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, and on the subject of what other people think i was labeled an unco-operative mother by the hospital midwife as I refused to try and breastfeed DD1 after a 5 day labour and traumatic delivery, she didn't even ask why I wasn't breastfeeding just laid into me!

Lolabanola - my last DD was 2 years ago, but the bottlefeeding mums were given milk there - disposable pre-sterilised teats and individual little bottles of milk that the teats screwed on.

I've done it all ways! - DD1 was pretty much totally bottlefed, DD2 was breast until about 5/6 months, DD3 was BF until one so I skipped the bottles and sterilising!

Bottlefeeding is hard because you might find that you feel incredibly guilty with the stares from other mums if you dare whip a bottle out in public!

Actually, it is a PITA with all the sterilising/formula mixing particularly now that the advice is not to make up bottles in advance - in the "good old days" I used to wash/sterilise all my bottles in the evening and make up the next day's feeds to shove in the fridge However, you can still sterilise the bottles in advance, just keep their lids on. Ideally feeds should be made up with freshly boiled water, cooled a bit. In practice I would take out a flask of water and a powder dispenser. If you have the cash, and if it's not every day, buy the little ready-mixed cartons and stuff that in a pre-sterilised bottle when you're out.

See, we can work together! I'm a pro-BF mum who BF'd her last one (and tried with the others) but fair play, sometimes it doesn't work for you and sometimes you just don't want to. Live and let live

There is also lots of info on the bottle makers web pages. I used Tommee Tippee ones the 'back to nature' range. But different bottles/shapes are better for different babies and you may need to try a few before you find the one that works for your DC.

I make my sterilised bottles up with boiled water and then add powder when I need it - personlly I don't bother warming the bottles as it mean less faff when out and about if baby will take it a room tempeature. I have done it this way for both DC (youngest now 3 months) and they have been fine.

It is not the recommended way to make up bottles BUT if you make up individual bottles when you need them not only will it take you half the day but your baby will scream the house down whilst you wait for it to cool

I don't think you are suppose to give a baby bottled water. Boiled tap water is more than sufficient.

Hey Armadillo, I feel for you. I bf dd1 then had to bottle feed dd2 due to health and medication reasons. I was completely freaked out and had no idea what to do. But you know what, once I got used to it I loved it. What a relief, someone else could feed the baby, whereas I was physically attached to dd1 for the duration. I know it's not pc but it was great for me. Hope it all works out for you and you get better yourself soon.

It is not recommended to use bottled water as the sodium levels in bottled/mineral water are too high for babies.

Use boiled tap water.

I still remember feeling a sense of shame when buying formula, so I would advise you not to bother with the shame bit, it serves no purpose and just makes you feel bad.

I made 3 bottles up at a time with my last dd, in the two years since her and my first dd were born, all the advice changed!! Never used bottled water, good old tap for mine. Ps I know its hard and we are all over the place just after childbirth but do not take any nonsense from midwives re how you are feeding your baby - complain, ask for a different midwife and report if you are unhappy. I know so many friends who have been in tears and can't wait to escape hospital when they really need to stay a bit longer because of midwives, most are fantastic some aren't.

(Whispers conspiratorially) remember that all the figures for stomach upsets and the like with bottle feeding are WHO global figures so include places where water quality is dire and sterilisation impossible.

What I did was fill 6 (ie the number my avent steam steriliser would hold) sterilised bottles at a time (more in the very early days) with boiling water, then leave to cool down. Then add the right amount of formula powder when needed. With ds1 I warmed in hot water. With ds2 I warmed in the microwave (and then shook vigorously), then worked out belatedly that room temperature was fine. I certainly didn't refrigerate the bottles of water.

My top tips are:

Ignore what the side of the box says about how much they should be having. When they stop feeding just chuck the rest away. Make up quite small amounts in the early days, better to use up two bottles if need be. Babies vary a lot in how much they drink.

Ditto ignore age guidelines about slow/fast teats. Again this depends on how good at sucking your baby is. Ds1 was awful and needed fast teat from newborn.

Different brands of teats are also easier/harder to suck from -- I found avent to be like rock, boots own brand easier.

Yes, you do spend more money. But I saved by washing nappies, and when you see people spending hundreds of pounds on vanity buggies, well, it puts it all into perspective .

Good luck and enjoy your baby. Bottle feeding can be lovely and cuddly all the same, and what's more other people can share in that.

My neighbour used to put 2/3 of the water she needed for a feed into the bottle (boiled then cooled) then at the last minute she'd add the remaining third and shake. This made the water the correct temperature but all sterile. Then added the powder and shake again. Seemed quite clever to me.

Is that permitted/suggested?

ps I also found that pulling the bottle very slightly so that there's a very slight feeling of tension stimulated the baby to suck, also remember to hold the bottle so that the teat is full of milk so they don't suck in excessive air.

let me post that again as it isn't clear what I meant - sorry....ahem....

My neighbour used to put 2/3 of the water she needed for a feed into the bottle (boiled then cooled) then at the last minute she'd boil the kettle again and add the remaining third of the water to make it to the correct amount and give it a shake to mix the cool water up with the hot/boiling water. This made the water the correct temperature and volume but all sterile. Then added the powder and shake again. Then use. Seemed quite clever to me.

