Forum menu
Little miss CD is almost 7 months (how's that possible, where did the time go?!) And is exclusively breast fed as she won't take from the bottle. Makes my life easier but its tough on my wife who doesn't get a break.
Congrats OP, it's challenging to begin with but it's worth in for the smile they give you as you walk in to the room.
Twins due soon, eyeing one of them perfect prep machines¡
WTF? Have I read this wrong? Why are you waking her?When newborn, we were certainly told both times not to just let them sleep, and feed them at regular intervals so would sometimes need to wake them
We were told that for the first three weeks to be baby led on all fronts. They should be able to eat when they want to eat and sleep when they want to sleep. After three weeks, start to introduce the concept of night and day. So, don't wake them, let them dictate what happens to start with.
Our daughter is two next week and she is awesome.
First of all....we ended up getting the Tommee Tippee machine and it is a god send. Easily one of the best baby kit purchases we have made.
Yes it's expensive for what is effectively a water dispenser. But, we get a lot of use from it...(4/5 times per day for months and months) and it reduces the stress of getting the bottle ready quickly.
Our daughter was also born by c-section after a long induced Labour that wasn't working and causing stress for the baby and for my Wife.
When our daughter was born all she wanted to do was sleep. We were told to feed her every 3 hours and not let her sleep longer than 4 hrs for quite a while as she wasn't putting weight on.
My Wife initially breast fed but it wasn't really working and we swapped to formula after about 4 weeks.
Oh, and we also did the shift thing as she wouldn't sleep unless she was on one of us for quite a while. I think we settled into a 2hr stint pattern through the night which worked quite well for us.
Just do what is right for you. No one can tell you how you should be doing it or what is right for you. Good Luck!
Specialist advice on these things seems to change all the time but what we did with our three was to sterilise all the bottles. Boil and cool the water and refrigerate - for max of 12 hours. As needed then removed from fridge, added formula powder and heated in microwave... Shook very thoroughly and left to stand for two minutes and shook thoroughly again. Test heat and then fed baby.
That way formula is not premixed for long, milk can be warmed quickly and baby stops crying pretty soon!
It's been a while, but both my girls were fine with cold, pre-boiled water.We'd prefill the bottle before going to bed, and had one of those powder dispensers so it just meant tipping the milk in, shaking, and feeding.
Cooled boiled water into sterilised bottles, leave at room temp (usually not more than 12 hrs or so before use). Add formula, feed to baby at room temp. Saves all the hassle of trying to get bottle to the 'right' temperature, especially when out and about. Both our kids survived the bottle stage with this method without any issues.
What I don't understand is how sterile fluid in a sterile container is going to somehow poison her in such short spaces of time. That's what so much of the advice makes me feel.
It isn't. Never heard of health visitors or midwives advising not to do batches only not to do more than you'll use in 24 hours.
Boiling the kettle in the morning takes minutes as does preparing the powder and milk, you're then sorted for the day with no need to buy silly gadgets.
I notice there are several people making bottles with cooled water. Current advice is that powder should be added to boiled water (over 70 degrees) only in order to sterilise the powder itself. However, all your kids are fine!!
Drac - Moderator...sorted for the day with no need to buy silly gadgets.
I think this is one of those situations where your 'silly gadget' is another persons 'really useful gadget'....
no need to buy silly gadgets.
hi, you must be new here. Let me show you to the threads about bean to cup machines, watches that can receive text messages, and elaborate networked speaker hifi systems 😉
Reading this with interest, less than a month until our first nipper is due to arrive 🙂 Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep is currently on order, a friend of ours had already insisted this was a lifesaver for her!
hi, you must be new here. Let me show you to the threads about bean to cup machines, watches that can receive text messages, and elaborate networked speaker hifi systems
Ah you mean like soup makers and [s]smoothie machines[/s] nutri bullets.
Drac - ModeratorAh you mean like soup makers and smoothie machines nutri bullets.
No, because they generally get used a few times and then lobbed in a cupboard.
Our Tommee Tippee prep machine has so far been used over 700 times at a rough guess (6 months @ 30 day/month @ 4 bottles per day) and that's probably quite conservative as she normally has 5 bottles in any 24hr period. In fact, it's probably nearer 900 uses so far.....
And.....resale price seems to be quite good, based on when we were looking to buy one. Ours cost £60 and they consistently sell on ebay for about £35 second hand.
Next you'll be telling us that we might as well not bother with a Dirtworker, as your £8 garden sprayer does the job just as well.... 😆
Those Perfect Prep machines are BRILLIANT, yeah I'm sure some people just use gold top from the fridge or make up formula with water from the creek at the bottom of their garden - it'll do 'em good or something but for us it was heaven sent.
If money is a issue (and it is for a lot of new parents suddenly on 1.25 income instead of 2) don't be afraid to look at a second-hand one, filters are cheap (replace for peace of mind as the filter warning light can be spoofed) and they have a semi-self-cleaning mode you can follow). The only downside to them is it's not really practical to keep them in the bedroom, as they've got bloody loud warning beeps and they're very bright.
