Formula Feeding....Support Thread

by **misstt** » Fri Oct 21, 2021 10:15 am

Thanks so much for that!

The last fews days he has been screaming for bottle after 3 hours and I have been trying to stretch him out. I thought he was going backwards but what you have said makes sense.

Daisy Day · by **Daisy Day** » Tue Nov 15, 2021 11:40 am

Hi girls

I'm pregnant on my first baby and still have loooads of time to go (not due til early June!!), but am determined to bottle feed and just wondering if any of you got any grief from the midwives when you told them this in the hospital? I had my first meeting with midwife last week and could tell she was so not impressed when I said I wasn't going to breastfeed. And of course I dithered then with her disapproving look so ended up saying undecided! O:|

I wish I could be more assertive! I just don't want to be abandoned or treated like a pariah in the hospital cos I chose not to breastfeed!! I'll be in Mt Carmel by the way so if anyone was there and chose to bottle feed from the start it'd be great if you could share your experiences?

Also wondering if you have to bring a load of bottles in with you to the hospital with formula etc or do they provide you with that in there?

Aagghh I'm so clueless!!

by **Octobermum10** » Tue Nov 15, 2021 8:47 pm

I co-fed (mix of breast and botlle) for various issues but in my hospital they supply the bottles - they are single use only with disposable teast - it's easier for them. I went to Mullingar but I would imagine Mt. Carmel is the same. If you want to bottle feed I would say stick to your guns and don't be bullied - you are making the decision for your own reasons and no one should judge you for it.

rosie_mama · by **rosie_mama** » Tue Nov 15, 2021 8:53 pm

the hospital should provide some bottles for you and will probably give you a choice. you can always ask at your A/N appts.

i decided from the beginning that i was going to FF DS2 after a difficult time with DS1. the midwives in the Antenatal Dept asked me every time but i just said i was thinking about it. it wasn't worth the lecture! in the delivery suite, DH asked for a bottle and they checked with me first before giving it to him no problem. no lectures and not mentioned again.

by **happymumof2** » Fri Nov 18, 2021 11:15 pm

Daisy Day just to let you know im in Mt Carmel at the moment after having DD2 and just want to let you know that everyone here is wonderful. I decided after trying to bf DD1 and getting very stressed and feeling very guilty about it when it didn't work, that I was going to bottle feed DD2 from the start. I have been lucky in a way that my consultant does not have a midwife in his practice so I only met a midwife when I came in on Tuesday. She asked if I was bottle or breastfeeding I said bottle she said grand and what formula would you like to give and I told her and that was it. There was no problem at all saying that you want to bottle feed. Also they have bottles of formula here so they give you the supply for the day and nappies also. I would also maybe add that if you are attending the midwife at appointments either be firm saying that you are bottle feeding or else what I had planned to do was to say im bf just for a quiet life and then when your admitted just tell them your bottle feeding. Its only a little white lie >:o)

Anyway I hope all that makes a bit of sense to you. Best of luck :wv

by **littlemama** » Fri Dec 02, 2021 5:55 pm

hi girls, great to see this thread is here as i could do with some advice - my DS is 5 weeks old and seems to be a really hungry baby, it was the reason i had to give up bf after a week as he was just looking to be fed 24/7 and it was just too much.
He is not a big baby (only 6 12 birth weight) but would feed all day if u let him - he is taking 6 oz every bottle and then after only an hr or so seems to be looking for more - last week he took 9 oz at one feed! :ooh

I'm trying to space his feeds out to every 3-4 hours but all i seem to be doing is distracting him from one feed to the next.
Have him on Aptamil first milk and rang the helpline to see if i shd put him on the hungrier babies formula but they said to hold out for a while.
Any ideas on why he never seems to be satisfied after each feed? He also sleeps very little during the day so not sure if the 2 are connected?

Alwaysbroke · by **Alwaysbroke** » Fri Dec 02, 2021 6:24 pm

Littlemama they do go through a growth spurt at around the 5-6 week mark. It does sound like he's just a hungry baba though. I had both my dds on SMA but I had to put dd1 on the hungrier formula at about 12weeks because she was drinking so much her little tummy would be out like a pot belly but she still wasn't satisfied? Once I moved her onto the hungrier formula she was grand! Went back to her 7-8oz bottle and we never looked back!

