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.

I had no intention to offend you lola and i don't want to get involved in prickly discussions about pendantic details of a post. I ought to be doing some marking at the moment so au revoir.

Someone mentioned follow on milk. I agree it's not necessary but it is cheaper as it isn't covered by the regulations on promoting infant formula. I switched as it was cheaper.

I have both BF and FF both my children.Youngest DS is 4.5 months. I always make up the milk in advance and keep it in the fridge. No time to faff about doing otherwise. Never felt guilty for FF him.

OP, use the instructions on the side of the tin, the baby won't drink it all, but should drink within a couple of ounces. Throw the left over milk away.

FF is very easy really. I found BF much harder

I couldn't breastfeed either and this is what we did:

Formula:
First of all baby was drinking around 1 ounce at a time every three hours, the first two weeks she was not even finishing that)
We just upped the amount to 2oz when she finished 1 oz easily, then upped that to 3oz etc There is a guideline on amounts at the back of the cartons of formula.
First we bought aptimil as well as that was what the hospital were using, then we bought Hipp Organic.

bottles: We bought tommee tippee bottles, they came with number 1 teats which is suitable for newborns, I think they were bpa free too.

Sterilising: We also got a tommee tippee steam steriliser, really easy to use, just plug it in, put the bottles in and 5 minutes later its done.
I used to take the bottles out and put them upside down on a wire rack so they'd dry out, sometimes I would rinse them with freshly boiled water so that there wouldn't be any drops and it would dry out completely, then I could close them and take them out and there wouldn't be any steam left at all.

Making up the bottles:
I used to boil some water in the evening and put it into flasks so I could use it the next day, it would then be the right temperature.
You shouldn't use mineral water unless you have to because of the mineral content. In some countries like Cyprus they sell baby water at the chemist, it's basically mineral water with a low mineral content. (rip off basically.)

We also pre-measured the formula in tommee tippee powder dispensers
Then when baby needed milk it was usually the right temperature and it was quick to do.

Formula will mix better with hot/warm water rather than cold (it can block the teat if it's not mixed properly.)

Try to change the teat when the baby is taking more than half an hour to drink his bottle.

The guilt is awful because that is pretty much the first question other mums ask you when you meet up at toddlers groups etc and mothers who breastfeed need support because it is hard so they talk about it and you feel like they're looking down on you when they probably aren't.

It gets better when at least some of your mates stop breastfeeding around 6 months.
After that what way the babies were fed is irrelevant.

hope this helps!

We now do a FF at bedtime. I find it a bit faffy,much easier to pop a boob out, but I'm a stickler for the rules so boil the kettle then let it cool for 30mins. I always have lots of cartons for days where we forget to put the kettle on, or a quick top up is required.
I second getting a kettle just for feeds. I got a tiny one from sainsbury's to be used just for that purpose.
If I FF all the time I'd be tempted to use the cartons at night. Making fresh bottles doensn't really seem feasable but I wouldn't risk my DS's health doing it the other way BUT all the mum's I know who FF pre-make bottles so there you go.

When I was in hospital they had bottles of formula and sterilising equipment BUT you were only officially allowed enough for the first feed then you had to get your own brought in. I BF but needed to top DS up with formula during the first few days. I was told this on day two and DH did not have chance to go and buy any extra formula. I remember arguing with a midwife at 3am that no I didn't have any of my own as I hadn't intended to use it but now needed to so where did shew expect me to get hold of some at 3am??????! She relented and got me some from the fridge, but this was a baby friendly initiative gone mad! They had no time to teach me how to BF properly (turns out DS was tongue tied) but then wanted to refuse him food too!

forgot to mention that when we went out and about we took these with us, you can either put your boiled water in them and take the pre-measured formula milk with you to mix with when needed or make up the milk in advance and take it with you if youre going to use it within 2 hours.

we also used the handy little aptamil cartons(number 1 for the beginning).

I wouldn't use the term force feeding, but it is certainly tempting to jiggle the bottle a bit to see if your LO takes just that bit more - in the back of your mind you're hoping that might keep them full/ asleep for a bit longer! If you don't fall into that mindset I don't see any reason that ff babies should be obese, though as the growth charts would show bf babies tend to be lighter as breastmilk varies whereas formula always the same.

