breastfeeding and bottles?

[rosedavo]

Just wondering, i am currently 26 weeks pregnant and planning on breastfeeding, i know from reading here that it can sometimes take a while to establish breasfeeding and sometimes you might find it really hard etc. So my question is, should i buy some bottles and the accessories that go with ut (ie steriliser etc) and some formula just in case, so im not panicking if i cant feed my newborn baby?

Being offered bottles in hospital wasn't my experience at all. If fact they couldn't have been more supportive of me Bfing but I know that everyone's experience isn't the same.

As for your milk coming in, I'm one of the women referred to in this article who didn't experience a huge and sudden difference but I think my DS was drinking it as fast as I could produce it. Looking back at his photos he was a right chunky monkey

I would buy some Milton sterilising solution rather than a steriliser - you only need 15 minutes, cold water and a container larger than the bottle to sterilise. That way you've only spent a couple of quid rather than much more on a steriliser that you might not need. Otherwise I agree with being prepared - my son was tongue tied and needed some formula until his weight stabilised and latch corrected. We carried on giving him a bottle a day of either expressed milk or formula along side bfing. We ended up with about 4 different types of bottles due to 'emergency runs' by different people to chemists!

I would get bottles and a tin of formula but not a pump - they'll have one in hospital, and if you're going to continue using it, you'll have 24 hours to sort one out. Only because they're quite pricey, and if you end up either with a bottle refusing baby or for whatever reason breastfeeding just doesn't get off the ground, you'll get zero use out of it!

Good to get some different advice off people thanks! Think il maybe get some milton sterilisation stuff and maybe 1 bottle and a wee tub of formula as an emergency stash!

If you are going to get some formula in, small packs of ready made may be better than a carton as once a carton is open you only have a short time before you have to dump it. Think though that Hipp Organic may come in 2 sealed packs instead of one, so would last longer iygwim.

Also, don't be fooled by advertising. All formulas have to conform to the same standards so it might be better to buy whichever formula is available in your local shop. You don't want to be under 6ft of snow and the nearest shop that sells your brand is 10 miles away

The current guidelines on how to make up formula are here. Making up the bottle with water at 70*C is to kill any bacteria that may be present in the powder.

HTH