November 2023 babies - Thread 5

[Shaker21]

I couldn't find a new thread open as the old is now full.

Got a few of the usernames to tag, definitely missed people but hopefully they find the thread :)

@spareincoming @Pinkplantcase @leeanneD11 @LilmissCa @FlyingHighFlyingLow @Psqueak87 @spanglesj @BabyBabyBaby123 @Houseonthehills @GreenAventurine @reememberly @Cegbee @DollyGx @38andtrying @JD90 @travellingislife @mldn @sb86 @TMI2000

I'm thinking the same. I'm so nervous to breastfeed as my last 2 babies didn't latch in due to tongue tie and lactose intolerant too , but would love to with this one if he isn't tongue tie or lactose intolerance too . But I will be getting formula just in case . I'm like that where do I start lol x

My intentions are to breastfeed but I have bought 2 bottles of pre-made formula just in case we need it for whatever reason especially for an emergency night feed! I remember from my old job, by law stage 1 formula must contain a certain amount of standard ingredients/components. So I would say go for whatever you can afford or your personal preference as they will all contain what your baby needs. X

I am feeling all a bit lost in my mind with feeding....I started off always saying I would do formula, then found out a lot more about breast feeding so changed my mind on it but now also want baby use to bottles from the get go so that either other people can feed, my husband can feed him, when I go back to work I don't then struggle getting him to drink from a bottle and not the boob...in my mind there is pros and cons to breast feeding and it does make me feel better knowing they are maybe getting more in one go from a formula bottle/you know how much they've had and when they last fed properly and it is slightly confusing me and with then needing to pump whenever he is having a bottle of either formula or bottle of breast milk to keep supply up....

It is just baffling me to be honest and not then sure what to do for the best :/

@Shaker21 I totally agree with how overwhelming it is.

Ideally I would like to breast feed, and introduce one bottle of formula as early as I can so that husband can help. And then gradually increase the bottles. However every baby is different and this might not work for us!

I would like the benefits of breast feeding in the early days but also selfishly would like my body back, and know if I want to go out I don't have to make sure there is a huge supply available!

I would say maybe speak to the breast feeding nurses but to be honest I feel like they would be totally bias so probably not much help! Maybe prepare for both and see how you feel at the time

@Shaker21 also pretty overwhelmed and same situation as you. I always planned to formula feed, but the more research I’ve done I’m deffo now planning to breast feed.

I would like husband to help as he is taking the first few months off with me. But I don’t want to pre buy a pump because they are non returnable, and what if I can’t / don’t produce enough?

then you have the issue of WHAT pump? I like the idea of being able to move around, so wireless would be nice, but I’ve heard they are no where near as good as the plug ins.

my plan right now is to try to breast feed straight from hospital, see how that goes for the first week or so, and if all goes well buy the pump in that first week.

@Oreopie Yeah I am exactly the same and is not selfish to want your body back, after 9 months of pregnancy and going through the labour, I definitely would love my body back for me. Also the same with feeling like I can't leave the baby because of needing to feed him or making sure I have enough supply if I plan on going out and timing then pumping if I am out to coincide with when he may feed to keep supply up.....it hurts my head slightly! lol!

@Psqueak87 Yeah also the same with not wanting to get a pump yet because otherwise it is money that I don't need to spend if for some reason baby doesn't latch or it doesn't work out how I thought. So I am planning on doing the same where I try the breast feeding at the hospital and see how it goes. It is such a learning curve and is the one thing I am finding hard to get my head round a bit.

@Shaker21 it’s perfectly possible to breastfeed and still get baby used to a bottle! I went back to work at 6 months last time so baby needed to be able to take one.

We introduced it at around 6 weeks after breastfeeding was established. DH would give him a small amount of breastmilk in a bottle every other day not to replace a feed but to get him used to it. Never had any issues.

He had expressed milk in bottles at nursery between 6 and 12 months, DH would also use milk I’d pumped at work to also feed DS during the night, later on DH would give him
cows milk. We still breastfed until he was 2! Only stopped in June this year.

Wow that is some going @PinkPlantCase Well done!! So it was enough just to give a small amount in a bottle every now and then and not needing to pump at the same time and that would still be ok for your supply of milk? Do you mind me asking what breast pump you had please? You was able to express while at work?

