I have no idea what I'm doing, please help!

[loving_life]

Hello ladies

My baby girl is 8 weeks old today (sig is wrong, no idea why) and she has been exclusively breast fed since birth but unfortunately my milk supply has dropped dramatically. She wasn't putting weight on and was very unhappy.
I have had to start her on formula, I still give her the breast now and then, mainly for comfort (for both of us lol). Sometimes she takes the breast, sometimes she doesn't.

Basically, as I have been EBF, I have absolutely no idea how to FF.
How much do I give her in mls for each feed? How many bottles a day should she have and how often?
What are the rules for making bottles in advance for night feeds or when I'm out etc? I don't have a bottle warmer. Can I reheat if she's only had say, 30ml of a bottle and there is still some left?

What I'm doing now:
I use Aptimil and use powder when at home but use the ready made cartons for when I'm out. With the ready made, I heat it up in a jug of boiling water for a minute or so.
I offer her 120 ml but she often only drinks about 90-100mls.
With the powder, I boil fresh water, make the bottle and pop it in a jug of cold water to cool.
I have been boiling fresh water, putting 120ml of water in a bottle, no powder, popping it in the fridge then adding the powder when I need it, and heating in a jug of hot water for the nights

I don't know how much to give her and how often. I don't know the rules of ore making bottles. I'm alone all day and don't like to leave her screaming to make up a bottle but I guess I have to.

Sorry about all the questions. I just have no idea what to do and the HV is out tomorrow to weigh her again to see if the formula is helping her gain weight.


On the plus side, she is so much happier (except when she's waiting for the bottle to heat up lol), she is more content and sleeps much better.
She goes on the breast maybe 2 or 3 times a day for 10-20 mins but it's mainly for comfort as my milk supply is low, however there is some milk, just not very much.

Thank you ladies

 

[eulmh82]

The guidelines in England are that the water needs to be 70 degrees when adding the powder so that it kills any bacteria. What I am doing is I put a bit of boiled water in each bottle and fridge it and then I make it up to the correct amount with fresh boiled water and add the powder as needed. that way the water is hot enough to kill any bacteria.

There are rough guidelines on what your baby should be having but each baby differs - we got so stressed with trying to get the right amount of mls in him and I regret it. I used to try and feed every 3 hrs so he would eat enough as he suffered a lot with wind and i realise now I should have just gone with him!.

As for reheating I wouldn;t personally. Some people make up bottles in advance and then reheat once but i wouldn;t heat it let them have some then heat again as the bacteria will have started to multiply - yes it wastes it but you will work out what sort of feed your LO will have. We always make a bit more as on odd occasions he surprises us!

 

[BLC34]

Hi there!

Hun I feel your pain. I've ff from the start & I had no idea what I was doing-it's very daunting & you find that there isn't a lot of info out there for ff as everyone promotes bf.

You don't have to listen to me, but here's what I do. But everyone has their own opinions & you need to do what you feel comfortable with. If you followed all the 'rules' you'd be rather restricted.

Firstly the guideline is 70ml (2.5oz) per lb of baby's weight. So x your baby's weight by 70 & that's your approx 24 hr quota. You then need to look at how many times a day baba feeds and divide your daily amount by this. I find about 6 or 7 feeds in 24 hrs suits my little one-about every 3-4 hrs. Sometimes you'll find baba wants more & they say you can give an extra oz now & then if baby demanding it. My baby should be on 16 oz/day but usually has 18. Let baba guide you.

I have to say I'm a fan of making up feeds in advance. I make a batch of 8 every morning & store them in BACK of fridge & they will keep for 24 hrs. I make my feeds up with the powder & then bring back to room temp when I need them. Again, controversial but I use the microwave (lots of places say not to because of hot spots, but if you give milk a good shake I've never had a problem). However my little one likes her feed at room temp so I only have to blast in micro for 20 seconds & it's literally room temp so no danger of scolding her.

