Is FF a pain in the arse? Or is it a bit easier?

[sandilion]

As the title says - is it more work?

I am considering starting to FF LO now but if it's going to be more work and fussing about is it worth it? (if i am able to carry on BF that is)

What are some of the perks to FF?

 

[lozzy21]

For me it was a big pain in the arse, the only pro was other people could feed LO but that was a downside too.

The washing, sterilising, boiling the kettle, waiting for it to cool, making the bottles, letting the bottles cool. If i could have i would have BF untill LO was old enough to drink cows milk from a beaker.

 

[MrsButterfly]

If I could have kept on bf I would have - ff is definitely more of a faff! As pp said, only bonus is other people can feed lo but if you are able to express and feed by bottle then you can do that anyway.

 

[Ktothema]

From what I've been told its a whole different set of pain in the arse, but ultimately once you get used to the faff they're both easier.q

 

[Mummythree]

I enjoy FF The real pain in the ass for me is Reflux! (not something ff causes)

 

[vintage67]

Since your baby is 7 months, he will likely be able to hold his own bottle. This is not a "lazy mom" action, as it is good practice on his motor skills. You may enjoy having the eye contact with him if he takes his bottle in your lap. He can have a bottle in his high chair if you like and look around and take in the world a bit while he feeds.

He isn't a tiny infant so the sterilization of bottles may not even be recommended or necessary at 7 months.

And yes, family may enjoy sharing a feed but he will likely want to hold the bottle himself before long which is kind of cute.

Congrats on 7 months of breastfeeding. Happy feeding either way.

 

[Saphira]

I wouldn't say it's too much trouble but then again my breastfeeding experience is very limited so I don't have much to compare it to. It's a lot easier than pumping though, I can say that! Pumping is breastfeeding combined with formula feeding with the amount of work I'd say!

For us formula feeding has required -

- Making up every bottle fresh with cooled down boiled water from an electric kettle. The process is made quicker with the Cool Twister
- Washing them with hot water, bottle soap and a bottle scrubber afterward
- Putting the bottles (we have 3) and their accessories in the sterilizer every couple of days. Used to sterilize once a week by throwing everything in a large pot and boiling them in water for 5mins. but that was more of a hassle so the sterilizer has saved time and they're affordable
- When out and about we bring a thermos filled with boiled water and that stays hot-warm for a good 6-8hrs. and store powder in a formula dispenser

I think that covers it!

 

[HellBunny]

It can be a faff washing/sterilising but it had its positives in that i could play with my 2 year old, as LO feeds every 2 hours and takes 5- 10 minutes to finish

 

[Mummythree]

wow 5-10mins to finnish ds has never been that quick.

 

[Mummythree]

pron wouldnt be good if he did with reflux

 

[dizz]

It's not as much of a faff as people would like to make out - it rapidly just becomes routine - I wash bottles twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening, sterilising - I cold-water sterilise so just chuck things in as they're washed up and fish them out when I need them, and just change the steriliser solution on an evening as I'm pootling around the kitchen.

 

[manchester1]

positives, you can feed your baby anywhere, and anyone can feed him/her.
my husband really enjoys feeding the baby to bond and it gives me a break.

seriously washing and sterilising bottles...not a pain at all. if washing up was such a pain wed all eat of disposable plates every meal!!
i make my bottles in the morn and then theres no problem, if im going out i buy the ready made cartons and just take sterilised bottles with me.

it wasnt really my choice to ff but im happy with it now!

 

[Eala]

Both BF'ing and FF'ing have their own pro's and cons, and aspects of faff. After 7 months of BF'ing, if I'm honest, then yes, you would probably initially find some aspects of FF a pain at first. But like anything, you adapt and as Dizz said it rapidly becomes routine.

There's no denying that there will be a slight delay between knowing baby is hungry and them getting fed - preparing a bottle (however you choose to do this) will take longer than unclipping a nursing bra But again, you adapt and so does baby.

