Help please! (feeding questions)

Hi Bex.

Sorry can't give you any advice about FF but when i weaned Kaelen i just expressed a tiny amount off to make my boobs a bit more comfortable when they got too full/sore and it didn't take them long to go back to normal. He was a lot older though so i don't know if that would make a difference or not. You'd have to watch out for Mastitis too. Cabbage leaves are supposed to be good too for soothing sore full boobs, they probably will get like that at some stage. Or there's stuff you can get from the chemist called Milk Stop.

Good luck, i hope things get easier for you now that Lexies on formula.

HAve you tried everything Bex in regards to breastfeeding. It sounds like you want to, so can I suggest something like domperadone (sp?)? And what about a boobie consultant? Each worked wonders for us. I am only suggesting this as I was so close to giving up so many times in the first couple of weeks....but we pushed through and I can proudly say we were pretty successful.
If it were me and you were going ahead with FF, when you have full boobs I would just feed her. If it is supply issues, wouldn't you want to make the most of her getting breast milk when it is more readily availible?

Good luck!

Re winding, never had problems bringing wind up with DD (100% FF). She lets out massive burps about a minute after feeding. If you do have problems, maybe try some infacol or gripe water?

Re supply, i had supply issues too and TBH never experienced any pain or discomfort drying up. Maybe cos there wasn't much to dry up?? Who knows. I was expressing though, so that could have helped. I reduced the expressing overtime too, so didn't just stop dead.

Perhaps try the domperadone if you're wanting to carry on BF'ing. I tried it but did nothing for me. I was lucky to get 20mls off both sides!
At the end of the day we do whats best for our baby's and you know deep down when it's not working.
DD is fed pretty much 3 hourly even on formula. Tried letting her go for 4 hours and she was just starving 2 hours later.

Hey Bex - as you know we have moved to formula full time - I shouldn't have given up cold turkey but I did and it was incredibly painful! The pain was pretty bad 12-15 hours after the last feed and was awful for 24 hours. It then eased up. I wouldn't recommend going cold turkey though and would keep expressing every few feeds and then reduce further so that your supply slowly diminshes! My MW told me off as I could have got mastitis - thank goodness I didn't!

My MW recommended we feed DS every 3 hours when we were on 'operation fatten up' as she termed it! We are now on 3-4 hours since last Wed and he has only gone to 4 hours a couple of times in that time!

I sometimes fill a bottle with just boiled water when we got out. Put it in the thermal pocket in our baby bag and by the time 3 hours comes around it's exactly the right temperature. But also take a thermos with us too just in case.

Agree with a bottle warmer, so much easier. We have the Nuk one which is cheaper but I think is more basic than the Avent one.

Microwave steriliser is a blessing too! We got enough bottles to last a whole day and wash them in the dishwasher. You can get tommee tippee dishwasher things that hold the teats and caps, they sell them at countdown. Makes the whole washing thing alot easier.

My boy was BF till 4mths, but I didn't think he was getting enough. Gaining weight, but loosing ground against the weight curve IYKWIM.

When we started FF, I had a plan to drop one BF at a time and replace it with a FF. DS had other plans. He went from 10 BF per day, to 0 in under a week. Once he was actually getting full of milk from a bottle, he wasn't having any of that silly BF nonsense. I got engorged breasts just once, expressed and gave it to him at the next feed and that was it. It took me a lot longer to emotionally get over not BFing him.

As far as volume and timing of his bottles go - trust your instinct. Plunket are obsessed with having babies feed every 4 hrs. I started with every 4hrs now we're on every 3hrs - ish. I waste a bit of formula but DS is much happier.
Sometimes he'll finish every last drop, sometimes he just wants a wee top-up. I say better to throw some formula down the drain and have a happy baby. And oh my is he sooooo much happier on formula. I let him stop when he wants, though I will re-offer after a bit if he doesn't drink much.

Also, don't be surprised if your little one tries to do a catch up. DS gained heaps in his first formula month, now he's settled down.

Yep, the formula dispenser is a godsend!!! After one day of trying to hold screaming hungry bubs and put formula from sachet into bottle using my other hand while it went everywhere and everyone in my baby class just looked (coz I was the only mother using formula) I got one and it is great!!!

For dispensers, I've got two Tommee Tippee (Farmers) and an Infantino (Baby Factory). I love my TT ones...but having 3 comes in very handy when the girls stay overnight (because 3 dispensers = 4 feeds for me).

Both my girls are formula fed. Here's some of what works for us:

- have a covered jug of cooled boiled water in the fridge
- wash, sterilise and fill bottles with boiled water and store in the fridge till ready to mix
- microwave sterilisers are the bomb
- the tomee tippee dispensers are great (up until you need to get 4 scoops in there - then you need two separate ones)
- if you can work out how long it takes to heat the bottle to the right temp in the microwave it's much quicker (especially when they are screaming) than sitting in hot water. *just shake it really well after heating.

Re constipation, my MW and Doctor told us off for using brown sugar and boiled water - it can cause diabetes. Doctors can perscribe 'Coloxyl' and you just add the correct amount to their bottle and shake it in.

And my MW suggested not expressing in decreasing amounts, but to bind your boobs really tight until the milk is gone. Worked here, although I did have a couple of nights of leaking - I recommend a folded up towell under your chest in bed!

Gripe water is good for wind, although we now give Weleda Colic Powder at 3 out of 4 feeds and that is helping heaps (they have some colic issues as well as wind though, and mild reflux). Best thing we purchased were these little medicine dispensers with teats - 'Munchkins' they are called - chemists sell them - works for gripe water too.

Hope it works out for you, and don't beat yourself up over not being able to BF - as others have said - happy Mum = happy baby!