mix feeding - best bottles and pumps

[gingerbreadmam]

hi

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?

[Darkstar4855]

I started my son on a daily bottle of EBM from 3 weeks. It went well to start with but then he started refusing the bottle from 10 weeks onwards! We never managed to get him to take a bottle again but he’ll drink from a cup now.

I liked it when he did take the bottle as it meant my partner could do the odd feed and I could have a break. However I didn’t miss the faff of expressing when he stopped!

I use a Medela Swing pump and used the Calma teat too. Tried Tommy Tippee and Mam bottles when he started refusing but no luck.

[ScreamScreamIceCream]

In regards to bottles - start with the cheapest and go to more expensive.

I started with expensive ones - some I brought while others were given to me - and have had to give the unused ones away. My daughter prefers cheaper slim necked Boots and any Asda bottles. The more expensive bottles tend to have a faster flow rate which may have initially been the problem.

[Leleophants]

Wanted to bump this thread - any changes here? What are the best mixed feed bottles?

[gingerbreadmam]

one of my friends had trouble getting her dd to take a bottle so i know it can be difficult which is why im hoping to start right from the beginning.

its easy to see how babies get used to one thing and so refuse another. thanks for the advice it really is appreciated.

[Dildals]

Although I mentioned we started off combination feeding and I want to combination feed again, I absolutely loved breastfeeding, so it doesn't have to be hard / painful.

After 9-10 months of just breastfeeding I finally got her to take the bottle again (which was not a fun experience) and I found it incredibly liberating to be able to go places again and not always have her feed in the back of my mind. And I could wear dresses again!

One other poster (Orangutan) mentioned that baby can take a sippy cup from 6 months etc. Yes, but not all babies will! Also, exclusively breastfed babies don't magically wean themselves off the breast by the time you want to go back to work. Having said that, by the time you go back to work the baby will maybe have a bf in the morning and in the evening, so unless you're travelling for work, you should be OK. Some babies are happy to switch to a full brocolli diet by 7 months, some just LOVE their milk (and the boob) like mine!

[gingerbreadmam]

thanks. im adding notes of breast pumps to my baby list for future reference .

the soothies sound good too so will look at those thank you.

will prbably try tommee tippee bottles in first instance as the always seem to be on a good offer so worth a try and will chop and change if needs be. thank you.

[Racheyg]

I did combo feeding with my ds1 (who is 21 months) and we had Dr Browns and Medela breast pump. I am lucky that my son was very easy with converting from breast to bottle, bottle to beaker.

good luck x

[WoweeZowee]

I really struggled with BFing to begin with but found my DS had no problem going between bottle and boob and taking formula. We used all sorts of bottles too (Avent, TT, Medela). I used a Medela electric pump which was pretty awesome and I found it far easier to use than a hand pump.

I agree the lansinoh cream is great but I found their Soothies (gel pads) even better in the early days. (You can get them on amazon).

I kind of think getting on easily/quickly with BFing is a bit luck of the draw tbh... longer term it def makes it so much easier not having to deal with bottles, formula and whatnot. But equally I think it's important to do what works best for you in the early days when you're getting to grips with everything!

Good luck and enjoy!

[gingerbreadmam]

thanks hazle i'm definitely going to.

i know mastitis is a posibility but people get through it all the time and if worse comes to worse at least baby will be used to a bottle and i could move over to that if i have to.

[HazleNutt]

It's not like everybody will get mastitis, honest. Yes, the cluster feeding in the first weeks was a little challenging, you feel like you're just stuck on sofa for ever and ever. But after that I found BF very easy and convenient and didn't have any issues. Give it a try.

[gingerbreadmam]

well bum your username has give me a giggle firstly and secondly what great news!

take it you are expecting? keep the perfect prep boxed and give breastfeeding a try,i reckon youll easily sell the perfect prep on if you dont use it.

the internet and family are so full of horror stories its enough to stop you from even considering it so im glad youve heard good stuff and lots of people have posted here.

sounds silly as im only 4months but i feel good now ive made a decision im happy with.

[BumWad]

Hi gingerbreadmam,

Just an opposing story from what you have heard. Spoke to my sister and sister in law yesterday about breast feeding and they had no problems whatsoever. My sister was telling me how much she loved it, they both have 3 kids and they breastfed all 3 for over 6 months.

What actually surprised me was how easy they found it. There are so many nightmare stories from others and online but I found it so encouraging to listen to them.

I have actually ordered a perfect prep but am now thinking that I should have ordered a breast pump instead!

[gingerbreadmam]

thank you so much for sharing such positive stories. i now feel at a point where i can confidently say i am going to breastfeed and introduce a bottle.

sounds like from all the success stories the earlier you give a bottle the better so ill keep that in mind and stock up on the lasinoh .

pp it sounds like you are doing a great job and you dc is adjusting nicely. congratulations btw and i hope things get a little easier

[luna40]

Agree that Lansinoh is ESSENTIAL. I couldn't have breastfed without it. And also agree bf'ing is hard but so worth it when established. :)

[ppandj]

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!!

[ppandj]

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

[luna40]

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 :)

[HomefromHome1]

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.

[gingerbreadmam]

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.

[carrierpenguin]

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!

[HomefromHome1]

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.

[HazleNutt]

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

[misssmilla1]

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?

[gingerbreadmam]

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.

[Purpleball]

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?