I have all this to look forward to very soon, Mrs bazhall is 38+6. Been eyeing the prefect prep machine too just in case my wee girl doesn't BF
Those Perfect Prep machines are BRILLIANT, yeah I'm sure some people just use gold top from the fridge or make up formula with water from the creek at the bottom of their garden - it'll do 'em good or something but for us it was heaven sent.
No, I just use a kettle and water from the tap. I can see how that can be conveyant but totally uncessary with it.
Next you'll be telling us that we might as well not bother with a Dirtworker, as your £8 garden sprayer does the job just as well....
£2 watering can.
Not much love for the boob then?? A friend of ours is a midwife and lactation consultant. Seems the UK is very pro formula and not keen to BF?
A ****ing lactation consultant. What the hell is one of those?
A **** lactation consultant. What the hell is one of those?
Someone who comes and helps new mums who are struggling to breastfeed but really want to keep trying. Could you seriously not guess that?
A **** lactation consultant. What the hell is one of those?
For a new mother who is unable to breastfeed and is exhausted/wracked with emotional guilt from trying, they're a godsend.
they're a godsend.
Nah, just another silly gadget don't you think?
Not much love for the boob then?? A friend of ours is a midwife and lactation consultant. Seems the UK is very pro formula and not keen to BF?
No, I think it's more that the OP is not looking for anyone to be judgmental on his feeding choices, but specifically looking for assistance with bottle feeding. Telling him to breast feed instead is not exactly useful.
FWIW the UK Breastfeeding rate is c.80%, so there is plenty of love for those that can.
How Tenacious....
I meant in general the vibe I got was most were discussing bottles, I just wondered why people here preferred that to breastfeeding. I wasn't telling him to breastfeed, that was your (wrong) interpretation of my comment.
Where do you get your stats from that says it's 80%? I read that UK has one of the lowest BF rates in the world (1 in 200). Admittedly that's a Daily Mail article so hardly a tome of truth but I don't think it's anywhere near the 80% you say.
It worked fine for me and my wife, and our two. I know it's hard. They don't latch, the milk doesn't come in when you want it to, babies are fussy, they crack nipples, and mastitis is no laughing matter. I'm not going to say breast is best and all that garbage as the only thing that's best is what works for you / your wife and your bubs. I'm not pro one thing or another, I can only add my personal experience. It's f***ing hard work.
aphex_2k - MemberNot much love for the boob then?? A friend of ours is a midwife and lactation consultant. Seems the UK is very pro formula and not keen to BF?
Nope. Very pro-breastfeeding in the UK I think.
In our case, my Wife tried for 4 weeks, but our daughter wasn't feeding properly which was resulted in her not putting on enough weight & my Wife getting a very bad case of mastitis which wouldn't clear up along with massive feelings of guilt, that she wasn't a bad mother & that she was not giving our daughter the best start in life...
To be honest, while I can see why all the various health workers etc. recommended she kept at it, I don't think it was the right advice. She persevered & persevered, beating herself up about it, all the time making herself more and more ill.
She stopped trying to breastfeed somewhere around the start of December & her mastitis has only recently cleared up properly, she was in agony for weeks & it has taken a long while to heal.
She still feels bad about it, but since swapping to formula milk the removal of stress was instant, I was able to help with feeds meaning my Wife could get more sleep & our daughter started putting on weight & thriving.
I almost think it's gone a bit too far in the direction of breastfeeding being over-encouraged & mothers made to feel guilty if for whatever reason it doesn't work.
I dread to think how people coped before the days of formula milk to be honest. It must have been pretty terrible for the mothers who didn't get on with breast feeding.
For a new mother who is unable to breastfeed and is exhausted/wracked with emotional guilt from trying, they're a godsend
I'd second that, it is well worth seeing one rather than heading straight for the bottle. Not being judgemental, it is the parents choice, but a lot of people think that breast feeding comes naturally and give up if they can't do it, whereas having a quick lesson can really help mum get the hang of it.
Where do you get your stats from that says it's 80%?
Unicef, generally more reliable than DM 😉
My wife BF both of ours, bar a bit of bottle feeding with #1 in the early days due to various issues but I think my general point was that it didn't feel like the place to be having that discussion, don't know the situation of the OP, he's a few days into parenthood and probably got enough to worry about without opening that can of worms here.
Someone who comes and helps new mums who are struggling to breastfeed but really want to keep trying. Could you seriously not guess that?
Nope only ever heard them called midwives. Some of which have been trained in breast feeding advice in more detail but never that.
natrix - MemberI'd second that, it is well worth seeing one rather than heading straight for the bottle.
I'd third that..... 😉
At one stage my Wife was visiting the breastfeeding clinic probably every other day & they were able to provide great support and advice. I think if we had perhaps gone their sooner, things might have turned out differently but I think for a while my Wife didn't want to admit that things weren't working and she needed help to get things on track.
