So Confused, Expressing/ Formula

[MissyRee]

My little boy is 2weeks 5days old and ive been using nipple shields to help with breastfeeding (as recommended by a MidWife) due to him being early because without them he doesnt seem to latch on very well and gets very tired /just holds my nipple in his mouth, i have been expressing milk aswell to top him up with but my milk started slowing down and i was struggling to get as much out since last weekend which made me feel really down, ive also been feeling really run down and ill all week, plus me and my OH havent been able to get much sleep as little mans been grizzling at night and hungry again before we can fall asleep.
We gave him a feed of Aptamil formula weds night that we had left over from when i was in hospital as that was what they were giving us to top him up with there and he slept for longer, was quiet (no grizzling) and me and OH actually got a decent nights sleep!

So i phoned my HV and she came round yesterday, i explained how i was feeling etc and she said when she came round last week for the first visit she thought our whole feeding routine was abit crazy and that i would end up just running out of energy which i have, so she suggested moving him onto formula and suggested we use Cow&Gate and not Aptamil and not to use cartons but to use the powder so my mum went out and bought a couple of Cow&Gate cartons (for us to try/ check he gets on ok with it) and a big tub of the powder.
So we gave him a Cow&Gate carton feed lastnight which he seemed to take well but in the night he spat some lumpy bits up and when i looked in his moses basket this morning on the sheet it had all milky sick and on his babygrow he had some too..

So now im worrying he doesnt like the Cow&Gate? Should i put him back on the Aptamil as he didnt seem to throw as much up and he slept for abit longer on it, also my breasts ballooned overnight last night like they first did when my milk came in and i got 7and half oz's out when expressing so now i feel bad for wanting to use formula when my boobs clearly can make lots of milk (when they choose to!) but all the expressing and trying to get him to latch on and sterlizing the bottles every 3hours is running me and my OH out of energy!

Also i dont really know much about formula feeding so can anyone run through what they do with sterilizing bottles and making up feeds? My HV did say lots of women sterilize all bottles they'll need in 24hrs then put in boiled water thats cooled down and then they are ready to add the powder to whenever you need them, she said if i dont heat them up he wont mind and will still take it at room temperature so could do it in my bedroom rather than having to get up and mess about in the kitchen.... does that sound ok to do?? Is it normal for babies to be more sicky on formula? What formula have you found your LO likes best?

Im afraid im really confused at moment so you'll have to excuse the long-winded post! Thanks for any help! x

 

[charlie84]

I think the one thing you need to decide is whether you want to breastfeed or formula feed. If you do want to breastfeed then ditch all the formula and get baby onto the breast to establish a good supply. The thing with introducing formula is that you arent allowing baby to suckle at the breast and work up a good supply for him.
If you want to breastfeed ditch the expressing also till about 6 weeks when your supply is much better.
I would advise you to climb into bed with LO for a day or two loads of skin to skin and allow him to feed as and when he wants. This will get a good supply going for LO.

However if you wish to use formula then thats not a bad thing as long as you and baby are happy. As for making up feeds i cant advise but i am sure someone will come along and answer that one for you.
If you wanted to you could mix feed until your milk dries up, so give bottles of expressed milk or breastfeed and top up with formula as and when needed. I also dont know too much about this but others do.

With your baby being sick with lumpy bits in, this is quite normal and is called possetting and the milk may come up looking a little curdled so nothing to worry about.

Hope things get better for you hun, and dont hesitate to ask us all for advise

 

[KERRYGOLD00]

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[Jollypops]

Sorry to hear that you having some troubles and can only tell you what i no. How early was your little one? With all the stress, strains and not feeling well it will have an affect on your milk supply but glad to hear that its come back.
You can feed breastmilk and then top up with formula if his wanting more or just formula feed, the choice has to be up to you. The reason for him bringing back lumpy bits will be because it has been partly digested in the gut, but they release the extra they dont need/ over feed this is what i was told in hospital, so dont worry that he doesnt like it.
With regards to making up feeds, i wash 4 bottles at a time, then microwave them, boil water and put in bottles, add formula while luke warm so it dissolves, then put in fridge take out and warm when needed.
Good Luck.

 

[Redshoes]

Firstly I think your HV should have fully discussed all options with you and left the decision up to you, but it still is your decision, whether you breastfeed, formula feed or combine. With Isaac I mix fed, we co-slept and so breastfeeding in the night was ideal, and he would have boob through the day too but he also had bottles of made up formula.

I never pre-made any, I would always freshly boil the kettle, add the rquired amount of water, then add the formula, then mix and cool in a jug of cold water. After a while I started using cooled boiled water for part of the bottle, with freshly boiled, meaning the whole thing cooled faster and so was ready quicker for screamy, hungry baby! However, pre-making bottles is perfectly safe, as long as you keep them refrigerated once cooled, the bottle will keep safe for 24hrs, once its opened and formula dded, it needs to be used within the hr though.

As for formula choice, all babies are different and no formula is better than another, just one will maybe suit your baby better. With Isaac we went from SMA Gold, to SMA White, to Cow&Gate, to HiPP, all suited him at different ages, as long as baby is happy then that's what matters. And as for being sick, some babies are sicky, some aren't, my best friends little girl was exclusively breastfed and did nothing but be sick, yet she's absolutely fine, they will sick up any they don't need, as long as you're watching them overall, are they alert? are they moving/looking around? is their colour ok? are they having wet, dirty nappies etc

Sorry for wittering on, I am sorry to hear you're feeling tired, its so frustrating when you just want to get on with things but can't because you're tired If you can, have a day in bed with your baby, get a good rest and some special bonding time, skin to skin would do you both good too, but whatever you do, I hope you feel a bit more settled and refreshed real soon, take care and very best wishes, this forum is the best place for advice and experience

 

[MissyRee]

Thank you for your replies girls, all been very helpful to read and see what others do/ have done (thank god for this forum!)

We tried giving little man Aptamil lastnight for his night feeds (had EBM in daytime) and all went pretty smoothly i think that that formula seems to work for us all, im sure his fine on the Cow&Gate also but i feel better knowing he had Aptamil when he was first born and took it well then aswell.

Charlie84 - Thanks for your suggestions and advice, also i didnt know when they sick up lumps its called possetting i feel reassured after reading that that it is ok for him to throw bits back up then x

KerryGold00 - my HV just said that Cow&Gate was in her opinion the better formula to go for and after reading the ingredients in both the Cow&Gate cartons and Aptamil cartons that we've got they seem to have pretty much the same stuff in anyways so i think i'll stick with the Aptamil for now x

JollyPops - my little boy was born at 35weeks 2days so not as early as your LO decided to arrive but still early enough to shock us all and be a prem baby although fortunately he didnt need to go to SCBU as he was a good weight and scored well at birth etc. Thanks for writing about what you do with your formula and saying about why babies bring up the lumpy bits its good to know thats normal! x

RedShoes - Thanks for writing all that, i really appreciate you taking the time to write all that back I think your right some skin to skin might be good for me and my son, my OH has had lots of skin to skin with him but i havent really so maybe i should try abit of time just us 2 having some time to bond x