do i need this before baby comes?

[soffphie]

OK, so quick question.
i do intend to breast feed, failing that express, failing that formula!

do i need to buy a breast pump now/before arrival?
do i need to get steraliser now/before arrival? i have seen a steraliser that comes with 6 bottles and is also a food warmer..
We did a recent John Lewis nursery chat and they gave us goodies which did include 6 microwavable sterile bags...

I was also considering a baby movement alarm/alert device but am unsure if this is even neccesary at all?

thanks for any advice in advanced

 

[night owl]

I didn’t get a steriliser or breast pump before baby arrived, I exclusively breast fed and didn’t buy a pump until she was about 4 months old but I didn’t leave her with anyone else during that time either, if you would like someone else to be able to mind baby then you can get a pump sooner, I’ve never actually had a steriliser, the occasions when baby had a bottle of expressed milk I just washed it in boiling hot soapy water, you don’t actually need to sterilise a bottle if it’s had breast milk in only if it’s had formula in, i just got a pack of the ready made formula which come in a little bottle with a pre-packed teat (the aptamil ones) incase breastfeeding didn’t work out, and that was it, didn’t end up using them, I wouldn’t bother buying loads now just wait to see how you end up feeding and take it from there as you can pick all this stuff up in a larger supermarket or just order it online x

 

[night owl]

OK, so quick question.
i do intend to breast feed, failing that express, failing that formula!

do i need to buy a breast pump now/before arrival?
do i need to get steraliser now/before arrival? i have seen a steraliser that comes with 6 bottles and is also a food warmer..
We did a recent John Lewis nursery chat and they gave us goodies which did include 6 microwavable sterile bags...

I was also considering a baby movement alarm/alert device but am unsure if this is even neccesary at all?

thanks for any advice in advanced

oh and re the baby movement monitor thing personally I didn’t bother with that, I just kept my baby close to me as Mother Nature intends us to do, I could see myself if she was ok, i find them a bit unnecessary they would only really be useful if you are putting baby down to sleep somewhere away from you which isn’t ideal really as baby being kept close to you regulates their breathing, temperature, heartbeat etc and helps them feel safe and settled

 

[Niknaknoo]

I can’t remember when I got a pump but it definitely wasn’t straight away.
Ds didn’t take a bottle until he went to the childminder, he just turned his nose up at it!
Steriliser was a total waste of money, I think I used it twice! As night owl said you don’t have to sterilise breast milk bottles.

We had the angel care monitor for night time but not one for during the day. Need to test it see if it still works actually!

 

[TTChloexx]

I think it completely depends on you and your baby. I bought bottles, pump and a steriliser all beforehand. Breastfeeding is hard, I mean really hard. Exclusively pumping even harder. The women that are able to see it through are amazing, but I personally found it too difficult and pressured myself too much. Which meant I didn’t really enjoy those first weeks of having my baby. We’re now using the last stash of my pumped milk alongside formula and will make the full transition very soon. As I say I’m in complete awe of mums that ebf but I don’t regret my decision in the slightest. So having all the equipment there was great for me.
Also you do still have to sterilise bottles that are used for breast milk, advice has been updated since so I’d definitely at the very least get a steriliser. If I could but again I’d get a steriliser/drier combo one xxxx

 

[TTChloexx]

From nhs website xx

 

[soffphie]

thank you once again ladies x

 

[Summerwine]

Hey @soffphie - hope pregnancy is treating you well! I would say if you've got access to Amazon Prime and/or a 24hr supermarket, wait and see how you get on! Dont rush into buying any of it. I couldnt express anything with a pump but used a haaka to collect let down from the opposite boob I was feeding from - and I did that for 13 months. They are nice and cheap too.

I will say I'd have been tempted to give up breastfeeding if I'd had access to bottles/steriliser in the early weeks, when it can be tough.

Sounds like sterilising advice varies by area! I stopped BF my first 6 months ago and never sterilised and have been told by my Health Boards feeding team recently that their advice is unchanged - hot soapy water adequate.

 

[TTChloexx]

Hey @soffphie - hope pregnancy is treating you well! I would say if you've got access to Amazon Prime and/or a 24hr supermarket, wait and see how you get on! Dont rush into buying any of it. I couldnt express anything with a pump but used a haaka to collect let down from the opposite boob I was feeding from - and I did that for 13 months. They are nice and cheap too.

I will say I'd have been tempted to give up breastfeeding if I'd had access to bottles/steriliser in the early weeks, when it can be tough.

Sounds like sterilising advice varies by area! I stopped BF my first 6 months ago and never sterilised and have been told by my Health Boards feeding team recently that their advice is unchanged - hot soapy water adequate.

that’s strange about the sterilising advice! That pic I put on is from the National nhs website and my health visitor told me the same! To me the advice on the website makes sense as you still have the sterilise dummies etc for the reason that they go into babies mouth, exactly the same as a bottle that would regardless of whether it holds bm or formula. Weird though! xx

 

[MoominGirl]

The movement alarm I wouldn't bother with unless you find you want one after baby arrives. They advise baby sleeps in the same room as you for the first 6 months anyway.

