are you still buying bottles and formula if planning to breastfeed?

[topaz22]

or a bottle making kit? also i've heard you don't need to sterilise breastfeeding bottles and equipment. not sure what to buy

Agreed, also assumes you will be well enough to be left alone etc! When I came out of hospital i was in a lot of pain and struggled to look after ds by myself as I couldn't really lift him! We did get bf established in the end but ds did have some formula top ups and I needed to express. I think having a starter kit in just takes away all the hassle.

I live in a bog standard market town. Our tesco is no longer 24 hrs. I would buy a couple of bottles and some cartons of ready made milk. Enough for 24 hrs. Just for peace of mind.

Ditto, first night home was a Sunday night. Fuck all open then.

We had the ready made bottles in, just in case.

They were a godsend when DD wouldn't latch and I had no idea what to do whilst sobbing at 3am.

I actually refused to be discharged home at 5pm on a Sunday evening as I wouldn't have been able to get hold of formula/bottles etc that day. I think there's nothing wrong with getting a couple of bottles in. You can boil sterilise them at first and fork out for a steriliser later if you need it.

No, I didn't leave hospital with any of the four until I was confident breastfeeding was going well.

Not planning on buying any formula bits. I breastfed DD (8) when she was born and confident I can breastfeed this baby too without the other bits.

However I had help from my mum who breastfed all 4 of us so I felt confident. I think it's a good idea if it helps you feel more secure for sure

Like a few others, we bought a pump, (cheap) steriliser and bottle starter kit (which had 6 bottles in different sizes). Under advice of the midwife, I did not get formula before she was born but if breastfeeding hadn't been going ok in hospital, we would have picked up a ready made bottle or 2 on the way home.

Fortunately we did not need the formula at all but having the pump and bottles have been fantastic as I do express and my husband gives if I want to pop out for an hour or so. I also only got a cheap basic steriliser as you don't need to sterilise frequently if just expressing and giving the odd bottle so I don't need one designed for multiple daily uses.

Definitely don't get too much of anything and my advice would be to avoid the kits containing multiple bottles, steriliser, bottle warmers etc as your baby may not even like that brand of bottle, making it a big waste.

I didn't buy any for my first and regretted it - breastfeeding failed and I was incredibly stressed and my husband had to rush out to get everything while I sat at home with a hungry baby screaming because he couldn't latch and when he finally did, his silent reflux caused pain.

So with number 2 we got some ready made formula for emergencies. Thankfully didn't need it this time as breastfeeding worked.

I've bought one of these. Has ready to use bottles with single use sterile tests. I'm planning to BF and did with DC1 but just like the assurance of having it there in case..

http://m.boots.com/h5/cathub?unCountry=uk&path=%2Fen%2FProductt_1480931

Sorry just realised my link hasn't worked.. here's a screen shot.

I had some just in case and never needed it, just because it's at arm's length, doesn't necessarily mean you'll give in and use it. Like others have said I wouldn't have appreciated being at home with a stressed hungry baby whilst DH ran around trying to find somewhere open in the middle of the night that sold formula and bottles. Also my pump was brilliant in the first few months until I got the hand of hand expressing, I had oversupply and needed to express a little off before DD could latch.

I got 2 bottles and some instant milk in, as well as some Milton liquid for sterilising, I ended up using them all as both times my babies needed topping up and struggled to breastfeed at first.
I mixed fed mine in the end, they breastfed both until they were one. But the ability to bottle feed was a great relief and comfort. I ended up with a uterine infection second time round and nearly ended up in hospital, baby was already taking bottles and breast so I knew she would be ok if I did end up going in.

Have a little to hand, but don't go mad, it is entirely possible you will need very little if any of it!

I will this time round having needed it last time. I was very determined to BF, but baby was having none of it - took a week for us to get him to latch. Formula was a necessity and could have done without the emergency trips to the shops.

I bought bottles so DH could help with feeds I extracted (not happened yet) but panic bought formula the night I was discharged from hospital and couldn't get him to feed. I did in the end and haven't needed formula but it would have been nice to have already had it in

I actually feel disgusted at this question of 'not giving into temptation'. There are a million reasons why breastfeeding might not work (either for just this one feed or more long term) and to leave a days-old baby screaming in hunger is plain wrong. I'm often struck by the overlap in those who think sleep training involving any crying is damaging and barbaric but starving a baby because it won't breastfeed and to feed the baby formula is 'succumbing to temptation'.

A hungry baby needs to be fed, full stop. You can work on improving breastfeeding after the baby is fed but you must must feed the baby when it needs is, whether breastfed, pumped milk or formula. But not feeding it is not an option so if like me you experience BF is my working suddenly because of massive engorgement or some other reason, then it is responsible to have alternative ways to feed the baby ready to go. Heading off to supermarkets etc takes time that a tiny baby cannot understand.

I'm going to buy one of those bottles that self sterilises in the microwave and a carton of ready mixed formula. Yes supermarkets are open 24 hours, but last time my nipples started bleeding, and it would have been easier if we had something at hand rather than my husband going on a mad dash to Tesco, leaving me crying my eyes out in pain.
I say this as someone who ended up breastfeeding for a year. I intend to try it again but I'm not under any illusion that it will be easy and I am willing to try many things to help me through it.

