Breast Feeding & Bottles

[Jollypops]

Would be grateful if you might be able to help me out.
I want to breastfeed if possible, but just wondered if anyone still went out and brought bottles and milk as back up incase it didnt work out?

Also if you breastfeed do you express milk and bottle it so your other half or family/friends can feed baby? or is this a silly thing to do.

Glad for any advise as for some reason this is really stressing me out

 

[Becky]

I planned on breastfeeding but didn't fancy being stuck without options so I bought 2 bottles, 1 tin of formula and some sterilisation tablets. I figured it would be enough to get me by until I could get to a shop for more.

In the end I didn't need them as I breastfed but it was good to have them at home for my peace of mind.

 

[uncle_bens]

I'm hoping to breastfeed with the intention of expressing some for DH to feed, I don't want him 2 feel left out. I dont think its a silly idea to express so that friends and fam can feed, its a wonderful thing feeding a baby, everyone wants to be a part of it! And its good if he goes to Nans house for a while

 

[aramintalovegrove]

I had bottles, little fat ones, forget the make Im afraid and sterile milk bags to store the expressed milk in.

I expressed manually (hated the pumps) but mainly caught milk using the cup shields that fit over you nipples (they are my essentials for this time round) I found throughout the day I got a good supply just from emptying those shields and would freeze/refigerate the milk so that OH could feed when i was at work.

I went back to work full time at 8weeks (I had PND and was totally mad!!) and managed to feed him for 7 months with just a few top ups of formula.

It was also good in the first few weeks to have a break from feeding and let others have him for a bit as if I was near he was a booby fiend so I really loved the break it gave me, even though I found I HAD to express at feed times.

As he got hungrier when bigger and I got lazier and couldnt be bothered to express as much he quite hapily took breast or formula milk.

We never had formula in the house whilst I was fully breast feeding but mainly as we could have got it readily from the supermarket over the road, if I lived out of town I would consider having some in just incase.

 

[Jollypops]

Cheers for your replies, just seen different advise so saying not to use a bottle when breast feeding as its confusing for the baby, but i dont want others to feel left out and might be glad of a break!

 

[Nicola]

I breastfed LO exclusively for a while, I did express into bottles (Avent because I bought a big box/kit thing with everything in there from bottles and teats to wamers, sterilisers, breast pads etc). I also bought a few Tommy Tippy Closer to Nature bottles as they are supposed to be more of a breast feel if say Daddy wanted a feed, prevent confusion for baby etc. I have to say once I let him drink from a bottle he seemed far more content with it and before I was ready I had to stop breastfeeding as he just wanted the bottle (and soon after solids). So in my opinion if your planing on breastfeeding then go for it, don't have bottles and formula etc in the cupboards as it's all too easy just to reach for it when your short of time or just stressed and wanting a break etc. If they really become needed then it's easy just to nip down to Boots or Sainsburys etc and get a few. Having them in the cupboard for me was kinda temptation I wish we didnt' have!

 

[weenik]

I bought a TT steraliser which came with a bottle but no formula because I knew I was going to bf and didn't really consider not being able to do it. There were times that I may have been tempted had I had formula in the house but I never and exclusively bf for 6 months. I expressed milk, but you should really wait until your supply settles down before you start. Also, as Nicola said, babies find it easier to suck from bottles so it may be difficult to combine (but lots do). I fed EBM for almost a week as I wanted to know how much he was taking and it was sooooo difficult to get him back on bf'ing xx

 

[lea m]

When I had my first, I planned on BF and didnt buy any bottles or milk!
My LO wouldnt take to the breast well and the night I came home from the hospital, I had to send OH out to get some milk and bottles!
Luckily we have a 24 hour tesco nearby! It was such a relief to finally feed him! Poor boy!
I think it is handy to have some in the house just incase things dont go as planned (hopefully they will for you!! )

 

[Suzie and Faith]

I'm planning on BF but we have 6 bottles, a sterliser and a carton of instant baby milk! The bottles are for expressing, we got the instant milk just in case it's the middle of the night and i give up breastfeeding!

 

[nancy]

I'm breast feeding exclusively just like I did with my son and have never been able to express so haven't needed bottles. Saying that, I did buy some bottles and formula to keep in the house for emergencies. You never know what's around the corner so a couple of bottles in the cupboard won't hurt or break the bank.x

 

[X5OT]

I had always planned to breastfeed Jenna, but wanted to make sure I had some bottles in case it didn't work out for some reason. I bought the Tommee Tippee electric steam steriliser which came with 3 bottles & bottle brush. The reason I bought the TT bottles (closer to nature ones) was because they are supposed to be the closest to breast shape. We didn't buy any formula. As it happened I had a low milk supply (they think it was linked to my PCO), so we ended up having to do mixed feeding from when Jenna was 4 days old. She was very happy going from one to the other right from 4 days old, but I know that the recommendation is to get breast feeding established before introducing a bottle (apporx 6 weeks). Unfortunately in our case this wasn't an option. I did mixed feeding until Jenna was about 12 weeks old, and I also expressed using the medela symphony electric pump (does both breasts at the same time). Sometimes Jenna had her top us a formula and sometimes as breast milk if I had managed to express enough. I stored it in the freezer in special bags made by lansinoh. We eventually went on to just bottles & formula as I just couldn't keep going with 1/2 hr breast feed, 1/2 hr top-up and then 20mins expressing each time

 

[Urchin]

First time round I had a couple of bottles ready but never used them, the next 2 babies I didn't bother buying bottles or anything.
maybe just get a couple in just in case

The advice is not to express right away, as your supply needs to become regulated to your babies needs first, you will make just the right amount of milk for him/her. If you express while your supply is sorting itself out you can find you don't make the right amount of milk, and this can cause problems.
Also, they say not to use a bottle right away in case baby gets confused, this has happened to a few people I know who introduced a bottle in the first few weeks. At at around 2 months you can safely start expressing and bottles etc.