I used a Haakaa silicone pump to occasionally catch extra milk if we knew we wanted to give him some in a bottle. That was early on.

I think because we weren’t replacing feeds and it was past the 6 week mark it didn’t really impact on my supply. It helped that DS always really liked milk 😂 If you replace full feeds especially at night it’s more likely to have an impact on your supply.

When I went back to work I had a Lansinoh double electric pump. It plugs into the mains but you can also run it off batteries. I had Lansinoh bottles too so could screw then directly into the pump and put the bottle lid on straight away.

There was a meeting room with a lock that I used at work and just took my laptop with me. There were a few times that I pumped in the car if I’d had meeting out and about. Work never really questioned it really, I just said before I went back that it was something I planned to do and they said that’s fine x room has been used for this before. I was also lucky that the meeting room had a door onto the kitchen too!

I would absolutely recommend NOT buying a breast pump til baby arrives and you know what you're likely to be doing feeding-wise... I BF my now 20month old son til he was 17ish months and he point blank refused a bottle the entire time. So right at the beginning when I used to use my snazzy electric pump to build a freezer stash, I just messed up my milk supply for absolutely no reason, the milk all went in the bin. I'd suggest see how you get on feeding (to see if it's something you are able to do longer term) and buy a cheap hakka (I swore by the nuby equivalent) for the early days when you need to take the edge off. If baby takes to a bottle and you want to feed longer term, then invest in a decent pump.

Hope everyone is doing okay! These weeks are flying by xx

I’ll be formula feeding this time round due to medications I'm on, so have got some cow and gate starter packs ready; but previously I’ve pumped and bottle fed from quite early on; from maybe 4 weeks last time.

MAM bottles worked for us, plus a lansinoh mains pump, none of these rechargeable things for me! I wholeheartedly recommend the lansinoh boob specific ice packs for any inflammation etc too!

I agree with @Rebs23 apart from maybe buying a Haakaa don’t get an expensive pump before baby is here. I didn’t buy any of mine before baby was born.

I plan on breastfeeding, but this link about the different formulas was shared in a breastfeeding group I’m in: https://www.firststepsnutrition.org/parents-carers

@Rebs2 before I read your message I had literally just ordered the spectra 1 pump. I heard great reviews and it was able to be plug in and wireless. They don’t sell it in Canada so had to order from the US! I saw your msg just in time and cancelled it! I’ll buy the Hakka for now and if all goes well I’ll buy the pump after baby is here! Thank you!

Bless you, glad you were able to cancel! I only speak from bitter experience, I bought a lansinoh double way before my son was born and it's barely been used. Hopefully it'll get some use this time - I need this baby to take a bottle lol I can't see me being able to feed for long with a toddler in tow!

Did anyone buy / use the owlet sock or similar? Not sure if the price tag is justified…

@Oreopie i will be formula feeding as I have done with my sons and I’ve always got a tub in about four weeks before my due date so it’s ready to hand for when I come home with baby.

I use cow and gate just because that’s what those close to me have used for their kids so I was familiar with the brand. I think because the UK regulations are so strict (assuming your in the UK that is), all baby formula contains the same ingredients and is made the same way, so there’s no real difference between brands. I’d just choose one and then let baby decide how they get on with it, as there’s no way of knowing until they try.

I think in terms of pumping, I was told unless you can help it don't pump until supply is established and settled, so after 6 weeks earliest. There's so much varying advice though, it's hard. The main thing is if you want to successfully BF, early on any feeds with formula, need to be pumping at the same time otherwise your supply will go down, the baby will feed more frequently when it's having a growth spurt to get your supply up and anything that messes with that feedback loop will lead to reduced supply. I did use the Hakkaa because I had a fierce let down and all the milk going into my breast pad was depressing (and wet!). My first baby also didn't take a bottle either but I still pumped to get a bit of a freezer stash before I went back to work at 6 months and you can also feed them from a cup surprisingly early, which we had to do in desperation. I also used BM in baby porridge and to make other food when I started weaning so it still got used. I do know my sister was never able to pump though but then she didn't really have a reason to persist. Not getting any formula this time, will just get some if I need it, hoping not to. I will try harder to get this baby to take a bottle though, that was stressful!

