Worth buying back-up bottlefeeding kit in case I can't breastfeed?

[JustJaneinLeeds]

Morning lovelies,

We're over the moon to be expecting boy-girl twins in the not too distant future (following pregnancy losses, infertility and IVF). 28 weeks tomorrow and birth currently planned for 37 weeks, but it's possible that we'll deliver much sooner as little boy's placenta doesn't seem to be supporting him. Trying to stay calm and positive, and make sure we have things in place as much as possible.

I'm hoping to be able to breastfeed, but both of my friends who've had twins haven't been able to produce enough milk to breastfeed exclusively and have needed to supplement with formula. Is it worth our buying a bottle feeding 'starter kit' in case this is the case for us? If so, what should we buy? It's so overwhelming and we don't want to spend loads of money unnecessarily, especially with two babies on their way.

As there's a good chance our babies will come early, it's quite likely that one or both will need to spend a little longer in hospital. I don't want to be sending husband round shops in a panic - hoping that by planning ahead we can make things easier on ourselves.

Thanks in advance for any advice xxx

I didn't have twins but bought the started kits for bottle feeding each time (3 children). They are all pre-made with sterilised teats, and are ready to go. They are small and can fit in your hospital bag no problem. I used them as I felt necessary but also breastfed them all too. It took the pressure off me.

I wouldn't invest in the whole shebang right now until you see how you all get on, but the starter kits are definitely useful to have I'm those early days/weeks when it's all a bit stressful and new for everyone.

I’m also 28 weeks tomorrow!

I breastfed my first but I bought these as a back up just in case.

https://www.boots.com/aptamil-1-first-milk-starter-pack-ready-to-feed-6x70ml-10175040

I figured if we needed to formula feed, my husband could quickly head to the shops / Amazon to order what we need, and that pack will keep us going until then.

I’m very pro breastfeeding - fed my toddler until he was more than two. But you will have twins and twins are hard work, so in your circumstances, I would definitely have that starter pack to hand just in case.

I know my DIL did and was pleased, my thoughts go with —- better to have and not need, than need and not have.

congratulations by the way 💐

I don't live in the UK but here in Ireland they gave me everything I needed in the hospital. My baby was in neonatal so breastfeeding was delayed and then I needed to supplement with formula. They had the little bottles of Aptimal with the teats and gave me a good supply of them going home. I didn't need them in the end because I was exclusively breastfeeding after the first couple days but I definitely got enough to stop me needing to rush to the shops in the first 2 days after discharge.

Maybe someone can confirm if hospitals provide formula there? It might save you buying something you might not need.

Absolutely get a back up. Better now just in case, rather than when you're both knackered! Congratulations! Of course you won't get knackered, what am I saying? 🤔🤣

In England hospitals will only provide formula in an emergency.

Exclusively breast fed both babies but I still had a bottle available. It was useful for giving expressed milk on the odd occasion when I left them with dad for an afternoon.

I exclusively breastfed for a year and bought a few glass milk bottles before birth and I'm still using them now (baby is 18 months). Even if you want to breastfeed exclusively you're probably going to need bottles to pump into, so you can go out etc, or let Dad do some feeds. My baby has cows milk now before bed still, and we use the same bottles I bought at the start.

Would recommend not getting a big tub of formula though as they don't work for occasional use and you have to throw them away after they've been open for a little bit. We got a couple of pre made little formulas as a backup. And actually we did end up using them as I was at a hospital appointment and the baby's Dad knocked over my pumped breast milk! So the formula was a great back up in that instance.

I would suggest getting a starter set - just in case. Get pre-made, not powder.

As to actual bottles - I really recommend the Mam bottles. You can sterlise them in the microwave which makes life so much easier.

I sent dh to a 24 hour supermarket in the middle of night 3 as we didn't buy any bottle feeding stuff because people said to me "If you have it, you'll cave", like i was some sort of addict and couldn't keep booze jn the house.

Just get it. Its likely with twins you'll benefit from someone feeding twin1 while you feed twin2 if there's someone else around.

I'd advise getting a few bottles, milk etc as if you were really struggling to breastfeed on say a Sunday night and there was nowhere to get what you need at least you've got an initial supply.

I'd bring some of the ready to feed bottles to bring to hospital just in case. I was so determined to breastfeed but didn't manage with either (did combined feeding with one and exclusive pumping with the other). I wish I'd been more relaxed about it as it caused so much unnecessary stress in hindsight.

Congrats!

I would definitely get the feeding bits ready. So you can supplement the breast with the bottle.

I have combo fed both my babies successfully (age nearly 3 and 2-months) - as I don't make much milk.

We use Dr Brown and haven't had a problem with nipple confusion. They also do a preemie bottle size, which I use on the very early days and may be useful for you if your babies come early.

From my understanding, exclusively breastfeeding twins is difficult, friends who had twins have all combo fed. Especially if they come early, and before your milk properly comes in.

I would also suggest a breast pump so you can express breast milk and also boost your supply. I use Bella Baby, which is cheap and available on Amazon but works very well.

Wishing you every happiness with your new little ones!