I had a breast pump, steriliser and a bottle/food warmer before baby arrived as I was given all of them second hand from a family member. My boy is 14 months and was ebf. Despite the advice Chloe has pointed out on the NHS website, I was repeatedly advised by several midwives that sterilising wasn't necessary for expressed breast milk (that's why I asked so many times). So I never used it.

The breast pump I did use as my milk took longer to come in due to a complicated delivery so it was useful but I could have hired one from the midwives so check if you can do that before committing.

As for expressing generally, I planned to express bottles so OH could feed etc but honestly I hated expressing! I didn't have a problem getting milk out. Lots of women can breastfeed successfully but can't express a drop but for me it was just another thing to be bothering with on top of everything else. It really didn't take any pressure off me at all, quite the opposite, and I was genuinely better off doing all night feeds.

As Chloe has said, breastfeeding at the start is very, very hard. Much harder than I ever thought it would be but somehow we managed to crack it. I have much respect for those that exclusively pump. I thought that would have been my fall back if I hadn't managed to breastfeed but realistically it would have been breast or formula. So other than our brief attempt at bottle feeding, we didn't use them either. Also didn't use the warmer for that reason.

Ultimately you will do what's right for you. There's pros and cons to all methods of feeding and you'll soon know what works for you and your lifestyle. Like night owl, I didn't leave my boy any longer than he could go between feeds so it was very restrictive for me. On balance, that worked for us but wouldn't be for everyone. I'm glad we managed to see breastfeeding though but now I'm on the other side, I completely understand why many mums don't breastfeed and there's nothing wrong with that.

 

[MoominGirl]

that’s strange about the sterilising advice! That pic I put on is from the National nhs website and my health visitor told me the same! To me the advice on the website makes sense as you still have the sterilise dummies etc for the reason that they go into babies mouth, exactly the same as a bottle that would regardless of whether it holds bm or formula. Weird though! xx

I asked this question with exactly the same rationale in mind. I was told that the bottle doesn't need sterilising due to the antibodies in the breast milk which obviously doesn't apply to a dummy which does still need sterilising.

 

[soffphie]

Thanks for the further comments. X

 

[TTChloexx]

I asked this question with exactly the same rationale in mind. I was told that the bottle doesn't need sterilising due to the antibodies in the breast milk which obviously doesn't apply to a dummy which does still need sterilising.

Fair enough, just still doesn’t seem right to me to not! I sterilise all the bottles I use whether it’s bm or formula just to be safe, and also if I’m sterilising some for formula I may as well just do the lot

 

[MoominGirl]

Fair enough, just still doesn’t seem right to me to not! I sterilise all the bottles I use whether it’s bm or formula just to be safe, and also if I’m sterilising some for formula I may as well just do the lot

I totally get where you're coming from as it didn't seem right to me either. That's why I checked with them loads of times! You're never going to do wrong by sterilising when you don't need to and if you're already sterilising some then you might as well do the lot! From an exclusively pumping point of view though, you probably wouldn't want to add unnecessary sterilising when it's already so time consuming.

 

[TTChloexx]

I totally get where you're coming from as it didn't seem right to me either. That's why I checked with them loads of times! You're never going to do wrong by sterilising when you don't need to and if you're already sterilising some then you might as well do the lot! From an exclusively pumping point of view though, you probably wouldn't want to add unnecessary sterilising when it's already so time consuming.

I EP’d for 6 weeks and it was just the absolute worst. I sterilised all the bottles and the pump parts every time I used them. I was so miserable! Wish I’d have been a bit slacker on it now maybe I’d have lasted longer!! Oh well, baby and mama are now happy and fed well anyway xx

 

[night owl]

I did get conflicting advice too about the sterilising issue re breast milk, I just didn’t buy a steriliser cos my lo hardly ever had a bottle, if you are planning on using bottles frequently then there is no harm in sterilising even for just breast milk bottles if it would make you feel better, but yeah basically don’t go mad on buying stuff until you know how you are going to be feeding x

 

[Naranja]

I got a sterliser beforehand as it included bottles and I didn't know how I'd take to breastfeeding. Most people I know only lasted a few days. In any case I used it to sterilise dummies as my DD used them. I got my breastpump a few months after birth when I was starting to consider pumping for my return to work. The one I got was pretty expensive, I'd say look into them, know what you'd like to try but don't buy as it will be a big waste of money of breastfeeding doesn't work out.

 

[Naranja]

Oh just saw the comments about sterilising bottles with breast milk...I always did as that was the advice I was given. I never questioned it! I only washed bottles with soapy water once mine had moved to normal milk - they probably didn't need the bottles then but took them.

 

[Jetina]

I was told that if you are planning on breastfeeding, then to not express milk on top of that for 6-8 weeks at least, until your body gets used to what baby needs. It can make you produce too much, and you can end up with blocked ducts and maybe mastitis.

 

[IVW]

Well I’ve just learnt something a little too late I was sterilising all my bottles and that was breast milk! Dam it!

I will probably only repeat what night owl has said, as we were pretty much the same when it came to feeding.

I will suggest, if you haven’t got it already, getting amazon prime! We had parcels everyday and it was a life saver!

As everything with pregnancy and when the baby is here, you just can’t prepare for the unknown and spending money on stuff you might not need will probably just annoy you, as it did me but that was my bloody husband wanting to buy gadgets gadgets I then sold further down the line!

Good luck with it all x