Healthy, Homemade Baby Formula Alternatives

You might be wondering, “Why would I need to make homemade baby formula when there are so many store bought options?” To be honest, it wasn’t something on my radar either. When I was pregnant with my oldest, I assumed breast feeding would be no problem. And if that failed, I knew from walking down baby aisles there were plenty of formula options available.

After Q was born, breastfeeding and pumping proved difficult until I discovered a few pumping tips and tricks. Then we discovered Q had multiple food and chemical sensitivities. I had to be very careful with what I ate.

When she was around five months old, I had a particularly bad bout of mastitis. My body barely produced any milk and we had nearly depleted what little breast milk was frozen. I’d like to say we didn’t panic – but we did! The majority of baby formulas contained ingredients Q was reactive too. My earlier assumptions were blown apart. How on earth where we supposed to feed her???

We reached out to a friend, who I’m forever grateful for, that pointed us in the direction of homemade baby formula. She even sent ingredients. It was a “leap of faith” to try something based on raw dairy products (didn’t know much about it at the time), but God’s timing is written all over it.

*This blog post contains various health information. Nothing is intended to be, nor should it be construed as, medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Any supplement(s) discussed and/or listed should be reviewed by your health professional before using. If you have a medical concern, please consult with an appropriately-licensed physician. If you think you have a medical emergency, contact your doctor immediately. Full medical disclosure here.

Weston A. Price Foundation

The homemade baby formula recipe we’ve used, with all three of our children, is from the Weston A. Price Foundation. They are an organization providing information and resources for those seeking to learn about traditional/natural ways of living from our ancestors. Think of it as going back to the roots, before convenience food entered the scene. Dr. Price spent years studying aboriginals to see how they ate, combated illness, and the effects it had on their quality of life, health, and aging. Taken from their Mission Statement:

The Foundation is dedicated to restoring nutrient-dense foods to the human diet through education, research and activism. It supports a number of movements that contribute to this objective including accurate nutrition instruction, organic and biodynamic farming, pasture-feeding of livestock, community-supported farms, honest and informative labeling, prepared parenting and nurturing therapies. Specific goals include establishment of universal access to clean, certified raw milk and a ban on the use of soy formula for infants.

The information provided by the Weston A. Price Foundation has been very helpful in our healing journey. I can’t recall a time we haven’t seen improvements after implementing dietary changes and/or following supplement suggestions. I also appreciate how their articles are always fully referenced for further research.

If I wasn’t able to produce enough breast milk, than I wanted something that would mimic it (as close as possible), using natural, healthy, unprocessed ingredients. Weston A. Price’s Homemade Baby Formula is the closest thing we found. Much thought and research is done regarding what ingredients to use in what ratios. I’ve also found they update things based on new research and/or source new companies when needed due to change in supply or quality.

Homemade Baby Formula Recipe

We used this homemade baby formula for a span of ten years. Variations include: raw milk, goat’s milk, and liver based. There is also a fortified commercial formula recipe in case the homemade version is not an option. The recipe and information linked below is quite comprehensive. You’ll find:

• Recipe Ingredient Lists (complete with brand suggestions/shopping links)
• Recipe Instructions
• Formula Making Tips
• Breast Milk and Homemade Formula Nutrient Comparison Chart
• Baby Formula Cost Comparison Chart

RECIPE: Weston A. Price Foundation Homemade Baby Formula

If you’re interested in learning more about raw milk, check out Raw Milk Finder. As always, do your own research to make the best decision for your family. Organic, whole milk, non-homogenized products are healthy alternatives to raw dairy.

Our Homemade Baby Formula Experience

The thought of making homemade formula everyday seemed overwhelming at first. But we quickly got into a groove. I highly recommend reading through the Formula Making Tips listed in the recipe article above. We did several of the same things!

formula batches

While I was still pumping breast milk, a 36 ounce batch would last two, sometimes three days. When I stopped pumping, a 36 ounce batch lasted one day. Initially we made a fresh batch every day, until we went on vacation and discovered it saved time to make more than one batch at a time (duh!). Our blender could hold two and a half batches, so that’s what we made moving forward.

formula storage

With our first two children, we stored homemade baby formula in half gallon mason jars in the fridge. To warm it up, we poured the formula into glass baby bottles and used a bottle warmer or bowl of warm water. With our last, we had leftover breast milk bags we filled up, and then warmed up in warm water. This “grab and go” method proved easier for us. It also took less time to warm up just the bag verses a glass bottle with cold liquid inside.

formula ingredients

There were times the kids would “randomly” start spitting up the formula or become burpy. I initially thought it was a bad reaction and something was wrong. But as we worked with our nutritionist and/or did Nutrition Response Testing; we found their body was no longer calling for a certain ingredient. As soon as we removed the ingredient, no more spit up.

If you find your children aren’t responding well to the homemade baby formula, try removing ingredients, one at a time, and see if it helps. For us, the lactose and gelatin were the first ingredients to be removed, followed by the sunflower oil, nutritional yeast flakes, and acerola powder.

I found it fascinating, how all three of our children followed the same pattern. We learned it was similar to someone needing supplements to raise levels in their body, but no longer needing them once the level was achieved. The kids have since had those ingredients in other foods and not reacted at all.

Formula duration

Our child were introduced to this formula at different ages: five months, two months, and seven months. As mentioned above, we had our own “variations” as their digestive systems and bodies developed. All of our children drank this formula until they were about two years old. Towards the very end, it contained few ingredients: raw milk, raw cream, cod liver oil, and sometimes the olive oil. We follow Weston A. Price’s 11 Dietary Principles pretty closely, so I wasn’t overly concerned they were missing key nutrients with a nutrient dense diet.

I’m so thankful we had this homemade baby formula over the years. There was a sense of peace knowing the value of each ingredient and where it was sourced from. We were also never effected by formula shortages. It does require a bit of planning if going on vacation, but overall, making new batches easily becomes part of your daily routine.

It takes a tribe to raise children and we are stronger together, so please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions!