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Infant feeding

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

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Original poster

Do I need to buy bottles for 1st baby if I intend to breastfeed?

23 replies

Act · 31/05/2006 15:40

Most of the advice I've seen suggests buying a couple of bottles even if you are going to breastfeed. Do I really need to get them before the baby is born as I don't think I would be expressing for a good few weeks...

Am I being too optimistic and should have some just incase breastfeeding goes t*ts up?

What are the best kind to get to use for a mostly breastfed baby?

OP posts:

LIZS · 31/05/2006 15:43

No you don't need them. If you should find you need them they are very easy to get hold of anyway.

TheHaikuPolice · 31/05/2006 15:44

No, don't. If you really have a disaster 24 hour supermarkets sell them anyway. I think a better plan is to keep bottles and formula out of the house if you are planning to breastfeed.

Good luck :)

Original poster

Act · 31/05/2006 15:48

thanks, that's what i thought...needed reassurance that it wasn't mad tho for some reason..

OP posts:

suzywong · 31/05/2006 15:50

it won't go tits up, come on here for advice and suppor if you need it at any time, am I right girls?

mawbroon · 31/05/2006 15:52

I didn't have any either Act. I live about a mile from a 24 hour Tesco so figured that if the worst came to the worst, I could nip there to buy bottles and formula.

I did have an emergency though where I was so sore on one side that I couldn't feed. It was the middle of the night and as I hadn't got round to buying a pump I couldn't express the sore side to ease the discomfort. I was cursing myself for not even having a bottle to hand express into, but found one in one of the Bounty packs. I just boiled it up to sterilise it.
So, the moral of the story is get your pump/bottles/steriliser (if you are using one) sooner rather than later!!
BTW I never had to make that trip to Tesco. I managed to bf DS exculsively for 26 weeks and we are still going strong at 7 months.
Good luck

TheHaikuPolice · 31/05/2006 15:52

Yup, we are open 24 hours too

(suzy you may have to cover about 8 hours by yourself, ok?)

wanderingstar · 31/05/2006 15:52

No don't buy them !
A newborn's tummy is so very small, all it needs is colostrum for a few days, then your milk will come in.
If you find breastfeeding's not for you, your partner or a friend can quickly and easily get a couple of bottles for you.
Before I had ds1, I'd barely held a baby before, but I bf him for nearly a year. I had no bottles at all around until I felt ready to express; did the same with the next 3 too. All successfully bf for months or longer. Bought bottles only when I wanted to express.
Good luck!

neena28 · 31/05/2006 15:53

I didn't have any in the house and I'm sure there were a couple of times when I might have gone for the 'easier' option if I had.

Although it is obviously personal choice I loved bfing my babies and am so glad I made myself persevere through the slightly harder bits (like when a bit sore when my milk first came in) so I could have the closeness with them that I loved.

Do get Kamilosan cream though, very good for sore nipples, had them with ds and once I used it they were fine. With dd used it from the start and never had a problem so think it is good stuff.

Good luck

Moomin · 31/05/2006 23:08

i would buy a couple of bottles if i were you, hang on to the receipt and keep them wrapped up. if you don't need them you can take them back. i wanted to bf with dd1 but it didn't happen and we had to go to tescos on the way back from hosp and it was the scariest supermarket trip ever (me hormonal as hell, dh all clumsy and swinging dd1's carseat about). i wouldn't recommend that to any new parents!

JessaJam · 31/05/2006 23:17

can I just second neena's vote for kamillosan nipple cream please...
When I was bfing ds my nipples were in a right state and all the f**king midwife said to me was "ooh try rubbing some of your own milk onto them" and "try letting them get some air, maybe spend some time without a bra or top on" "we don't recommend using any creams" Said the same in the free book I got from them too...
Total and utter pile! Just ended up sitting in pool ofbreastmilk leaking from my milk-rubbed, air-exposed boobs!!!

Californifrau · 31/05/2006 23:31

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Californifrau · 31/05/2006 23:33

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Californifrau · 31/05/2006 23:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Feistybird · 31/05/2006 23:53

Now you see, I will swim against the tide. I desparately wanted to b/f but had a c-section an whilst under the effect of drugs, nurses gave dd1 a bottle. Thereafter she screamed every time I tried to feed her. I was in tears at the thought I could distress her so much by just wanting to feed her.

I saw b/f 'experts' who, after watching my dd cry for an hour advised me to 'keep on trying' as they slid out the door.

The hospital wouldn't let me home (after 6 days) without establishing b/f or going the formula route - an d no more help was offered.

