Mumsnet Talk

Im thinking of introducing a bottle to 13week old (2 week corrected)baby.......which formula would you advice to use and any tips for introducing a FF. I want to continue with some BF but would like to introduce a bottle for my own sanity.....

Hi,
I have no experience with prem babies but when my little one was in hospital they recommended aptamil and we used that with no problems. The best advice is to reduce bf's one at a time every few days. good luck!

Hi,

The two forumulas recommended for prems are Nutriprem by Cow&Gate and Gold Prem by SMA. Both are prescription only and can be ordered in powder or readymade cartons from your GP or HV. Nutriprem has stage 1 for hospital care (first few weeks) and stage 2, which is what you would have at home, is for up to 6 months corrected. Nutriprem seems most widely used and available. They have slightly different make up than standard formula to replace minerals and fats that they would have otherwise gained in the last weeks of pregnancy that they missed out on. First infant milks are also ok if you would prefer these/run out and if your baby is ill there are higher energy milks to be prescribed or if they are extra hungry, hunger top up milk. Hope that helps!

My hospitals bith recommended Aptamil - apparently the closest of any of the formulas on the market to breastmilk if you're trying to switch. We didn't try to introduce bottles until they were over 6 months (big mistake) and it took us nearly 2 months to get them to take a full feed from one. If you can, I would suggest using EBM to start with, so the only change if you like is the bottle, the milk / taste is still the same. We then went to half EBM / half formula etc gradually. We also tried introducing it at the bedtime feed which I think was also wrong - they wanted the cuddles / comfort of b/f then. Try in the day perhaps when the baby is hungry / more alert.

HTH

The SCBU in Cardiff uses Nutriprem. My DD was born at 31+5 and is now 5 1/2 weeks old. She is doing really well on nutriprem 2.

Actually, there are no significant differences between regular formulas (ie non-prescription ones). Aptamil is no closer to breastmilk than SMA, HIPP, etc. It used to market itself as such but it was banned for doing so because it couldn't justify it but the message lives on

The answer therefore is it depends on your baby. If s/he needs a specialist formula then speak to your paed. If not, choose any of the supermarket brands. They're all the same, fundamentally.

I would just check (unless you already know ) whether there are any additional risks to your particular baby to introducing formula on top of the normal risks of formula, depending on how things went in the hospital after the preemie birth. Sometimes the regular risks are compounded by bowel problems that your baby may already have, so it's worth just checking.

I understand the "for your own sanity" part There may be other ways to cope though - have you spoken to a breastfeeding counsellor? The Breast and Bottle feeding thread is also very supportive.

How about giving expressed breast milk in a bottle?
Is your baby having any supplements - vitamins, iron, folic acid? The special prem milks contain more of these and more protein than standard term formulas. Our FF babies (born before 34 weeks) go home on SMA prem 2, we also give it to those who change from bf to ff at home- ask your GP to prescribe it. If baby is having a prem milk for half or more of their total feed volume they souldn't need the supplements but you would need to check this at a follow up appointment.

my DD's were born at 25 weeks and were on nutriprem 2 until one year corrected (about 15months) then over to cows milk, they both did really well on it, one bonus of this is as it was on prescription you dont have to pay for it especially as having premies costs so much with all the travelling to hospital etc!!