Breastfeed or bottle milk?

[Safay123]

Hi,

I'm 4 months pregnant and I've started shopping for the baby gradually. I would ideally like to breastfeed my child but I'm not sure if I'll be able to or if it will work (it's my first one). I'm not sure if I should invest in bottles /bottle warmers / bottle sterilisers /breast pump before delivery because I don't know how things will work out, for eg, will I breastfeed all the time or will I bottle feed at night (in which case I will need the stuff above). At the same time, I don't want to not have anything I might need at that time. Can you please advise on what to buy and what not to at this stage, in terms of bottle feeding?

You can get bottle feeding equipment really easily even now, and if needed hospitals will prefer to feed babies their own formula anyway. The advice from any reputable midwife would be to wait and see how you breastfeed. The best resource I’d recommend is the Kelly Mom’s website and La Lech League as they tell you how to get your milk going — I initially needed to massage my breasts and use certain techniques to get my baby to latch in the early days.

I do recommend Lanisoh nipple cream though but again you don’t need to buy it straight away.

Heya. I'm due in July and also hoping to breast feed but I got some stuff just in case. I got the MAM newborn bottles starter kit. These are self sterilising so no need to buy the steriliser (that's one less thing then) i then got the tommee tippee manual pump for £9.99 home bargains. Figured it's not too much money if it doesn't work but if it does then that's great. Haven't bothered with bottle warmer, to be honest some babies like their milk differently, my little brother HATED his bottles warm so may not be needed.

Hope this helps. 🌸

I got a Tommee Tippee pump and a set of six bottles, with a warmer and steriliser. It’s enough that if breastfeeding doesn’t work, you can get buy and then buy more if needed, but it doesn’t take up loads of space. As it happened, breastfeeding worked out really well with DD1, but I was still glad to have the bottles as when DD was a bit older my DH or my DMum could have a cuddle and feed her expressed milk (little bugger would never have a bottle at night though! I rapidly got good at feeding lying down). Also really handy in the car when she was a bit bigger as it’s a lot less messy than offering a cup to an 8 month old strapped in a car seat on a hot day!
My reason for choosing the Tommee tippee system was that the bottle tops can screw directly into the bags you express into, so you can get the milk out of the freezer, pop it in the warmer for 5 mins and then the teat goes straight on, so no waste and no mess from transferring, and you only need to sterilise the tops as the bags are single use only.

I felt much more confident when I returned to work knowing that my DD could have the comfort of a bottle of “mummy milk” if she wanted it, although as it happened 10 month old DD was perfectly happy to drink from a cup and wait till I got home for a nice cuddly feed.

If you decide the breastfeeding route then the night feeds are the most important, these are the ones that determine what supply you need for the next day.

If you are unsure then I wouldn't start buying equipment yet, especially nothing expensive.
What I would suggest is you get some ready made bottles with teats nearer the time and then if for any reason the breastfeeding isn't successful you can still feed the baby whilst you source what you need.
I've not been able to successfully breastfeed either of mine which was harder for me then it was for them.
I have the prep machine which is a godsend but so many places sell them and there's always an offer that I wouldn't buy one too early because you wouldn't want it to have lost most of its warranty time before you even need it.
Also expensive bottles aren't always what's best, baby will decide what they like so don't spend a fortune coz you won't make your money back if baby doesn't like them.

You can get stuff so quickly and easily I wouldn't buy much, you really don't know how things will turn out. I am combination feeding. I find I can barely express anything so pumps have been a waste. Some friends have hired pumps from hospital when they have mainly relied on expressing. I (fortunately) don't have sore nipples or leaking boobs so never needed the breast pads or nipple cream. We only give one bottle a day now so just use a single microwave steriliser, and dont bother to warm it! Perhaps get one pack of preprepared formula bottles, the ones which are ready to feed so you don't find yourself desperate for a bottle in the middle of the night. If you need to sterilise, a big pan of boiling water will get you through a few days. Breast pads and nipple cream are reasonably cheap, but id only buy one box.

My advice would be to find out now, what support is available locally around breastfeeding. You can join local facebook groups eg. Le leche league now. Support and advice has mattered so much to me.

I’m due in August & like you I would like to BF but I am also going to express so my DP can be involved in feeding too. I have bought some Tommee Tippee close to nature anti colic bottles to have & I will buy a formula to have in the house in case all doesn’t work out with BF. In regards to a breast pump, some hospitals will loan you one for 2 weeks, this would save you spending money on one if you end up being unable to BF. I am going to buy a bottle prep machine as this can be used for expressed breast milk as well. I am not bothering with a steriliser at this time but might be something I consider down the line.

