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Parenting

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Original poster

planning to breastfeed - do i need a bottle too? FTM!

46 replies

bradleybecky · 29/10/2016 22:31

Do i need a bottle? if so, which do you recommend? too many to pick from! What if I can't breastfeed!? what's the back-up plan!? which sterilising kit? wah! panic!

OP posts:

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FATEdestiny · 29/10/2016 22:35

Breastfeeding can be hard, hard work. I found it best not to have a back up plan. If you have bottles/formula in the house in those early weeks it makes it too easy to give baby a top up.

I suppose it depends how previous you want to be about formula.

Dummies on the other hand. These I consider essential.

NapQueen · 29/10/2016 22:39

We didn't have anything in but it was extremely easy to get what we needed at 3am on day 3 when I just couldn't do it any more.

Dh went to tesco and got bottles, steriliser and a tin of sma and was back making and bottle within 30.mins.

MrsNuckyThompson · 29/10/2016 22:43

Good to have a back up plan and even if you do breastfeed you'll probably want to pump at some point so your baby can have a bottle from someone else.

For our first we bought a microwave steriliser and starter kit of bottles.

I EBF my son til 12 months then continued to BF til he turned 2. Buying the stuff doesn't mean you won't be able to do it.

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Haggisfish · 29/10/2016 22:43

I got a dr brown teat 1 bottle and some cartons of formula, just in case. Could never be arsed to actually use them and bf for a long time. It reassured me to know they were there. I also got a medala swing breast pump which was brilliant.

Raisinthedead · 29/10/2016 22:44

I got the whole caboodle in as I was worried too. Didn't need it in the end but was glad I'd got it all in so it was one less thing to worry about, and having it there didn't make me crumble in the wee hours when it was really tough, but if I had I would have been glad it was just an arm reach away. As it was my baby ended up refusing bottles, even filled with breast milk, but that's a whole other circus

Haggisfish · 29/10/2016 22:44

I went for hipp organic-can't remember why.

muddypuddled · 29/10/2016 22:44

I got a basic tommy tippee steriliser and breast pump, both came with one bottle. I didn't buy any formula as it's easy enough to get if you need it. I knew that if I was successful that I'd need the pump anyway. Luckily for me with both babies I managed to breast feed successfully though. Just make sure you ready yourself with knowledge of breastfeeding and plenty of support and you'll be fine. The best advice I was given was to try for 10 days and if I didn't like it or couldn't do it I'd given it a good try. After that I decided to carry on til six months which I managed and then carried on til they were both one (neither have had teeth until very late!!) Good luck!

JinkxMonsoon · 29/10/2016 22:45

Yes.

I swallowed the advice that you shouldn't buy bottles and formula if you intend to breastfeed lest you cave and start using it.

Worst mistake ever when I realised DD had been starving for five days and it was midnight and we had no choice but to wait for the shops to open.

You can buy newborn starter kits with ready made formula in small bottles and sterile teats. About £7 but worth it.

Haggisfish · 29/10/2016 22:45

With hindsight, I'd choose one available at your nearest, open the longest shop!

Original poster

bradleybecky · 29/10/2016 22:53

hmm - i think i'd want something at home JUST in case... for my peace of mind. question is..what? which one? which sterilising kit?
completely forgot about breast pumps...any recommendations there? thanks everyone

OP posts:

Haggisfish · 29/10/2016 22:54

You don't need a steriliser-dishwasher is fine. Dr brown bottles good for colic and breast like. Medela swing is good.

JLoTheAstra · 29/10/2016 22:57

Agree that if you really want to breastfeed, don't keep any formula in the house. It's too easy to give in, whereas you can send your DP out to get some later on if you really need to.

I do recommend getting an electric breast pump though. I've used mine from very early on (day 3ish) with both DC. It's not officially recommended but I had trouble with latching both in the first few days, and expressing some BM into a bottle made all the difference to us initially. Without it, I'd probably have ended up doing formula too us, which I really wouldn't have wanted to.

I used the Philips Avent pump and Naturals bottles. I've also heard good things about the Medela Swing pump.

Original poster

bradleybecky · 29/10/2016 22:59

is this it?
www.amazon.co.uk/Medela-Swing-Electric-breast-Calma/dp/B000LPZTQY

is it me or is that expensive...

OP posts:

JLoTheAstra · 29/10/2016 23:00

Um, I have to disagree - you really do need a steriliser for a newborn. Dishwashers only go to about 70 degrees celsius on a hot wash which isn't hot enough to kill bacteria. You need a steriliser to get up to 100 and kill the bacteria. They all do the same job though, so just choose what you like the look of! I use the Philips Avent electric one and it's perfectly fine.

WiMoChi · 29/10/2016 23:00

Formula is all the same, just different packages.

