Formula milk

[ktjj84]

When my baby is born i intend to breast feed, but should i buy some formula milk just incase theres a problem?

What brand should i get? Or should i just wait and see.

[dustbuster]

You can always get somebody to pop out and get some if you need it. IMO, it's better to just get on with BF rather than having bottles and formula hanging around as an option. Good luck!

[ScorpiowithabigS]

I think its best to not have it in the house - the first couple of days of BF can be tricky and its best to carry on trying. You can get emergency supply in the night if you have to; tesco, garages, etc.

[belgo]

I didn't buy any formula milk. I just made sure I went to a breastfeeding class, and got the telephone numbers of some good breastfeeding counsellors and also a midwife with extra breastfeeding qualifications. That midwife was the one who helped me the most get breastfeeding established, it wasn't easy, and she gave more invaluable support and advice. I never needed to buy formula milk for any of my children.

[ktjj84]

Thanks guys,

Guess thats off my 'things to buy list'

:-)

[Tummum]

At the risk of being controversial... I did find that having a 'back up plan' took the stress out of BF for DD2 for me (I tried and failed with DD1 and found that very very stressful). I just had 2 bottles, a cold water steriliser and a couple of cartons "just in case."

BF can be difficult to establish and I would really encourage you to stick with it because BF really is easier in the long run (having done it both ways), but my personal experience was knowing I had the choice made me more determined to BF.

HTH

[olivo]

i have to say i agree with tummum - I'm pg with dc2 and will have some cartons of formula on ahnd when s/he arrives. I did the same with dd1 - for me, it actually took the pressure off getting bf right, knowing i had back up., as it turned out, i bf for 7 months!

[StealthPolarBear]

I had formula in the house - wouldn't have a clue where the nearest all night garage is, but would imagine it will be a 45ish minute round trip for DH while I hold the screamnig baby. As it happened I didn't need it at all. Not sure if I will do again but it was worth peace of mind first time round

[bubblagirl]

i bought formula and i was so glad i did as due to medication after birth i wasn't allowed to breast feed

so had to start on formula straight away had no choice

[bubblagirl]

i had to have transfusions didnt want to go right into it as dont want to frighten op but had other problems before the baby was born to needing meds i was extremely dosed up

[BalloonSlayer]

I didn't have formula in the house and I know if I had have done I would have cracked and given DS1 a bottle in the difficult early days.

As he later turned out to have a serious milk allergy (now life-threatening) and also a soya allergy I am very glad about that . . .

Due to this I have now bf for nearly 6 years (spread over 3 DCs) although I don't know why I have bothered to type that

[BikeRunSki]

It never crossed my mind that I wouldn't breast feed. After starving my baby for a week (he lost 23% of his birth weight in 4 days) ,and us both being too ill to go home and seeing several bf counsellors, I gave him formula (the hospital provided tiny bottles). After 7 days in hospital we were both well enough to go home. We went home via Asda to get formula, bottles etc. We had to be told where to get it !

Maybe a compromise between not having formula in and having it in would be to know where you can get it. Luckily we are fairly near a 24 hour Asda.

[mags98]

I've got some. I'm 37 weeks now. A friend gave me some bottles she had left over, and another a microwave sterilizer. I have bought a couple of cartons of formula.

I intend to try and breastfeed, but I'm not going to go OTT about it and if I can't do it (or horror of horrors and I'll can imagine the response saying this on here) don't enjoy it - which I might not - then I will simply get on with what is best for me and my child. But if there is a crisis at 3 am I'd rather be prepared!

I think that I would really like to mixed feed anyway (probably expressing rather than formula, but who knows) so the bottles will come in useful in a few weeks anyway.

[anjlix]

I had full intentions to BF, but my twins had no suck reflex being early. Even using a bottle was a nightmare. I pumped in the first month and then gave up. I always had formula whenever my supply was low. I used Aptamil Stage 1. You might need bottles eventually if you want to take a break and have some one else bottlefeed expressed milk. Also bottle is good for feeding water on really hot days. I dont see an argument against having a bottle or 2 with the right sized teat. Aptamil comes in 200ml packs as well if that makes it less of a commitment for you.

[Ohforfoxsake]

As a militant breastfeeder of 4, I've always had a small supply of Hipp Organic. Can't say I was tempted to choose it over sheer determination or belief in my own ability to bf.

It would have been useful to have something to sterilise with when I came home with DC1 as when we were struggling MW advised me to hand express and use a spoon to dribble colostrum in.

BF is hard work and you need to be determined IME. It can take time to come good, but suddenly it does and its the best thing.

Saying that, you just don't know what is going to happen. I would always err on the 'be prepared for anything' side of things.

Good luck.

[funtimewincies]

If you're having trouble bf'ing in the first few days (and by that I mean a the sort of situation we found ourselves in where ds refused to feed for 14 hours) then a spot of cooled boiled water in a bottle is worth a go, just to get the desire to drink/suck back.

This was what my midwife advised and it worked. I kept a couple of Aptamil 1 cartons as emergency backup after a couple of weeks as I was having trouble expressing.

Good luck with everything.

[YesSirICanBoogie]

Hi. I had terrible trouble BFing DD. She was born just before Christmas and had I not had a sterliser and bottles god knows what I would have done. Expressing didn't work too well and I ended up giving into formula after a few weeks. Local/convenience stores seem to stock SMA which didn't agree with DD and after a bit of trial and error we ended up using Aptamil which suited her fine. This time, I'll try BFing again but I'll have a couple of cartons standing by just in case.

[charmargot]

Never entered my head to buy formula as a back up. I knew it could be hard but knew I would do it no matter what. In the end it was easy for me so being prepared for the wort meant I got a nice surprise.

[charmargot]

worst!

[tiggerlovestobounce]

I didnt have any formula in the house. Im really glad that I didnt. I found the first few weeks of BFing very hard, and it often felt worse at around 3 am. Knowing that I had to keep going till the morning to gte out to the shops was hard at the time, but meant that I managed to keep breastfeeding, as by the time the morning came round I always felt a bit better than I had at 3am.

[charmargot]

Oh, my sister told me something I was glad I knew - a day 2 baby feeds constantly! Putting the milk order in. If I'd not known this I may have wondered why dd kept crying even after a feed. The next day I was actually disappointed when she just wanted to sleep!

[Stretch]

Agree with tigger, I was the same with DD2. At night things seem worse!