Feeding - what to buy?

[Jellybean2017]

Hi

I'm 31 weeks and planning to breastfeed but just wondering what basics for bottle feeding I need to buy to prepare in case I am unable to breastfeed? If anyone has any advice or tips it would be much appreciated.

You can get small bottles of ready made that you screw the teat on so you dont have to mix up formula. Its quite expensive for what it is but handy. I used it to take the edge off she had nowhere near the full bottle and I breast fed successfully.

I bought a microwave steriliser and a pump they both had little bottles with them as I expressed sometimes.

Also get things for you - snacks and a water bottle for the cluster feeding which feels like it goes on for 25 hours per day.

Don't bother. Seriously don't waste your money.

Just buy some breastpads, you'll be fine.

I agree with Frizzy, the little pre made bottles of formula are just brilliant

I breastfed but used these in the night sometimes so my DH could help out, or if the baby seemed very unsettled or dissatisfied after a feed. Then I'd offer the little bottle and sometimes she took all of it, sometimes a little and sometimes none.

I got multi mam compresses too. They're little pads with some soothing gel on. Didn't use many of them but was glad I had them. I had a cover too but only used it more if I was somewhere that dd would get distracted like a noisy restaurant. Didn't bother in quieter places or park benches. It was handy to block it out for her rather than cover up.
You almost certainly won't need formula but it is very difficult during the cluster feeding stage when you can't move and other people are encouraging bottles.

Do you want/hope to express so that someone else can bottle feed the baby with ebm (expressed breast milk) occasionally?

If so I suggest you get a breast pump and one or two bottles, but get different types with different teats (you could get one bottle that can be used with different brands of teats) just in case your baby won't take the first (or second, or third) teat you try. Definitely don't buy a whole set of the same brand in case your baby doesn't like the teats!

If you're not intending to express or mix feed I suggest you don't bother getting any bottles, you can always buy some if breastfeeding doesn't work out.

I always recommend washable breast pads over disposable. The latter always twisted round and got stuck to my boobs - ouch . Cloth ones (Johnson & Johnson I think? Got them in Boots anyway) were fab for me. :)

Can't remember what I got for bottle feeding though, DS needed top ups for a few days but we used ready made formula. I remember those little screw top bottles, had them in hospital with both babies :)

I breastfed my now 21 month old and plan on breastfeeding again (39 weeks). I have got a few bottles (box of 3 on offer), a steriliser and will buy a few of the pre-mixed UHT single formulas for about 80p each.

In the first couple of weeks I used them a few times through the night to give my sore nipples a break and so that I knew what baby had taken. It didn't make a difference to the amount of sleep though so don't believe what people say about formula fed babies sleeping longer! You'll need a bottle brush to clean them with prior to sterilising too x

Thanks everyone, really useful! Yes I am hoping to express if I can so will have a look at breast pumps too.

I recommend the Haakaa pump, it's not expensive and it's easy to use - you pop it on one boob while feeding from the other.

I also have an electric pump (the Ardo Calypso) - they are expensive but efficient so they're worth it if you express regularly. I try to express once a day (if DS naps for long enough while we're home!) so it's definitely been worth it for me.

My breast pump advice would be not to get a manual one just because it's cheaper. Granted I am a weakling but I got bugger all out compared to an electric, and my wrists hurt!

Also you may find your other side leaks while pumping/feeding (or that you leak generally when your supply is getting established). You can get something called breast shells or something to put in your bra to catch any leaks. I wouldn't bother unless you find you need it though as it's just another expense and item to sterilise (if you want to use the milk caught in it). Oh and if you DO use them... erm, take care not to forget you're wearing them and lean forward. Lost several ml that way...

x post, never heard of the haakaa - will take a look!

The best thing I was told was 'remember the shops don't close when you have a newborn'. So unless you unfortunately won't have any support at home I would agree with some PP that you needn't buy anything at this point.

Cagliostro They're brilliant! Heard about them on Mumsnet. Only slight downside is that they can sometimes fall off the boob (or get knocked off by a wriggly baby!) so you need to make sure it's as firmly attached as possible and keep a hand free just in case! It also falls over easily when you put it down, but I've just seen that there's a new version with a suction base, so that might be better.

