is sponsoring a giveaway of either of a blanket or pillow to one lucky reader of the Natural Mama blog.  So hurry on over to their site to find instructions on how to enter and win.

> Enter to win FREE stuff from the Natural Mama

Fresh take on our bouncy ball

Our Bounce A Bye Baby Ball is an interesting product.  Originally designed as a birthing ball, it also serves double duty as an exercise ball for mothers post-partum as it includes a safety stand for extra stability.

However, one of the things we love with blogger reviews is the new perspective they give on the products after they test them out on their own.  And this week, we had some new ideas from Holly at Mommies with Cents.

After the baby is born, the ball is still quite useful. Bouncing the baby on the ball is soothing and once they are ready to practice “tummy time”, the ball is an excellent tool.  Now there is a product made specifically for these uses that is not only cuter, but safer as well.

> Read the Mommies with Cents Review of Luna’s products

Enter to win a FREE Bounce A Bye Baby

OK so on to the real reason you’re reading more – the giveaway mentioned in the headline!  As part of their review, Mommies with Cents is sponsoring a giveaway of a FREE Bounce A Bye Baby to one lucky winner.  Hop on over to their site and checkout the simple contest rules where you can enter to win today:

> Enter to win FREE stuff from the Mommies with Cents

One of the things we love about product reviews is that we’re never sure what we’ll hear.  Of course, we love when people say great things about us!  But we also love it even more when people find something unique or different to say about our products.

So this time, we sent our “New Mommy Package” to the popular parenting blog site Connected2Christ so they could get a close up look at the products for themselves and tell everyone what they think.  And their review was a little different than what we normally hear as their main blogger is expecting, but doesn’t have a newborn.

Bosom Baby as a sleep aid

Here is a sample quote from the review:

“I’m around 25 weeks pregnant now and have been using this pillow daily! It’s been an extremely great companion to helping me position myself in bed better, giving me the much needed sleep I’ve been lacking.

The Bosom Baby Pillow is a little larger than other nursing pillows I’ve used but its generous size allows for woman on any size to comfortably wrap it around their bodies.  Its cover is super soft, very, comfortable, and easy to just throw in the wash. I love that this cover also just slips over the pillow, no zippers necessary which as a fantastic safety feature!”

> Read the Connected2Christ Review of Luna’s products

Contest Winner Announced

This time around, the contest winner is Canadian Emily B who won a Sage Dot Bosom Baby Pillow.  Congratulations to Emily and please make sure to come back and let us know what you think about your new product!

Luna Lullaby Earns “Bragging Rights”

A few weeks ago, we sent our “New Mommy Package” to the popular parenting blog site Bragging Mommy so they could get a close up look at the products for themselves and tell everyone what they think.  And this week, they released their review of our 3 product lines and the good news is they didn’t just like they, they LOVED them!

> Read the Bragging Mommy Review of Luna’s products

Enter to win a FREE pillow or blanket

OK so on to the real reason you’re reading more – the giveaway mentioned in the headline!  As part of their review, Bragging Mommy is sponsoring a giveaway of  either of a blanket or pillow to one lucky winner.  Hop on over to their site and checkout the simple contest rules and enter to win today:

> Enter to win FREE stuff from the Bragging Mommy

About the Bragging Mommy

The Bragging Mommy is a popular parenting blog written by a group of 5 moms with 8 kids.  They work hard to provide “mom and kid tested” reviews of products that parents can and should be using by testing each product on their own and offernig their reviews to readers.

They also do great giveaways from time to time where readers can win a product they’ve reviewed.