SUPPORT thread for Formula Feeders

[riab]

Hi everyone, I'd like to start a thread for people who are forumla feeding or who plan to Formula feed.
Whatever your reasons are for choosing to formula feed they won't be questioned here. This isn't a thread for long drawn out debates it is a place where you can ask advice from other parents on topics like;
whats the best sterilisation method
different brands of formula
weaning of bottles
etc

riab
x

WRT to the dispo teats I would personally take my own bottles & teats in. DS literally swallowed his first dose of formula in a few seconds using these teats that fit over the jar so I tested a teat by filling it with water & holding it over the sink & was aghast at how it literally just poured out of it .

that's true, terramum, those teats are crap aren't they?

With the whole MRSA stuff and the formula having to be made certainw ays and things be sterilsied etc etc I'd probably buy some ready sterilised bottles and cartons of milk so I didnt panic, but I am a fusspot!

you may have had the wrong teats, some are designed for babies that have very weak sucking strength (iyswim) so if a "normal" baby sucks on them it does shoot out.

the tommee tippee pre-sterilised bottles were TERRIBLE to seal two years ago, have they got better? they coudl sometimes feel like they were shut but the bloody milk just poured out the side. absolute disaster. so test them well first, Kizzi.

wildwoman, that's probably what happened actually, because the nurse got it from the ICU.

Nope wildwoman - they were the standard ones everyone got on the ward. I got given a LOT during the 4 days I was in hospital (for some reason every time I was given some formula they gave me a couple of teats as well!) & they were all the same.

The one thing I really hated about FF with DD was how I was expected to stick to such a strict routine.

X amount of ounces every Y hours, no matter what, sometimes she didnt want all that milk, or she wanted more, other times she wanted to wait 6 hours, not four and some she wanted to feed 3 hourly not 4, so you may want to consider feeding 'on demand' as such rather than following the strict instructions,as long as baby puts on weight and has plenty of wet nappies you'll know s/he is getting enough.

I would imagine it's not too good for baby either making it follow the routine as it would teach it to ignore its hungry signals much like not forcing a child to finish their meal, but I can't be sure.

oh yes, the more modern advice is to totally demand feed, just like you would a bf baby. in fact, the book i had said that you should expect to throw away 25% of the bottles, more or less, because you want them to decide when to stop drinking rather than encouraging them to finish them. i'm glad we did that with dd, she's very good at controlling her appetite and isnt' a pita with food.

Lol@modern, I suppose it was 7 years ago I was feeding DD!

Hi

I haven't been given ANY information about FF at all, no leaflets or anything. I did ask one midwife about FF, she started by saying she wasn't allowed to promote it, or even discuss it but eventually told me which formulas were best.

I was in hospital over xmas with bleeding etc and got the chance to have a wee look around. One of the young midwives in the hospital was very nice and showed me where the formula was. But there were some dragon midwives in the hospital who weren't very nice to me so I can totally see them giving me a hard time re not BFing.

As for my reasons not to BF:
1, I have disabilities and will be relying a lot on my DH so FF will make it easier for him to assist me
2, my sis and I were FF and we are fine
3, I absolutely hate my boobs being touched

Sorry if that annoys anyone, you did ask.

reasons 1 and 3 seem solid to me, i think, particularly 1, although you could certainly try to pump or mix feed for a little while until your supply goes, you might as well not waste the milk if it's there.
you could try to give the baby some colostrum when you're in hospital and can get help, it's powerful stuff if you can manage.

i wouldn't push no 2 tbh as it's not relevant and hard to prove.

and 3, well as i said i think that the woman with the phobia really hated her boobs being touched as well. if it's a thing for you it's a thing, isn't it..? but you could try to keep an open mind because you may feel differently when the baby comes.

either way, it is your decision and you should be able to say that to them. if there's any more discussion then just say 'i have made my mind up, please stop talking about it' firmly.

i had a microwave steriliser, by the way. very good if you have a small kitchen. but i stopped sterilising after 12 weeks and put stuff into the dishwasher. what else? i really really recommend the tommee tippee powder holders that you get, buy them in boots i think. you put the powder in and they fit in the neck of the bottle, they're great for out and about.

oh, and the new, safer guidelines for formula say they shouldn't be made up in advance and stuck in the fridge. you need to make it up using pre-boiled 70degrees hot water to kill bugs and then use immediately.

there are practical ways to do this, i used to boil the kettle, fill the bottles and let cool, so in effect making them up in advance. then i'd heat the water up in the microwave (until 70degs, in my micro was 50 secs but you'd need to check yours), add the powder and shake like buggery to get rid of hot spots. tbh this is less hassle than the old-fashioned and not safe way of heating old milk from the fridge in a puddle of hot water.

maybe best to use the cartons to begin with, esp in hospital, but when you get home you'll realise they're very expensive.

in all seriousness... yes dh can help but ffing is a pain in the absolute arse and if you can avoid it for that reason alone, so much the better.

oh, and i'd be interested to know which formulas you midwife said were best as they've never been tested against each other and she'll have to have based her opinion on marketing material same as the rest of us.

i bet she said aptamil or c&g.

truth is, they're much of a muchness, the only real decision is 'do i believe in the fish oil thing?' and 'do i believe in the organic thing?' and 'which one do i believe in more?' as i don't think there's an organic fish oil formula, unless there's a new one.

if i was choosing now, i'd go for the one that is in my nearest shop, so that i'd have a supply in the middle of the night.

Kizzi - just do some research first if you decide you want to give baby some colustrum and then stop. I'm due with my 2nd soon and after having a horrendous time bf'ing with my first, I considered just giving colostrum for the first few days with my 2nd. I believe it sends a signal to your body that baby will need milk soon - so if you then stop - maybe you'll experience some discomfort / pain ??!! I stopped bf'ing suddenly after 3 weeks and had bad flu symptoms for 3 days as the milk was absorped into my body . Awful.

