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Pregnancy

Talk about every stage of pregnancy, from early symptoms to preparing for birth.

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Original poster

mix feeding - best bottles and pumps

39 replies

gingerbreadmam · 01/05/2015 07:58

im currently around 16wks with first dc. i am hoping to breastfeed but may use a bottle from time to time with expressed milk (need to look into how this works more).

what are the best bottles to use for breastfed babies as i understand they can find it hard switching between breast and bottle.

also any recommendations on pumps would be good. am i best waiting until baby is born to worry about bottles and pumps?

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HazleNutt · 01/05/2015 11:10

Medela Calma is the one recommended for BF babies, they have to work to get the milk out. Medela also does good pumps.

Original poster

gingerbreadmam · 01/05/2015 11:25

oh brilliant, think ive actually just seen those on amazon deals.

would you think it is best to wait until baby arrives and see how we get on or get a couple in now?

OP posts:

Dildals · 01/05/2015 11:31

Good idea. Although you can't imagine it at first, you will find that it's REALLY nice to be able to give baby a bottle too, especially, someone ELSE give baby a bottle! So you can sleep or go out, without having to return in a 3 hr window.

We used NUK teats, which are also the teats they use in hospital.

I know several mums who combination fed and they all used different bottles (Tommee Tippee and Dr Browns). I think the bottle nipple confusion thing can be a bit of a red herring.

I would advise to start with it early (advice is to not start from day one, because you want to establish your supply. Kellymom is a good resource for breastfeeding. Although if you do start from day one, for whatever reason then that's is your completely valid choice too.) and keep it up. My baby was combination fed initially and then I went to exclusively boob. I then had a REALLY hard time getting her back on the bottle.

Apart from Medela, Ameda also make good breastpumps.

Original poster

gingerbreadmam · 01/05/2015 11:47

thanks dildals.

thats helpful. i really am in two minds about breast feeding. its not something ive ever really been around and i have a large family. i do feel it is best for baby though and more convenient so would like to try it (even though i do have some reservations, these are silly though).

i think being able to breast and bottle feed would probably be ideal for me as some of the reservations i have will no longer be relevant then.

i havent done any research or classes yet and hopefully that will help me feel more confident in my decisons too.

OP posts:

happygojo · 01/05/2015 12:07

My friend did this (so no personal experience, sorry) she just got the tommee tippee steriliser set with 4 bottles and a tommee tippee breast pump. After a few weeks (not sure how many) her husband took over the pre-bed feed with a bottle. She never had any problems and used the pump daily until at 10 months her baby just had no interest in boob, or even bottle really. Just wanted brocolli .

I am not sure whether to buy now or wait. I was thinking of buying a couple of bottles -just in case- but I figure with 24 hour tescos that my OH could nip out and buy some bottles and formula if necessary

Original poster

gingerbreadmam · 01/05/2015 12:10

oh heck we just missed a fab tommee tippee offer in asda in the baby and toddler event.

my friend bf which is the only experience i have of it and she couldnt get her dd to take a bottle when she went back to work. fortunately her dd was minded next door to work so she could pop in to feed but i may have to return after 6 months and pfb and i will be in seperate towns a half hour drive away so i wont be able to pop home to feed.

OP posts:

happygojo · 01/05/2015 12:14

Don't panic Ginger I bet Aldi will have an offer on soon, and Asda have had 2 baby events so far since I have been preg (now 25 weeks) so you will probably get another chance if thats what you decide to go for

Frolicacid · 01/05/2015 12:30

I have no experience to share as my baby isn't here yet. But my friend successfully mix fed using tommee tippie closer to nature and recommended them.
I got a starter pack on offer in tesco last week, £30 down to £15, so might be worth a look.

HazleNutt · 01/05/2015 12:44

You hear all those stories about how you shouldn't use bottles because babies don't want breast any more then. In real life, I have never heard of a single case - not saying this proves anything, but it's certainly not common.

