newbie to formula feeding

[flowers04]

hi

i have been breastfeeding my lo but have now got an infection therefore i cannot breastfeed for at least a week - i have never given my lo formula and am dreading it

i have bought some aptamil and will try this today - she is 3 months old

just wanted some tips on how much to give, best way to heat, how often to burp, any other tips that would help - pleaseeee - i know she's not going to like it

what about night feeds - my lo normally falls asleep on the boob - i don't want her to fall asleep without burping her

thank you

 

[faille]

Hi, at 7wks, my LO was taking 4x6oz bottles and 1x7oz bottle (can't remember how much at 3months, that's the closest age I've got recorded) so you could try 6 or 7oz to start. If your LO drains them all, then up the oz or if she continously leaves a few oz's you could probably afford to drop the oz's offered.

As she's used to BF, you might want to try winding her every 2oz or so to start with, I'm guessing she'll have quite a bit of wind due to the flow being different. You'll get to know their cues of when they need winding.

You'll also find that they don't need winding as much (if at all) when they dream feed. Personally, I always winded regulary when awake but leave it until the end if she fell asleep. She still managed to bring it up whilst sleeping.

As for best of ways of heating.... There's a few options...
Make up the entire feed, let cool and then store in the fridge, heating as required
Make up water only and store on the side, reheating the water and then adding the powder when required
Make up the bottles with half the amount of water and then add fresh boiling water and powder when required
Making up each feed completely fresh as and when needed (the "advised" way by HVs)
There's probably more but they're the ways I know of.

Personally, I do the bottles with water and reheat then add powder when required. I just sit the bottle in a jug of boiling water until it heats then add powder to the heated water.

HTH a bit x

 

[flowers04]

another thing what about sterilising bottles at night - she'd be screaming by the time everything is ready

i have just tried the bottle and i was right she will not take it

what do i do - i cannot give her breastmilk for at least a week

 

[history_girls]

What make of bottle have you got? Closer to nature is supposed to let you do bf and ff? Also you might need to make sure you try a variety of teets. My LO has 6month+ teets as she likes her milk quickly. as we make milk up in advance we don't have to steralise in the middle of the night. You might find on formula she might skip the night feed.

We get her to sleep by bath, bottle, bed. We burp her then rock till sleepy then put her down. It took a while but she does it.

Would it help if someone else fed your LO so they can't smell your milk and think you just being mean not letting them have it?

 

[Cheesepuff]

You can also try to heat up the milk quite warm, as your LO is used to warm breastmilk and prefers it that way. When I moved Alex to bottles at 5 months, the only way to get him to take formula is to heat it up quite warm. Also, breastfed babies might be used to "little & often" feeding, so won't be able to guzzle down large amounts to start with. Alex used to BF every 2-3 hours & was the same with the bottles at the start. I started with few oz and he has gradually built the level up.

Are you sure you cannot BF with the medication you have to take, check kellymom.com for more info, but there are quite a few medications which are safe to take while BF>

HTH

 

[flowers04]

thank you all for your replies

i am using the tommy tippee nuby bottle - she likes the teat on that - i have got dr browns and tommy tipper ctn - i would prefer to use these bottles for the anti colic but i might just try the nuby teat in them

i managed to ger her to take sma but only a few oz's - i did warm it up - i am just using the ready made cartons for now

i was taking antibiotics that were safe for breastfeeding but my infection got worse and now i'm on two lots of meds so unfortunately i cannot bf

tonight is going to be fun - poor thing is going to want mummy milk but not gonna happen

what is the best way to sterilise bottles at night - i have a steriliser but it only keeps bottles sterile for three hours - i don't know what her pattern is going to be with formula

another question(sorry for all the q's) - how often can you heat up carton formula - she took a little milk then stopped so we tried again after half hour - is it okay to heat the milk again - i just put it in a saucepan of water

thanks again

 

[history_girls]

I must admit that as i make up feeds in advance the bottles are used sterile and then kept for needing - so don't steralise in the night.

With carton milk, I would say that if it is not used within an hour chuck it away because warm milk is a breading ground for germs. I put the milk into a bottle thermal carrier if she only has a bit and might take more half an hour later.

 

[faille]

thank you all for your replies

i am using the tommy tippee nuby bottle - she likes the teat on that - i have got dr browns and tommy tipper ctn - i would prefer to use these bottles for the anti colic but i might just try the nuby teat in them

i managed to ger her to take sma but only a few oz's - i did warm it up - i am just using the ready made cartons for now

i was taking antibiotics that were safe for breastfeeding but my infection got worse and now i'm on two lots of meds so unfortunately i cannot bf

tonight is going to be fun - poor thing is going to want mummy milk but not gonna happen

what is the best way to sterilise bottles at night - i have a steriliser but it only keeps bottles sterile for three hours - i don't know what her pattern is going to be with formula

another question(sorry for all the q's) - how often can you heat up carton formula - she took a little milk then stopped so we tried again after half hour - is it okay to heat the milk again - i just put it in a saucepan of water

thanks again

If you sterilise the bottles in advance, they are fine if you put them together for 24hrs as the lid keeps them airtight (just make sure they've been put together properly and tightly). If you keep them in a steam steriliser (not sure about cold water), they don't stay sterile as long as the lid has holes, allowing air to get to them.

Personally, I don't think you're meant to reheat milk, should only be heated once but I'm not 100% sure. I know my mum used to reheat my milk twice at most but that's just personal experience and opinion - personally, I only say heat it once and discard after 2hrs. (although you may want to check the packet instructions as some say discard after 1hr).