Additional washing - yes, this exists, but to me it's no different to how I wash my breastpump parts at the end of each day. A lot of bottles are dishwasher safe these days too (though it may discolour them) so that's an option if you have a dishwasher.

I have an electric steriliser and I'd just bung that on before bed then sort the bottles out in the morning.

 

[ZoMo]

I started off trying to breastfeed but even from day 2 my DD needed topping up with formula. Then we moved to expressing and FF top up - now that was a faff! Then we moved at 6 weeks to exclusive FF as her appetite was through the roof! She is now 8 months and with weaning she only takes 3 bottles of milk per day.

You get used to a routine. We wash bottles once a day and whack them through the microwave steriliser for 6 minutes (Philips Avent bottles and steriliser). We make 3 bottles a day in one go, rapid cool and bung them in the fridge then just warm each up in a jug of hot water during our pre bottle nappy change and we are good to go!

I enjoy being able to hand her over to family to feed and to be honest she isnt that interested in milk now that she is weaning.

You will probably notice the expense of buying the bottles, steriliser and formula, unless you have been expressing and have these already.

We were forced into FF rather than through choice but you very quickly get used to the routine

 

[rory83coyotes]

Well I combi feed and there are pros and cons to each
breastfeeding-
pro- free, easy access, no bottles to mess with or sterilize, immunities
cons-i'm tied to the couch all day, I can't pump enough to keep up at work

formula-
pros-anyone can feed, it takes less time to feed a bottle than to nurse mine (not all are like this), I don't boil water and sterilize bottles (US) so its easy to make out and about, you know exactly how much they drank
Cons- really really expensive, i hate washing bottles it takes over my life and I have a dishwasher, its not natural

 

[bumblebeexo]

LO has been FF from the very start, so I can't really compare to breastfeeding. Both have pros and cons. With breastfeeding there is no sterilising, making up bottles, thinking 'sh*t we have no milk', can be fed on demand no matter where you are and less expensive. FF has advantages too, main one being others can feed too. It was so good OH being able to help with the night feeds, and doing feeds whilst I went for a nap. It is a pain, but it's not forever!

 

[ktod]

I combi feed. Out of the two I prefer FF for speed but want to continue BF for health benefits until my supply gives up. I don't get the whole washing and sterilising is a faff. I don't have that many bottles and I just wash them with dishes and leave them in Milton solution. It would be even easier if I had a dishwasher! I boil the kettle once in the morning and have a flask of hot water and a storage container of cooled boiled water to use in the day so making up bottles is really quick. BF is simpler but that doesn't necessarily make it the easiest option.

 

[lozzy21]

Since your baby is 7 months, he will likely be able to hold his own bottle. This is not a "lazy mom" action, as it is good practice on his motor skills. You may enjoy having the eye contact with him if he takes his bottle in your lap. He can have a bottle in his high chair if you like and look around and take in the world a bit while he feeds.

He isn't a tiny infant so the sterilization of bottles may not even be recommended or necessary at 7 months.

And yes, family may enjoy sharing a feed but he will likely want to hold the bottle himself before long which is kind of cute.

Congrats on 7 months of breastfeeding. Happy feeding either way.

In the UK your recommended to sterilise for as long as your baby is on formula so the age of the baby doesnt come into it

 

[sandilion]

Thanks so much for all of the replies here, you have all helped me heaps with my decision. I will combi feed and for the 11th month Ill possibly have LO solely on formula as i will be back to work by then when when i am work i don't want to be pumping at work. I might dry up earlier and get him onto the formula earlier. I guess ill just take it each day at a time.

It's so true that BF might be the simpler option but not necessarily the easier option.

Thanks again all xx

 

[erikab922]

Just will add my 2 cents - I've been exclusively pumping for ages now which is like the worst of both worlds, so FF is much easier for me. My LO gets 1-2 bottles of BM now and the rest is formula. My supply dropped rapidly after putting her on formula so do be prepared for that possibility.