What milk can you take to hospital??

[Duemarch2021]

Due in march and am planning on breast feeding but im worried my milk will take longer to come in or she won't latch... I've heard you can only take a specific type of formula in? Im completely new to all of this and frankly don't have a clue what im doing but want to pack my maternity bag... i have bought aptamil ready to mix sachets which u mix with water in a bottle.. is this wrong??

We didnt take formula to the hospital even tho it was on the list, they will have formula to give

You're far better off taking premade formula. You can get starter bottles which are pre filled, disposable bottles with teats

My midwife advised me to take premade bottles with the sterilised teats. They don't need to be kept refrigerated, just room temp and are literally ready to go!

Like these. You can get aptamil ones too.

She also advised me to stock up on a few boxes so for the first few days I didn't have to worry about making bottles in the night when I was feeling overwhelmed!

Really handy I found!

If you're planning on breastfeeding, don't bother taking formula. Your colostrum is all baby needs at the beginning and it's pretty unusual for your milk not to come in. The midwives will be able to help you work on your latch and/or hand expressing if necessary. Some hospitals have lactation specialists that you can ask to see as well 🙂 if you do end up needing it, the hospital will be able to supply some!

I would take ready made formula in the cartons if you want to take formula at all, much easier. But if you are in for the average time after a normal birth then you won't need to give formula. Just try and get someone to help you with breastfeeding! (possibly easier said than done in current circumstances).

Your milk almost certainly will come in. Have you read up about feeding success? Try not to worry. I don't mean to sound patronising but I had success in rotten circs and I think the positive books really helped me. Good luck

You can get them from most supermarkets and they usually have good dates on them too. I started buying boxes of them as I was getting to the end so I had a bit of a stash by the time he came before moving onto powder.

They are too expensive to use all the time but for the first little bit whilst you're getting used to everything (no sleep) its a Godsend.

They will give you formula if you want to breastfeed but need to top up. At my hospital it was the ready mixed one and they had a few different brands to choose from. They also provided the teats. If you decide to take some get the ready mixed small bottles that you just attach a teat to as you probably won't be able to boil water or sterilise bottles in the hospital.

Ignore my second post sorry, it won't apply if you're BF obviously!

But I'd still chuck a couple of boxes in your hosp bag if you're planning on taking formula incase x

You need to take in formula. When I had both of mine the staff kept their stash in a safe and didn’t give it out freely. And that was several years ago. They’re probably even tighter with it now. The formula that comes ready mixed in the cartons is better when the baby is newly born as it’s easier to digest. It’s also easier for you.

www.boots.com/aptamil-1-first-milk-starter-pack-ready-to-feed-6x70ml-10175040

My hospital provided milk if needed but if you have to take your own these will be easiest for you in the early days

I didn't breastfeed at all and they gave me pre made bottles that you put the teat on when I was in after birth

Yeah I wouldn't bother taking anything. If you are intending on BF then the moves will help and even supply formula if its needed.

I was told that if I had no intention on BF then I had to bring formula with me though

They give you formula if you need it - I breastfed but DS was pretty and needed top ups for low blood sugars, and they gave us what we needed.

I will say they took bloody hours to bring it when it was meant to be 30mls every four hours, then berated me for his blood sugars running low , but they did have a fridge full of it.

I was in for 5 days and did give some bottles as milk took a while to come in, probably due to traumatic birth. There was a lot of support for breastfeeding in the hospital, by the time I came out I was a pro! Went on to breastfeed for over a year.

I'd also highly recommend the ready to use bottles, they're the perfect size and they make life easier if you have to stay in hospital, I was in the ward for 4 days after my sons birth and the hospital supplied the cow and gate ready to use stuff, it was an absolute life saver.

