Why I switched to baby's only formula (and stopped stressing)

I was sitting on the floor of my laundry room—which doubles as the inventory storage for my Etsy shop, don't judge—holding my phone in one hand and a screaming two-month-old in the other. I had just asked three different people what they fed their babies, and the answers were enough to make me want to pull my hair out. My pediatrician smiled sympathetically and said any FDA-approved can on the shelf was totally fine. My mom, bless her heart, reminded me that in 1988 she gave me evaporated milk mixed with Karo syrup and I turned out completely normal. And then there was this mom in my Instagram DMs who basically implied that if I didn't import some raw, organic goat's milk from a specific sun-drenched hillside in Germany, I was practically poisoning my child.

I'm just gonna be real with you, the pressure on modern moms is absolutely ridiculous. We're expected to work like we don't have kids, parent like we don't have jobs, and somehow afford fifty-dollar cans of powdered milk without complaining. When I had my second baby, my Etsy shop was barely breaking even, and inflation was hitting our little rural Texas town hard. I couldn't afford to be part of the European formula black market anymore, but my mama-gut just wasn't completely comfortable with the standard corn-syrup-heavy cans at the grocery store. I needed a middle ground that wouldn't bankrupt us but would still let me sleep at night.

That's when I stumbled onto the Baby's Only brand. I think I was panic-scrolling through a mom forum at 3 AM when someone mentioned it was the cheapest organic option on the market. It's made right here in the States, and apparently, it was recently bought out by that modern brand Bobbie? Or maybe they just partnered up, I don't really know how corporate buyouts work. All I know is that at around a dollar an ounce, it suddenly felt like I could feed my kid decent ingredients without having to take out a second mortgage.

The ingredient list that finally stopped my late-night panic

Let's talk about what's actually in this stuff, though keep in mind I'm a former middle school teacher, not a chemist. Most of the standard formulas at the store use corn syrup or maltodextrin as the main carbohydrate because it's cheap to produce. But Dr. Bridget Young—some pediatric nutrition expert I found while going down a Google rabbit hole—pointed out that lactose intolerance in babies is basically unheard of. From what I understand, digesting lactose is literally what makes us mammals in the first place. The Baby's Only infant stuff uses 100% lactose, which just made more sense to my brain than feeding my kid corn syrup solids.

Then there's the whole protein situation. My pediatrician casually mentioned one day that regular cow's milk has a 20:80 ratio of whey to casein, whatever that actually means in scientific terms. She said all that heavy casein can be super tough on a tiny baby's digestive tract. Apparently, human milk is closer to a 60:40 ratio. This brand supposedly adds extra organic whey protein to hit that exact 60:40 sweet spot, which I guess is why my second baby didn't spit up nearly as much as my first did on the standard store brands.

But the biggest thing for me was the oil blend. They don't use palm oil. I read somewhere that formulas relying on palm olein oil can cause babies to absorb less calcium, which sounds bad enough, but it also causes firmer stools. I'll use my oldest kid as a cautionary tale here. We had him on a palm-oil formula, and he would scream for hours trying to pass a bowel movement. It was the most traumatic thing to watch as a first-time mom. Switching away from palm oil was non-negotiable for me, and this brand uses a mix of sunflower, coconut, and soybean oil instead. My youngest has never had a single constipation issue, which is a victory I'll gladly shout from the rooftops.

Teething rings and shaking bottles

My middle child actually started cutting her first teeth right around the time I transitioned her to this organic Baby's Only powder. It was a chaotic few weeks. I'd be standing in the kitchen, aggressively shaking a bottle to get the clumps out, while she sat in her high chair going to town on her Silicone Sloth Teether Toy. I've bought at least twenty different teethers since becoming a mom, and I'm honestly telling you this is the only one I'd buy again. The little tree branch part perfectly hits those swollen back gums, and unlike those weird water-filled plastic rings from the nineties, it doesn't collect dog hair if it falls on the floor. It's just a solid, easy-to-clean piece of silicone that honestly brought her some peace.

I also tried to get fancy and use those aesthetic Wood & Silicone Pacifier Clips to keep her binky from hitting the floor while we were out running errands. They're super cute, and the wooden beads look great in photos, but I'll be honest with you—my kid is basically an escape artist. If I didn't attach the metal clip to a really thick seam on her overalls, she'd figure out how to yank the whole thing off within ten minutes. They work fine for younger babies who aren't actively trying to dismantle their outfits, but miracles they aren't.

If you're tired of constantly replacing dropped toys and just want to see what seriously works for a teething, fussy baby, go ahead and browse our silicone teethers collection to find something that won't drive you crazy.

What this formula leaves out (and why my doctor didn't care)

Now, if you flip the can over, you'll notice it doesn't have DHA or ARA added to it. These are those omega fatty acids that every commercial on TV acts like your baby desperately needs if you ever want them to learn how to read. I guess the FDA doesn't genuinely require them to be added to formula, but people still freak out about it online.