Sorry I didn’t mean a prep machine for breast milk, I meant a bottle warmer! 🤦🏼‍♀️ Baby brain!

I wouldn't spend much on stuff incase you don't need it. Just get a pack of the pre made bottles and some nipple cream/ pads. They don't advise pumping until 6 weeks anyway so that your supply is established.
The most useful thing I've had for both my babies was my amazon prime subscription to get everything I need quickly!

Hi, congratulations on your baby! And good luck for the birth and future family! I've got a just over 6 month old now.. I've breastfed since he was born and still am currently. I would say hold off buying expensive items (even though the mother in you says buy, buy, buy) I think I've "needed" one or two bottles for expressing have only ever used a hand pump which I think is better at getting milk out than electronic ones. But what I would suggest as a necessity is colostrum harvesting syringes. They saved my life when mine was born. I had 10x 1ml syringes and while my milk came in at the hospital I genuinely needed them as baby was hungry a lot. Without them I think the nurses would of suggested I put him on formula (which I definitely didn't want). I think it was around 7-8 months the colostrum came in for me and I hand expressed every night to make sure I had enough. Apart from that I'd say the obvious steriliser for bottles/ dummies if you'd use them, if your planning to express that is. But tbh each person is different..I got told by my MIL to get loads of very random expensive stuff that I wouldn't of needed never mind used so I'm glad u didn't..all that money saved has gone on my baby now (and god knows we need to save money in the current situation) I wish you the best of luck! :D X

I got most of the things on your list as I knew I wanted to eventually express and share feeds with DH. DS didn’t latch for the first 10 days so it all came in very useful much earlier than I’d planned. If you want to just breast feed exclusively without bottle I wouldn’t bother though, as a pp said it’s all quite easy to get hold of and initially you would hand express and syringe for colostrum if you have difficulties - hospital can provide those. And you can even get ready made formula with a bottle top from a shop for emergencies.

My DS is 9 weeks now but before delivery I was in your shoes.
We bought a pump and a couple of bottles as I’d heard that a good pump can really get you through the tough days at the start of BF. I would strongly recommend you do the same, I think I’d have given up around week 2-3 my nipples were raw and DS wanted to feed constantly. Being able to express and let DH feed him so I could get 2+ hours of sleep was a life saver. I bought a medela pump after seeing them being used in the hospital (they’re the brand the NHS use) but there are lots of good brands and advice on here.

I was worried about the first few days incase I couldn’t feed him or my milk didn’t come in so I bought a few boxes of ready made ready to feed bottles (can buy them in boots/supermarkets) and took one in my hospital bag. I had a long delivery and was exhausted so when DS was screaming for food DH did give him 2 feeds from bottles in the 18 (ish) hours we were in hospital post birth. The rest I managed with BF.
Good luck xx

I bought some bottles and formula and a steriliser but I never used any of it once as I breastfed. It just gathered dust!

Do whatever you feel is best in terms of buying stuff, that's just my own experience.

I read breastfeeding for dummies while pregnant and watched some Emily Norris YouTube videos on the subject. Both very helpful. Good luck.

I plan on bottle feeding and have bought the Aptamil Ready to Feed infant milk for in the hospital so I don't need to mess about with sterilisers. It's about £7 for 6 bottles, I think having that in as a back up might be a better option as you wont be spending too much money but will still have an emergency stash.

One big recommendation I had was DO NOT mix feeds with boob and bottle until
Breast feeding is established which will be around 3 months. It'll cause nipple confusing and 9/10 is why breast feeding fails

I was adamant I wanted to breast but understood it doesn't always happen. Did my research and any course or books were done.

I got a few maam bottles which are self
Sterilising so no equipment needed and a few ready made cartons. Didn't go too mad as didn't want a easy exit.

Breast feeding was the best thing I've ever done. Good Luck!

@MUM2019MARVEL I'm with you on harvesting colostrum. The magical gold
Honey 🥰

@BabyG123
I was told the same thing but only told to wait 3 weeks, not 3 months!

So 3 weeks of exclusive BF, before expressing into a bottle so that DH could have a turn and give me a few more hours of sleep - that first time was magical for DH :)

@Gerdticker oh really, I didn't do it until he was 1 anyway, crazy lady! I secretly like the 'us' time in the night. Then straight to cows and a beaker.

@Gerdticker this is exactly what I'm planning to do with DC when they arrive, my DH is very keen for it too. This may sound like a silly question but how much did you express into the bottle for the feed?

