Back up bottles/formula etc

[LittleMissSnowShine]

Hi All,

I'm 32 weeks preg and hoping to breastfeed when LO arrives. I'd never really considered not doing it, so I haven't bought any bottles/formula etc.

A friend of mine had her baby a few weeks ago, tho, and she had some major problems breastfeeding so has decided to move onto formula. Like me, she's a first timer so she's not really sure what she's doing!!

I wanted to stockpile a back up plan kit just in case breastfeeding doesn't work out for me and I don't really feel up to hitting the shops to source all the necessary stuff in the days after giving birth. If I don't end up using it, I can give it to a friend so I'm not really worried.

What I'd like to know is, what's the best brand of bottle for feeding a really young baby and what formula do people recommend from birth? Hoping to pick up some stuff from Tesco this week just to have in the house in case so thanks very much in advance for your advice!!

Well, I think the general advice on here would actually be don't get the stuff in because establishing breastfeeding really means any bottles in the first few weeks reduce your supply.

Don't worry too much. V sad for your friend.

What I would do is source your local breastfeeding cafe - 32 weeks is a perfect time to do this - and go along for 3 sessions or so, meet some friendly faces and see breastfeeding in action.

I am afraid I don't really know about the 'best' bottles etc - I used Avent to feed expressed milk from because I had an Avent breast pump.

I got a Tommee Tippee breast pump and bottles when I was pregnant. When DS struggled to breastfeed we bought some formula (SMA I think, not certain) to have in the house as a backup, but we never used it - I was able to express until he learned to latch properly.

Once breastfeeding was established, the TT bottles worked well with expressed milk. In that first week though, we cup-fed him as bottles aren't advised too early if you're trying to breastfeed.

Thanks for the advice! Really hope breastfeeding works out for me but just want to be as prepared as I can either way

With the breast feeding just keep relaxed and keep trying even if it doesn't work to start with my daughter would not feed for the first 5 days so we gave her formula but when she had relaxed and got over the trauma of being brought into the world she started breast feeding and we never looked back.
I didn't buy the bottles etc before giving birth hubbie had to go to tesco in the middle of the night I wish I had bought them before because even if BF you will want to express some milk from time to time. we use an Avent pump and Tommee Tippee bottles as she seemed to get on better with these