In case it's helpful to anyone, I breastfed in this first hour/day. He then needed topping up with formula as he was tongue tie. I pumped in hospital using their pumps. Sure it helped bring my milk in. Fed him that whilst still persevering on the breast and topping up with formula for about 4 days. Then my mid wife suggested if I wanted to breastfeed, lose the formula - just stop it, no weaning. I went on to BF fun til 18 mths. One thing I was told and experienced was if you accept the topping up with formula the hospital will take that as a green light to send you home. I really had to dig my heels in to say I wanted to establish the BFing in hospital whilst I had the support around me.

I'm also exclusively formula feeding and will be buying the ready made bottles with teats. I think I'm going with Kendamil. I think it is cheaper than the others ... And I like the branding 🙃

I used a naturebond passive pump (basically a haakaa but different brand, comes with a handy neck strap) at home and also the medela collection shells when out and about- you just pop them in your bra and they’re mega discreet.

As a backup I also bought the Aptamil stage 1 mini bottles- these are tiny little ready made formula bottles with a disposable teat, so you don’t have to worry about having a sterile bottle with you. I got a pack just in case we had any issues- with DS1 I ended up using a few when he was a couple of days old as we hadn’t really found our latch mojo and my poor nipples were in agony. They’re also great if you’re on the go and need to feed them say, in the car or on the bus, when trying to BF isn’t really feasible. But otherwise they were both happy to BF, and initially we would give them a bottle of collected breast milk maybe once a week just to get them used to it. Neither had any problems transitioning to bottle feeds further down the line.

@WriMum22 how are you planning to make up the bottles especially for night time feeds?

I've got a second hand tommee tippee prep for daytime feeds but now I'm getting doubts due to what was in the news a few years ago, I'm going to ask DH to open it up.

We are two floors up from the kitchen so really don't fancy going down to make a bottle. I'm thinking hot water flask and cold water flask and basically doing what the prep does ... I did consider getting the night time tomme tippee prep ... But I think I might wait till baby is here and see how I get on...

Any advice from you and others much appreciated as I'm new to formula feeding!

@Psqueak87 never did and tbh would never consider it either, especially as the price tag is crazy and nor is it comfortable for baby.

@JoyApple My oldest son is 12 so when he was little the the prep machines etc. weren’t around, plus I was 21 years old so had no clue what I should do, my Mum told me to bring the kettle upstairs, so I’d make the bottles in the bedroom but then have the agonising wait whilst it cooled down in a bowl of water with an unsettle baby at 2 in the morning - I would definitely not recommend that way of doing it 🙈

My youngest is four, and I had the prep machine for day time feeds, so at night we would use the flasks, they were an absolute lifesaver, it was so quick. Sometimes if hubby woke a little, he’d run downstairs and make one on the prep machine, but we mostly used the flasks. I think if I were three flights up, I’d either use flasks or bring the prep machine up.

In regard to the prep machine, try not to worry about what you read. I literally swore by it for my four year old, from the moment we came home when he was about two days old. He’s perfectly fine and healthy and we had no issues. My friends have swore by it too. It’s been one of my first purchases this time, and I bought the newer model we used it that much last time.

@JoyApple please don’t worry about the perfect prep machine too much, we have one - it was very new when we got it but the black mould stories emerged very quickly; you just need to white vinegar flush it frequently. I used to do ours once a month and ours has been in bits a few times, no mould. I don’t know anyone who has encountered mould and I know a lot of people who have had one!
Last DC woke up one day and decided formula was best and never had anything else ever again, which was frustrating as I’d a good supply going and a lot frozen. Fortunately we had emergency formula in!

With regards to night feeds; we take our perfect prep upstairs! It lives on a tray and we put sellotape over the speaker holes on the back to quieten it down as it’s loud in the wee hours! I’d not buy a second one in all honesty. And there’s not much difference between the original and the night.

I am jealous you’re able to use Kendamil, there’s no local source of it here and we live quite rurally and deliveries often go awry so I’d have to be stockpiling. Not ideal.
I’d really like to use it as friends of ours are one of the contributing farms!