Formula Feeding advice

[Crazyone84]

First timer here, I had a double mastectomy 2 years ago so breast feeding is out the question.

Can anyone give me any advice and/or tips when purely formula feeding? what do I need to take to hospital and in what format? what supplies should I get in ready for the first few days/week? How many bottles to rotate? how do night feeds work?

We have brought a tommy tippee machine and have a sterilizer etc. I know very little, if no one who has formula feed 100% from day 1 so hard to get accurate advice.

Also been looking into formula and have read on a lot of places they are all pretty much the same bar the special diet ones. I am interested in your options of aldi formula? for the price and feeding from day one it's going to be costly so trying to be as economical as possible

A bit like medicine, formula is regulated and legally they have to all have a certain level of nutrition in them, if Aldi is the cheapest go with that and hope your baby agrees with it!

Same as you. Double mastectomy so FF from birth twice.

Can recommend the tiny bottles with disposable teats for hospital. (They're called starter packs or something cow&gate and aptamil definitely do them). I bought 1 box (9 little bottles) for hospital but wasn't in for long (like 4 hours total) so that was plenty.

After that we went with the perfect prep, but that makes minimum 4oz and DS1 was very pukey so never really had a feed that big, so we actually mostly used ready-made formula in the big bottles. It's WAY more expensive but seemed easier on his digestion. There's a lot of wastage in the early days, as you need to chuck a feed after 2 hours, so just brace yourself for that.

One of ours would drink fridge-cold, one would only take it warm.

I liked NUK bottles.

Don't believe anyone who tells you that FF babies sleep better!

We used aptamil but changed to cow and gate as it was cheaper. Only problem with using. Aldi formula is you can only get it in Aldi whereas cow and gate you can get anywhere.

Boots sell starter packs they are tiny sterilised bottles wit separate teets. We bought a couple of packs for the hospital and I think the hospital shop sold them as well. The tommee tippee machine is amazing

You're best to ask your local midwifes about what you will need in hospital. With my first I used cow and gate formula and the hospital already had bottles of this so I didn't need to take anything with me. I'm now expecting my second (39+5) and double checked with midwife if my hospital will supply bottles still (due to Covid I thought it may be different) and she said my hospital still supplies them and not to take my own formula as it's expensive!

To start with I was using the tommee tippee machine too although this did create a lot of waste as the lowest amount you can make is 4oz, on one of my home visits after giving birth the midwife reccomended I use a flask of hot water and a bottle with sterile water in (water that has been boiled once and then cooled down), and then a bit like the tommee tippee machine make the milk. So eg. To make a 2 oz bottle of formula, put 1oz of hot water in bottle, 2 scoops of formula, lid on, give it a shake (same as the tommee tippee machine in regards to the 'hot shot' to kill bacteria) and then add 1oz of the cold water to bring it to a reasonable temp.
In the night I'd just fill the flask up before bed and then half way through the night go and redo it! This was only whilst my DS was on smaller feeds! After that I used the machine and it was a god send!

Hope this helps a little, sorry for being long 😬☺️

Great tip on the starter packs, didn't even know these existed. Also as suggested I will definitely speak to my midwife and ask what they have and don't have there.

I use Aldi formula. They dont do ready made but when looking at the ingredients it was nearly identical to Aptamil so i took ready made Aptamil to hospital.
My hospital had little single use bottles and teats so just took the small bottles of ready made.

When i got home i swapped to Aldi powder formula using the Tommee Tippee machine. The machine is so useful! I had it set up in my bedroom so i didn't have to go downstairs in the night.

In terms of how many bottles I had 6 per baby (i have twins) and would end up washing and sterilising once in the morning and once in the evening.

Making up the feed - i bought milk powder pots so i could measure the scoops out so its easy as possible when ready to make the feed.

Feeds when out - as Aldi dont do ready made formula it means taking flasks of water, bottles and formula out.
Bottles are ok for 2hrs so if you know baby will have the feed within that time I take the bottle made up in the insulated part of my change bag.

Alternatively you would take - empty bottle, flask of boiled water, flask of cooled water and the formula measured in milk powder pots.
I then put the formula into the bottle add around 30ml of hot water and then top up with the cooled water.

It seems like a minefield but honestly once you do it once you are fine.

There is a great documentary on all 4 about formula and the marketing around it. Basically they are all the same and follow on milk / special milks are just advertising

That said, just like us babies like some formula better than others. I'd suggest starting with the cheapest and work up the price points if you have to.

Starter packs are a great idea and I'd recommend taking your own regardless what the hospital says. Will just make it easier.

It's important to understand that the powder has bacteria in it and so needs the boiling water to kill that bacteria. It's a pain when you have to make up bottles but that is why they tell you to do what they do.

Breastmilk storage bags are great for taking pre measured formula powder out and about. They are sterile and pack flat.

I’d definitely take the ready made bottles for hospital. DS was put on them in SCBU- they’re very handy! I also used them for going out an about in the first couple of weeks, when I was still finding my feet. They are much more expensive per feed than powder though, so probably not for long term use! You can also get cartons of it ready made up for taking out with you.

Formula fed from day 1.

Only ever used pre-made Aptamil milk. Yes it was more expensive but I would do the same again as god it made life so easy. I'd take lots of the little bottles up with me at night so I wouldn't have to leave my bed to feed.

