Will I need bottles, formula etc if breastfeeding?

[chipsandmushypeas]

Expecting first dc in December and plan to breastfeed. Should I buy a couple of bottles, formula and a steriliser just in case it doesn't work out?

Thank you

My mums recommendation was to get one of the mini pre mixed formula bottles and syringe from the hospital to take home for reassurance in case it got desperate in the middle if the night. We did end up topping up a bit as my milk took ages to come in (and required a lot of help) but I think even under different circumstances I'd still have been grateful to know it was there in case of emergency.

If you do encounter difficulties BFing in the early days, and want to keep trying, you'll be advised to use a cup or syringe, and not bottles, anyway. I bought a 'starter kit' of fairly expensive bottles as a just-in-case buy, only to have DS reject them outright when I finally did introduce them, so they were a complete waste of money. I had to cup feed DS for a few days when he was about a week old while I waited for shredded nipples to recover, and he even got one (his only ever) formula feed this way as well, when I was too shattered/in pain to even pump.

I've got an electric Medela pump, BTW, and I love it. I've got a bit of an oversupply so I mainly use it to 'pump and dump' to prevent blocked milk ducts and mastitis - I think I'd end up with RSI if I used a manual pump! I also have enough spare stored in the freezer to feed an entire SCBU for a week. Fat lot of good it's doing me though since DS has clearly read the breast feeding propaganda and is very wary of bottles, even if they contain EBM!

I was told by one midwife to use a cup or spoon.

Then on day 3 when we had to go back to hospital because of LO's weight-loss, the midwife there said they don't advise cup-feeding because the baby can choke/milk goes down the wrong pipe.