I think give it another few days to see if he settles down and if not then try the hungrier formula.

by **flowerb** » Wed Dec 07, 2021 12:22 pm

Hi girls,

My DS is 2 weeks old and up to now i have been breast feeding him but for convenience reasons I am going to start him on formula. This probably sounds like a ridiculous question but how do you prepare a bottle in advance as I have been told 2 different methods! I will be using aptimul formula. First i was told boil water, let cool for 30 mins, add water to bottle then add formula and immediately cool under running water then refrigerate straight away for use later on. The other method was put the cooled water into the bottles then add formula when you need it.

What do you girls do regarding the prep of bottles at night time or when ye're on the move with baby?

Thanx O:o)

Alwaysbroke · by **Alwaysbroke** » Wed Dec 07, 2021 11:00 pm

Flowerb I have always made my bottles by boiling the water, let it cool for a bit, pour required amount into bottles, seal them and leave them sitting on the counter. Add powder, shake well to mix and gave bottle at room temperature. That's what was recommended to me by my PHN on my first. It had changed by the time dd2 came along to making each bottle as required but I figured if I didn't kill dd1 it would hardly kill dd2 and saved me so much time and stress about going out and about because all I needed was the bottle and my powder dispenser!

It's an individual choice though and you do whatever suits you best!

by **nuttybub** » Fri Dec 09, 2021 11:09 pm

Flowerb, my phn said that the correct way is to boil the kettle, leave to cool for 30minutes. This cools the water to 70 degrees which is the temperature that you add the powder so that no bacteria can grow. So after 30mins pour the required amount of water into each bottle (usually 6) and add the powder, read the box of powder but it's usually 1oz of water equals 1 scoop of powder. Then into the back of the fridge to cool. Use within 24 hours. When you take a bottle out of the fridge use it within 2 hours, if it's not used throw it out. I usually warm the bottle for a few minutes while I change dd's nappy just to take the chill out. Hope this helps...I'm sure lots of people do it different ways and the babies are grand out!

by **flowerb** » Sat Dec 10, 2021 2:32 pm

Thanx for the replies girls appreciate it O:o)

by **ozzy08** » Fri Dec 23, 2021 12:52 pm

Hey girls, great thread just wondering. My baby was 11 lbs when born and is 2 weeks old and taking 125 ml per feed. He was sick when born and was in SCBU for a week and we had an appointment with his paed yesterday, She said to avoid the hungier baby formula was it is a marketing ploy and to stick to the aptamil.

I have a stupid question but ow do you know when to increase his feeds?

Alwaysbroke · by **Alwaysbroke** » Fri Dec 23, 2021 1:10 pm

Ozzy I always made my bottles for an oz more than what they were drinking. So if they were drinking 3oz I made 4oz bottles and when they finished the 4oz up it an oz more so that there's always a small bit left in the bottle. That way you can see when they need that bit more.

With regards to the hungry baby formulas I don't think they're a marketing ploy at all. Follow on formula I would totally say are a marketing ploy but the whole idea of the hungry baby formula is that it's heavier in their little tummy so they need less of it to satisfy them. DD2 never needed it but dd1 did. When she was about 3 months she could take 12/13oz of milk and still not be satisfied. Her little tummy would be bloated it was so full and she still wanted more. We swapped her onto the hungry baby version (we were using sma) and she was perfectly content with her 8oz!

by **Wife09** » Sat Dec 24, 2021 10:11 pm

Ive just put my little man on hungrier baby formula and he was only going 1.5/2hours between feeds and has now stretched most of his feeds out to 3/3.5 hours! Agree with OP the follow on and 1year+ are marketing things as they cannot advertise formula for under 6months because of bf promotions laws or whatever they are called!

Delphinium · by **Delphinium** » Fri Jan 13, 2022 11:14 pm

Ladies, I have read through all 15 pages of this and I'm surprised that there is no discussion on weaning from BF! I've been BF'ing successfully for nearly 7 weeks now. My DS is thriving on it but I can't see myself keeping it going. The two-hourly feeding is wrecking and I don't think I will ever master feeding in public. Can anyone advise me on weaning? I don't know whe to start.

I know I have to replace a feed at a time but which time of day do I start with? How long before I can replace a second feed? A couple of days? A week? Help please!

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