How to get out of the house with Formula-fed baby?

[Cinai2]

My DS is 11 days old and I’m getting ready to prepare for leaving the house with him beyond trips to the coffee shop next door. Unfortunately I have insufficient milk supply and need to feed Formula, midwives are not optimistic that I’ll ever be able to produce more than 25% although I currently do what I can to boost supply (at the moment he only gets a max of 10% from breastfeeding at each feed).

How do people manage to feed on the go if baby is formula-fed? Do I just take formula with me and ask coffee shops or pubs along the way for some boiled water when I need to prepare a bottle? Are they usually happy to help, and is it safe (at home I always fill the kettle with fresh water and avoid re-boiling). Or do I need to get ready-mixed bottles of formula?

We had bottles ready with water the night before added formula at feeding time from prepared formula from a container at feeding time and fed at room temperature, this what was advised from our hv yes people are going to tell me it's wrong but I answered the question

I would always buy the ready made formula and take a flask of boiling water with me. When baby was ready for a feed I would warm the bottle of milk up in the flask or ask for boiling hot water from the cafe

If using powder, then I wouldn't ask for boiling water from the cafe as water for a baby shouldn't be re boiled plus you don't know how clean their tanks are x

If I knew I was going to be feeding within an hour or two or three - just popping out somewhere - I would also make a fresh, boiling bottle and let it cool down so when I was ready it was usually just right. Sometimes I left it a bit long and it was room temp but DC didn't mind which was lucky

Just in case you do want to breastfeed more or make sure it's definitely not possible.....My milk didn't come in properly and I used formula the first few days up to about day 8. I did try to pump but wasn't getting much. My baby dropped weight initially. But I keep trying to breastfeed, it's totally different to a bottle session, it felt a lot more like little and often rather than a whole bottle amount. It worked for me eventually dropped formula and EBF. Definitely try to get to a bf group, they sometimes have them at health centres or see a specialist if you can afford it.

A baby feeds differently from the breast to the bottle. A bottle is drunk and finished, a boob is always there. They baby pops on and off. Might have a snack and then come back later for more.

Pumping does not replicate how much milk a baby is able to get out. If you do want to try pumping, supply is greatest overnight at approx 2a.m. You could see how much you get then. I also found a hand pump, sometimes, worked better than the medical grade one.

Is it a lack of milk or is it the baby is unable to feed effectively? Have you been assessed for tongue tie? Are there any breastfeeding support groups in your area?

Been a good few years for me now but when my bottles were all steam clean out the steriliser I put boiling water in them all and then they were put in the fridge. At home when a bottle was needed we took one out. Added formula and warmed through. Going out I took 2 of those cool boiled water bottles and had sterilised containers with the right amount of formula in and mixed them when out and warmed through with a flask of boiling water I'd take with me. Not sure if that's the acceptable way nowadays but I never upset any stomachs or killed any of them accidentally...

I buy the ready made bottles when out ans about. About £1 each. Some come with teats like kendamil. If not just bring a bottle and pour it in. They are ready to use at room temperature
My baby is 11 weeks and I pumped around the clock when he was in nicu and breastfed him and pumped when home but desire doing it regular like I was advised my supply kept dropping and now I can't feed him at all and rely on formula as theres only droplets left.
Regarding the comment from someone who said they couldn't pump but could ebf , that's not always the case as I was doing the same and baby is now being weighed twice weekly as he's dropped down to 0.4 centile as he wasn't getting enough milk from ebf

I am sure midwives/HV would have a fit but we always made batches of bottles up at a time and stored in the fridge and then heated as needed. If going out I'd take one in a little cool bag and then get cafe or wherever to give me some hot water to put it in to warm. I know in laws used to stick theirs in the microwave.

I combo fed boob and aptimil pre made bottle that come with sterilised teats in a packet, you just screw them onto the bottle. They were really useful

Ready made formula and disposable teats (Amazon sells Sterifeed disposable teats).

I definitely echo what others have said about breastfeeding - seek some specialist advice. Kathryn Stagg and Lucy Ruddle are both fantastic to follow on Facebook/Insta in the mean time and they both cover info about combi feeding/pumping etc.

