Bottle/Breast Feeding Accessories

[Willowha]

My first baby is due boxing day and i''m hoping to breast feed but i want to be prepared to bottle feed incase i can't or i end up doing mixed feeding.

Bottles etc are a mind field, i need help.
Do i buy a range of brands and also anti colic?
Does it matter if i use 1 brand of sterilers but have a different brand of bottle
The tommee tippee prep machine come highly recommended, i'm presuming i can use this with any bottles.... but what about the bottle warmers???

I'm going to purchase a manual breast pump for now (if all goes well i'll no doubt upgrade to an electric one)
Am i better sticking to a.particular brand of bottle that will fit my pump or will this only save me time because i won't have to decant

Help please..... TIA X

Hi

Congratulations! It’s a mind field. I decided to buy this set as it was on special offer (still is!) and had everything in it. The tommee tippee anti colic complete feeding kit- bottles/steriliser etc etc

www.mamasandpapas.com/en-gb/tommee-tippee-anti-colic-complete-feeding-kit-white/p/579475001?utm_term=Tommee+Tippee_shopping&pdg=pla-295822287969:cmp-8001107242:adg-99081727321:crv-419445997325:pos-:dev-m&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIsZyWv9ew6wIVQe3tCh2ZuwNSEAQYAyABEgLUj_D_BwE

For hospital I bought Aptamil First Infant Milk Starter Pack - 6 Bottles and Teats for my hospital bag they come fully ready and sterilised just incase I couldn’t breast feed.

I would also suggest getting some breast shields my baby was tongue tied and couldn’t latch this saved the day.

Just having all these three things really put my mind at rest and luckily I was able to breast feed (with the shields for a few weeks) and still am now.

Good luck with everything hope this helps

Oh and get the prep machine and an electric breast pump. I had a hand one and gave myself cramp!

That's a lot of money to spend on something you don't intend to use! I'd get a pack of newborn ready to feed bottles in case of emergency, and an Amazon Prime subscription so you can get next day delivery on the equipment that you or your baby actually need, which might be a breastpump or bottles or nipple shields or shot glasses for cup feeding or a perfect prep machine or breastpads - you don't know yet what your situation will be, and of you stock up for all eventualities, you won't have any money left or space in your home.

Hi @Willowha I'd second what the PP said about the Prime subscription (and I'm an Amazon skeptic!) We instigated the one month trial after about a week but in hindsight should have had it set up ready to go as soon as our LO was born. There are things that you can get on Amazon that just aren't easily available in the shops (e.g. My husband went on a fruitless trek into town for low flow standard teats and we had to order from Amazon!)

I'd get a list of equipment you think you'll need rather than actually buying anything. You'll not need a breastpump until your baby is here and unless you need to pump to begin with you'll have time to sort one then. If you need to pump straight away you'll want to get your hands on a hospital grade electric pump (you may be able to hire one if necessary).

For bottles, I'd also wait and see. Most of it is marketing. If you're planning to breastfeed then standard teats and paced feeding is the best way to use bottles if you need to use them at all. We did get some Mam ones and I liked those because of the easy way to self sterilise but that was it!

My experience last November is that you'll get equipment you need in hospital if you're planning to breastfeed. They had formula for babies that needed it (not sure for those who planned to FF from the start). To give yourself the best chance of success I'd also get in touch with your local La Leche League.

Good luck OP!

I wouldn’t get half of that.
Breastfeeding 4 month here and happy to offer bottle of formula is needed

Our list of what we bought and have used:
X2 small bottles
Reusable breast pads x10 pairs

I sterilise the small glass bottles and trays etc in pan of hot boiling water on stove as he only ever has 1-2 per week. Have pumped anything yet

Like others said, buy as little as possible, then amazon next day delivery if you need it.

Get the tiny pre-made formula bottles that come with sterilised teats. You can get microwave steriliser bags that I used for my pump! If you end up bottle feeding you can then get more stuff quickly from Amazon or larger supermarkets. Good luck with bfing - my best advice is if you have any problems with it at all ask your midwife or HV to refer you to the infant feeding team as they are wonderful.

For breast feeding

• nipple cream, get one for where you feed upstairs and one for down stairs
• learn to have express
• watch videos of the flipple technique
• join local Facebook breast feeding group now and read people’s posts. The same issues come up time and time again
• bamboo reusable breast pads
• clothes you can feed in and Pjs
• extra long charging cables for phone
• TV package subscription eg NOW TV, sky, Netflix
• contigo insulated mug
• water bottles
• snacks
• lanshion 3 in 1 pearl therapy

If DD2 got too hangry to latch I would give her a few sips of formula until she calmed down and then we could try latching again.

If you are planning on breastfeeding then you don’t need to buy any of that. Will be a waste of money.
I’m due next month and plan to harvest some colostrum, but that’s it.
I will get pump/bottles as and when needed.

Breast shields are not a waste of money. If it wasn’t for those my baby wouldn’t have been able to latch due to tongue tie and I wouldn’t be breast feeding almost 2 years later. The hospital didn’t have any to offer so was so glad I had packed them.

Also not all women can breast feed so there is nothing from with being prepared. The bottles can all turn into sippy cups for when they can have water/milk so won’t be wasted.