Being prepared for feeding!

[EllieBelle]

Although I am adament I am going to breastfeed, I realise that its not always possible and problems do occur - so I just wondered if like me you were hoping to breastfeed did you actually buy any formula etc just in case?

I have bought a couple of bottles (to be on the safe side) - the ones that are supposed to be similar to the breast, but not sure if I need to buy formula etc also........and if so do I also need to take it to the hospital with the bottles?

This was going through my mind at 2am this morning, and thought you lovely ladies would be able to help!

 

[natalie_staffs]

Hey, i am also hoping to breast feed my little one this time round and have still bought a stereliser and bottles just incase but not formula. Last time round i tried to breast feed my son but only managed to last 3 days, i am very hopeful this time. You will need to check with your hospital whether you will need to take fomula and bottles with you but my hospital supplies both. Im sure it will be the same for your hospital. You can always send someone out to get you some fomula nearer the time if you feel you cannot breastfeed. xx

 

[keelie_b]

Im hoping to breastfeed, and have not bought any formula or anything. i was bought a few botles which i'l keep hold of but wouldnt have bothered otherwise. I worry that if it didnt go right straight away i'd panic, get stressed and give up and switch to formula. I think im more likely to do this if i have everything there and ready to, i'd see it as if i was preparing to fail rather than thinking "yea i can do this, but heres a back up" which i know a lot can do.

As tough as things get i want to carry on for at least a couple of days instead of hours before switching to a bottle (obviously unless advised by doctors) and if things still dont go as planned then i can truly say i gave it my best shot and it wasnt meant to be - then i can shoot up to the local 24hr tesco!

 

[*Star*]

nope i never bought any bottles or formula. even with my first i didnt.

 

[charlie84]

I never bought any formula. I got given a steriliser which did have a bottle with it but thats it.
I figured if the worst came to the worst OH would be sent to the 24hr tescos if needed. Which on occasions i was gonna send him so i reckon if i actually had all of the stuff ready i would have probably resorted to it.

ETA: My hospital supplied the first bottles of formula if thats what you wanted. I got a whole load of literature from my midwife about my chosen hospital and it said that they supply the formula whilst in hospital. Maybe ask your midwife whether she has any info you could have.

 

[HideiLu]

I did buy bottles and formula prior to birth. If it helps, you can get ready made cartons (about 56p) rather than buying a whole big can which will cost up to £8.

I didn't take them to the hospital but I knew I had OH on hand incase he needed to fetch them.

Thankfully the ward had a feeding room with nursing chairs, electric breat pumps, sterilising equipment, feeding cups, bottles that you could help yourself too (new borns only have a very small amount each feed, so these are just little bottles) and a fridge where you could store your own breat milk, and they would also make up a bottle of formula which you could help yourself to.

Of course each hospital is different, so it may be worth asking what's available in your area.

When Jack was born I had to be kept in recovery and was impossible for me to feed him so the MWs gave cup fed him formula.

 

[maybebaby]

I had bottles but no formula. If I had had formula in the house I'm sure I would have used some in the early days and I really didn't want to. I had the bottles because I was planning to give the odd bottle of EBM from 6 weeks anyway.

 

[Becky]

With DD I was determined to breastfeed (and I did) but for peace of mind I bought 2 bottles and some formula which I figured would do if I ever had difficulties. I didn't use them at all and wasn't tempted to. I think really I only bought them to shut up some irritating family members who insisted I needed them! I didn't buy a steriliser though because I couldn't see the point really. Instead I bought cold water sterilisation tablets which again I figured would do short term if I did need to sterilise anything.

This time I've bought nothing because I did manage to breastfeed last time and I think that really you're never going to be so desperate that you can't get what you need what with 24 hour supermarkets etc.

The other thing to think about is where you're going to store all this stuff! I have a medium sized house but don't have room for storing things like that!

 

[andreag]

I was always going to B/f so never considered getting anything else in until a girl at work asked if I had formula and bottles just in case. I checked with MW and she said there were no reasons why I couldn't physically b/f (the only reaons being breast surgery or infections such as HIV) and she recommended not getting anything in. I had a bad night the night my milk came in, and I think if I had had anything in, I might have been tempted to use it - but it was just a 'normal' gorging because my milk had come in and she was hungry. It soon settled down though and I am so glad it was a saturday night and Tesco wasnt open.

Personally I would advise not getting anything in. You won't be discharged from hospital until you are physically well, and they will have everything you might need in an emergeny. I stayed in 2 days to ensure that b/f was established before I left. But if all goes to plan it might be too much temptation to give a bottle is its there.