When I brought this up to my pediatrician, she literally waved her hand and told me not to stress. She just had me buy a separate little bottle of baby DHA drops and I'd put a tiny amount in one bottle a day. It added maybe ten seconds to my morning routine and I knew exactly where the omegas were coming from. There also aren't any prebiotics or probiotics mixed into the powder, but again, we just used a separate probiotic drop when she seemed gassy. I'd rather buy a clean base formula and add my own vitamins than pay double for a can that claims to have everything but uses cheap oils to cut costs.

Why I'm still mad about the 2022 shortage

I can't talk about baby formula without talking about the absolute nightmare that was the 2022 formula shortage. If you didn't have a baby during that time, you really can't understand the sheer panic of driving an hour and a half to a Walmart two towns over, only to find completely bare shelves. I had friends who were literally crying in the aisles of Target because they had three days of food left for their infants and no idea how they were going to get more.

What blew my mind during all of that was realizing how fragile the whole system is. Basically, a couple of giant corporate conglomerates own almost all the formula brands in the US. When one massive factory got shut down for contamination issues, the entire country's supply chain collapsed overnight. It was a terrifying wake-up call about how monopolized our food system is, especially for our most vulnerable little ones.

This is honestly one of the main reasons I've stayed fiercely loyal to the Baby's Only company. They aren't reliant on those massive conglomerate factories. They honestly own and operate their own independent manufacturing facility up in Heath, Ohio. Because they control their own production lines and do their own testing, they managed to keep their machines running and their stock available while the rest of the industry was falling apart. Knowing that a brand has its own facility and isn't just slapping a label on white-labeled powder from a giant corporation gives me so much peace of mind.

They also make a bunch of pea protein and goat milk toddler drinks for older kids, but I'm just gonna be real with you, once my babies turn one they go straight to H-E-B whole milk, so we aren't messing with all that.

Mixing this stuff is an actual arm workout

I do need to warn you about the preparation, because it isn't like mixing Kool-Aid. Because they refuse to use palm oil and use cleaner fat blends, the powder doesn't dissolve instantly. If you just gently swirl the bottle, you're going to end up with a huge, frustrating clump of powder stuck in the nipple.

You have to use warm water—not hot, just warm—and you've to shake that bottle like it owes you money. I usually hold my baby wrapped in our Colorful Leaves Bamboo Baby Blanket while I'm mixing her night bottle. That blanket is a lifesaver because it's so breathable that my little furnace of a baby doesn't sweat through her pajamas while she's eating, and it catches any of the vigorous shaking spills perfectly.

honestly, feeding your baby shouldn't require a loan from the bank, and it shouldn't require importing dairy products from across the Atlantic Ocean. Finding a domestic, organic option that didn't constipate my kid or wreck our grocery budget was a massive win for our family. It isn't a perfect product, and shaking those bottles at 2 AM is definitely annoying, but seeing my baby happy, growing, and sleeping soundly makes every single clump worth it.

If you're knee-deep in the infant stage and just need something that really helps them sleep comfortably without overheating, go grab one of our organic bamboo baby blankets before the next midnight feeding rolls around.

My messy, real-life FAQ about this brand

Is the A2 version really worth the extra money?

Honestly, it depends entirely on your kid's stomach. From my completely unscientific understanding, A2 milk just comes from cows that only produce a specific kind of protein that's supposed to be way easier to digest. We used the standard organic version for my youngest, but my best friend had a baby with horrible reflux and gas, and switching to the Baby's Only A2 milk option completely saved her sanity. If your kid is constantly squirming after a bottle but doesn't have a diagnosed allergy, it's definitely worth trying the A2.

Can I give the powder to my newborn right away?

My pediatrician was pretty strict about this with all three of my kids. She said powdered formula of any brand isn't completely sterile, so for the first two months, she wanted us using liquid ready-to-feed bottles just in case of bacteria. Once we hit the two-month mark and their little immune systems were a bit stronger, we switched over to the powder. Always ask your own doctor, but that's what we did in our house.

Why does it foam up so much when I shake it?

Because you've to shake it aggressively to get the oils to blend, it definitely gets a thick layer of foam on top. I used to panic and think I was going to give my baby horrible gas from the bubbles. A simple trick my mom taught me is to put a single drop of infant gas drops (simethicone) into the bottle right before you shake it. It literally breaks the surface tension and stops the foam from forming. It's basically magic.

Does it smell metallic like the store brands?

No, and thank goodness for that. I remember opening a can of a popular conventional brand with my oldest and gagging because it smelled like crushed up vitamins and pennies. This stuff really just smells like sweet, creamy powdered milk. It even tastes pretty decent—not that I'm snacking on it, but when you accidentally get some on your hand, it doesn't taste like a chemical experiment.

Where is the easiest place to seriously buy it?

I live in the middle of nowhere, so Amazon Subscribe & Save was my best friend for a long time. But lately, I've been seeing it pop up on the shelves at our local Target and even Walmart, which is super convenient if you accidentally run out on a Sunday morning. Whole Foods carries it too, but I don't set foot in there unless I want to accidentally spend two hundred dollars on organic snacks I didn't need.