So who is bottlefeeding for whatever reason?

[TheArmadillo]

Just wondering.

I am because of medication and health issues. Breastfed ds so have no idea what I am going to be doing with this one and worrying about it as everyone keeps saying how hard bottlefeeding is. Though breastfeeding wasn't exactly a piece of piss.

Anyone else out there? You don't have to give a reason.

No matter how many times it is repeated on here that bottle feeders are in the majority in RL so you don't need help and support to bottlefeed it doesn't help when you don't actually know any

At 36 weeks I've been given no information on bottle feeding - had to look it up online, but plenty on breastfeeding. Would be nice especially as they know I can't breastfeed, just to have a leaflet or summat explaining the health and safety aspects.

Oh god, don't even start this thread! They will all pounce on you! I asked a simple question of who was bottle feeding and who was breast feeding and I offeneded so many people, I was accused of trying to cause a 'fuss' and all sorts! I suppose they can't have a go at you as much though as your reasons are health related.

I plan to bottlefeed. I know nothing about feeding a baby as this is my first, I too have tried looking for information on bottlefeeding but have found that the majority of info out there is about breastfeeding. None of my friends have had children and the majority on here seem to breastfeed, I even want to know the basics like how much formula will a baby get through in a week. Glad you have asked this question though as It may also give me some answers.

Me!!

I think the main things you need to be aware of are the risks of not preparing powdered formula correctly. You need to boil the kettle using fresh water, let it cool but not for more than 30 minutes, then feed the bottle straight away when it's drinkable temperature i.e. don't make bottles up in advance. Not everyone follows that advice, but it's the most recent safety advice.

Also there has been a fuss in recent years about BPA in the plastic bottles are made from. Don't know how much truth there is in it, but probably safest to buy BPA free bottles??

Me too! I am 16 weeks with dc3 and planning to bottle feed, have not been brave enough to tell my mw yet though! I did not breast feed my premature DTD's either. I think if I had had one baby first time round, I would have given it a bash, but I didn't, now I will have 2 5 year olds to look after aswell, and I know its terrible, but I just won't have the time the dedicate to attempting it. I'm not going to beat myself up about it, I'll let others do that! My twins are absolutely none the worse for it, and very healthy.

My DD was bottlefed after a couple of weeks. She was in the special care unit for the first few days of her life and never took to breastfeeding, so I ended up expressing and giving her bottles aswell. In the end was exhausted doing both so just went with bottlefeeding.

Must haves:

Tommee Tippee Steriliser (holds 6 bottles)
Milk powder - the hospital used Aptamil and so we continued to when she got home.
Some spare cartons of the milk you're using so you can go out and about.

We also had a Tommee Tippee Travel steriliser which was very useful.

The boxes of milk powder all give the amount a baby should have in one day. Thinking back I think our DD had about 3 to 4 fl ozs every 4 hours or so at first.

We found it easiest to sterilize all 6 bottles, fill with boiled water, allow to cool and pop them into the fridge until they were needed, then put the powder in and warm up in a jug of hot water. Always test the temp on the back of the hand. Warmish (around body temp) is what you're looking for.

Hope that helps.

I bottlefed ds too, and am now breastfeeding dd - out of the two, breastfeeding is actually simpler, honest. But aside from that knickyknocks - your way of preparing bottles is really not recommended now, as you do need to add freshly boiled water to the powder to sterlise it.

thanks for the advice- very useful.

Plus nice to see I'm not the only one planning to bottlefeed from the start.

I hope this thread doesn't get jumped on. It would be nice to have somewhere to discuss bottlefeeding without interference.

Most of the formula websites have lots of info on everything about their products. But because they're not allowed to 'recommend' or advertise it can be hard to find information that is 'pro-bottle feeding' if that makes sense.

For budgeting purposes I was told once that formula for an average baby costs £500 per year (formula alone, not kit/bottles/teets etc)

lola, your thread was titled breastfeeding vs bottlefeeding iirc!
don't see why anyone would jump on this thread

i have heard that you need to change teats as the baby grows - changes flow rate?

maybe someone can post about this?

I agree with Stealth go for a nice non-controversial, boring, title and the nice non-controversial, boring people will give you nice non-controversial boring answers...

unless it's a REALLY juicy topic....

Can I just make it clear that the advice is to make up powdered formula with water that is 70 degress centigrade to sterilise the milk powder as it is not sterile. The advice is not to make bottled in advance or to add milk powder to cooled water. Good luck with it, I was also forced to bottle feed and it took me a long time to come to terms with it, I would hide all the bf threads though, that's what |I did!

I bottle-fed both of my children and planning to with my 3rd, I found the lack of info about bottle feeding quite bizarre too, with my first but the best info is on the back of the formula tins, just keep everything clean and you'll be fine. I never felt like I was less of a mother or that I didn't love my baby enough to give her the best and tbh when I had my baby and told the midwife I was bottlefeeding I was not judged at all, and no tutting!! I bottlefed through choice. Good luck

re teats - you start with a small teat - normally called a no 1 and then progress up as your baby can handle the faster flow. As you go up the numbers the hole in the top gets bigger so the milk flows faster. You can also get a vari-flow teet where the harder baby sucks the faster it comes out.

