Formula for newborns

[GeorgiexXx]

I'm going to be a first time mum and I'm going to give breast feeding a go. But I want to get some formula just in case I need it. Any recommendations for newborns?

If you're feeling up to it you can also get some colostrum ready and in the freezer at home by hand expressing into a sterilised container and sucking it up into small syringes (which you can buy from chemists for about 20p). I had an emcs under general anaesthetic and was very glad that my midwife had advised doing this as I was out for quite a while. That way if you have any problems getting feeding established, someone can bring the colostrum into hospital in a cool box and they'll keep it in the freezer for you.

Hardcore but helpful!

So much to consider! Thanks everyone :-)

I plan on breastfeeding, and am due my first in two weeks. After lots of discussions with lots of friends who are parents, I decided to have a couple of emergency bottles and milk in stock. I only want to use them if I really have to or if I am at my wits end trying to bf and baby is starving. I didn't buy a thing of powder as though if I have too much in stock, it might tempt me to move over to bottle.
I bought on recommendation a couple of MAM self-sterilising bottles and a couple of bottles of ready mixed first milk. With the MAM bottles, you don't need to buy a separate steriliser if you have a microwave. I was told there really isn't much between one and another - so I bought a couple of tiny bottles of Aptimil as it's the only one little local shop stocks. I bought them online.

We use Aptamil as that is what the hospital put her on when we were readmitted. (My milk never came in, despite exhausting every avenue we could.)

Interesting to know that Aptamil and C&G are one and the same.

Like the OP, I'm going to try it but want a back up plan (and get really irked at the people who come on and challenge why you would want to do this grrrr!!!).

I'm going to also get a tin of powder and was thinking of Aptamil but will just go for the C&G or Hipp Organic.

1 or 2 boxes of ready made formula, with pre-sterilised teats.

I learnt my lesson with DS about not having any formula or bottles in the house. DH "nipping to the 24 hour supermarket" at 3am when you have a screaming baby who won't feed is NOT ideal. Esp if you haven't had a baby before and don't already have/know what bottles and sterilising kit you need, let alone the powder/ready mades etc! The supermarket might as well be 100miles away! Also then you have to get home, wash bottles, sterilise, assemble, make up milk, cool it down.....

I'm due soon with DC2 and I have a couple of boxes of the ready made formulas with screw on teats. I have bottles too but I'm not buying powder unless it turns out we'll be moving to formula. One of those wee ready made bottles can help you get through a challenging night - before you can get real-life bf support in the morning.

And if you find you don't need them, give them to a friend. Simple. Less than a tenner. An insurance policy against an already stressful situation becoming much worse.

Zara - that could well have been me. I was very fortunate that someone had bought me one small carton, a steriliser, and a single bottle. I thought that it took an eternity in my moment of need, just sterilising a bottle and pooring in some ready made formula. Cant imagine waiting with baby whilst dp goes out and tries to find all that stuff, bring it back, then try to get it sterilsed, etc. Nightmare!

Those little ready bottles look brilliant for the back up plan, no sterilising or anything first - perfect for that moment of desperation. I'll be having a pack of those in this time, save even needing to sterilise.

Last time I had couple cartons in can't remember which whatever was cheapest all the same really but never needed them even when struggling with bf I am a bloody minded moo n was determined so never used them

This time I will get a couple cartons again and may mix feed if needed as if I have difficulty I will also have another child to be loom after so won't be able to 100% focus on bf but hoping it's easier this time round.

Aptamil

Aptamil stinks and turns your towels pinky/orange.

Have used pretty much all of them for one reason or another and it really depends on what suits your child and what's available locally.

Pre-made is probably a good way to go. Don't forget to check out how to sterilise.

You are being very sensible getting stuff in just in case. Unfortunately breastfeeding sometimes doesn't work no matter how hard you try and giving your baby some formula in a moment of need doesn't mean that you can't go on to breastfeed. I would definitely recommend ready made formula for emergencies. I think different babies suit different formulas. Sma turned my son's poo green but he got on well with hipp organic.

Aptimal stinks and turns your towels pinky/orange.

DD is 8 months old and has been on Aptimal since been about 38 hours. We have used both powdered and ready-made and this has never occurred. Not once and a lot of milk has been split, puked etc. and all my towels and tea towels are white.

Weening food though, that's a different story!

And it doesn't smell of anything.

Aptamil doesn't really smell of anything. Never noticed it stain anything either.

Cow and gate smells like my husband's protein shakes though.

Aptamil stinks. A horrible fishy smell! And, it changed DD1's smell when I had to give it to her. She didn't smell like my baby after 24 hours on it.

Well it certainly smells odd compared to the other formulas we used and DD had reflux and dribbled so there was a lot of mopped up milk. It mostly washed out but it was definitely pinky orange stains initially.

That's crazy! I just asked dh and he reckons it smells fishy too! Why would i have never noticed that in the 6 plus months i used it?!

One of the ingredients is fish oil which is why it probably smells fishy...

I feel like buying a carton to see if i can smell it now!

Someone up thread mentioned that SMA and Aptimal are exactly the same product (ingredients, same parent company, manufactured in the same buildings etc.) so I suspect SMA should smell exactly the same as Aptimal.

I have just made DD a couple bottles (she's not well so hasn't eaten much today and could wake up for a bottle). I had a really good sniff of the powder and after the milk was made. A tiny smell of creaminess but nothing at all. Maybe I am just used to it.

Sorry C&G not SMA..

ds1 was prem and was tube fed in hosptial - until I could give him my ebm they gave him c&g

I wish I'd had some formula and bottles at home as a back up when I had my DD (she's now 10 weeks old). I fully intended breastfeeding so had bought nothing bottle related, didn't even really know anything about it, how to make up feeds, sterilising, etc! But there were several complications when DD was born and she ended up having to be given formula by neonatal staff. Due to a difficult forceps delivery she couldn't breathe properly due to a squashed nose and was in pain so breastfeeding positions were sore on her neck.

Still keen to breastfeed, I tried at every feed but still hadn't had any luck getting her to latch on by the time we left hospital so we had to stop by the shops on our way home to buy stuff for bottle feeding. I didn't have a clue what I needed! To be fair the hospital did give us some bottles of the ready made formula to take away with us (SMA gold).

I did preservere with breastfeeding and finally managed to get DD to latch on when she was 6.5 weeks and now we're fully breastfeeding And she's perfect, totally unsquashed and after a few trips to the osteopath, no longer in any pain.

At that age the baby won't care, and they are all supposed to be the same. We had to top up a bit due to tongue tie and DS didn't care what it was. He then started to reject Aptamil once the tie was cut and he was getting more of my milk, and to be honest I don't blame him. I tried a bit and it tastes horrible!