But I know many, many cases of bottle-refusing babies, had one myself. So if you want or need the baby to take bottles, I would recommend starting early with bottles and giving them at least once per day. Mine was happy to drink from anything initially, then we didn't bother with bottles for a few weeks, and next time we tried, he refused and that's it. Never took any properly again.

Original poster

gingerbreadmam · 01/05/2015 12:46

thanks for the advice everyone this is really helpful.

the tommee tippee sets are still on offer in asda. i have however just seen a mam breastfeeding starter set on offer in mothercare which includes the pump. is on a good discount. does anyone have any experience with mam?

had a quick search online and only seen good things but not lots of reviews. thanks.

OP posts:

BumWad · 01/05/2015 12:47

I'm glad you posted this. I am planning on breastfeeding but would like to get some bottles too. I have ordered some Mam ones from Ocado but may look at getting Nuk ones as the reviews look quite good.

Asda still seem to have their baby event on?

Original poster

gingerbreadmam · 01/05/2015 12:54

yes they do i just looked. the tommee tippee pump is only 19.99 on there too. the mam bottles are self sterilised in the microwave and the reviews of pump are good plus comes with nipple shields too.

its 19.99 on toys r us but collection only and none in stock near me or id have bought anyway looks like a good set.

OP posts:

orangutanhihio · 01/05/2015 17:59

I haven't known anyone to mix feed with success, but maybe that's just the people I know

If it were me I'd want to get bf established before introducing a bottle, I found expressing a real faff and found it much quicker to bf, though it was hard getting the hang of bf at first! I wouldn't worry too much if your baby doesn't like bottles (mine didn't) as at six months they can have a sippy cup I think, also they'll be on solids then so not so dependent on being breastfed for hunger! If the bottles don't work out you'd prob find it easy to express at six months and leave the expressed daytime feeds with baby's carer whilst you work. Good luck!

CityDweller · 01/05/2015 18:11

The Calypso double pump is brilliant. It's also a 'closed system' (google it) so you can safely buy a used one, and sell it on afterwards with a clean conscience. It's the one a v. experienced lactation consultant recommended to me.

Purpleball · 01/05/2015 18:35

Sorry to hijack but I'm also planning to mix feed. I really want to breastfeed but I've been advised to get baby to take a daily bottle from 3 weeks so that I can have a break and also so I can actually leave the house.
I've got a big function when baby will be 3 months so unless it's taking bottles I can't go. I might not want to leave it but that's a different issue

I'm not keen on the idea of expressing though. Is it really bad if baby gets formula once a day? Maybe not every day but from time to time if I don't manage to express?

Original poster

gingerbreadmam · 01/05/2015 20:20

thanks for advice everyone. i know people can struggle to mix feed but its worth a try i guess. id like my dp to be able to feed pfb from time to time and i know grandparents would like to (although its all about me and pfb really )

i would be open to a formula bottle if thats ok i dont know much about it tbh.

will check the calypso out thanks.

my dm tells me horror stories about breast feeding all the time so im a bit scared too.

OP posts:

misssmilla1 · 02/05/2015 14:14

I'm thinking about mix feeding too, as I have to go back to work by 5 months and the OH is committed to helping out with night feeds etc. My plan was to try and breastfeed initially and see how I got on with that, and hope to express so we'd have a bit more flexibility than being latched on to me 24/7! Although what I've read about expressing puts me off a bit, as people seem to have mixed / not very good experiences - I suppose it's going to be one of these wait and see moments..

We also talked about the likelihood of using formula; am trying to plan for it as my mum and her sisters couldn't bf (despite trying) and it seems to be a bit of a trend throughout family.

Would people recommend buying formula in-case we have to do this, or wait and see what happens?

HazleNutt · 02/05/2015 14:19

Purple of course it's fine, formula is not poison.

HomefromHome1 · 02/05/2015 14:30

I used the calma bottle but my baby had trouble getting it as they have the "suck" to get the milk. I used to start with the avent bottle and then swap back to the calma once she got the idea. Then I decided that just sticking with the avent was just easier!!