The chances are you will be in and out in no more than a day and it's likely you won't have any problems with milk supply. If you do have to stay in longer or you have trouble with your milk then I'm pretty certain the hospital will provide some pre-made, sterilised bottles of formula for you. They did when my baby was born. Low birth weight, unexpected complications, etc, meant we were in for nearly a week and they supplied every bottle as a 'top up' for after I breastfed. They won't let your baby starve, don't worry. I've not heard of hospitals dictating which type of formula you can take in but I have very limited experience. Pick a brand you intend to stick with though as I believe they advise against chopping and changing too much. Best of luck!

Take ready to feed stuff, that doesn’t need mixing up. It’s better for you and baby. The hospital should theoretically have some but there’s no guarantees and you’ll save yourself stress and hassle if you have some ready to go.

I had a pandemic baby and it’s appalling but you can’t rely on breastfeeding support in person any more.

What I will say (my sister is a lactation consultant, amazingly for me...) is that’s it’s VERY unusual for your milk not to be there at all but VERY usual for new mums to panic, especially with no support, and feel they need to top up.

This then reduces the time baby spends at your breast, which reduces your milk supply, which is what you were trying to avoid.

Do plenty of research beforehand and know what you’re looking for. It doesn’t matter to know “how much” the baby takes, as long as they have plenty of wet and dirty nappies.

Because I’m a geek and was fascinated by it, mainly, I expressed colostrum in the last days of pregnancy and had about 10 1ml syringes in the freezer. When my baby was born he did have low blood sugar and was so sleepy he struggled to feed (although he was latched on by a nurse as I was wheeled from theatre still on the trolley, truly one of the most mind blowing moments ever).

Because I had the frozen colostrum, knew he only needed tiny amounts and had faith in myself (well, in my sister at the end of a FaceTime tbh) I gave him some syringed colostrum and squeezed my nips into a teaspoon (honest) and it perked him up enough to wake up more and latch on better that first day or two.

Breastfeeding isn’t necessarily easy at first, but it does get better and better and will make your life so much easier down the line.

If you can plan for hiccups and KNOW that topping up with formula can often cause lower supply which is counterproductive, you can be ready for it.

When I struggled with breastfeeding DD1 the hospital gave premade bottles (different country).

For DD3 (in the UK) I didn't take anything. I suppose I just expected the hospital to have some in case I needed. Talk to your midwife, she will know how things work in the hospital you're going to

@otterbaby

If you're planning on breastfeeding, don't bother taking formula. Your colostrum is all baby needs at the beginning and it's pretty unusual for your milk not to come in. The midwives will be able to help you work on your latch and/or hand expressing if necessary. Some hospitals have lactation specialists that you can ask to see as well 🙂 if you do end up needing it, the hospital will be able to supply some!

This. Spot on. If you want to breastfeed, do not give the baby formula in the first few days UNLESS the medical staff advise it. In which case they will have formula there. My baby was 5 weeks premature and I wanted to breastfeed. At about day 3, they advised us to give him some formula in a tiny cup, but other than that I just let him be latched on for ages, and he got and I both got the hang of it. What really surprised me was how long it takes a very small baby to feed, though - 40 minutes per feed (falling asleep part way through sometimes) is totally normal. Take a kindle or iPad or other entertainment you can enjoy with only one free hand!

I think you should just pop a few ready made bottles in a bag just for your own reassurance. They don't restrict what you take.

Take the ready to feed ones, and persist with the midwives for breastfeeding - it’s all well and good being told they’re on hand to help but they’re really bloody not, not unless you make yourself a pain in the arse for them.

I think the posters saying don’t bring any formula are nuts! I planned to BF but I had a PPH and was away from my son for 4 hours straight after birth, I packed these just in case and thank god I did.

PACK FORMULA! Worst case you don’t use it. My hospital also don’t provide formula so don’t rely on the hospital either.

www.boots.com/aptamil-1-first-milk-starter-pack-ready-to-feed-6x70ml-10175040

I gave birth in may and I had to take my own formula as covid meant they weren’t allowed to give bottles out. Please check with your mid wife these things change daily.
It was my first so I took aptimal starter packs you can get these from supermarkets