Do I still need bottles and sterilisers, etc?

[VJONES1985]

I'm pg with dc1 and planning to breastfeed. However, people have told me I still need sterilisers in case I want to pump (?) And bottles in case breastfeeding doesn't work? Sorry if that makes no sense, I don't really understand and am wondering what your thoughts are?

[OneLittleToddleTerror]

squizita when do you plan to go back. I must be the worlds laziest bf mum! I went back at 7mo. (DD caught bronchiolitis a week after my return to work. The guilt and hence I will take a year off this time).

I packed a premade carton a day in DDs nursery bag. Didn't use any breastmilk except ofc the feeds before and after work. I worked out at the time it was cheaper than a box because they also have some use by day like one month after opening. I countined to pack the formula until about 10mo only. DD was bf till 18mo so I was quite a long term feeder.

[squizita]

One counts on fingers 10 months give or take. It's a funny one ... I work in a school so DH being with baby for 3 weeks in July means I come off maternity leave onto normal pay (rather than being stuck over summer with no income but no way of returning to work as no one's there IYSWIM). So it's 10 months or 12... can't do 11! Feel much easier about this as DH will be the caregiver, and in September it will be a year.
Thanks for the tips! :)

[Pollaidh]

It's absolutely great for your baby to breastfeed, but breastfeeding can be incredibly hard and in some cases there may be a medical reason why it's not possible; or why your baby needs to be given more than just expressed colostrum (latter is v rare). [Before I get yelled at I experienced problems with me first time and problems with baby second time. Still managed to mix feed a bit.]

With the diabetes you will need to control it as well as possible until the birth, but then your baby may be taken to NICU or SCBU to have its blood sugar monitored, and if it looks like going too low they will want to give something to your baby to keep its levels up. This can be sugar water basically, but you need to get started expressing colostrum and then milk too, which can be stored/fed to your baby. The bottles provided by hospitals are single-use old-fashioned style teats. If you want your baby to breastfeed it is worth bringing in some tommee tippee type bottles and teats which are more compatible with breastfeeding. For the first couple of days expressing and feeding is done by hand, into/from a syringe. It's useful to have one person (you) squeezing and your partner collecting the colostrum drops in the syringe.

Hospital will also provide pump (industrial grade, works very well) and and sterilising kit for use in hospital. Then you've got a couple of days to send someone to buy a home kit if needed. My tip is if the hospital pump is Medela, then buy a Medela home pump (not as strong), and take home the personal-use pump attachments (the cone and bottle and bits come sterile for each new patient, so you can take those bits with you and it gives you a spare set so you're not washing the pump constantly. Obviously don't take home the main part of the pump :-)

If you live in the middle of nowhere then it may be worth getting in a couple of single use bottles of ready-made formula, just in case, not the ones that come with old-fashioned teats (same as given out in hospital), I think they're about 79p for 200mls. You pour them into a sterilised tommee tippee bottle.

Support in hospital varies not only from hospital to hospital but midwife to midwife. If you're too poorly post-birth to get out to a bf cafe then call the NCT counsellor as they will come to you in some cases.

[OneLittleToddleTerror]

Oh if it's 10 months you might be down to morning and bedtime feed naturally anyway. At least DD did, hence no more formula at nursery during the day. Don't worry too much then. 10 months is pretty old for a baby!

[littleducks]

I wouldn't especially if you are likely to be in hospital for a few days.

[PenguinsHatchedAnEgg]

Squiz - I went back to work at 11 and DD1 just ditched feeds for snacks and fed like crazy when I got home

[squizita]

Thanks Penguins and Little. :) We shall see!

[theborrower]

I planned to BF, but had a hand held pump and lansinoh in the house (freebies from my work's healthy living team).

I had a baby that wouldn't / couldn't latch and came home (8pm at night) with a baby cup, syringes and some instant formula that a kind midwife slipped us. DH went to the shops the next day.

I would, at the very least have a bottle of sterilising fluid in the house in case you find yourself in the same position. A carton of instant formula too. It won't cost much at all.

Yes, there are 24 hour supermarkets, but not everyone has a car (we didn't) and you still need an idea of what you'll need to purchase!

I'm planning to BF this time too, and will have the bottles, steriliser etc washed and ready to go, just in case. I've bought one carton of instant formula for the cupboard. If I find myself in the same situation, at least I know we can get through the night and we've not wasted money on lots of formula, and DH can go into town the next day for anything else needed.

[Zara8]

Exactly what theborrower says - a carton or two of formula, a bottle, and some sterilising fluid can get you through a tough night where nothing seems to be working, before you can get hold of a midwife/bf counsellor in the morning. Doesn't cost much and won't affect bf much -but could help everyone calm down and get some rest.