Started a daily bottle at 3 weeks- no problem with nipple confusion.

carrierpenguin · 02/05/2015 14:57

OP you say your dm has been giving you scare stories about bf, but please don't let that put you off! Take each day as it comes and get support wherever needed, from midwives or ideally a bf counsellor/lactation consultant. Are you doing Nct? I found my Nct class on bf really helpful and the Nct bf counsellor really helpful when I struggled in early weeks. I found I loved bf after those first few weeks though (which would've been tricky whichever way I fed as sleep deprivation isn't much fun).

You'll find people give scare stories about birth, bf, anything really, but don't let it put you off whatever you'd like to do! Good luck!

Original poster

gingerbreadmam · 02/05/2015 15:41

thanks carrier yes she tells me how painful it is about mastitis etc and kind of makes me feel like its not worth trying as it will just upset me. so far she hasnt put me off so i am fully intending to try.

ive seen you can use lasinoh and nipple shields and hopefully that would stop me suffering anyway.

i am happy to give formula if you can bf and give a formula bottle i just dont know much about that.

unfortunately i dont think ill be doing nct, not looked into it but sure i read on here it was quite expensive and our financial situation at the moment wont allow for it really.

OP posts:

HomefromHome1 · 04/05/2015 06:13

For what it's worth I had my first baby without any friends or family around me. I was only going to bf if it was easy and fully prepared to ff. However my little girl latched first time and I had no problems with sore nipples (I did use the cream) or supply. I had only ever read horror stories about bf- but it can go to plan. Fingers crossed it works out for you op.

luna40 · 04/05/2015 07:53

I wanted to combination feed my first DC, but was told to wait until she was 6 weeks and breastfeeding was established, to introduce a bottle. Well I must have missed the window because she refused, and she refused every time we tried, and I had to exclusively breastfeed her until she was a year. It was lovely but exhausting.
With DC#2 I was determined to start early, so we waited until breastfeeding was established (I had mastitis the first week and had to bf constantly to rid it) and gave a first bottle of expressed milk at 3 weeks. I think I used Avent bottles, and Avent manual pump. Baby took it no problem. We gave a bottle of expressed milk every 2-3 days, and then at 8 weeks we tried a first bottle of formula, which went fine. I needed to leave baby at 3 months with my parents while DH and I went to an overnight wedding, and all went very well! I left a few bottles of expressed milk, then some formula, and I made sure to pump every 4 hours, even in the night, to keep up supply. Baby resumed breastfeeds again no prob after I returned 36 hours later. Good luck and enjoy :)

ppandj · 04/05/2015 08:09

Hello
Just thought I would share my current experience...
My DS (first baby) is 1 week old today and I have found expressing and bottle feeding EBM to be really helpful. We have a Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature breast pump and the corresponding bottles (on offer at Morhercare atm- lot cheaper than some of the others!!) which I find very easy to use.

I was really worried about nipple confusion but my baby has had trouble latching on from day 1 (checked for tongue tie but that's not it) because he doesn't open his mouth wide enough for my nipple. Mother Nature didn't bless us with compatible equipment but we're getting there and I think partly due to using the bottles.

Since using the bottles- which we only did because on day 3 when my milk came in my poor DS was absolutely howling because my breasts were so solid and massive that I couldn't hand express enough off to be able to give him a feed- his latch has improved! I think because the teats are quite big on those bottles too he has to open wider to get them in and then can easily get milk. Anyway, now a few days later I am only using a bottle one feed per day and only then if my nipples are sore. The breast feeding seems to be settling and we are getting to know each other so may need the bottles less and less. All I can say is, in the middle of the night when I was anxious about making sure he was fed, it was a life saver having the pump!

Just my very limited experience but wanted to share a positive experience of bottle feeding EBM.

Good luck with everything

ppandj · 04/05/2015 08:15

PS Lansinoh and super absorbent breast pads are absolute essentials I think. We also did buy some cartons of ready mixed formula for back up but haven't used them yet. Still, I found it reassuring to know it was here.
I have found breast feeding really hard and sometimes feel like giving up but each day we seem to be making small improvements together. You will know when your baby is here how you feel but there's no harm being prepared for different eventualities
Again, good luck and enjoy!!

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