Really sensible to have bottles on standby just in case - I didn't bother and then when I couldn't breastfeed, DH was running around Boots after no sleep trying to buy the stuff we needed ;-)

The starter packs of formula are great to start with and awesome for the middle of the night as you just open a bottle and a teat and crack on.

There are loads of different types of bottles - Mam are really popular, we got on really well with Tommee Tippee and Dr Browns. Recommend a microwave steriliser once you know what kinds of bottles your baby will take (they are all different sizes) and to sterilise in the meantime you could cold sterilise using Milton tablets in a bucket... Really easy and no need to rinse.

I found the tablets better than the liquid - the liquid seemed to smell strongly. Plus the tablets are really handy for if you go away somewhere and don't want to take a steriliser etc as you can just use them in a sink.

www.amazon.co.uk/d/Bottle-Sterilisers/Milton-Tablets-28-tabs-112g/B00LZW74F6/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1498063929&sr=8-1&keywords=sterilising+milton+tablets&tag=mumsnetforum-21

www.amazon.co.uk/Milton-Cold-Water-Steriliser-White/dp/B001RYOPAE/ref=sr_1_1_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1498063949&sr=8-1&keywords=milton+bucket&tag=mumsnetforum-21

I think being prepared is a great idea, I wish I had been. In the dead of night, at 4 days old, when I was crying on the kitchen floor not able to feed my DS, couldn't get a latch, boobs were in agony and bleeding , and I was in agony still from my c section which was incredibly infected, I wish I'd had formula in. We had bottles though so I eventually fed, expressed from the other side , and hubby did the next feed from a bottle for me (which we did have already)

Wish I'd known about dr browns bottles sooner - they were amazing, and you can now get ones that can be used with or without the bit in the middle.

I thought we'd cracked breastfeeding & then on day 5 my milk didn't come in properly. After DS had been continuously trying to feed or screaming for about 4 hours at 3am I gave him a bottle of formula & he was instantly calm. I'm so glad we had it in the house. It would have been a nightmare if DP had had to go out as the nearest 24 hour shop is an hour's round trip away. I would suggest getting a couple of bottles, a few cartons of ready made formula & a microwave steriliser just in case, it could save your sanity if you do have any issues feeding.

I plan on getting

A box of the mini ready made bottles
A few small cartons of formula
2 Mam bottles
A microwave steriliser

Just in case. None of it will cost you a fortune if you don't use it, but will be worth a thousand times what you paid for it if you suddenly need it at 3am!

I'm expecting my second and had issues bf DS. I hope bf goes much better this time round, but I'm buying some of those mini formulas that you just screw on the teat. Those were a lifesaver with DS and we had nothing in (friend recommended them). They are really handy for out and about too when newborn, although expensive for the amount of formula you get.

Once we realized formula and bottles was going to be more than just a one off I ordered bottles online for speedy delivery. DH was no stranger to the baby aisle in our 24 hour supermarket, but I definitely want to avoid that scenario this time and be more prepared.

The Medella swing is one of the best pumps. You won't need it until at least 6 weeks in though as you need to let your supply settle first.

Actually I read that the best time to introduce a bottle is 2-6 weeks and that was definitely true for us. We introduced it when DS was about a month old and it worked out well.

We did need the first month to focus on breastfeeding, as DS had tongue tie and we got it snipped when he was 3 weeks old if I remember rightly, so I wanted to make sure he was breastfeeding well before introducing the bottle. I also didn't have time to express until he started feeding a bit less! (Constant feeding was the main problem with his tongue tie!)

I do hear a lot of people saying wait until 6 weeks before introducing a bottle but personally I think that's a little bit late. I certainly wouldn't wait any longer than that.

I know a lot of my friends experienced issues introducing bottles after 6 weeks.
We did it at 2 weeks and it was fine

I would buy a couple of cheap supermarket bottles and a breast pump if you hope to express. no need to get expensive bottles if you probably won't get much use out of them.

The ready made formula with screw on teats are very handy, though expensive. They cut out the sterilising and washing.

Thanks all, really useful to have a list of recommendations! 😊 x