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Original poster

June 2013 Bebes (1)

999 replies

Olimoss · 01/07/2013 19:03

Including our friends from late May & early July!

Thought time for a postnatal thread.

So. I'm craving a nightly glass of wine already, week
5 of motherhood. Anyone else?!

OP posts:
Are your children’s vaccines up to date?
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Steffanoid · 10/07/2013 16:35

ladies im trying to canvas opinions, a lot of people think im very committed making a bottle up each feed, this is new mums themselves and even a nursery worker, they will sterilize 6 bottles, fill them with their amount of water, leave to cool and then add the formula as and when needed, one of them even adds the powder when it's hot, refrigerate and warm to room temperature as needed.

I know what tge pack of formula says and the hv, how do you guys do it?

MrsBri · 10/07/2013 17:01

Steff, the warm water kills bugs in the formula, so I wouldn't let it cool before making it.

We make up a few bottles, refrigerate them and heat them as we need them, no more than 12 or so hours after making them.

Hawkmoth · 10/07/2013 17:05

The MW told us to make it up with room temp water, totally different to four years ago. We're making up three bottles, from water that's only boiled five minutes ago and putting them straight in the fridge. DS did ok on this. Can't understand how the guidance changes so often.

Steffanoid · 10/07/2013 17:11

that was how I understood it Mrs bri, but there are so many people who make it conflicting ways, the box says once you've made it use within 2 hours,

how can so many people do one thing so different to each other?

curiousgeorgie · 10/07/2013 17:13

Steff I boil the kettle, fill six bottles, add the formula, let the bottles cool then put them in the fridge. I think we were told that you can't put them in the fridge warm / hot because then bacteria can grow.

We then warm them as and when we need them and use within an hour of warming. For going out I put a cold one in a cool bottle bag and heat it while I'm out / take a carton and a sterilised bottle and give it at room temperature.

Everyone I know does it slightly differently to be honest and all the babies are fine Wink

forgetmenots · 10/07/2013 20:14

I was just coming on to ask the question about formula!! Love this thread :)

curlyclaz13 · 10/07/2013 20:20

Oscar has been screaming all afternoon, not a hungry cry but feeds if offered. I think it might be wind but not sure. I wish I could tell and make him better Sad

forgetmenots · 10/07/2013 20:24

Meant to say steff I've been making it up every feed too, and spending a fortune using ready made - but now I'm filling some bottles with boiled water, allowing to cool and adding formula as and when. HV suggested this but I wanted to ask as the box says different!

DontmindifIdo · 10/07/2013 20:58

Steff - for the bottles I do, I boil the water, and put in sterlised bottles, then leave at room temp, adding the formula when I need it. The formula isn't sterile, so there is a slight risk this way. However, this is the way most mothers do it now, not making up the whole thing then putting in the fridge then reheating. I believe once you've put the formula in the water you've got 2 hours max to get them to drink it, I'd say really 1 in this weather to avoid any bugs.

Curlyclaz - are you bfing or ffing? If bfing, have you eaten anything spicy or different to normal? It can affect them! If FFing, it could be he's not getting on well with that formula, you could try a different brand or comfort milk.

curlyclaz13 · 10/07/2013 21:08

bf, I am slightly worried it might be peanut butter in brownies I made yesterday. But he is asleep on me now so maybe he was hungry and he has just got louder ?

AmIGoingMad · 10/07/2013 22:44

Interesting to read about the formula making up. We've been, like forget, making it as we need it/ using ready made. This is what we did with DS too and we were told to do it this time by mw. It seems like madness tho so its interesting to hear the different advice people have been getting.

Sunbeam18 · 10/07/2013 23:20

Hi all, I'm sorry that I've been so absent since the birth! I'm still catching up and reading all the posts as often as I can. Keir is doing really well - he managed to put on weight at his 5-day weigh in and is thriving so we got signed off by the midwife at end of last week. Am breast feeding, and seems to be going fine though he sometimes sleeps for a long time between feeds and I get worried he is sleeping too much. An odd concern, I know!
Also, does anyone have any experience of sticky eyes in babies? K's left eye has been gungy for the past few days. We're bathing it with cooled boiled water and cotton wool. Is this the right thing to do or should I make GP appt?
Pink, so glad you are safely home with Violet now. That sounded a terrifying ordeal xxx

MrsBri · 10/07/2013 23:22

Sunbeam, Amy has a gunky left eye too and we are doing the same as you, as directed by the midwife.