FWIW my experience is from bottle feeding expressed BM not formula

PS I changed my teat flows to medium at around 4/5 months and to fast at 8/9 months, hope that helps. I liked Tommee Tippee teats and bottles but Boots own brands are just as good and cheaper

also i think there is good info in the nhs birth to 5 book that comes in that wallet with all the pregnancy bumf in it (ie emma's diary)

your mw will know about this, i didn't get one second time round as i still had all the stuff from the first so declined it

o yes start cheapo and then change as needed

with dd i bought a breastflow bottle to give her ebm as it was closest to nursing at an actual breast

ds went through a phase of being topped up so i used the bottles that came with the steriliser, v basic, not space age

did the job, lesson learned!

i would ensure they were bpa fee, and i think you are meant to replace them if they get scratched

Do you have to take your own formula and bottles with you when you go into hospital? Or do they provide them for you?

I'm not planning to bottlefeed, but just to query, but just to question - I see a couple of people recommend adding the powdered formula to cold water.

Aren't you meant to add it to hot/boiling water so it dissolves properly, to to sterilise the poweder? Or is that not necessary?

I bottle fed and have felt nothing but guilt, although I know I shouldn't.

Conflicting advice here but I also wasn't told anything about bottle feeding. I just read the side of the tin.

At first I was making them up as they were needed which took time when baby was crying and turned out to be a pain. Then I was heating them by putting them in jugs of hot water.

I bottle fed like this,
I had 8 bottles, microwave sterilser that was done in 4 minutes (Tommee Tippee one)
My midwife said it was perfectly acceptable to make up the water in the bottle before hand and just make sure it was used within 24 hours, which obviously it was used way before that. It didn't have to be kept in the fridge as it is the powder that isn't sterile. When feeding time came, you just add the right amount of powder to the water and blast it in the microwave. It doesn't really need to be hot, just not cold. Make sure you shake it thoroughly and test it before. Wirst is a good place.

My DS was fine with this. If we went out, I made sure the water was really hot before then kept it in the changing bag, by the time it was needed it was the perfect temperature. The powder tubs that you can buy are fantastic and you can set up the amount of powder you need before hand so you are all ready to go.

I think the only thing they say not to do is make the formula up before as the powder isn't sterile. You can buy cartons of ready made formula but they are expensive. You can also buy the little bottles of formula that they have in the hospital but again they are expensive.

Good luck and don't let anyone make you feel you are a 'bad mother' for not breast feeding.

They provide them in the handiest glass bottles, ps if you can steal some to bring home do, they are a god send for the first nigt home when you are still in shock about what your body has produced and are all loved up, also when the baby is up all night refusing to do what its told!! Something i found useful my hospital offered 2 different types of formula, nip to your local shops to see which one they stock - will be handier if you start on that one from the beginning!

I bottle fed DD1 and will be bottle feeding DD2. You can get really good advice by phoning helplines such as cow & gates and there is probably stuff on their website (and the others). The biggest problem I had was finding a formula that suited DD1. SMA and Hipp organic constipated her so we went with Aptamil in the end.
my advice would be to buy enough bottles as washing them up is really annoying more than once a day and don't put them in the dishwasher as it discolours them.
I used to make up 6 bottles every evening with cooled boiled water and leave them in the fridge then add the formula and heat when needed. That may not be the current best practice but it worked for us and I will do the same again.
The ready made formula packets are also handy to have for emergencies etc

I desperately tried to feed DD but failed. The midwives on the ward I was on took great delight in pointing out that not only had I had a section, I couldn't even feed my own baby. Thanks for that . DH had to buy the bottles and formula and for the life of me I can't remember what they were, we were in Oman and it is hugely frowned upon due to sterilising issues. One of the positives though was DH could feed her, there was no getting around that. DD is now a fit and healthy 9 year old. Don't let anyone give you a hard time, your child, your choice.

Am pregnant with DC2, and mix fed DC1 for the first 3 months and then went exclusively to bottle after that - it was all a bit of a headache as he had terrible reflux and all the various medications had to be put into bottles and mixed with breast milk or formula.....
I would recommend that you use a formula that you know you can get hold of easily and in a variety of shops that you are likely to use.....started on Cow and Gate Organic thinking it was best, then it was discontinued, all a bit of a headache. So basically you need to go with a formula that you can get hold of at your local supermarket, and that your local chemist supplies too, and if you are ever off to stay with grandparents or whoever, that you can get there easily too! Not everywhere stocks the same brands so just be careful!
Get a milk dispenser thing - Avent make a nice one that's blue which means you can measure out a preset amount of formula and either take it with you if you are out and about, or even to keep at home (helps when trying to count out the correct number of scoops at 3 am and you loose count!)
As for teets, the size of the holes in the bottle increase with the baby's age, so just make sure you keep up to date with those, especially when they are taking more milk on and using a teet that's "too little" for them, the feeds then just take forever and ever. They also need replacing every couple of months or so, as they can get manky and sticky (again brand dependent!)

Useful info on the basics here:

www.askbaby.com/baby-bottle-feeding.htm

waves at wiggles

There is less info on formula feeding as it's restricted by law/codes of practice. This is to encourage breastfeeding.