Love toddler follow-on milk as DD3 is the smiley baby on the SMA tin !!

It is a little disturbing that so many mums seem to ignore the warnings about sterilising their baby formula. Going to all the effort of boiling water and sterilising bottles is a waste of time if you do not bother to sterilise the formula as well. Formula can contain Cronobacter sakazakii (used to be called Enterobacter sakazakii) that can cause meningitis and/or intestinal inflammation that can be fatal. Cases are rare but mortality rates are very high. Most cases have been young infants so once the bubs is a bit older you are probably ok adding the powder to cooled water if it makes your life easier (although bear in mind that other bacteria can also be present). Never, however, under any cicumstances should you pre-mix formula to feed later. The powder should always be added fresh otherwise you are really taking a risk. (written as a professional microbiologist rather than anyone in the infant care profession)

Thank you for this there is a lot of very useful information on here.

Feeling a bit more confident now about it all.

Have checked out and bookmarked the links and have taken note of preparing from fresh each time. We have bought thermos flask and powder dispensers as well as the bottles/steriliser. PLus have stocked up on some pre made cartons for the first few days.

I asked the midwife here and the hospital will provide bottles but I know it varies from place to place.

Glad I started this.

hi... my baby is only a few days old, and I planned from the start to do a combo of b/f and f/f. I ticked this on the sheet they gave my in the hospital, but the b/f was very much promoted, and I had to argue to get top ups. My milk is still coming in, so what we are doing is (on advice of community midwife ) when he is hungry, feeding him with formula, about half a feed, then while he naps for 30 mins, I express using a breast pump, then I mix resulting breast milk with the ff that is left and when he wakes feeding him that. The aim is to get my nipples used to it, to encourage the milk to come in and because I am expressing when he is hungry getting the demand side in too. plus he gets some breast milk. I am hoping that my milk supply will increase enough to b/f more or less exclusively. .

Yesterday I was weeping with pain/guilt/frutration but since we started this, it seems quite easy and straightforward and i do feel better.

What disturbs me though is that i have received no info about bottle feeding at all..... even though i did say that I wanted to do both. So, cue a 3 am search on the internet while baby is screaming.

We are using pre-made aptamil..... seems quite okay!

what on earth did people do before mumsnet and the internet in general???
There are instructions and guidelines on the side of packs of formula and like so many other things with having a newborn its a case of trial and error. You learn as you go, some will feed more than others, growth spurts will throw you completely and it doesn't matter how organised or prepared you are a baby will always catch you out somewhere!
X

Oh yes the instructions are fine.... we were doing an internet search for things like - how to test the warmth, and how warm shld the milk feel?

I would be lost without mumsnet.

I do hate the b/f fascism though....i made the mistake of telling a friend that i found b/f hard, so she has taken to sending me 'encouraging' texts twice a day with 'supportive' comments like 'don't forget... breastfeeding is better for baby and you, you can do it!!!!'. At 4 days post partum I just want her to fuck right off.

anya I know exactly how you feel wrt those texts!

My sister was a pro bf er and although I'd been told for health reasons I would probably have to ff the guilt I felt when I gave up bf when dd1 was 2wks was awful. My sister tried to encourage me like your friend but it just made things worse..

OP- don't know if it's been said but if you have to decide which formula to use go to your most local shop and see what they stock- you might need it if you run out!

anyabanya, what you are doing will not help your milk to come in, nor is it liekly to help you build up a good enough supply to breastfeed

the best way to increase your supply is to feed baby direct from the breast, as often as you can.
if you don't want to feed from the breast then you would want to be expressing at LEAST every 2 hours, and doing it during the night as well.

mixed feeding can work well for some people, but your supply long term depends on you building it up well over the first few weeks. ideally by allowing baby free access to the breast, but if that is not possikble by very frequent expressing (bear in mind a baby will milk the breast a lot more efficiently than any pump will)

i hope this helps and you manage to get there

oh and yopu should tell your friend that although it's nice she is thinking of you, her texts are NOT helpful and please could she stop