I'm sorry to be doom and gloom but all I'm trying to say is although it's highly likely you will feed successfully - it's not guaranteed. I got home New Years Eve evening and DP was roaming the streets looking for open chemists.

vickiyumyum · 01/06/2006 01:05

i have always brpught a steriliser that came with bottles (not enough for afull days feeds but enough that if had an emergency then i could use them to express into buy formula etc) didn't need the bottles for ds1 and2 as luckily b/f went very well, but still used the steriliser for dummies and plates bowls spoons etc when weaning, but never used the bottles or breast pump that i brought for each child as always thought i might need it.
this time though dd was poorly when born and i was told she either needed to be formula fed for first 24 hours or up to scbu with tube feeds, so i chose formula feeds,i then started b/f on day 2 and luckily it was fine, but then when dd was 6 days old i was readmitted to hospital with suspected pe (luckily it was fine 'just' a cracked rib!) and dd wasn't allowed to come with me, plus i was in too much pain to feed as well, so dh brought her into me in the day and i would feed her as much as i could and i tried to express some off so he didn't haev to give as much formula. luckily b/f continued fine once i got home and is still ok, shes now 11 weeks old.

but after that ramble, i would always get a steriliser that came with bottles that way if you don't use the bottles as they were 'free' you don't feel too bad when they go in the charity shop/car boot bag.

Elf1981 · 01/06/2006 08:27

I got some bottles when I was pregnant but wanted to b.feed. I brought the bottles "just in case".
They did get used, firstly to collect and freeze milk in the first week or so, I wasn't expressing but I was leaking everywhere, so came to the conclusion it was better to drip into a bottle and freeze it. Got about 15oz that way! We then used bottles to give DD some cooled boiled water when she had constipation.
She's 8 months old next week, still b.fed, has bottles of expressed milk at the CM.

Personally, I think that b.fed babies are fussier as to what bottles they'll use. We'd got Avent and Tommee Tipee, she was pretty flexible in the first few weeks with expressed milk / water, but later on when I knew I had to introduce a bottle for when I went back to work, she refused all Avent and Tommee Tippee teats. Nightmare (although common, so I was told by all my HVs). I eventually got her settled onto NUK bottles, dunno why she likes them, I think it's the shape of the teat or something.
Good luck.

NotQuiteCockney · 01/06/2006 08:37

If you want to breastfeed, it's best not to give bottles at all in the first few weeks, or at least until breastfeeding is solidly established. If you end up having to give something other than boob in the first days (formula or EBM), it's better to cup feed, which is very easy, and all you need for it is a very clean small cup - the avent bottle lids work well.

We had a real strugle breastfeeding DS1, and I'm sure it would have been ten times harder if he'd been given a bottle, rather than cup feeds.

(Having a pump in the early days is useful, although I think learning to hand express would be wiser.)

CarolinaMoose · 01/06/2006 08:50

my sister lent me her expressing equipment, but I didn't use it in the end.

I don't think it's too optimistic to think bfing will work.

If something unexpected happens (e.g. someone in my antenatal group couldn't bf because she was left too weak by a post-partum haemorrhage), you will get bottles in hosp and can send dh out to buy more, but I don't think there's much need to plan for that kind of thing in advance. Shops will still be open after your baby's born .

scienceteacher · 01/06/2006 08:51

None

Hoopoe · 01/06/2006 13:42

My expressor came with a couple of bottles and that's all I've ever needed. I did think I should buy more, but haven't used them! I've only ever breastfed my dd, but I bought a little ready-made carton of formula milk, just so that I had it if I was desperate. Never used it, but it was nice to know that I had a 'safety-net'.

PetitFilou1 · 01/06/2006 15:03

I would but not because you assume that b/f won't work more because a baby that takes a bottle and breastfeeds will let you have a break. I love feeding my dd (who is 9 months) but would occasionally like to be able to go out for a whole day. She has never taken a bottle as we left it too late and then she refused. I'm really happy I can feed her myself though as had lots of problems with ds.

Auntymandy · 01/06/2006 15:04

never bought bottles.

ruthydd · 02/06/2006 09:28

Agree with all points already made. If you have bottles in the cupboard you might be tempted to try them and then the baby may reject the nipple. Much better to give expressed milk from a cup as suggested by NQC.

That said, if you really do want to buy a bottle, I'd recommend the playtex teat which is designed to be easier for switching between breast and bottle. Its really soft latex so more similar to a boob than the Avent ones. \link{http://www.infantcaredirect.co.uk/acatalog/Breastfeeding_Support_Products.html\here}. I have an 8 month old who mostly refuses bottles but will occassionally take milk from this. You can buy one from this website and they deliver in 24 hours so you can have the number to hand for an emergency.

Good luck!

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