💙🩷From Bumps 2 Babies & Beyond!🤰👶🍼🤱🤱

[MummyTo4BoysXXXX]

following on from the Due February 2024 thread 7.. now this shall be thread 8! For us all to continue our pregnancy&postpartum journey together 😊

I have also been wondering about teething. Ted has been really dribbly the last 2 weeks and eating his fists too.. i did think to myself it’s too early but my mum randomly commented a few days ago about seeing where his teeth are! He is 11 weeks tomorrow…

@DmcinT @CharXo

My DD has been "teething" since 8 weeks. She's not cutting a tooth, but they are there in her gums, it is her two front top teeth mainly, you can see them, we've had her eating her fists, a rash on her cheek and stuffy nose. They can do this for a while before a tooth with cut through, and usually it is the bottom teeth first and they help the top teeth come through. I can't find any teething gel that is suitable until she is 3 months so we've got 2 more weeks of it before I can give her some relief 🥺. We have bought a teething mit which she's used a few times it's just a nightmare to keep sterilised

@Newmumma0 congrats on your little girl, I'm similar in that I don't comment much but like to read the threads.
I can't really comment much on how to stop BF because it really didn't work out for me on either of my girls. With my first I felt guilty at the time for not trying harder but honestly it was what was best for me at the time and my little girl got on perfectly well on formula. This time I tried again but it wasn't to be, I probably could have gotten it to work but it really wasn't something that I found comfortable. I don't think anybody should feel bad for not wanting to BF, if it's something you enjoy then that's fantastic but if not then the best thing for baby is a happy, healthy mother. Your baby will be absolutely fine on formula so if that's the right decision for you then please don't hesitate to make it. I also totally understand about wanting your body back, 9 months is such a long time for us to dedicate to baby so I don't think it's selfish at all to want to regain some sort of bodily autonomy.

If you google “infant feeding clinic” and your town they’ll be able to give you some great advice on stopping breastfeeding. Don’t feel bad at all, you’ve already done amazingly and they’ve had breast milk benefits for the most important part of their life / development.

Yes, but depends what you want out of it. The paid version is really about sleep, I really like it as cues for nap times. Trying to build up to 12 hour sleeps.

@Newmumma0 i can’t really comment as I’m a first time mum but I just wanted to second what has been said above - there’s nothing wrong with feeding with formula sometimes that is what is best for you and baby. You are not selfish for wanting your body back. I honestly did not expect the huge toll pregnancy took on my body let alone breastfeeding - I felt like I lost an entire year because I spent most of it sick and unable to do things I loved. Honestly if a midwife hadn’t suggested nipple shields to me I might have given up BF already and I haven’t had to deal with tongue tie or low supply - so know that you are amazing for making your tiny human and for having breastfed for so long and that you’ll still be an amazing mum once you stop BF and switch to formula.

@Newmumma0 if it makes you feel any better, I didn't even attempt to breastfeed, I knew it wasn't what I wanted to do from even before I was pregnant.

Throughout the pregnancy I was only greeted by a pushy midwife once about it, and that was at my 12 week scan! Which really annoyed me, we had had 3 losses previously and completely was not in the headspace at that point to being lectured about feeding when all we wanted was for everything to be okay.

Anyway, I digress, I take my hat off to anyone even attempting breastfeeding. Being a FTM and now knowing how hard and difficult those first few weeks are for new parents I couldn't even imagine throwing breastfeeding into the mix. My partner has been able to help from the start, splitting those night shifts between us was the only thing that kept us functioning. I also believe she sleeps better being formula fed, from what I have read anyway, she's slept through from 6 weeks. We've never had any concerns about her weight, she is a lovely happy healthy little girl who seems to be thriving and showing us something new every day.

This may be an unpopular opinion, but I genuinely believe that breast feeding probably has the most impact on cases of PND. The pressure and stress on women, not to mention the complete lack of sleep it causes, you can't be your own person, can't have any time out just for you, and after 9 months of pregnancy it is needed. I'm feeling more myself everyday and I can't even think about how different I'd feel if I was breastfeeding, I feel that you would completely lose your identity. Obviously a lot of people think and feel differently to me but that is my opinion.

But just to say, please don't pressure yourself to breastfeed, the happier you are the happier your baby will be and babies thrive just as well on formula. Do what is best for you.

@Havanalily1806 actually research shows breastfeeding significantly reduces instances of PND - the hormones related to breastfeeding are a natural 'next step' following pregnancy and protect against mental health issues.

If course that's just across a population, and absolutely for some mums the feeding journey isn't easy at all and those mum's benefit from stopping breastfeeding if they've had enough. And some people (perhaps it sounds like yourself) know in advance that they're just one of those people who wouldn't benefit mentally from breastfeeding and that's great. It's all about making the right choice for you and not feeling guilty for doing that, because it's up to you to decide.

@Newmumma0 if you're done, that's totally fine. But it sounds like you're worried about regretting stopping. Could you switch baby to formula only, but pump breast milk in the meantime while you settle into a new routine? That way you will keep your supply and you can have the option to change your mind. If once baby is settled in formula you don't miss the feeding at all then you can stop pumping.