 

[NickyB]

I wouldn't recommend having it in advance, personally. Better to know where your 24 hour supermarket is, you can always get some if and when you neeeeed it, but it's easier to keep trying when it's not just downstairs already.

 

[trixipaws]

i was so determined to breast feed i purposely didnt buy any bottles or formula to make it impossible for myself to give up.

and if i'm honest, i probably wouldve given up if the option had been there.

and i'm glad it wasnt.

i had to BF or my baby would starve- theres no motivation as good as that!

i enjoyed BFing for 8 months and really missed it

looking forward to doing it again

 

[bizzygirl101]

i bougth some dnd was very glad of it. I was very determined to bf, but I had pethedine and zander was sooo sleepy, that he hardly fed at all to start with and i hadnt got the hang of latching him on, went home the same day he was born and had to give in and give him formula after 3 hours of me and him crying and trying to feed him, my OH had to take control and feed him a bottle, it broke my heart but next morning i went to the bf clinic and they were wonderful, she also came round my house the next morning as i could only latch him one one side! Anyway sussed it eventually (its so mad that the babies have to learn how to do it as well!) and went on to feed for 8 months! I miss it soo much and cant wait to do it all again!
So my advice is yes get some, just incase and seek help! It is out there and they are fab!
Good luck

 

[Steelgoddess]

I had bottles and formula from the start but I had planned to breast feed, it all went a bit tits up (teheee) cause i ended up with a c section and had awful baby blues, so when he wasn't latching properly in hozzie I resorted to giving him a bottle in the hospital (they had ready made bottles). personally I would buy bottles but not forumla because u can always express milk into bottles but I kinda agree if the option for forumla is there, with a screaming baby, feeling like you have just been run over by a truck and crying ever two secs over everything and anything you will be more likely to give in...

 

[LisaJ1986]

When i was preparing i didn't really wanna breastfeed. So i bought bottles, steriliser and formula. I had only planned to breastfeed for 2 weeks, and then after i hit that 6 months, and i'm still doing it now! I tried expressing so the steriliser and bottles were tested but Angel won't take bottles at all so they've been packed away!

 

[Hazel]

I had the SMA starter pack which is 12 individual bottles that are ready sterilised and you just screw the lid on and away you go. I wasn't going to buy it but my friend said I should just in case. I didn't take any to the hospital with me as I always assumed I would breatfeed. Unfortunately I never had any milk come in (the mw said I was weird ) so after 3 days I had to give her a bottle and after a week I had to resign myself to the fact it was never going to happen so we unpacked the sterilser (which I had bought for when I was going express milk if we went out) and had to buy bottles and get the powder.

 

[purple13]

i didn't have anything in at all.

in the end, connor's first proper feed was formula because after 48 hours (and at 3am) he wouldn't stop screaming and had, at that point, been unable to latch properly on my boobs. i sent OH out to the nearest 24hr supermarket to buy formula and a bottle.

if you have the option of a 24hr supermarket near you, i would recommend not getting anything in at all. if you have to turn to formula in desperation, as i did, then you know that you can. but you'll persevere for a lot longer without it in the house.

don't bother taking anything to the hospital - hopefully they'll be really helpful with bf-ing there and you'll be off to a good start

 

[Sherlock]

Nope, didn't buy a thing before hand. I went with the thinking that if I had it there to fall back on in the early days I may cave and use it if it got exhausting and I found it hard going. I knew hubby could go out and get bottles and formula if we really needed it but wanted to stick with baby on boob and give it everything before doing so.

As it was LO took to BF'ing really well and my milk came in around day 4. I never worried in the first 4 days he was starving or anything and just persevered with it.

Give your body a chance to produce milk and don't get in a panic if not much seems to happen straight away. Keep letting LO suck on your boob to help kick start things. Also remember colostrum comes first and then milk and it (colostrum) can keep baby going for a fair few days and also baby has special fat laid down in their body to see them through that first week or so.

I'd not take anything to hospital tbh. Hopefully you'll have decent MW's who will help you get a good latch and who then won't push formula if LO doesn't take to the boob too well to start. It can take baby a little while to get to grips with booby so be patient.

Also if you do struggle in the early days or weeks (and lets be honest, most women do to some degree) make sure you ask your HV or MW to refer you to a BF support counsellor to help you rather than changing to formula. That is if you really want to BF and give it a fair chance to work. It really is a case of being stubborn as hell and having baby live on your boob. So long as there is not a medical reason baby can't latch properly your LO should hopefully get to grips with things with you.

Don't forget, the ladies here are a great help for BF'ing problems and advice so make sure you ask if you are struggling.

Good luck.