Any websites that compare the best “ready to feed” newborn milk (in a sterilised bottle) for me to take to hospital incase I don’t have any milk due to c section.

[BoyMumToBe34]

kendamil organic or aptamil advanced or any others

First stage formula is all nutritionally equivalent so there’s not one objective best formula for babies (allergies notwithstanding). They use different ingredients to get there so some babies might do better on one formula than another but you won’t known that until they’re here. I bought a pack of Kendamil Ready to Feed for my baby because it’s vegetarian and so am I and that felt a good a reason as any to pick one.

I had a caesarean and my milk came in at around 48 hours after he was born. He lost 10% of his body weight and was readmitted with jaundice at two days old, but no-one was concerned my milk wasn’t enough and he was never supplemented with formula and we exclusively breastfed for 6 months. I’ve heard that babies born by caesarean are more likely to lose weight because they take on excess fluid from you. I was concerned that a caesarean might affect breastfeeding but it really didn’t. I just leant into the cluster feeding, latched him at the slightest grumble and watched for his hunger cues and it worked out amazingly. It doesn’t for everyone but it doesn’t mean that you can’t breastfeed either.

Truthfully they are all the same. I would go for a brand that you can get easily eg cow and gate.

I went cow and gate purely because that’s what the hospital offered and I continued plus easier to get hold of than some of the others.

they are so closely regulated there is very little difference between them all

I find there are always a few camps in debates like these

tho who can and do bf ans find it easy and push bf into people and think formula is the devils work

v

Those who want to bf but struggle. Whether have issues with supply / latch /tongue tie /cmpa /reflux

if they are lucky they can get help support and advice from someone like me - or a lactation consultant or umbrella etc and hopefully get to a position where they can bf without too much pain /discomfort/exhaustion etc

some give up and again that’s fine and shouldn’t be made to feel a failure

v

bf but also happy to use formula and combi feed

v

those who don’t want to try (and their prerogative) and use formula

many will suggest they try bf. They don’t want to

I do believe fed is best as baby needs milk. Doesn’t matter if breast milk or formula

and as get older you can’t tell which child was bf or formula fed so I do feel it doesn’t matter

whatever the mum wants to do and as long as baby gets milk

It's not weird logic. The vast majority of women CAN breastfeed. You might need to put in effort to find the support and work out what's what but women CAN do it. Breastfeeding starts of hard but actually only gets easier. FF is always difficult. There's always sterilising and hot water too going and powder to buy and waste etc. Noone talks about the mental toll that takes.

Studies show that women who breastfeed are actually less likely to suffer from PND and those who breastfeed and co-sleep actually get more and better sleep than those who FF (at least partially because breastfeeding is a protective factor against SIDS and thus cosleeping is not advised when FF).

Fed is not "best". Fed is the bare minimum. FF is fine. If you want to make that choice that's up to you. But it should be an informed CHOICE. It shouldn't be assumed that everyone needs formula in the cupboard "just in case". It shouldn't be seen as a default that everyone will turn to in the end.

Not all women "CAN do it". And it's not always "a CHOICE".

Check with your hospital what milk they provide (as most do). Also make contact with the breastfeeding nurse or support team.

Your milk takes a few days to 'come in' no matter what type of birth you have but your body will produce colostrum which is extremely nutritional and newborns only take small quantities but very very often in order to encourage your milk supply to come.

Breastfeeding is a huge learning curve and having the temptation of formula in your bag may hinder that journey for you. Which is why knowing the support available is crucial. Formula is not bad in anyway, I ended up combi feeding my twins after a few months and it saved my sanity. But wanting to breastfeeding not being informed or support enough to do it can also impact your mental wellbeing.

You can speak to your community midwife about expressing colostrum prior to your c-section date so that you have feeds available if you should need.
Congratulations!

Leaping in to say they may all be nutritionally the same but I found the ready made Cow and Gate had an awful smell - went with Kendamil which didn’t and made me feel better about giving it to little one. I also got a breast pump in hospital which helped to establish milk supply (although I wasn’t sectioned so appreciate that might not be suitable after surgery)

I had two sections: no milk, ever, with the first. Breastfed to 22 months with the second. This was years ago.

My advice to all expectant women is to block out anyone and everyone giving you feeding advice because they all have an agenda. It’s your body, and your baby. Do whatever you want. In the UK especially, the women bleating on about not-guilt-tripping-but-breast-is-best are the absolute worst. The strength of emotion and length of post always gives them away.

Pick a formula that’s easily available close to your home. Buy a 6-pack of ready made bottles to start you off as you may not need more. If you do, you can send someone out to buy more.

This isn’t even the 10th most important decision you will make in your newborn’s birth and first few months. Keep it in perspective. Good luck!

With DC2 i also spent hours over days harvesting colostrum in syringes and still couldn’t even get enough out to cover her first feed. So it doesn’t work for everyone.

5-7ml is recommended for a first feed of colostrum. It is very difficult to extract and I struggled myself. Only ended up with 4ml when I had my twins but it was something to give twin B while she was in NICU and I could try expressing more after the delivery. Small amounts do no diminish the benefits, and giving alongside formula if wanted is also still highly beneficial.

I know. I've acknowledged this. What exactly am I saying that's upsetting you?

I can only imagine that you wanted to breastfeed your child and struggled and you've got some big feelings around that. I get it. It's tough. But it's not healthy or helpful to project those feelings on to someone who is still pregnant and has no reason to think they won't be able to breastfeed. Far better to offer them the support you wish you had been given.

Maybe I'm just misunderstanding your posts. If you are really acknowledging that some women genuinely can't breastfeed, then fair enough. It's not how it came across to me, but as I said, I may well have misunderstood.

Not all reasons for needing formula at first are down to mum and supply

I gave birth to my second in September at 37 weeks. For the first 36h he slept for 12h at a time and wouldn't wake for feeds. He fed immediately after birth but 4h later when due his next feed he has low blood sugars. We couldn't get him to wake or to latch in a semi sleepy state so the midwives gave me a choice of formula or glucose. I went with formula and he had about 15 ml which got his blood sugars up. He still hadn't woken 4h later for the next feed and he had more formula and 1ml of colostrum I'd managed to express. 4h after that he wouldn't take formula either but a collosal poo woke him enough to feed for a few minutes. After that I was able to get him to latch for a few minutes every 3-4h and he was now able to maintain his blood sugars and has been exclusively breastfeed since. He was being monitored for low blood sugars because of medication I was unwell. He had a severe tongue tie picked up at birth, snipped on day 8 which impacted early feeding.

My hospital had a supply of formula and bottles/teats for those that have issues feeding but if you are intending to solely formula feed they ask you to bring your own. I think even in those cases they provide for the first couple of bottles if You've been caught unawares. I, for example, got a call on a Saturday lunchtime asking how quickly I could get to the hospital as I needed inducing asap. I wouldn't panic about not having access to formula if there are issues with feeding in those early hours and days