Maybe the starter set. But don't get everything to do with bottle feeding. I planned to combi-feed and got the steriliser, the tommee tippee perfect prep, bottles etc. Ended up not using any of it as my daughter refused the bottle!

You could maybe add to your basket on Amazon the things you might need if you can't breastfeed. Then can quickly order them if you need the things soon after birth.

I bought nothing so I wouldn't have anything to fall back on in case it was hard - I didn't want to make it easy for myself to give up - breast fed DS for 18mo and DD for the same amount of time but she isn't weaned yet.

Yes do.
I drove 45 minutes to drop of FF kit to SIL at 10pm leaving my own 2 month old baby at home with DH when she got desperate.
You can buy little bottles with a teat on all ready to go, some hospitals provide them

I breastfed my first for 22 months, and my second is still feeding now at 14 months. I took the premade kits linked above with both, for my first he needed a formula top up via syringe for the first 2 days and then didn’t look back. My second I gave one feed of formula per day as I wanted to mix feed. So having it as a back up doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t breastfeed.

In terms of choosing formula brand, take a look at what is available in your local shop so you know you can get it last minute if you run out. I prefer brands that offer the pre made as well.

In terms of choosing a bottle, don’t buy loads of one type in case baby doesn’t get on with it. Think about what kind of steriliser you’d like/would work for you. I used a micro leave one as I only needed it once per day and didn’t have a lot of counter space. I had the tommee tippee one and the bottles and a Fraupow hands free pump for expressing. Research what you’d like now and save in your Amazon basket so you can order quickly if needed.

I'm a mum of 4 year old twins. My girls were born at 33 weeks and spent 3 weeks in NICU/SCBU. I would absolutely have a back up. I expressed for 3 weeks in the hospital (with their industrial strength pumps 😀) and it worked well whilst I was there, they were given my breast milk in NG Tubes. But as I was getting ready to come home I realised that I just couldn't do it (one of my DT's was just 4lbs when she came home, and she had been given Prem Baby Milk to build her up). Having twins is amazing, I absolutely love it, but please don't try to be a hero here. If you can breast feed them both then that is absolutely amazing, but please don't put too much pressure on yourself. Speaking as someone who knows (as you will see from my username I also went through 5 rounds of IVF to get my girls) you do what works for everyone.

I honestly could not have coped without my DH who got up with me every single night for every single feed even if he had to work the next day.

Good luck with the rest of your pregnancy, and please do not hesitate to message me if you want to know anything else xxx

In case you haven't yet found it, there's a super group on Facebook. Breastfeeding twins and triplets Uk. So much amazing support and advice which is essential imo. I fed my twins until 21 months plus, so it's definitely possible.

Successful breast feeder here. Main tip is feed the babies asap after birth. Fantastic for the hormones. Bonding, your supply etc. keep them on you naked for as long as possible but at least a few hours to not miss any feeding cues. I'd personally get 1 back up pack in, but try not to use it. Try not to pump either for first 8 weeks. Follow olivalactationconsultant on ig, who can explain this much better than I ever could. I ended up donating my back up pack to a food bank. Now I use formula when I have a baby sitter as I despise pumping (only pump when necessary ie I have a long stretch away from baby, manual pumps are great) and I find it messes my supply (increases it too much)

Think a starter kit is a great idea, for your mental health if nothing else. With my first I took nothing, hadn't researched bottle feeding at all, but he was taken to neonatal and we never managed to establish breastfeeding. On top of all the guilt, I felt absolutely bewildered by the bottles, sterilising, powder etc .

This time I had the premade (with teat) starter pack in my bag, so that I wouldn't panic. I didn't need them in hospital but for the first few days, husband would give the baby one in evening so I could get a bit more sleep. The midwives don't seem to advise this, for supply reasons, but it didn't seem to affect my supply and hugely helped my mental health. Almost exclusively breastfed from then, so don't let anyone scare you about using a bottle if you need to- breastfeeding definitely doesn't need to be all or nothing. I know I would have given up very early on if I didn't have that respite at the start

I bf two DC and would recommend buying a simple hand pump and a bottle or two. I had a few instances where baby didn't drain one of my breasts properly, then it became engorged and baby didn't manage to latch properly. Hand expressing never worked for me, so I just used the pump before I risked mastitis. Also useful for the occupational bottle feed so you can sleep or leave the house

Thanks so much everyone - loads of really good advice here. I'm definitely going to buy a couple of starter kits for bottle feeding to have as a back-up. I'll also do some more research and add everything I'd need for the longer term to my Amazon basket so we can order quickly if needed. Really appreciate all the responses 🌻

Definitely buy it, why not? With twins especially it seems likely you'll need formula top up and also so your partner can do some feeds. It's not failure - fed is best.

Many congrats OP, yes I would definitely buy a kit. I breastfed both of my two DS’ (not twins) but if I was tired/sore or felt like I didn’t have much milk, or needed to go out (met work colleagues for lunch, no way was I going to breastfeed 😂 . dad/MIL could give them a bottle, didn’t make one bit of difference, both of my two still were happy to feed from either.