@BabyG123 I know right? Amazing stuff!! I'm glad someone told me about it before the birth tbh. Would rather of had it and not needed it personally but it was a HUGE help. Also @Gerdticker I think it is 3 months as the HV told me the same thing about bottles and dummies..don't use for 3 months 1: to establish supply (so baby isn't too tired to suckle at breast after dummy) and 2: nipple confusion (as the suckle is completely different with a bottle and going back to breast after a bottle can damage breast) I think when past 3 months they learn to differentiate between breast and bottle and learn to suckle differently, but we all got there in the end so no damage done..best thing I've ever done breastfeeding (besides giving birth to the little man of course) :D x

@MUM2019MARVEL second everything you said. So pleased to have learnt about harvesting colostrum. When DS1 was poorly I used it as medicine rather than at birth which is why I did it. Amazing stuff! Wish I'd have done more!

@Safay123

If breastfeeding is going well, the advice is to wait re: the bottle. However for various reasons I had to give formula as well from birth, and I was terrified bsby would get nipple confusion, but he hasn't and I now know quite a few people who have successfully combination fed from birth or shortly after. I'm sure introducing a bottle can cause issues, but just don't want you to overly stress about it if you have to for some reason (my baby now only has one ff a day after initially being soley ff and that is only so I can have a break!)

I'm currently breastfeeding DD3. Things that may be useful to buy are 1 mam self sterilising bottle and a ready made milk just in case things don't work. I wouldn't bother with a pump just yet.
In reality most women can breastfeed, the beginning can be tough with potential sore nipples and cluster feeding which is why most choose to give up (which is fine personal choice). But what I mean is if you want to breastfeed in all likelihood you will be able to.
Lots of debate over when to introduce a bottle, many people I know recently have done at 3/4 weeks with mam bottles and had no rejection issues. An evening bottle is a good one for your DH to give as you need to be doing nights to keep supply up.
If you need help once baby is here ask your midwife, in my experience they are more than happy to give time to this issue.

@lionsmum It’s a bit of a guessing game really! All I can say is the more you do it, you learn how much to expect might come out, what time is best to express and how much the baby might want.

Depending on the time of day you express, your milk will be slightly different too. Sometimes its more watery or more fatty. It separates when you store it in fridge or freezer and it’s fascinating to see the difference!

You can’t go wrong really - if you are lucky to have an over supply, then storing spare milk in bags in the freezer is a great back up or for when you want to go out for the night or something. I used the MAM bags.

I had a huge DC who guzzled everything I could give them and I had to work hard to get my supply up - the best way to do that is just feed/pump/hand express as much as possible, and your body switches on the ‘make more milk’ switch!

I’m making it sound easy - it can be tricky figuring it out, but if you’re doing all this research before you start, you’ve got a great chance I reckon x

@Gerdticker thank you so much for your reply, really informative. Hoping we can develop combination feeding as I think it would work best for us but we will see how baby feeds first and see if we manage to establish BF first. I had a fairly good supply the last time so hoping for the same this time. It definitely sounds like we will be learning as we go along, just like everything else in motherhood I guess😅 thanks again!x

Kellymom. Read it, then read some more.

Learn what is normal. Cluster feeding, more feeding, feeding more. It is not give them 6oz and they sleep for 4 hours. Many of your friends and relatives, and many Hcp, have little or no experience of bf and may express concern if your baby feeds all the time. Which it will. The offers of formula will come thick and fast.

If your baby is weeing, pooing (bf babies poo liquid, entirely normal and not a sign bf is upsetting their stomach) screaming, moving, and napping he or she is getting enough milk. Sound sleep is a good sign.

I wouldn’t bother with expressing if you don’t need to. It’s a pita, expressing, sterilising, feeding, washing is far more time consuming than just feeding, and won’t be as beneficial for your supply.

Yes to amazon prime. Sit, feed, order anything you need and watch box sets.

Your partner, mum, mil don’t need to feed to help with the baby. If they do you’ll find yourself running around making them cups of tea while they get your rest time. You feed. They can help by nappy changing, rocking to sleep, taking for a walk, fetching you drinks and snacks.

One personal tip I found to avoid sore nipples is when you get a good latch leave them there. I sat for hours while she fed, dozed, fed, dozed etc. It was the latching on and off that hurt, so I didn’t. Don’t worry about routine to start, just feed as much as you can bear.

The hardest bit i found was everyone else telling me why bf wasn’t working. Feeding again? Maybe she isn’t getting enough, why not try formula? Give yourself a break. Right from the m/w in hospital. I learned to smile and nod and say no she’s fine, can you fetch me a cup of tea please?