If that isn't an option, get a prep machine/microwave/mini fridge upstairs. It sounds ridiculous but then you avoid having to go downstairs in the middle of the night

We had between 10-12 bottles which meant I only had to do one load of sterilising a day. Baby refused all bottles other than Dr Browns so definitely don't waste money only lots of bottles beforehand as they might get wasted

But honestly, the best advice I can give you is to 'mentally' prepare for breastfeeding advice being spouted from every direction in hospital. It won't be the same everywhere, but even when I'd made it absolutely clear I was breastfeeding, I was still pressurised.

What was the feeding sizes? and how did it increase for you over time? how do you know when to increase? and do you feed 2oz 4 times or 4oz 2 times??? I'm boggled with it all!!!!

The first day it is minimal like 35ml and by day 5 they were on around 70ml.
Every baby is different though my girls have always taken big bottles whereas my friends little one only take a few oz each feed.

If they are draining the bottle at the feed then increase by an 1oz. My MW said better that they leave a little in than have to make more.
It is a bit trial and error to begin with and some days they will be having a growth spurt and take more than other days. I was just led by the babies.

It seems like a mine field but you will quickly pick up how much your baby needs how often.
I liked the tommee tippee bottles and obviously you’ll need a steriliser. Make sure you have small bottles to start with and the 0+ teats.
I think most formulas are supposed to be the same, but not all may work for your baby or for you. I tried SMA first and it absolutely stank so changed to aptamil.
Don’t buy a perfect prep machine, they’ve had loads of issues with not being able to be cleaned properly, it’s the first thing SIL (who’s a midwife) told me not to buy.

Definitely get a starter pack for the hospital. And also plenty of bibs and/or muslins as babies are often quite sicky.

We switched to the Aldi one when my dd was about 3 months and she turned out ok on it and I'll be using it again this time round. We used either cow and gate or Aptimal
Cartons for when out and about and both of these also seemed fine. She did prefer the cartons warmed up though so I'd take a flask of hot water with me and a plastic jug/tub to use for heating purposes. Oh abs the tiny aptimal pre sterilised already made up bottles will be good to pack in your hospital bag xx

@ScarMatty hopefully given OP's medical history she won't get that.

OP, my friend had a single mastectomy due to breast cancer. Every HCP she came into contact with just assumed she wasn't going to breastfeed. She was never told breast is best by any professional or in hospital. She was actual able to breastfeed but had zero pressure to even try

@Twizbe

I would hope so, but equally I would rather someone had told me to be prepared for the pressure.

I was so very shocked that even after explaining 50 times that I wasn't going to breastfeed, it was still trying to be forced upon me even though I wasn't physically capable.

I went it, rather naively maybe, thinking that my preference would be immediately respected but it wasn't and wish I had been warned that might happen

@Crazyone84

What was the feeding sizes? and how did it increase for you over time? how do you know when to increase? and do you feed 2oz 4 times or 4oz 2 times??? I'm boggled with it all!!!!

Totally trial and error and baby dependent. I would advice not to read the side of the tin and look at the recommended amount because every baby is so very different.

Just pop some in a bottle. If baby drinks it all, they need more. If they don't, probably a little less.

You'll learn over time and they'll let you know when they're hungry

The only thing I'd say with Aldi is if you run out you can't just pick it up from the nearest corner shop in an emergency. And from what I recall they don't do the premade cartons which are really handy if your going out for the day etc. Based on that we chose Cow & Gate because our corner shop stocked it and they do the premade stuff to which we had in for trips out and 'just in case' moments.

The hospital I was in didn't provide formula. Obviously they had them if you were bf and struggling. Again ready made ones while your in and get some screw on teats. If your in for a bit my hospital let you wash them in the kitchen and gave you a bucket with milton to sterilise.

As for bottles we were lucky DD got to grips with the tommee tippee ones from.the get go. We got the anti colic ones after previous DD had aweful reflux / colic for the first 12 months. They are a faff to clean but (and may be a coincidence) no colic. We got 6 bottles and just washed and sterilised at the end of the day ready for the next. It was enough for us.

Tommee tippee machine youve got. It is an absolute god send!

Another double mx here, so FF DD2 from birth. Took 2 six packs of the ready made stuff with teats on to hospital. As it was my second child they let me go super quick (2 1/2 hours post birth) so we were home with the perfect prep. It’s a godsend. One up in bedroom and one in kitchen and electric Avent steriliser.

Started on SMA but it made her way too constipated so switched to Aptimel and she was fine. So you may find one make is better for baby. DD1 was fine on SMA, albeit from 6 months, not birth.

The ready made stuff and the pre-teated stuff is ounce for ounce a lot more expensive than the powder so once we were home we just went with 4oz bottles and she drank what she wanted.

I did laugh when the hv asked me how breastfeeding was going. It was August, I was in a vest top, have had no reconstruction so completely flat. No sign of huge 3 day past delivery milk swollen breasts!!!!!!!

My lo was formula fed because I didn't produce any milk whatsoever. After some trial and error we used goats milk ( nanny care) personally I found it worked wonders for him. It dramatically reduced reflux, it cleared up eczema, he loves the taste and it is more easily digestible than cow's milk. it's not for everyone of course but I wish I'd found it sooner !

Mine was pretty much FF from birth and you get into a rhythm with washing & sterilising pretty quickly - I do recommend a good pair of marigolds and plenty of hand cream though. We fed DD on demand and sometimes that was as often as every 1.5 hours, she was a milk monster. Didn't translate to terribly good sleep though.

We used C&G mostly as the ready made bottles were handy for out & about and it was stocked in all the nearby shops. I'd also recommend making sure you've got a spare filter for the prep machine as they always go when you've forgotten to order one!