I got a steriliser and bottles with my first (well, my DM did with good intentions), they got used a handful of times when I expressed so dp could feed dd1 occasionally, then I decided pumping was too much faff and it just sat there gathering dust until we sold it on.

I didn't bother second time round, I figured if I needed to I could send dp to the supermarket at any time (we have a few supermarkets nearby including a 24hr one) to pick up emergency supplies.

I guess it might depends on how easy it is for you to get to a supermarket in an emergency. If we didn't have a car, or we lived in a really rural, middle of nowhere sort of place then I might have got supplies just in case, although I still wouldn't have bought formula until I absolutely needed it but that's just me.

Bought one small bottle and two small ready made cartons. Breastfed successfully

I know most places are open 24/7 somewhere. But I felt if we needed them we would have been stressed already so then one of us being left with screaming baby and another stressed going to find somewhere at 3am was just not worth it.

Also I was worried incase anything happened to me, even if I was successfully feeding but had birth complications or whatever and had to be rushed away from baby. Dh would have then been left in a worrying and stressful situation, made even worse by that fact baby would need feeding in next 1-2 hrs.

One bottle and two instant formula was about £6. Well worth it for the reassurance.
The bottle we used for water actually when oversees in 40+ temps, and the formula was used in a cup when older

With my first child I didn't and regretted it. Although I breastfed both children for 9 months having the cartons of formula etc in the cupboard took the pressure off a lot especially in the early days. And even if you bf a pump/bottles for ebm can come in handy.

The circumstances where you might need formula might well be very fraught: no sleep for ages, a screaming baby, you might be in pain etc. I would get formula in now so that you don't have to add sending anyone to the shops and leaving you alone to the list! You can also choose kit you like now, while not sleep deprived.

My experience was the one above. I couldn't bf due to sepsis. A few of my friends had similar experiences for various reasons. However, I know many people who have had totally wonderful bf experiences and had no need of bottles until their babies were older, if at all.

I would hope for the best and prepare for the worst, and get some ff stuff just in case! Hope all goes really well for you.

sycamore I'm so glad you addressed this. DD was born with low blood sugars. So low in fact that the midwife said that she shouldn't be functioning. We immediately started 2 hour feeds. I breast fed, then expressed, then finally we gave formula. This was a long process but I was determined that she would get as much of my milk as possible. We did this for 2 months. Every 2 hours, day and night. Eventually after 8 weeks of breast feeding a baby who would still cry after each feed as she was still hungry I stopped for my own sanity. There was nothing wrong with my latch, I just didn't have enough milk. What I'm trying to say is that formula was vital at the beginning. Without it I would have not been able to feed my baby. You don't know what will happen after you have had your baby. You may well take to breast feeding like a pro or you may encounter issues. You may well not have any milk to give your baby. The OP asked whether others would have bottles just in case and many of us would and others wouldn't. It's a personal choice, as are many other choices. I am so fed up of breast feedinf fanatics looking down on bottle fed babies thinking that their mothers are lazy. I don't know many other women who went to the extent that I did to make sure that my child was fed. I don't know many other women who got up in the middle of the night to expresa milk so that the top ups were BM not formula, only to still have to give formula anyway as there was not enough milk to give.

So buy bottles or don't. Breast feed or don't. Just do what is best for you and your baby, not what makes others happy.

Formula saved my baby and I am proud to say that I did what was best for her at the time.

i don't think breastfeeding fanatics are looking down on anyone, however there is a shortage of really good advice /expectation management and it is normal to feed, pretty constantly through the first few days/weeks.

that's how BF becomes established, sticking 6oz of formula down a baby is not helpful to establishing breastfeeding (special cases aside) BF is really really hard to get going, formula doesn't help to make it easier in the long run in most cases. No judgement on anyone who doesn't want to BF but if you really want to then perseverance at the breast is what is required. And support, you'd be better off finding a support group/friend/peer supporter/la leche helpline than buying a load of formula. Good luck.

I knew absolutely nothing about formula feeding as I just assumed I would breastfeed. Unfortunately other things happened not long after I gave birth which led me to switch to formula feeding.

All i would say is at least read up on how to do it in advance, even if you don't buy any equipment (as others have pointed out, the equipment is easy to source if you have access to shops). I had no clue and that was an additional stress that I didn't need at the time.

All the best for the rest of your pregnancy.

All i would say is at least read up on how to do it in advance, even if you don't buy any equipment

YY to this - I was absolutely clueless, sleep deprived and very stressed trying to get DS to feed, totally failed to follow guidelines initially (made up a bottle and left it out of the fridge for hours!). 10mins reading up when I was calm and rested before the baby arrived would have been well spent!

I didn't buy bottles. I decided to give up BFing during a particularly awful Saturday night but had to wait until the shops opened on Sunday to go and buy everything. Wish I'd got it all in, in hindsight.