Bottle Babies

LittleN, we had some similar issues with screaming, arching, pulling off etc.. and I was so confused if DS had reflux, wind, or if I had too much or too little milk. Plus I was worried that he was dropping down the graph (though still gaining) rather than going up. I started doing top ups with formula and pretty quickly (within a couple of weeks) he refused to BF altogether so we switched to formula full time then too.

I also felt awful about it as wasn't ready to give up and felt terrible it hadn't worked out for us. But in saying that DS was so much happier and feeding was so much more relaxed so it had to be a good thing.

I love the name Noah by the way

Hey LittleN, I had a similar story to you where I never had enough milk and I expressed after every feed, 3 hourly, used a lactaid, took domperidone, blessed thistle, fenugreek, ate loads of food and protein etc etc.. basically tried all the tricks to make it work and after 8 weeks ended up having to give up as DD was getting so fussy and upset when feeding, which would upset me and it all went pear shaped. I was exhausted but devastated to stop. Went on to get super depressed after stopping as I stopped cold turkey - I should have realised but didn't know to stop gradually so the hormonal shift made me feel anxious and depressed. It took me about a month to feel 'normal' again but a bit longer than that to actually make peace with myself that I was formula feeding when ALL I wanted was to BF. It's such a shame so much pressure is put on us to BF when I am SO much happier now that I have a happy baby and not spending half my time expressing.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with Formula and judgemental comments are the last thing we need

Have you tried domperidone and the other herbal remedies.   I know they work for some people, not for me, unfortunately. I also know of other people who had a low milk supply and did manage to get their supply up to full BF but it took 3 months - a lot of hard work of expressing after every feed and trying to relax as much as possible - which I know is really hard to do when you're under stress of it not working the way you want.

I hope you're happy with where you are at and remember the most important thing for your baby is to have a happy MUM

We did BF for nearly 3 months, then started introducing a bottle of formula once a day because Lilijanna is going to daycare at 5 months. She is 4 months now and we are doing the opposite - bottle for every feed except 1.
I tried expressing but I just couldnt get the hang of it - my nipple would just get stuck in the pump nozzle thing (great to have long nipples for BF though! we had no problems!) so I tried hand expressing which was more successful, but took forever! and bubs would want to be feed by the time I had finished messing around with it.

Lili loves her bottle. When I use the 150ml bottle she likes to hold it herself and she easily finishes 220mls from the big bottle. She has had lots of different people give her the bottle too - I feel good in knowing that she wont have any trouble feeding at daycare.

I think any mummy that is feeding their baby regardless of how the food gets in there - is doing a great job and is always thinking of baby first. It depresses me sometimes to think of the arguements and fuss over BF or Formula when there are kids in our country who have no meals and go to school hungry everyday.

I tell you what is also great about the bottle (confession time) we got a few varieties of bottle and she has definately got a preference. There is one type of bottle that she hates which I have 2 of......I make a nice warm bottle of milky milo in the unused bottle and it has become mummies bottle (not that Lili would ever see me with it and my partner has no idea, totally my secret) but it is sooo nice to be able to lie horizontally in bed with a book and have a hot drink without sitting up.

Hi Minxynzl, I have bottled fed my DS since 9 weeks. Between 4-6 months he was having 5 bottles a day (7am, 10am, 1pm, 4pm and 7pm) and around 180ml to 240ml. I find it easier to fill the bottles each morning for the day and when going out I would keep them inside the avent thermabag so the bottle was still warm and mixed better with the formula. Also really good to invest in a powder dispenser so you can just bring what formula you need for the day not the whole tin.

I developed a good bum patting routine which could put DS to sleep in a noisy environment within minutes, doesn't work now though!

GL

Also I just fill bottles with cooled boiled water then have a few feeds in a formula dispenser. I don't heat the formula if I'm out- you don't actually have to, you can give it cold or warm, and my baby is used to both so I only heat it if I have the option. Has always been pretty easy for me doing it like that

Guest- There is nothing wrong with fromula feeding so don't let plunket get you down. Does it seem like she is in pain when she drinks it or just dosnt want it? If so she could have silent reflux but just sounds like she is trying to get used to the formula. If she refuses to take the formula you are on I would try changing to soy as it tastes diffrent and some babys will drink that rather than normal formula

The Great Link Cuppatea, I bought a new glass bottle from Faucet Face , and I am satisfied with its quality & results. I advise it to all those people who are not using these bottles till now.