Enfamil Next Step Lipil Review

Most all babies grow up drinking baby formula and they continue to drink formula until approximately the age of one. At this point, most parents switch to regular milk, but there are now formula products designed for children in their toddler years. One such product is Enfamil Next Step Lipil Formula with DHA and ARA, a product made for children between nine months and twenty- four months of age.  

Baby Formula Commentary:

Enfamil Next Step Lipil is a milk- based powder formula (also available in ready to serve cans) that is much like the other Enfamil formulas except that it has a slight variation in nutrition to make it more suitable to children in this particular stage of development. Besides the nutrition, this formula also includes DHA and ARA- two fatty acids that are essential to nutrition and are found in breast milk.

Like most parents, the factor that attracted us to this product more than any other factor is the nutritional component. Doing a side by side comparison, it is easy to see the superior nutritional content of Enfamil Next Step Lipil when compared to regular milk. Not only are the individual nutritional levels greater, there are also specific nutrients found in this formula that milk doesn't contain at all, like iron and Vitamin C. There is also DHA and ARA, which are known to play an important role in brain development, among other things.

Enfamil Next Step Lipil is an easy product to mix and serve, but I have found that the necessary shaking time is a little longer than the manufacturer claims. A five- second shake isn't sufficient to dissolve the powder. Also, if the water used is too cold, some of the powder may not dissolve at all. This is why I usually microwave the water first; not to the boiling point, of course, but to a warmer temperature, like 90 degrees or so. This is warm enough to make the powder dissolve and not too warm that it burns the little ones lips or mouth.

While this product is certainly more nutritious than regular milk, and while I admit this is the main reason we buy it, I must question whether or not this added nutrition is as necessary as the manufacturer leads the consumer to believe. I can't see how it can hurt to serve this product on occasion, and some of the nutritional content is probably very beneficial. But I don't necessarily believe Enfamil Next Step Lipil formula is important to serve every day for children in this age range. To the manufacturer's credit, they do not claim that this should be served exclusively, in place of milk- they only state that it makes a good milk alternative, which it does.  

Bottom Line Viewpoint:

Overall, Enfamil Next Step Lipil with DHA and ARA is a good formula to serve every now and then as your little one slowly transitions from baby formula to cow's milk. It isn't an absolutely necessary product, and the cost could make it prohibitive to those families who are anxious to leave the formula stage and switch to a straight diet of cow's milk. But it is still a product worth considering and it's manufactured by one of the most trusted names in baby formula.