Until I experienced all this first-hand I thought it was all a load of old nonsense - stick baby on boob & off you go - but it really was an emotional rollercoaster & probably the most stressful part of early parenthood.
UNICEF quote 81% breastfed at birth, 24% at 6 weeks, 17% at 3 months.
But you're right... He's what, 7 days into a new bundle. Enjoy every precious minute of it.
Drac
Lactation Consultants of Great Britain
www.lcgb.org/
LCGB are the professional association for International Board Certified Lactation Consultants in the UK. IBCLC's hold the premier breastfeeding credential.
+1 to both of Stumpy's posts. My wife and i had a hideous experience with our first, wouldn't take to it at all. We had NHS, NCT, La Leche, everyone we could find try and help and nothing worked. After 4 hideous weeks in which I seriously had thoughts of smashing my daughters head against the wall, such was the loathing I had for this whole baby thing, it was finally my mum that threw a paddy and got a bottle into her.
It was like turning a light on. My girl started to thrive, my wife was 'off the hook' as it wasn't her choice in the end and started to enjoy what she'd wanted all her life, to be a proper mother.
The one big issue I had was telling the midwife who'd been so pro-breast, that we were almost scared to tell her what we'd done. But when we did, she admitted she'd thought it was what we should do too. However (and this still boils my piss 12 years on) - she was on a warning from her bosses because she wasn't hitting her breastfeeding targets, and hence felt she couldn't advise us to go to bottles while there was still a chance we'd be a tick in the box for her NHS targets.
You can blame her for her decisions not to advise us properly, you can blame the NHS for setting targets, you could even try blaming us for not perservering (and you might be right, maybe she would have got the hang of it in the end) - but if you do try to blame my wife, be ready to also be on a liquid / bottle fed diet for some time to come.
For a new mother who is unable to breastfeed and is exhausted/wracked with emotional guilt from trying, they're a godsend.
As long as you get a good one. A bad one, is worse than no help at all. YMMV
[for reference, my second took to it from Day 1 no problems and was solely breast fed until she bit one time too many. So we didn't make the target exclusively breast for 12months or whatever it is either]
LCGB are the professional association for International Board Certified Lactation Consultants in the UK. IBCLC's hold the premier breastfeeding credential.
Interesting. Never heard of the term before are they a true profession or a like a chiropractor? Genuine question as its a term I've never heard of.
We had a similar experience to theotherjonv, albeit our BF issues did sort themselves out after a few weeks, and specialist help, which was a life saver. Hospital wouldn't let my wife home as they hadn't seen a suitable latch as yet. After several days and much distress I made the point that I wasn't going to let the kid starve, we had bottles if we needed them, which was all they needed to hear but apparently were unable to make that suggestion themselves! I have some sympathy, I do agree that it's by far the best way and I have certainly seen some friends and family that appear to have given up with little effort to make it work, especially when I see the lengths my wife went to to make it happen, and eventually did. I guess if it wasn't for the stubbornness of the NHS all round we may well have given up ourselves, but both very glad we didn't
Like stumpy (waves), my mrs was suffering with mastitis & struggling to latch etc.
She put herself through a lot of pain, determined to breast feed.
She called in a lactation guru lady and Bob's your uncle,no worries.
I'd liken it to horse whispering for breastfeeding. She basically calmed us all down in one visit....
Never heard of the term before are they a true profession or a like a chiropractor?
Here in Canada I'd consider them a true profession (note: I'm not a medical type at all). They are on the maternity ward and they spend sometime with every 1st time mother to help the process along if required. They visit pretty much straight after the doctors.
There's "not much love for breast feeding" on this thread because my question was about bottle feeding techniques.
I'm not going into detail as I shouldn't have to, but breast feeding isn't an option for us.
BF is pushed upon you in the NHS, by some staff more than others and I can confirm there are BF "gurus" on the wards to make you feel like a failure if it doesn't work out.
We're currently trying making several bottles a time and warming them back up, successful so far. Not going to rule out the tommee tippee yet though.
Little one has been awake since about noon, think we over simulated her, hopefully get some kip now.... Hopefully.
Another echo of stumpy01's wife's experience. Mastitis (twice), refusing to feed, militant breastfeeding advisers, guilt for struggling so much. However, my wife managed to get through all that (all in first 4 months max) and then she found it a delight and a great way of bonding with our son. Daughter was bottle fed and although easier initially results in having to haul a load of stuff around whenever you go out. However, she is as happy and healthy as the boy so it certainly didn't do her any harm.
It isn't. Never heard of health visitors or midwives advising not to do batches only not to do more than you'll use in 24 hours.
It's on the formula powder packs - and I'm with everyone else on this thread, make up bottles of water each morning (and when you go out) and have the powder ready to tip in once you've microwaved.
And Richardkennely +1 on the pusheyness. I'm not a stupid person and neither is my wife. It was clearly pushed as a 'any other option is a failure' position and it really boiled my piss.