Kind postnatal midwife slipped me some instant formula too when we left hospital she found out we had nothing at home, to get us through the night till the community midwives came out to me at home

[OneLittleToddleTerror]

Actually I'm surprised how many of you were discharged without having a feed at the hospital! DD fed straight away at birth. During skin to skin I couldn't get her off my breasts. I naively listened to Gina Ford about swapping breasts. And then she fed more during the night and in the morning. DH went home for the night and got me clothes, the car seat etc to pick me up. And even then we waited for a bit before DD was checked and discharged. So in my mind there is enough time for him to go to the supermarket in any case. I heard of local mums who sent family out for tiny baby clothes before discharge too. Basically I would have known if the baby would latch by that point.

I'm guessing it's another case of hospital doing things very differently? Or maybe as a new mum it didn't occur to you that babies should be straight onto breasts when doing skin to skin? (I did notice no one did it in OBEM).

[OneLittleToddleTerror]

I didn't mean to be patronising. I had a very good midwife at post delivery who put DD on my chest and asked me to feed her straight away. I must have put bf in my birth notes.

[beccajoh]

When you're in hospital if your baby is genuinely in need of milk they'll provide it. 24 hour supermarkets aren't always open. Sunday evening/night for example.

I would have a back up. I bf my first with no problems at all. My second was a nightmare and had formula from fairly early on.

[PenguinsHatchedAnEgg]

Toddle - Babies differ. None of my three have been interested in feeding during the first hours. I know that the books all claim they will be, but not at all in my case. All too knackered from coming out! DD1 had slightly less skin to skin as forceps and was off being checked over and then wrapped up a bit, but the other two were born at home. Think I had about two hours of skin to skin with DS this time round. In fact, DD1 was the one most open to encouragement to feed. DS didn't feed properly for at least 12 hours after he was born (but at three weeks is now semi-permanently attached).

[mewkins]

Is there anyone you can borrow a steriliser from? The tommee tippee microwave one is good and often on offer if not (all bottles fit in I think not just tommee tippee). I mix fed and the hospital used Nuk teats for their bottles. Apparently they are good for newborns in the first few days and fit most bottles (but nothing fits tommee tippee apart from TT ones annoyingly).

This time round I have a new mam bottle pack (am planning to mix feed again), plus an aptimil ready sterilised pack for hospital (likely to be in for two or three days). Dh can also do some sterilising etc when vvisiting.

I had planned to ebf but things didn't work out with dd1(dd jaundiced, getting dehydrated, tongue tie etc) so things don't always go to plan and it's better to feel a bit prepared.

[theborrower]

onelittletoddle it's a loooong story, but I had an EMCS, a baby who was full term but low birth weight (5lb 4oz), and who had a tongue tie that wasn't properly diagnosed for several weeks and wasn't fixed til 8 weeks. I was in hospital for 4 days and not one midwife could get her to latch - she physically couldn't do it. Sometimes babies just can't. She got there in the end though, after a frickin horrendous few weeks.

You were fortunate to have a textbook baby. I'm hoping this next one will cut me some slack and be one too :-)

[feeona123]

If you are wanting to express, then introducing a bottle at around 3 weeks is meant to be the best time.

Any longer and they just might refuse it.

My baby is just over 8 weeks and is mixed fed. At first I was giving her bottles of breast milk, but due to slow weight gain I had to start her on formula as well. We 're still on 2 bottles of formula a day and the rest breast.

It was very handy having the pump on hand in the first few weeks. She had tongue tie so I was in a lot of pain, so pumping helped while my nipples healed.

I didn't buy any formula until we needed it. If your determined to bf then leave off buying the formula. Someone can easily buy it for you if necessary.

My hand pump came with a microwave steriliser which was handy.

[beccajoh]

Yes just to say about introducing a bottle. I know 'they' say wait until six weeks but everyone I know who has done this has really struggled to get their baby to take the bottle. Dad giving a bottle when your baby is a week old, and you need more than an hours sleep at a time is not going to wreck your milk supply. I'm of the opinion that if things are hard going then the occasional bottle, whether it's expressed milk or formula, is a good thing if it gives mum a bit of a break. I found breastfeeding really hard work. I rarely got more than 1-2 hours sleep at a time for about the first three months. It was brutal. It's not unusual for breastfeeding mums. I'm not trying to scare you at all - but all the advice (if I can call it that) I'd received was that breast is best, a proper latch shouldn't hurt, you'll get more sleep if you breastfeed (my mind still boggles at this one) just didn't prepare me. It's natural, right? Easy peasy - why would anyone need to use bottles, women have been doing this for thousands of years etc (v simplistic way of looking at it!) I could do it fine, just wasn't prepared in any shape or form for my baby wanting to be permanently attached to a boob for the first five months.