Good luck.

 

[smile]

Baby Smile exlusively breastfed and has been since birth but I wanted to be able to express too so that OH could give a night feed.

I got the TT steam steriliser, manual breast pump and closer to nature bottles (just needed one at first - now we use two) at 4 weeks once the worst was over and baby smile had got the hang of it I started expressing in the morning before after his feed - didn't get a lot at first - about 3oz a day by the end of the first week though and found it useful to express after a feed as it helped my let down.

I didn't get any formula in and although this is a personal choice I'm glad I didn't as I think either I would have caved or OH would have sneaked a formula feed in to let me sleep! We had decided which we wanted to use if it came to it (aptamil) and checked it was stocked at the 24 hour supermarket about 5 miles from us so that if we needed it OH could go and get it (otherwise we would have left it with friends or family if we hadn't got a car to go out). I also figured that if the doctors thought we should supplement with formula for a medical reason that would not be a snap decision and there would be plenty of time to go out and buy some.

Don't get me wrong - formula feeding is fine if that is what you choose and I know there are some people who feel they can't feed for whatever reason. But I wanted to give it my best shot - and breastfeeding hurts whatever anyone tells you - despite a really good latch on I used to cry most times from the pain for the first 6weeks. Now it is not even uncomfortable - think about doing the marathan with your nips rubbing on your t-shirt - it's gonna hurt isn't it! There were times I wanted to pack it in and am so glad I didn't now.

 

[loz]

I would advise getting a breast pump and steriliser and some formula in advance just in case. My friend was able to BF at the hospital but the 1st night home, couldnt and her OH had to rush to Tescos to get some formula.

With me, I used the pump on day 5 when my boobs and nips were so sore from BF, but I didnt use it again until now as I didnt need to once I had the hang of BF.

Now, I want to express once a day so that OH can feed bab in the evening to give me a break. I spoke to the health visitor about it and she agreed that it would be ok to bottle feed with breast milk once a day. My main reasons are that I want to go back to work in September and she needs to be able to bottle feed when I go back if not weaned by then. Also if we want to go out in the next few months, the babysitter can give her a feed while we are out. It is apparently true that if you dont bottle feed at all and then expect baby to bottle feed after a few months, you might have big problems.

If you have formula just in case, it will be peace of mind, I have some, but havent used yet.

Hope this helps - dont stress

 

[leckershell]

I wanted to breastfeed (and did) but I bought a steriliser, some ready made tubs of formula, and was given bottles too. Just in case. I did use the formula too as we cup fed him on a couple of occasions when we had latching problems.

I bought a breast pump off ebay for £10 so that if it hadn't worked out for me I wouldn't have wasted a lot of money.

Expressing is a great idea once your milk supply has established itself. Sometimes the dad can feel a bit left out and it's nice for them to take part in the feeding too. Don't feel pressured to bottle feed though just because others (usually the grandparents) want to be able to feed the baby. Not that you ae in that situation, but sometimes people can end up in that situation and feel guilty for their choice.

 

[Becky]

The advice is not to express right away, as your supply needs to become regulated to your babies needs first, you will make just the right amount of milk for him/her. If you express while your supply is sorting itself out you can find you don't make the right amount of milk, and this can cause problems.
Also, they say not to use a bottle right away in case baby gets confused, this has happened to a few people I know who introduced a bottle in the first few weeks. At at around 2 months you can safely start expressing and bottles etc.

I was also told this and didn't bother trying to express till much later on as after the first few hard weeks things were ok.

My friend expressed one feed everyday from early on so her husband (who felt left out) could feed the baby. I never understood this but it worked for them.

 

[Jollypops]

Wow, thanks so much for your help guys. I am now feeling alittle happier and dont no really why i was worried so much about this part of the whole thing!!
I was probly thinking that i would be a failer already and havent even tried yet.

Mums already got a TT Microwave Sterlizer and two TT Closer to Nature bottles so will just keep it to them at this stage and keep my fingers crossed that everything goes ok.

Cheers

 

[maybebaby]

I had a breast pump & some bottles but no formula in advance. I started expressing when he was 6 weeks old & from then on he had 1 bottle a day - his last one at night, which Daddy gave him. It was a nice break for me and meant OH could do his bedtime & last feed & they had some bonding time. He took to the bottle straight away (just the Avent bottles) and never had any nipple confusion.

I personally would advise against buying formula in advance if you're planning to breastfeed. It's really hard and really painful to begin with & I'm sure that if I'd have formula in the house when he was a couple of weeks old I would have given up. But I didn't have the option and I'm so pleased I carried on. I ended up BFing until just before his birthday, & hope to do similar with this next baby.

Good luck with everything, be prepared to work hard at it and it'll be so rewarding

 

[trixipaws]

i was so determined to succeed with BFing and i was expecting it to be hard, so i purposely did not buy any bottles or formula whatsoever at first so that i could not give up or my baby would starve- im glad i did that coz i'll be honest the first 2 weeks are the hardest and if i'd given myself the option i probably wouldnt have lasted one week

i waited till BF was established, then i bought bottles after about 6 weeks, tried them and melissa refused them! it was my milk but she'd only have it straight from me so i think i left it too late to try!

however, when she was 6 months old one day just tried her with a bottle of formula and she just took to it instantly! i stopped BFing in february and shes on 2 bottles a day now, no probs!

good luck BFing, theres lots of support here