Don't mean to steer the conversation towards bf at all as I plan to ff this time round. Just wanted to give Kizzi a tip to look into this.

Think this thread is a great idea as I have experienced some pretty awful comments on other threads.

is that true, looby? i've never heard that. the women on my ward who didn't do any colostrum were complaining that they were in a lot of pain when they were being discharged, i remember. they were armed with savoy cabbages, much to their surprise.

Looby, I don't know how generalisable this is....I have never heard that it is less painful to not give any colostrum at all. Milk comes in anyway, whether colostrum is given or not - that's biology, as nature 'thinks' you need the milk.

The key to avoiding pain when you stop is to do it gradually....if you don't put the baby to the breast at all, the milk still takes a variable amount of time, and variable amount of discomfort to go.

If you start breastfeeding, and thereby start to put in 'an order' for more milk to be made, and then stop suddenly all at once, then yes, most women will find this painful and in your case, it sounds like you had infective mastitis.

Thanks AitchTwoOh, your post was helpful.

Yes, she did say aptimal and C&G! I was raised on SMA though...

Midwives are the last people to ask which formula to choose! We are not given any real info about formula during our training as bfing is the holy grail.(In my opinion we should be given the tools to support all mums).As Aitch said it is really which one is easiest to get because as far as I am aware the only research available is carried out by the companies themselves. Lac Caninum is the homeopathic remedy to use to dry up milk and Walnut flower remedy to help with any emotional issues.

lol, the two with the biggest advertising budgets...
good luck with the birth, kizzi. i believe that if you ask your home midwife for a demonstration of how to do formula etc etc they will tell you (but as usual, whether or not they have the most up-to-date info is moot). MN is your best place for help when the baby comes, i promise. i wish i'd known about it when i first had dd.

Hi AitchTwoOh - I'm concious this thread is about ff rather than bf so I want to make it clear I'm not on here promoting it - just trying to give a response to your question. I have sought advice on this very point from The Breastfeeding Network and have just checked back on what they said (below).

'The baby suckling is one of the factors but there are quite a few other factors too. The main factor initially is the pregnancy and the birth process which sets off the production of milk - the baby's continued suckling helps to maintain it - if that makes sense. So regardless of whether your new baby goes to the breast or not your body will make colostrum and possibly some mature milk around the third day, post-delivery, onwards - because it's been through the pregnancy and birth process. However my guess is that the amount of milk made would be significantly less in a mum who's baby had never been to the breast than for a mum who's baby had been allowed full access'.

I'm sure Tiktok will respond and point out the words 'my guess' towards the end of this advice from the BFN - but it certainly makes sense to me that if you were to start - with the intention of only doing it a few days that when you stopped you'd be likely to experience more discomfort than someone who hadn't done it at all ??

Tiktok - I'm no expert, I'm just teling you what an expert has told me but out of respect to the poster, if you do wish to respond to this - and if there are others who are interested in reading it - can I suggest you post a different thread ??

Thanks reikizen for the homeopathic tip. Good to know xx

ach, even if what you say is true, it's hardly a recommendation for giving no colostrum whatsoever.

a bit of discomfort in return for those immunities when they're so tiny is imo bugger all after labour, when you look at the big picture.

and i ff, i have no issue with people who ff, but nor do i think that they/we/i should be fobbed off as if formula is the same as bm, because it isn't.

seems to me that kizzi is more than capable of making a decision that's right for her, it's information that she's asking for after all. i remember feeling the same way, that it was impossible to get a straight answer about formula.

apart from the practicalities of bottles etc there's no way of making the information read that giving colostrum while you're in hospital anyway is a bad idea for the baby. i suppose you could weigh it as the BFing Network 'guesses' that it may be more comfortable for the mum not to let the baby suckle, but if the immunities that baby gets prevents them from getting even one wee tiny baby illness, you'll gain it back in hours of worry-free sleep.

well,my experience of not bf atall whatsoever was very painfull,full boobs that looked like i'd had JJcup implants,on day 4,only gradually getting more comfortable by day 11,and with the milk not drying up completely untill af returned at week 9/10.and that was with all 4 ff babies

C+G and aptamil are the best milks.i dont like SMA,for some reason when i used that the baby never got full,but the hungry baby one caused constipation.i used SMA with ds1 and dd1,and for the first few weeks with ds2 untill a HV suggested i switch to apatamil,which i did and ds2 turned into a different baby.
so i have come to the conclusion that SMA is the mcdonalds of formula.

Aitch - by no means am I recommending anyone should do anything - I'm sharing knowledge that I've been given by supposed professionals so they can at least make up their own minds - or at the very least do some research

Kizzib - how about setting out to mixed feed from start ? I struggled with breastfeeding with my first then switched to formula - the right decision for us. With my 2nd and 3rd I breastfed for the first few days - the colostrum is good stuff ! Then gave a few breast feeds supplemented with formula - turned out the best of both worlds - the baby got fed, comforted and you get the closeness - then gradually over a few weeks the breastfeeds declined and the formula took over - go with the flow - enjoy getting to know your baby - good luck Xo

dropscone - this may sound ridiculous but I've never heard of this before and it sounds good ! i may consider this with lo due in may.

by the way kizzi - we used aptimil and it was great for our dd..

we used to sterilise the bottles we'd need for the following 24 hours, put boiling water in, leave them to cool on the bench, put them in the fridge and only add the powder when we needed to use them. then we'd microwave them and shake vigorously to disperse any heat spots - and then check the temp... we never had any problems doing it this way but would appreciate anyones comments if there is a better way. only thing is, dd got used to having warm milk - even when we switched to cows which is a bit of a pain....