Bottle Feeding Support Thread

[Jen & Her Men]

Valentine came up with the ace suggestion of having a bottle feeding support thread and I jumped at the chance to start it! I thought it would be useful to set up a thread dedicated to us bottle feeders. There can be lots of things to consider and it can be a bit overwhelming at times, so whether you don’t know what bottle to use, advice on the type of formula to give, how much and how often, worries over hygiene or types of sterilisers etc, or teat flows etc etc then here is the place to ask!

Also if anyone has any top tips that they would like to share then please add them here.

I have some links here too which I thought people may find helpful.

http://www.milupa-aptamil.co.uk

http://www.CowandGate.co.uk

http://www.smanutrition.co.uk/

http://pediatrics.about.com/od/bottlefe ... _fding.htm

http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Healthcare/Mate ... /index.htm

 

[Full of hope!]

Ooooo great idea Jen! When I first started bottle feeding I found it very confusing It would be a good idea to include info on the different ways to make the bottles up fresh as we are advised not to make 24 hours worth up and store them in the fridge anymore. It took me a few weeks to master this as all the info I found was conflicting! Just an idea

 

[ozzy]

Ooooo great idea Jen! When I first started bottle feeding I found it very confusing It would be a good idea to include info on the different ways to make the bottles up fresh as we are advised not to make 24 hours worth up and store them in the fridge anymore. It took me a few weeks to master this as all the info I found was conflicting! Just an idea

great idea. i had a nightmare at the beginning deciding on the best way to make fresh. im now using a flask and would never of thought to do that untill i searched on the net .

 

[Gem & Leland]

i wanted this thread for sooooo long !

sometimes i really struggle with bottle feeding when his fussing or spraying it everywhere and being naughty but feel like i can scream and moan cos some bf people think we have it easy cos our babies go more then 2 hours between feeds !

leland started blowing raspberries durring his bottle now

 

[ozzy]

i wanted this thread for sooooo long !

sometimes i really struggle with bottle feeding when his fussing or spraying it everywhere and being naughty but feel like i can scream and moan cos some bf people think we have it easy cos our babies go more then 2 hours between feeds !

leland started blowing raspberries durring his bottle now

ha ha . mine has started chatting away while the teat is in his mouth

 

[Jen & Her Men]

i wanted this thread for sooooo long !

sometimes i really struggle with bottle feeding when his fussing or spraying it everywhere and being naughty but feel like i can scream and moan cos some bf people think we have it easy cos our babies go more then 2 hours between feeds !

leland started blowing raspberries durring his bottle now

bless! James has taken to chewing his. He already has 2 bottom teeth but all his "fangs" top and bottom are on the way. I look at the teet and think thank god thats not my nipple!!!!!!!

 

[Jen & Her Men]

oo also, for when you go out with bubs, there are these ace little contraptions where you can pre measure the formula before you go out and store it in this little tub thing then add it directly to the sterilised bottle but I dont know what they are called (I just make up the bottle and keep them in a thermos bag so they stay warm so i dont have one) I know Kimbo has one so I will ask her to post with the name of it...

 

[Gem & Leland]

i have an avent powder holder , i use to have tommee tippee ones but now he has 8oz they dont fit in that ! so i have the powder and his gavsicon in that pot and add it to the cooled boiled water in the bottle , hey presto !!!


his still half refusing his bottles tho , his only had 1.5 bottles ( and 6oz ones at that ) all day at the meet , its so frustrating , u know he needs it but he was too dam nosey and too busy blowing raspberries to eat , had to make sure he got some water into him cos it was fairly warm and he gets hot so quick silly boy shoulda just had his milk !!

i also dont think he likes hipp stage 2 as much as the stage 1 , and im contemplating trying coe and gate as ive never ever tried it before , his being so sick lately that i cant help but think its worth a try !

 

[daftscotslass]

Tommee Tippee powder dispensers... they have saved my LIFE! I use them all the time, not just when we're out and about.

Of course Boots and Tesco etc all do generic powder holders but I like these as I have the TT bottles and they are made to fit inside them.

 

[Kimbo]

oo also, for when you go out with bubs, there are these ace little contraptions where you can pre measure the formula before you go out and store it in this little tub thing then add it directly to the sterilised bottle but I dont know what they are called (I just make up the bottle and keep them in a thermos bag so they stay warm so i dont have one) I know Kimbo has one so I will ask her to post with the name of it...

similair to this
but mine was a 4 tier
i used it also for storing purees in the freezer x

 

[Gem & Leland]

Tommee Tippee powder dispensers... they have saved my LIFE! I use them all the time, not just when we're out and about.

Of course Boots and Tesco etc all do generic powder holders but I like these as I have the TT bottles and they are made to fit inside them.

untill u need more then about 6oz in them there brilliant ! hipp is fluffy tho so maybe another formula might be ok !