@redxlondon it would just be for sleep really, I'm trying to get a bedtime as at the moment it can be anything from 8pm-12am 🙈 when he settles for the night

Hi @Newmumma0
I intended to breastfeed but circumstances/challenges meant it didn't work out for us. Baby is thriving on formula and it really has acted like a medicine to keep him fed.
It took me a few weeks to fully accept that my short BF journey had ended, and I experienced an unexpected, strange sense of grief to pack away the pumping equipment that I'd attempted to use.
I'm sharing that just in case you encounter similar feelings.
Whatever you decide, it sounds like you are doing a great job.

I would rather not express, when baby was found to have the tongue tie at 2 weeks the IFSW gave me an NHS breast pump to use which I had for around a month. I never seemed to get very much even though I was pumping around 6 times day and night, and when she started gaviscon for reflux I felt like all I was doing with my days (and nights) was feeding between BF, pumping, formula top ups and then remembering to give her gaviscon with feeds and it really started to affect my mental health so I stopped expressing and now I only have a manual pump for times to relieve engorgement if I’ve gone a while without feeding. I have absolutely no problem with formula feeding, in fact I love how content and satisfied she is after a bottle and realistically I’m happy how long I’ve lasted with BF and I do want to stop but I just keep getting emotional over it, like I’ll no longer have this special bond with her which I know is stupid as it’ll still be there just without my boob in her mouth😂I think I may just be over thinking things now!

This!!! You’ve described exactly in regards to the sense of grief, I never expected to feel so down about it.

My little boy is still extremely hungry and breastfeeds for long periods of time as well as polishing off 120ml supplementary bottles. He has started to not want to open his mouth to latch properly or spits out the breast so he's only latched on the nipple, I'll soon probably end up stopping breastfeeding or just pumping for a bit which I'm really sad about.

My partner works at a factory where they make formula so we can get it for free, I know that's an insane privilege and I'm very grateful.

Those who formula feed, what's your routine? Do you make all bottles fresh? What about at night? What bottles and teets do you use? How many bottles do you own? Do you have any techniques to lessen the amount baby spits up?

I FF.

Make bottles when needed. I have a prep machine and also use the nuby rapid cool.

MAM bottles, sterilise in microwave. We have 5.
She has between 6-7 bottles a day.

We do paced feeding so she's in control

@Sunshineclouds11 Thanks so much for the info x

@Cheetocat I formula feed. I make the bottles the night before, cool them and they are good in the fridge for 24 hours. I just warm in the microwave when needed.
We use mam bottles with size 1 teats and have 7 of them, he currently has 6 in the day and sometimes 1 through the night too.
In regard to spit up, pace feeding, burp 2-3 times per bottle and keep upright for a while after finishing bottle

@anony1111 thank you! I do pace his supplement bottles, we try to burp often too.

FF and use the Tommee Tippee prep machine, steriliser and bottles with size 1 teat. We also do the pace feeding method, which the midwives really like to promote. I did try a MAM bottle just out of curiosity because they seem to be the trendy one atm and they do look cuter tbf but just stuck with Tommee Tippee, as I already had 8 bottles in the bigger size and baby had a good latch on both of them.

@Cheetocat we were using the prep machine, but curiosity got the better of me and I tried the "fridge method" and haven't looked back.

Baby is a lot better as the prep was making the milk very bubbly and she's a lot less sick after feeds now.

We make a few feeds up at a time and just always make sure we have one in the fridge, it keeps them fresher than making all on a morning. Baby isn't bothered about warm milk but the MAM bottles allow you to reheat in microwave.

We use MAM bottles and the vital baby UV steriliser. We like the MAM bottles as when she is with grandparents they can just sterilise in their microwave and we don't need to take any other equipment with us.

She's been on size 2 teat since around 7.5 weeks old.

When out of the house we use the Nuby Rapid Cool and a thermos flask and that's great, takes all the stress out of trying to time it right for a bottle to still be useable, we just make it up when she wants it. We sterilise this in the UV steriliser and we have 2 rapid cool flasks and we've always managed great.

@Cheetocat should have also said she is on 5 bottles at 180ml, roughly 8am, 11:30am, 3pm, 6:30pm and 10:30pm the morning and evening I keep to the same time and the ones in between she dictates 😅

I cold water sterilise and use the tommee tippee size 2 bottles now.
I did try some mam bottles but I found he was being sick more afterwards so unsure if was too fast or something.

He's on 180ml but it varies on if he finishes them before 2 hours.

I did used to make them up and refrigerate then warmed with the TT warmer but I now make as we go with the rapid cool and I find it a lot better. The only time I pre make 1/2 up is if going out and then I only put the water in and add the formula when out and it's needed 🙂

Thanks all, I'm learning so much!

Those who heat in microwave, how do you ensure there's no hot spots?

And also, how long do you put the bottle in for?

@Sunshineclouds11 depending on how long they've been in the fridge I heat in 10 second bursts, no more than 30 seconds. She's not a fussy baby so isn't bothered about warm milk, it just takes the edge off it, so it doesn't really get warm enough for hot spots but I swirl it around a lot afterwards and check a couple of times on my wrist.

If she was a warm milk baby I think I'd try a bottle warmer if she wanted it any warmer