How many premade formula bottles to take into hospital?

[sarah13xx]

I’m planning to attempt to give colostrum in hospital if I can but I’m having a section so unsure if there will even be any there at first. I’m going to then use Hipp organic and I’ve just seen the pre made bottles come in a starter box of 6. There is 90ml per bottle and the suggested feed for a 0-2 week old would be 70ml but they need it 7-8 times per day. Do I literally need to take 7-8 of these bottles per day that I could be in so 2-3 days worth or will a newborn baby never drink that amount straight away? I just need to have them as a back up or possibly as well as colostrum. Help! I’m clueless 🙈

I have 3dc, none of them ever drank more than 40ml at once as newborns. Once opened though, I'm sure the milk need to be used within an hour or 2. So I'd suggest buying the smallest ones you can find.

Do you mean the ready made bottles with normal tops or the ones with the teats you can attach? The ones with teats are much smaller. I don't know if HiPP do them but I used the aptamil version for my DD when we were still in hospital.

For the first couple of days a newborn of average size will have about 30ml a feed. Most maternity units have a fridge you can keep the bottle in so one bottle will do 3 feeds. Baby will need 8 feeds in 24 hours so a starter box will easily do you for a 48 hour stay. You can have another box at home if you need to stay longer someone can bring more in. Might be worth checking if your maternity unit has a fridge you can use.

Hope that helps.

Re the colostrum: have you spoken to your midwife about expressing prior to delivery? I was no good at breastfeeding (stopped at 10 days) but I was able to harvest about 24mls colostrum in the couple of weeks before ds was born and his first "feed" was colostrum from a syringe as I was so tired after my emcs. I then had 1ml syringes in the freezer which I popped in his formula when we were home.

I'd take 2 packs of the 6 bottles - dc probably won't get through them but you can take leftnover home and you're covered if you need a longer stay. A newborns stomach is about the size of a marble so they'll likely want little feeds often rather than big ones.

I think 70ml is probably still quite a lot for a newborn, mine would only have a little bit of those bottles in the first few days at least. PP is right that they don't last long once opened so be prepared to throw a lot away!

I think I took 1 or 2 boxes with me (6 bottles per box) but only used 1 or 2 bottles with DS. That was mixed with breastfeeding though. I would have more ready to go for someone to bring in (or drop off if no visitors allowed) in case you have a longer stay.

@Needausername99 yes I will take two boxes in my case then. It’s annoying the bottles aren’t smaller. There are bigger bottles that don’t come with the sterilised teat etc so you could pour it into your own bottle and wouldn’t need to bin it after each feed but then you’re faffing about with bottles 🤦🏼‍♀️ Probably easier just to spend more and bin them!

@meow1989 no but I have heard of someone else doing that and it looked good to have it all prepared. The only thing that terrifies me a bit is the fact expressing colostrum might put me into labour before my section date 🙈 I will speak to her about it though

It might be worth checking what facilities they have - you would need a fridge to store the bigger bottles once opened and somewhere to wash and sterilise them. Some places do but others aren't so well equipped. As you say, it becomes a bit of a faff (and could be tricky if you're not hugely mobile) so I just found it easier to use the premade ones and accept the waste/cost as it was much easier!

@Liervik yeah maybe one box will be enough if I put the other box in my spare bag in the car. I just don’t know how often my partner will be allowed in, it might just be one visit every 24 hours so I’m trying to be overly prepared with everything

My midwife told me not to take any because they supply them, which they did! So maybe worth checking this first

Your plan sounds good. If you don't finish one of the bottles, just throw it out and start a fresh one on the next feed. No need to be faffing about with fridges - splash out!

I wouldn't take any as you'll need a hungry baby to stimulate the colostrum after a c section, those are critical hours for getting your supplies established. You honestly don't need it.

@HungryHippo20

My midwife told me not to take any because they supply them, which they did! So maybe worth checking this first

It’s down to the individual hospital, so don’t rely on this.

In our trust and the two neighbouring ones, they absolutely don’t as routine.

I breastfed after two c sections, it took a while for the milk to come through (though it did) but colostrum was there.
If I'd had formula in my bag my "breastfeeding journey" (as people like to say) would have lasted around 12 hours

I wouldn't leave any in the car as the temperature changes could affect the milk, especially as the UK is due for a warmer spell soon.

For baby number 2 I bought a ready pack of 6 bottles (I think) & teat

I managed to breastfeed & get myself out of there within 24 hours post-section

I had the bottles in my bag in case breastfeeding didn't work & I didn't want to be trapped on the god awful post natal ward (same place as with DC1) trying to get baby to BF before being "allowed" to go home

I would've given baby the formula if it meant we could leave & get home, then try to crack on to establish BF in a relaxed environment

The PN ward was anything but relaxing!

Oh and my maternity unit let us know that they no longer routinely provided formula- was the case with DC1

@Marmite27 hence the suggestion OP should check first

Even if your maternity unit does supply formula, I'd suggest bringing your own so it's in your bag & you don't need to be ringing buzzers/trying to get someone's attention esp if your mobility is affected post birth

I learnt this the hard way after birth of DC1!

I got the biggest eye roll & tutting from one midwife when I asked for for formula

Next time, I was better prepared

You can often fit the teats from the premade bottles onto small bottles which are used with breast pumps etc. Or you can buy more disposable teats from amazon and use those on the tiny bottles. That way you can pour half a premade bottle into another and use that. That's what we did when topping up in hospital with DC2. If you're re-using the premade bottle teats or tiny bottles, obviously you need to be able to wash them, and if you're storing half a premade bottle of formula you'll need access to a fridge as you can't keep it out of the fridge for long once opened. I gave birth in Germany so not sure if these are things that are accessible in a UK hospital particularly if you've had a c-section.

If you are wanting to breastfeed I'd recommend paced feeding so that baby doesn't take too much formula and stretches their tummy as this will make it really hard to keep up with what they're then expecting from a feed.

when I went into hospital with my daughter they supplied the bottles of milk, this was nearly 7 years ago now! I'm due my second in July and I'm not sure if the local health board do.

Would you also have a giant bar of dairy milk in the cupboard for your first few days on a diet “just in case”?
It’s a similar thing really. You will be far more likely to use your formula if it’s there than not. And your colostrum will be there- trust your body and get on some bf support pages now to read up on what to expect and what’s normal etc.
Good luck.

@sarah13xx
Hey! Just reading as all this is very helpful for me too! My goodness it's all so overwhelming isn't it 😂 I feel like I need to get my calculator out 😂