 

[Jade&Evie]

Tommee Tippee powder dispensers... they have saved my LIFE! I use them all the time, not just when we're out and about.

Of course Boots and Tesco etc all do generic powder holders but I like these as I have the TT bottles and they are made to fit inside them.

I second that- I also use them (although I have loads so just measure out a couple of days worth of pots all in one go!

 

[daftscotslass]

Current Department of Health recommendations are that a bottle is made up fresh as it is needed. Guidelines are here - http://www.food.gov.uk/multimedia/pdfs/ ... idance.pdf. Evidence has shown that bacteria multiply rapidly when the milk powder is mixed with the water. Mixing the powder with water that is very hot having been recently boiled is supposed to kill off any nasties in the powder as the powder isn't sterile. Not too practical when you have a screaming baby though!

When I'm at home I have my sterilised bottles filled halfway with boiled water. This obviously cools down to room temperature. I have a sterilised flask I keep filled with boiling water and add this as needed to the bottles. This way it's at perfect temperature for feeding and the powder mixes better. When we're out and about she just has her feeds at room temperature.

Some types of formula (Comfort milks usually) mix much better with hot water.

 

[daftscotslass]

untill u need more then about 6oz in them there brilliant ! hipp is fluffy tho so maybe another formula might be ok !

We're managing OK with 7oz SMA gold plus Gaviscon so far! Could probably squeeze another one in!

 

[Jade&Evie]

untill u need more then about 6oz in them there brilliant ! hipp is fluffy tho so maybe another formula might be ok !

We're managing OK with 7oz SMA gold plus Gaviscon so far! Could probably squeeze another one in!

you can JUST add 8oz in but if you have 8ozs of water in the bottle you can't put the pot in the lid! it overflows!

 

[Gem & Leland]

must be just the hipp powder then , its soooo fluffy lol but yeh i could see the over filling of water being an issue !!


well boy is refusing his bottle this morning

 

[CoreysMummy]

well boy is refusing his bottle this morning

Mine did the same after an hour of coaxing, still no drinky drinky. Hes down for his morning nap now after an oz. Grrr!

Info -

I found my LO drank fewer oz when he was on comfort miks - easy digest, stay down etc.

If you are feeding your LO comfort milks, I suggest you go up a teat size, as the milk being thicker means offten it cant come out of the size one teats, if you are using advent bottles (I dont, and havent...) I have been told that you should be using the 3 month + teats, as advent do 0+, 1m+ and so on, but the 1m+ still arnt big enough. Tho I did see advent did special teats for thicker formulas... anyone tried them!?

I have also used the TT powder things, but cant fit 8oz in them, so moved to a tescos's own powder pot thing, 1/3rd of the price of the advent one, and exactly the same thing. Works fine, but think I need two really, as 3 feeds is not enough for the day!!

 

[LilysMummy]

I know this is asked ALOT and it seems such an easy thing but I think its confued most of us at the begining.

If you are supposed to make up say 5oz it IS 5oz of WATER and 5 SCOOPS even though it comes out lookng mmore after it gets mixed lol. The amount of time I spent staring at a bottle wondering id I was doing it right is unbelieveable

My baby has turned into a banana now when feeding time comes round, when she can be bothered to feed lol. She has dropped most of her feeds like a lead balloon for some reason and Im having to squeeze 3 bottles in a day Also she wont be held to have a bottle now she has to be sat on her tod to be fed

Girls it always came accross to me that bottlefeeding was the lazy idea and a walk in the park. But I never knew there were sooo many questions surrounding it. I wont comment on my prefered bottle making ways as its not "advised" anymore.

DONT feel stupid asking questions on bottlefeeding or feel you cant ask because you may be looked down on as I know a few ladies have mentioned over the past week. We are all in the same boat albeit hungry, fussy, quick, slow, relux, sicky babies!

 

[Jen & Her Men]

Yeah I have always taken it to be 5oz with 5 scoops and then it just looks a bit more. Its always better to have too much water than too little cos otherwise the mixture is too heavy for babys and can be bad for them.

 

[Magic Monkey]

I always do 5oz of water to 5 scoops, but then get confused when working out how much she has had e.g. she has a 9oz bottle, which goes up to 10oz when mixed, so if there are 2oz left at the end, has she had 7oz or 8oz!!! It doesn't really bother me, just wondered what others do?

I also have some cooled water in my bottles, then I boil fresh the last bit, add the powder and then cool it slightly. I personally cannot work out how anyone can make a bottle according to the guidelines, especially if babies are random in when they want their feed. LO couldn't wait for the 30mins the kettle needs to cool, then the time that the bottle has to cool once made!