We did another survey on the Breastmates Facebook page. Trying to get some real information on the internet, so that other mothers can benefit.
I asked “so mummies out there, share with us 1 paragraph your advice for bottle feeding. Its so hard for people to find information about formula etc, lets see if we can put together some ideas to help..”
Here are some replies
Michelle:
If you know you need to bottle feed at some stage, do start to introduce a bottle early on – like within the first 2 weeks. We didn’t until 3 months and bubba refused to drink from any bottle – 8 months now and still won’t. Also, if baby refuses the formula, throws up afterwards, scratches chin or have spots/hives, then try the soy formula instead. It might be cow’s milk allergy.
Jodee:
I was so scared that my last baby would prefer the bottle (it was easier for my lifestyle to breastfeed) that I did not introduce it until it was too late – he NEVER took a bottle not even if it had expressed milk in it. My advice for bottle feeders is to be organised, prepare the bottles for the day. I would sterilise six bottles overnight then make them all up in the morning and have them ready with boiled water in the fridge just to heat and add powder when needed. You may need to experiment with teats and bottles and when you find the right combo stock up. It is also important not to feel bad about bottle feeding. Breast feeding is not for everyone.
Catherine:
People told me that if I introduced the bottle too early that my baby would get nipple confusion. Well I did things my way and as soon as my baby was home from NICU (born prem) we introduced the bottle with expressed breastmilk as well as bfing and my son never looked back or had any nipple confusion. It meant that my husband could help out with the feeding and I was able to get some time out when I needed it and I always had extra breastmilk in the fridge and frozen in the freezer. I agree with the previous posters – you need to be prepared when bottle feeding and have more bottles/teats than you think you will need – better to have to many then too less. We used a bottle warmer to heat the water to the exact temp which worked great when he was little as he fed so often being prem. Now we microwave it. Make sure you’ve always got boiled water measured into the bottles before you have visitors come around and you boil the jug – it takes a while to cool it down….
Sarah:
Definitely start early and regularly – and DON’T over feed. My daughter would take the occasional bottle of formula or expressed milk but when she was 3 months old she had a B/F then took 200 mls of formula in bottle then threw up all night. It was a bad experience and she wouldn’t let a bottle anywhere near her ever again. She’s now a year old and never took a bottle no matter what I tried! Made going back to work very difficult!
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