I used formula top ups with my son but kept trying him on the breast whenever I could. Wearing him in a sling also seemed to boost my supply - having baby close might have helped with hormones I guess! He eventually refused the bottle at around 12 weeks and we switched to EBF.

Not everyone gets much from a pump, persevere, I managed to get my eldest to ebf from having a lot of issues at first. So much easier

I don't think pumping will necessarily increase your supply - feeding baby on demand will. If he's only 11 days old, milk supply is still being established - the more baby feeds, the more milk you will make. It takes time and can feel like you're feeding all the time but if you persevere your milk supply should increase. Drink plenty of fluids and try and increase your calorie intake by 300/400 calories with nuts, lean meat and leafy greens.

Congftualtions OP. rapid nuby cool and or ready to pour.

I used to boil the kettle an hour or so before I went to bed and once cooled pour into 6 bottles. The water is fine in the bottles for 24 hours. Took 1 up for night feed and left rest in kitchen.
Get up in the morning and there were 5 bottles with the cooled water in ready
I then had a milk powder dispenser with 4 sections - when DD needed a feed just pour the powder into the water and give it a good shake. She would drink the milk at room temperature so no faffing with warming up or taking a flask xx

A friend of mine (her children now 6 and 12) would make all 6 bottles up in the morning - with the milk powder thrown in and take them with her - both kids absolutely fine xx

Ooo I was in today!! They didn’t have any 😭

Gutted. Expecting no 2 next year. Was the top buy of baby no 1.

See I'm pretty sure the whole point of boiling the water is to kill off the bacteria of the formula when you add it. So I don't think adding powder to cooled boiled water is a good idea as it isn't doing this.

I did what your friend did, apparently they are fine in fridge for 24 hours.

That’s not unusual for a breastfed baby.
However, supply won’t increase if you don’t keep at it…if the baby is still
hungry after a feed, you could give a little water then feed some more. I think a lot of women don’t realise that some days you can spend the whole day feeding, especially with a newborn. It can settle down after a while, but every 3 or 4 days you need to spend most of the nursing in order to up the supply, that’s for weeks and weeks.
If you need to do top-ups, try not to do it after every feed. Make sure you eat and drink plenty, and rest yourself. But tbh, if you’re feeding for 12 hours a day, realistically you’re going to sitting down most of that time!
Keep trying, it’s not too late to stimulate supply.

I took ready made cartons

Get the ready made bottles and always have one ready in case of an emergency. And try to go out just after he's had a feed to reduce the likelihood of him needing a feed while out.

Get the TT milk pots they are nice because they are individual and you don't need to take a massive pot with you. I would then take a flask of boiling water and cold sterile water. I would do a hot shot for the powder and then top up to the correct bottle size with cold sterile water. You can also buy flasks called the rapid cool which is good for on the go. I've never had one so not sure how they work but heard good things.

I cleaned and sterilised bottles and made them up with boiled water to the right level.

Measured out the powder formula into little individual Tupperware pots.

When I went out I could take room-temperature bottles of water and a pot of formula - neither of thing needed to be kept refrigerated. When it was time to feed I just tipped the powder in and gave it a good shake and fed it to the baby at room temperature.

No need to bother hearing things up.

I came on here to say I've heard lots of good things about the Nuby Rapid Cool as PPs have said.

But if you do want to breastfeed, I'd recommend having some topless days in bed, feeding as much as possible to increase supply. I could never pump much due to having tiny nipples, a smaller flange helped but I never got much at all. And breastfed both of mine until 3.

I had to combination feed my third after my milk supply failed. I only gave a bottle in the middle of the day and we were usually out at this time. So I took ready made cartons, you can even get ones which have their own sealed teats. So you literally just open the packet and that's it, it's ready.
My baby liked them cold, never heated them. Not all babies take to the milk cold though, but you might be lucky.
But it was really easy, just took those ready to go bottles with teats in the changing bag.

I used to take out the ready to drink cartons but my diva baby wouldn't drink it unless it was warmed up.

Before I discovered travel warmers/flasks I found coffee shops quite unhelpful. They often wouldn't give a container of boiling water due to 'health and safety'.

Once I was so pissed off that they wouldn't let me order hot water I ordered a pot of tea, took the teabags out and sat the bottle in the teapot 😂 twatting health and safety.