It doesn't seem to bother her, so I assume it will clear at some point.

AlohaMama · 10/07/2013 23:44

Just back from our one month check up. Evie is now 9lb12oz compared to 7 3 at birth. Can't get over how quickly they grow - she's pretty much out of newborn stuff now Sad. Also has terrible infant acne which I don't think is helped by the heat. Oh well, should clear up soon. Also thankful to report no damage apparently sustained by ds throwing a book at her head (accidentally).

I'd forgotten how much of a faff formula is. Glad I'm not there yet though I think I'll try pumping this week to introduce a bottle. Must go and sterilise everything...

pinkapples · 11/07/2013 01:32

I'll second the infant acne Sad and sticky right eye Sad

curlyclaz13 · 11/07/2013 01:42

Those of you with sticky eyes and bf try expressing a few drops of milk and using that in their eye, hv suggested it and it worked for oscar.

Steffanoid · 11/07/2013 01:55

second what curly said although our hv said to squirt breast milk into the inner corner of tge bad eye, so much easier said than done!!

AlohaMama · 11/07/2013 03:09

Ha ha maybe that is why evie's eyes are fine - she regularly gets squirted in the eye with milk!! And over most of her face. And over most of my clothes Hmm

forgetmenots · 11/07/2013 07:43

Gooey right eye here - cleared with cotton wool and water (didn't try the milk trick!)

AmIGoingMad · 11/07/2013 07:52

Gooey right eye here too. Working on it with cotton wool and cooled boiled water too.

Did we come to any agreement on the bottle prep advice? Mw coming today to weigh Elodie and check my bp and I'll see what she says. Though I think it'll depend who comes as I get conflicting advice on most things from them!

Steffanoid · 11/07/2013 08:01

I think there's an equal amount of people doing each...

MrsBri · 11/07/2013 08:44

AmI, our midwife on Tuesday said to make up as we go along. We just agreed with her while doing different!

We asked a friend - whose mum is midwife - how they did it and just went along with their method! :-)

curlyclaz13 · 11/07/2013 09:49

Our hv said to squirt into his eye, no chance ! I just used a clean finger and sort of dabbed/ dripped it in.

forgetmenots · 11/07/2013 09:59

Good idea AmI, let us know what she says :)

BumbleBee2011 · 11/07/2013 12:17

We've had sticky eye here too, didn't really clear with water but did quite quickly with bm...getting it into the eye is a challenge but tbh as long as it was around and I could get it onto the cotton ball, it was then easy to wipe onto the edges of her eyes (she scrunches her eyes up so much at this point you only get the lash-line anyway).

Been reading my BFing book again, I'd forgotten babies have a hormone which makes them feel hungry (CCK), it builds up between feeds but also after they've just had a first feed, then a few mins later the level rises again so they request a top-up (nature's way of ensuring they really fill those tummies). If they then have a second feed they then tend to tank out...must be why I've always heard "feed-change nappy-offer again". Interesting though, I was starting to think she had wind after every feed!

Yesterday was my 30th so we went for a family day out at Chatsworth House, really gorgeous place with beautiful gardens and they also have a farmyard with animals which the toddler loved! Then dinner out at my favourite tapas place with DH and baby (who slept through most of the meal in a sling - whoopee!) Prize moment of the day was when I was feeding Millie on a bench in the gardens while DH went with DD1 to look at a fountain, I'd covered her body with a blanket and the side of head a little bit with a muslin as there was a slight breeze...people could obviously tell what I was doing and I was getting some smiles, all pleasant - suddenly these two Japanese ladies came over so I started to move the strap on my bag thinking they wanted to sit down too, but they just wanted to have a good close look at the baby Shock I think I actually laughed out loud when I realised...I mean I'm quite open and confident with BFing (now!) and didn't mind really, but what if I'd been someone who was really shy? (Mind you I wasn't really covered so they probably thought I was fair game) I think it's funny how social conventions can be so different in different countries...maybe nobody feeds in public in Asia so the boundaries aren't clear to everyone when they are in Europe for a short time? Anyway it did make me giggle Grin