Breastfeeding can be hard but the rewards outweigh everything. I'd recommend getting to a local breastfeeding groups if you can.

First time w brought bottles and sterilising stuff and a pump (all tommee tippee) with the view to express. Baby never took bottle of milk. So didn't bother. But did use the equipment so that I could donate the breastmilk to local milk bank.

This time I probably won't bother getting anything. My boobs will just have to keep up. And they will/do. I'm still feeding my toddler too. So toddler can handle excess milk for us :)

JLoTheAstra · 29/10/2016 23:04

Yep, breast pumps are pretty pricey. He Medela one is definitely one of the most expensive, though. If cost is an issue your health visitor should be able to help you get hold of a loan one for free (or at least they can in my area) once baby is here.

MummaBear31 · 29/10/2016 23:07

We had one bottle, and you can microwave sterilise if desperate, just need to google it. Turned out I couldn't breastfeed even though I was desperate too and as I was so distressed, my partner held ds whilst my mum went to Tesco to get ready made formula and a couple more bottles.

We have never had dummies and never needed too. I also had a breast pump which I got whilst pregnant, just the Tommie tippee closer to nature one which worked for me whilst I was expressing. Worry about a proper steriliser if the time comes, waste of money if you're able to breastfeed. Good luck!

Original poster

bradleybecky · 29/10/2016 23:09

nah i'll invest if need be - i just didn't know they could be that expensive! haha!

which steriliser is recommended? microwave or the one you plug in? any experiences? sorry am completely new to this and really appreciate all your comments!

OP posts:

nennyrainbow · 29/10/2016 23:14

Whatever's cheapest - probably the microwave one. They all do the same job.

QforCucumber · 29/10/2016 23:14

I bought the tommee tippee manual breast pump which came with a microwave steriliser and a bottle for about £15.
And 2 bottles of pre mixed aptamil.
The were used within the 1st week when I was trying to establish feeding but also in pain and ds was crying, I was crying, dp gave the 30ml feed, I had a sleep and was happy to try again the next feed time. After 3 nights of that I realised bf was getting easier - he never had formula again until 6 months and that's because I can't express more than 5oz in an entire day.

QforCucumber · 29/10/2016 23:15

It's currently £11 on offer in tesco

nennyrainbow · 29/10/2016 23:16

I would get a breast pump and a bottle and start with that. Don't buy formula yet because it's easy to get hold of anyway, and if you buy it then you'll feel you have to use it or it'll be wasted.

Firewall · 29/10/2016 23:23

Yes, I agree. Be prepared that breastfeeding (especially the first night and the next week or so) is the hardest, most painful thing ever. Painful boobs and after pain contractions. It is so so easy to give up thinking baby isn't being fed etc when they are crying. I ended up combination feeding my first due to this (and many relative telling me I was starving him as breast feeding doesn't fill him up etc) but he ended up with a massive intolerance to the formula and was in hospital at 3 months due to this (which could explain his crying and windiness fur to the formula).
So I had no choice but to breastfeed my second exclusively and tbh, I didn't realise just how difficult it was to exclusively breastfeed and the pain barrier to break through. So please be prepared for this because had it not been for my first's intolerance to formula it would have been easy to give up) However once the first few weeks are done, it gets so much easier and nights have been a lot easier too as she hasn't had to wait for a bottle and I haven't had to wind her at all really. She is a lot less pukey so I have found many benefits.
I did spoon feed her some cool boiled water at the start though and she did take to the nuby bottle which I kept for water. ( I got this free with a boots deal) additionally there's a self sterilising MAM bottle (also we got free which you can search online for) which she also had for water and is great as you sterilise it on its own in the microwave. So you could definitely get these to try so you have something in emergency and don't have to buy huge sterilising kits which if breastfeeding works for you you may not need.
Good luck!

NickMarlow · 29/10/2016 23:26

I got the tommee tippee steriliser and the bottles that came with it, and 6 mini bottles of aptamil instant formula.

As it happened, breast feeding worked after an initial struggle, so I used the bottles and sterilizer for expressed milk. The formula was still in date when I stopped expressing and moved to mix feeding at 6 months.

I have a history of depression and was worried about pnd so, for me, knowing that I had the option for formula was really important. In those early days when feeding was agony and we hadn't got the latch right, I was able to keep going for just one more feed each time because I knew we could do a bottle if we had to. I ended up breastfeeding for all but one feed a day, for a year.

Does your area do breastfeeding workshops? I found that really helpful when I was pregnant, I felt so clueless about what to expect and how to prepare!

thatsn0tmyname · 29/10/2016 23:27

First time round I didn't bother but struggled to get started with BF so we rushed out and bought some once home from the hospital. Expressing gave me a break when I was so sore. Second time around I got some but needed it less.

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