I'd like to bottle feed this time

[NickysMam]

I enjoyed breastfeeding DS but it took 11 weeks of pain, bleeding cracked nipples, mastitis and a screaming hungry baby before we got the hang of it and the thought of going back there has really put me off. Also, I'd rather deal with the pain of weaning as soon as possible than much later because I was at work and it was agony!

I'm scared to tell people that I don't want to breastfeed this time because
I know I will be judged (my family are pro breastfeeding) and will probably accuse me of putting my 'looks first' as they did with my cousin and her DD, but that clearly isn't the case as I'm pretty flat chested and I've never been bothered about how my breasts look.

Anyway, that aside, how does it work? I sound so naive I know, but I never gave DS a single bottle so have no idea where to start.

Sorry if this is the wrong thread to post in.

May be worth moving over to breast and bottle feeding.
But be warned you may get the odd poster trying to convert you!!

I'm in a similar boat. Breastfed DD1 for four and a half miserable months. She refused a bottle completely.

Aiming to mix feed from early on this time once she's had the colostrum.

Others will be able to give better advice on FF from birth, but probably good to get some premade/presterilsed bottles in for first hazy days.

Do what you want to do and your family can lump it. It's your baby, your body and your decision. I combine fed and it was so much easier (for me & dd) than ebf.
You'll be happier, and therefore a better mum, if you do what works best for you.

I breastfed my first baby for 8 weeks and they were entirely miserable. My second was born 3 weeks ago and I started to feed him too. After 48 hours I was cracked, bleeding and constantly feeding. I made the choice to stop feeding and introduce formula. It was the best decision as I'm enjoying this newborn time with him.

Obviously, you'll need a steriliser and bottles etc. Check what formula is offered at your hospital and if its not the one you'd like, then take supplies of that with you. If you're wanting to offer colostrum, bear in mind that as your supply has been stimulated, when your milk comes in it will hurt and will take longer to dry up.

I felt so guilty initially but everyone has agreed and supported my decision. I think seeing how hard it was the last time, they are happy that I'm happy. It's your baby and your body and nobody else has a right to comment really.

My brother was only ever bottle fed and now has a PhD in physics.

I'm bottle feeding too!!!

I breastfed DD1 for about 5 minutes. felt awful giving her a bottle less than 24 hours old but BEST thing I did. Happy mum = Happy baby. never looked back!!!

DC2 due in May. not even going to try and breast feed. tried it. hated it. still feel scared of MW but I've made up my mind!

I'll be buying the little (mega expensive) pre-mixed bottles to take to hosp although I believe they do supply you in hosp. just will feel vetter if I'm organised & self sufficient!

when I get home we'll use the big bottles of ore-mixed formula just fir ease for the first few dats. then we'll go onto powder & making up the bottles.

hope that helps! be confident in your decision. I'll reiterate, happy mum = happy baby xx

apologies for atrocious spelling. bloody phone.

Each baby is different. It could be easier this time. Why don't you take it one feed at a time?

You're making the blanket assumption that ff a new born will be easier. That doesn't follow, she could be refluxy or you find yourself trudging downstairs to heat bottles in the nights & missing bf.

Set off bf, then start to mix in bottles after a few weeks. You carried baby for 9m what's a few more weeks of being stuck under a bf newborn?

I understand being ambivalent about going back to bf. ds was bf to 20mo & I was so glad to be free of it. It was hard for first 6weeks. I'm not looking forward to starting all over again with dc2 in January. I'm just going to go one feed at a time & remind myself that when I can leave the house without faffing with bottles, or give a bit of comfort with a feed when they're older, not have to worry about 'they need a bottle by x time' it will be worth it.

If you don't mind it might be easier to breastfeed in the hospital (especially if you are only in for a night). For when you get home you will need a box of formula, 4 bottles with stage 1 teets and (personally i would chose) a mircowave steriliser. For the first few nights while you are getting used to it you might also choose to use premixed cartons of formula as these are a lot quicker.

You'll also have to decide how you deal with ff while you are out and about. There are various options but it can be quite complicated. I can't really remember what we did 3 years ago but posting in breast and bottle or chat will provide you with quite a lot of ideas. You'll also have to decide how you make up the bottles. I followed the instructions on the back of the formula box but I understand that others do it differently (and maybe easier!).

Go into boots, read the back of the pack and have a look at the different bottles and teets. It really won't take that long to understand it. I was told that breastfeeding wasn't working properly when DD1 was just over a week old (she'd still hadn't had a poo!) and was losing weight rapidly. I just went to boots and bought everything there and then and worked it out in about an hour!

Good luck with whatever you decide

I'm due no.2 at the end of may, I can say hand on heart i hated breast feeding with a passion, 3 days after birth, I gave my son formula, was the best desision I had ever made! To be honest, it made me resent him, I was miserable & hated every min of it. And my ds was extremely hungry & not sleeping well coz he was hungry. So this time, I refuse to put myself through that, and I will be formula feeding. If anyone has a problem (mw, doc or family) with that, they can go take a hike.

Oh & now I know what I'm doing with bottle feeding, it really isn't that hard. We used to make the formula up as we needed it, we let the kettle cool down to the correct temp, we used hot or cold water to heat/cool the feed as needed, while having a screaming baby waiting for food. This time however, the bottles will be made for that day, they will be heated in the microwave or bottle warmer. Again, makes life so much easier.

I bottle fed all 3 of mine duets medication but the hospitals don't usually provide it now. I just took a big bottle of ready made in and they give you a cold water steriliser pack at our hospital to use while you're there.

I've got the tommee tippee perfect prep which is fab and so easy for night feeds. When going out I take a flask, bottles of water and powder (ds3 is on comfort milk so no ready made) and it's fine.

Another tip - babies (or.certainly mine) dont mind room temp milk too, so Id make and refridgerate all feeds in the morning and take out an hour or so before so was room temp.

Also, if going out, would chuck a prepped feed in the bag and give aa was when needed, rather than finding somewhere to heat it up or carrying a thermos.

I've bottle fed from birth and never had a problem, I did ask the mw first if my hospital supplied it and she said yes then on the wards after having my dd the mw asked if I was ff or bf then which brand and didn't bat an eyelid.

I've never bf so cant compare the two but ff has been a breeze, for night feeds we took a little pot of measured out powder and two flasks of water upstairs one with boiling water and one with cool boiled water then mixed the two in a bottle to get the right temperature, it saved us having to come downstairs and wait for water to cool etc.

My dd is now 8.5 months old and she's thrived on formula, she's gained weight weekly from the start, slept between bottles until 8 weeks then slept through and has done 12-14 hours a night for ages now. She's been on the 75th centile for height/weight throughout, never had the runs/been sick/had constipation and only 2 days with a runny nose.

If we have any others I'll ff that one from birth too.