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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

Which bottle?

17 replies

Oeisha · 25/02/2012 11:59

So after trying and failing (thanks to 2 bouts of mastitis the last of which hospitalised hospitalised me for 5 days) to BF, I'm currently expressing (and binning thanks to meds), but am using the medela BF bottles and slow flow teats to feed.
Now Snufflix is exclusively FF I want to try and move her on to different bottles (as the medela BF ones aren't air-tight and shaking formula in them is hit and miss).
Any suggestions as to the best bottles/teats to switch to?
She's consistently taking 120-150ml each feed at 5wks.

OP posts:
DrSeuss · 25/02/2012 14:20

Avnet products are sold pretty much everywhere including Tesco. That was the advice given to me by an old hand. They are also available all over Europe. Lose a bottle, drop it and crack it, leave it behind, buy a new one without hassle. The fancier ones have their lovers but I have never had a problem with Avent.

TruthSweet · 25/02/2012 20:19

I hope I am not speaking out of turn but there aren't many drugs you can't bf while taking (some cancer drugs are for example but I sincerely hope that isn't the case).

I thoroughly recommend speaking to the Drugs in Breastmilk helpline as I have been told many times I can't bf on drug X but it's turned out that it is compatible after all.

emsyj · 25/02/2012 20:27

Pretty much all the mums I know who used bottles used the 'Closer to Nature' Tommee Tippee ones and seemed to get on with them - they are available in most places, including in my local Home 'n' Bargain! I was recommended them and bought a set but DD wouldn't ever take to a bottle at all so I've just given a whole load of them to a neighbour who has just had a baby. She's getting on well with them, her DS is a week old and was 4 weeks early (so super teeny and snuggly) but he's managing great with them.

LucyFarinelli · 25/02/2012 20:35

I recommend Nuk bottles. They were great for us as DS had colic and reflux. I (and DS) personally hated the Avent Anti colic bottles. They were a complete waste of money IMHO

Oeisha · 25/02/2012 21:51

Thanks for the link truth, but I really can't risk another bout of mastitis like that one and along with migraines and the depression it's the right decision to switch to formula. Had me on 3 different ABs IV 6 times a day and at one point was on an ECG as my heartrate plummeted. Can't risk that happening again - mainly because I went from poorly but ok (but vommiting, hense hospital admission) to hooked up to the ECG with doctors crowding round me in about 20mins. I'd have been going in by ambulance at that point...if I could have got to a phone...
I'd love to continue to BF but they've said it's likely to happen again (it's not cyst driven so no amount of changing technique for bf will help) and can't guarantee it won't be as bad. Just can't risk it mentally or physically.
I'm now getting so little out each breast with expressing that it doesn't feel worth bagging & freezing.
Thanks for all the bittle tips guys!

OP posts:
TruthSweet · 25/02/2012 22:37

That sounds terrible I had no idea that mastitis could cause such serious symptoms (not doubting you at all just not heard of it before).

I hope you recover quickly Smile

Oeisha · 26/02/2012 15:37

Admittedly it was very severe...but yup, for some women it can be that bad. My fisrt bout was fluish and painful but ABs worked very quickly. I was moved wards to be replaced by some other poor lady with mastitis and vommiting. Hopefully she didn't have as bad a time as me!

OP posts:
organiccarrotcake · 26/02/2012 17:32

oeisha do you react to infection that badly normally, or was it just this time? Sounds awful... :(

Oeisha · 26/02/2012 18:43

Nope, just this time...

OP posts:
crikeybadger · 26/02/2012 19:21

Haven't seen you around for a while organic- you been busy elsewhere?

bettyboo83 · 26/02/2012 19:24

I use the Tommee Tippee CTN bottles too and they have been great. Cheapest place to buy them I found is Amazon.

Bonkerz · 26/02/2012 19:26

Can highly recommend mam anti colic bottles.

organiccarrotcake · 26/02/2012 21:04

You poor thing, OP. I do wonder if something else was going on though because unless there's something not covered in my (extensive) lactation library I can't find anything that explains your cardiac symptoms and the extreme nature of how ill you got. Maybe another infection going on too and with a stressed immune system you got really, really unlucky. Such a shame :( I'm sorry I can't really offer any help with the bottles, further than has been offered, but you may find this helpful:

www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/bottle-feeding.html

And if you've not used powdered formula before:

www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/formulaguidance.pdf

Hope this is of some help. On another note, do you know how to gently reduce your supply to avoid another bout of mastitis as you wean off the breast? Bear in mind that taking your time over it is most important, and just gently reducing your supply over time. At the first sign of either blocked ducts or mastitis keep up the expressing and see it through before trying again.

One other thing is perhaps to check on the safety of the meds with the Breastfeeding Network as Truthsweet suggested, and maybe switching to safer ones if necessary, for the duration of weaning, so that the expressed milk can be used to give to your baby (every drop counts). I think a lot of mums feel better about weaning if they're a bit sad about it when they can at least not be expressing and throwing it away.

Best of luck :)

badger - no, I know, I've been so exhausted with the bub2b and my other boys, trying to get as much through my training as poss (just posted Mod2), and trying to set up a Breastfeeding Welcome scheme in my area as well as other BFing projects that I've got on the go. Plus I'm really busy with UKAMB stuff right now. I really miss MN :(

BizzeeBee · 26/02/2012 21:09

I had to switch from BF to FF very suddenly due to an abscess when DS was 7 weeks. We have been using Avent bottles and found them fine although I have no experience of any other bottle except for a mam anti-colic. Personally, what I like in a bottle is having as few parts as possible, and something that fits in the steriliser very efficiently.

We had a mam anti-colic bottle bought for the mam teats that seemed to have hundreds of bits to it, whereas the extra-durable Avent ones are quite simple. I have also bought some cheaper Avent bottles that have an extra ring next to the teat that the extra-durable ones don't have and they annoy me no end and leak when you shake the bottle if not done up tight enough.

Oeisha · 27/02/2012 11:49

organic thanks for the links. Yes, I've been told how to reduce my milk effectively. I'm now beginning to get empty an empty boob within the time limits I'm currently on, so that's something!
I do wonder whether round 2 came from what was 2 days of bad-latching, and I still have doubts re: BF, but I really cannot risk that again.
They did say in hospital that they were worried the infection was more systemic, as my bloods were showing it might be...\nd the heartrate thingy resolved as my temp dropped, but they were sure it started with the mastitis.
I do have some expressed and frozen milk Snufflix can take advantage of, but there's not much.

bizzzeebee thanks for the info. It's all helping. Smile

OP posts:
ChrissasMissis · 28/02/2012 20:59

I had to switch from BF to FF for reasons too involved to go into right now...I found the Tommee Tippee bottles made my poor DS SO windy. He was not a happy chappy. My HV was convinced he had reflux. I switched to Dr Brown's and we haven't looked back. He went from a misery guts to a sweetie in the course of a day.

Southseagirl · 28/02/2012 22:24

I use Avent bottles and they are fantastic. You can get the Teats in most places and the bottles are very hard wearing. Most of the mums I know use avent too, the closer to natures are good as well but the plastic is very thin and they don't hold temperature as well x

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