Like the previous person said, water has to be 70 degrees at least before you add powder to kill any bacteria. So you could put just water in the fridge & warm it up & add powder as you need it. I personally found this long winded for me as I'd have to cool it right back down again to room temp & it takes ages to cool a bottle right down using cold water! If your baby likes warm milk however this might be better option for you. Once you've made up a feed or taken it out fridge you have 2 hrs to use it.

When I go out I take a flask of cooled boiled water (that's still at least 70 degrees) & put the powder in those pots you can get. I then take a couple of sterilised bottles & make up the feed on the go. You might just need to either make the feed a bit early or get hold of some cold water to cool it down. Alternatively cartons are easy but they can be expensive if your baby is still on small feeds as you'd waste a lot.

Like I said, it's a minefield but you'll soon find something that works for you & will be in a routine before you know it!! Xx

 

[Saphira]

Hi there. I saw an earlier thread from you in Baby Club. Hope you're okay.

For making up formula, go by the instructions on the back of the box. My daughter's formula is made up going by those specific instructions as they tend to differ with different brands of formula.
I boil water, use the Cool Twister to cool it (https://www.amazon.co.uk/Twister-bo...ZZSE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345130668&sr=8-1 - it's sold in the U.K., just checked - doesn't seem to be very popular outside of Germany but I recommend it 110%. Cools boiled water in 80 seconds. Baby doesn't have to wait long this way. It's a must have! ), it's then cooled to 50ºc as stated the water temp. should be when mixed with the powder, again going by my daughter's formula, powder's added, I give the bottle a good shake, check the temperature on my arm, try to lessen the bubbles by turning the bottle in a circular motion, and lastly give to hungry baby. You'll be able to do it with your eyes closed in no time.

For bottle care we boil all bottles/bottle parts/pacifiers in a pot for 5mins once a week to sterilize them. Having a bottle sterilizer would make the process quicker and easier (still don't have one but definitely getting one). After each use we clean her bottle with Nuk bottle cleaner but I believe regular dish soap is okay too although I'm not completely sure about that. A bottle scrubber makes it easier to clean them.

As for how much to make, that depends entirely on the baby. Her formula states:

1st week: make up 70ml
2nd-4th week: make up 100ml
2nd month: make up 130ml
3rd-4th month: make up 170ml
From the 5th month: make up 200ml

Also stated is that these amounts are only approximate as every baby's different. We don't follow the guidelines as a ton of milk would be wasted that way. Instead, we make up around what she eats on average. Lately she's been eating less as she's getting her first two teeth in at once. At most she'll have 150ml but usually it's 70-130ml at a time. Therefore I make up 130ml bottles nowadays. A month or so ago that was very different. I always make up 170ml bottles as she nearly always drank that much. So, it fluctuates, we just follow her.

We feed her whenever she's hungry. We don't have a schedule with it. Sometimes she's hungry again after 1hr. (although rare) and sometimes she goes 4hrs. without milk - usually every 2-3hrs. Depends on her. Since she's been exclusively formula fed since 3 weeks of age we're very used to her hunger signs. They're impossible to miss!

So, I hope that helps a bit! Wishing you and your daughter all the very best. Glad to hear she's been happier lately.

 

[jenfirstbaby]

Everyone does it different and I think the 'rules' change all the time .

what I do is boil the kettle, fill up usually 2 bottles at a time and leave to cool to room temp. Once my lo is ready for a feed I just add the powder. I don't chill it, or heat it, she has it at room temp. Once I've made up a feed I normally use it within an hour, if its past that I pour it out.

Well, that's what I done to start with. I don't so much go by the hour rule now. Sometimes if I need to go out n know she will have a feed soon il make it in advance but id never make all the bottles in the morning etc. Not that I think there's anything wrong with that,. Its just what we've been told to do these days.

I'm not even sure how to find out what she should be taking, but if she normally takes x amount, Id just make that. No point making loads if its gonna go to waste.

good luck x

 

[loving_life]

Thanks everyone, I just read the other thread about how everyone makes their bottles. It varies so much fr person to person, countries etc.
I still have no idea what to do lol. Maybe I should ask my HV what the UK guidelines are.

Can anyone explain what rapid cooling is plz? And why is it done?

Sorry for all the questions, I feel like such a noob haha!