Combi feeding help

[Soph_UK]

Hi all

I know this isn't all about breastfeeding so I don't expect help with the stuff about formula feeding. But if you know the answers to the bfing ones that's great!

I was planning to breast feed but due to baby being a small weight they wanted me to measure what he was drinking. I therefore was expressing milk and topping up with formula if necessary.

Therefore I didn't worry about bottles and sterilising equipment etc. in a sale I picked up some 260ml tommee tippee bottles and a tommee tippee microwave steam steriliser. I also have a bottle brush.

What I need to know is what I need. The midwife said I will probably need smaller bottles as the tommee tippee ones are a little big at the moment.

1. What bottles do I need for bottle feeding formula and what teats?
2. What do I need to sterilise them? What do I need to buy.
3. What do I need for expressing milk - I have ordered the medela swing electric pump. But do I need milk bags and do I need seperate bottles for Breast milk? (I have see. A set of medela breast milk bottles)
4. What do I need to sterilise breast milk?
5. I got shown how to make a bottle of formula but don't know how to make a bottle of breast milk drinkable (I was using single use hospital bottles when at the hospital but now I don't know what I should be using and how to sterilise it)

Please help!

Literally bamboozled!

 

[Maud]

You just need a sterile pump and sterile bottles to feed expressed breast milk, but if you intend on freezing milk the bags are very useful. Breast milk can be fed straight after pumping or you can keep it for up to 6 hours at room temperature, up to 6 days in the fridge or up to 6 months in the freezer. Some babies will drink it straight out of the fridge, others prefer it warm. Warm it by sitting the bottle in warm water, never in the microwave. You don't need special bottles to feed breast milk, but some bottles are designed to be more like feeding from a breast and so are better for combi-feeding.

If you want to breastfeed you want to put baby to breast as much as possible though as that's the best way to build your supply. Good luck!