[springbabydays]

I bought a pump, steriliser and bottle kit before hand - I planned to ebf and wanted to choose it all at my leisure rather than in a panic or with a baby distracting me. I didn't use them for ages and had to buy different bottles as ds didn't like one particular teat.

[frankiebuns]

I planned to breast feed first child had no bottles sterilizer etc son took one look at boob and u could see his expression and what am I supposed to do with that! The hospital asked me if bi wanted sma or cow and gate bottle formula and they even gave me 7 day supply to go home with I plan to breast feed this time but I have bottles as back up just incase

[gatti]

I am 32wks with my first baby and I was wondering the same thing. After speaking to other mums and my midwife I bought a set 4 bottles just in case but also learnt that these will come in handy when I want to express and have my hubby involved in feeding.

Also, later, these will be useful for water, juice or herbal teas before the baby is able to drink from a cup.

I was really tempted to get a fancy set (bottles, pump, steriliser)but they super expensive and I don't think I will use it.

To sterilise my bottles I will use boiling water and large pot. I will try to hand-express.

If you want to use a pump better get an electric one - otherwise you will end up squeezing the pumping mechanism which is more frustrating than hand-expressing!

[Igggi]

If you suspect someone else might try to feed the baby "to give you a break" without your permission (thinking of you, dm) then I wouldn't have any formula in the house! Unless you live in middle of nowhere you'll be able to get it is you need it. Use formula early on before milk supply is established and it might interfere with this, plus the baby won't be exclusively bf, if that's important to you (it was to me, for allergy reasons primarily).
I'd second the microwave steriliser, handy for dummies too if you use them. I've had a manual pump and an electric, electric definitely better and I was able to sell mine on (for a small amount) when finished. Good luck! The feeding boards here are great for advice, better than your health visitor usually :)

[hubbahubster]

With DC1 we mix-fed from the start due to my huge blood loss = no milk supply. This time, I bought a couple of cartons of ready-made Hipp milk (under a quid each) and had a couple of new unused bottles from a box I bought for DC2 stashed away. We had a microwave steriliser already but if you're just starting out I wouldn't bother - just boil your bottles and then close them up, pop in fridge and they'll stay sterile until you need to crack them open.

As it happens I haven't needed any of this stuff as DC2 is BF like a champion, glad I didn't waste more than a couple of quid on it! By the time I'm ready to give her a bottle, she'll need bigger teats etc anyway.

[ch1a]

I just posted on another thread about ds1, his tongue tie, my flat nipples and our arduous mixed feeding journey. It was all a panic when after continually trying to latch him on two midwives panicked me that I had to give formula now as his blood sugar was getting too low, yet then proceeded to say that I would only get one bottle of formula as I should still be trying to breastfeed. It was really stressful. This time at 39 weeks I'm prepared if that happens again. I'll be manually expressing colostrum and then if necessary I have a medela pump, calma teat, and steriliser waiting in boxes to be opened when I get home. I also have a couple of cartons of hipp in case.

That said I wouldn't necessarily buy it all now. For me its a reaction to what happened last time and my need in the run up to the birth to feel prepared.

I did send dp on a late night trip to mother care last time and he arrived with the shittest breast pump and bottles set that baby wouldn't take to and showed faults in a few weeks. If I were you I would just plan what you will get if you need it...in which case you can just give a specific list to someone to go get it for you. Even the crap set I had cost a lot of money and it wasn't well spent. At least if you know what you would buy then you avoid this situation.

That said I'm hoping I can leave all mine in the boxes and get a full refund as breastfeeding is going to go amazingly this time for me as ds2

[ch1a]

I just posted on another thread about ds1, his tongue tie, my flat nipples and our arduous mixed feeding journey. It was all a panic when after continually trying to latch him on two midwives panicked me that I had to give formula now as his blood sugar was getting too low, yet then proceeded to say that I would only get one bottle of formula as I should still be trying to breastfeed. It was really stressful. This time at 39 weeks I'm prepared if that happens again. I'll be manually expressing colostrum and then if necessary I have a medela pump, calma teat, and steriliser waiting in boxes to be opened when I get home. I also have a couple of cartons of hipp in case.

That said I wouldn't necessarily buy it all now. For me its a reaction to what happened last time and my need in the run up to the birth to feel prepared.

I did send dp on a late night trip to mother care last time and he arrived with the shittest breast pump and bottles set that baby wouldn't take to and showed faults in a few weeks. If I were you I would just plan what you will get if you need it...in which case you can just give a specific list to someone to go get it for you. Even the crap set I had cost a lot of money and it wasn't well spent. At least if you know what you would buy then you avoid this situation.

That said I'm hoping I can leave all mine in the boxes and get a full refund as breastfeeding is going to go amazingly this time for me as ds2

[ch1a]

Sorry for duplication!