Is that permitted/suggested?

ooh quite like that idea Knitter, I also pulled the bottle to stimulate sucking niminy Thanks Armadillo for posting nice. conversational, helpful thread. Btw wouldn't waste my money on a bottle warmer, know they aren't that dear now but thought kettle and pyrex jug much easier. Btw one of the nicest things when I had my first dd was watching my mum and my mil feeding her, seriously tear

lolab - it depends on your hospital as to whether they give you formula - I've had that debate on the thread you started (you may have given up reading at that point). I'd ring and ask in advance. Failing that, I have discovered that ASDA sell the little sterile glass bottles of formula. The main problem you'd have if the hospital don't supply pre-sterilised formula is sterilising your bottles would be almost impossible in hospital.

Would also re-emphasise what others have said. Current advice is not to make bottles in advance or use water that has cooled for more than 30 minutes. Equally, you shouldn't use just boiled water. I don't know if there is a health reason for this, but it definitely makes the powder go all gloopy.

I used cartons of formula when out and about - easier than taking flasks of hot water. I sterlised the bottle in advance and sealed it up empty. Don't know if this is frowned on in health and safety terms, though.

Knitter, yes that works but put the powder in after the hot water, before adding the cool water.

You need hot water to kill any potential bugs in the powder.

Can I just clarify a few things here, cos there's a lot of "this is what I did"s floating around that you need to be a bit wary of.

I didn't give DS formula til later on, and then only as an addition to breastfeeding, so I guess it was easier then. DS was no longer newborn and was more predictable.

But anyway,

1. The reason you need hot water is to kill off any bugs in the formula. 70C is optimal (hence the advice to boil and leave to cool for 20-30 mins), cold isn't. So even if it was boiled originally, cooled water won't kill of bugs in the formula. It's your decision if you choose to do that (we did!) but you need to know the 'risk' you're taking...

2. Tap water is actually best for babies AFAIK. Filtered water isn't good. If you use bottled water (which isn't reccommended), then I would DEFINITELY boil it, cos water that has stood around in a bottle for a while won't be sterile at all!

3. The worst possible scenario (IMO) would be to make up formula with cold water (whether boiled originally or not) and heat to body temperature (ish). That's just a lovely lovely environment for bugs to grow at. The perfect temperature! So all those bugs you DIDN't kill of with HOT water are now multiplying away and loving it!

Sorry if that all sounds a bit school-marmish. And apologies in advance for anyone I've offended!

It just took a long time to get it all clear in my head.... so I hope that makes sense??

Picc makes some reasonable points about 'here's what I did' -- which is what I posted.

Thinking about it I guess it's hard to remember exactly what I did in the very early days, which is when hygiene matters most. probably I got more slapdash as time went on.

But the whole boil, cool for 30 mins, then make one bottle at a time is just unworkable when you have an unpredictable newborn to feed, it really is. Cooled boiled water, formula added, used at room temperature really was fine for me. And both dcs have never, ever had a stomach upset.

The other thing to remember, and this really is the golden rule, is whatever you do, however you sterilise, make it up etc, use the formula immediately and never keep bottles hanging around.

DS was breastfed for a (very painful) week before I gave in and bottle fed and after the first couple of weeks of making bottles on demand which was a complete nightmare (especially during the early hours of the morning) I must admit we used to make 6 up of a morning and then refrigerate for when needed. I'm hoping I'll have more success with breastfeeding this time around but if not then we would have probably done the bottle feeding the same way as last time... until I read this thread - is it really a big no-no to make the bottles in advance??

bushymoo - the advice is not to do it. I followed this in the early days but then, as niminypiminy has said, got a little slap dash. Apparently it's all to do with bacteria breeding.

Doubtless a daft question: so can you fill a sterilised bottle with freshly boiled water, then screw the cap on, then when it has cooled to 70 degrees add the powder? Just asking, cos I can envisage the situation where some idiot messes the whole system up by re-boiling the kettle to make tea or whatever, so you have to start all over again (because for some reason you can't reboil water for bottles??).

"(Whispers conspiratorially) remember that all the figures for stomach upsets and the like with bottle feeding are WHO global figures so include places where water quality is dire and sterilisation impossible."

the Dundee Study is a longitudinal study which shows that a ff child is 5x more likely to be hospitalised for gastroenteritis than their bf peers. Scotland is not a 3rd world country, I think.

OP, have you contacted the Breastfeeding Network and asked about the illness and medication you are using? Many times doctors and other hcps tell mothers they cannot breastfeed on a certain medication without actually researching it. One of the BfN's Counsellors is also a pharmacist and is able to access and interpret the most up to date information on just about any prescription drug.

i ment to post on this thread earlier, but walked away and forgot to comeback!

i'm currently 23+5

i'll be bottlefeeding and have already been told i'm selfish, i should wait untill baby is born etc etc as if i already dont feel bad enough about the decision not to try.

i'm also struggling to find feeding information and hospital bottle arrangements, and my mw is no help.

thatbuzzingnoise... this is a thread for info about bottle feeding, not a thread for bf bullying.

The OP is here for advice about bottle feeding, not to be told to call the breastfeeding network just in case she could possibly possibly breastfeed. People aren't stupid. They are extremely capable of making babies and navigating computers and making informed decisions without people interjecting with statistics intended to intimidate and terrify.

I personally won't be able to breastfeed due to some treatment I had to have, so I stay away from the threads that are clearly so anti bottle feeding that they make me feel like less of a mother.

Please keep that sort of opinion away from the one helpful, non bullying thread I have found.