formula milk - which one?

[BellendenBear]

fmay, I have a bag of different bottles if you want to give them a try and don't want the expense of buying new ones only to be rejected. I got them on here a few months ago, 5 or 6 different types. Success with playtex drop-ins and now my 6 month old will drink from any bottle she can get he hands on. I offered them on the forum a month or so ago but no takers. Also, have you tried a fast flow teat? Mine fusses much less with them. Let me know if you want the bottles.

Lots of interesting comments. Yes, these final weeks of mat leave seem over-shadowed by guilt and anxiety. So difficult.

[fmay]

Unfortunately refused Nuk bottles too but I will try the avent cup and toy/blanket soother idea. Thanks for your help!

[fmay]

you would't believe how many different teats and bottles we've tried...I have drawers full of them...perhaps we need to go back to them and try again now he's a few weeks older!

[Fuschia]

fmay Wrote:

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> Unfortunately refused Nuk bottles too but I will

> try the avent cup and toy/blanket soother idea.

> Thanks for your help!

You can take the inner seal out the first few tries then the milk flows very fast (but messy)

No reason not to stick with the soft white spout right up to and past a year if it's comforting.

Setting up a regular lullaby CD at bedtime and establishing a good routine for naps and bath/bed might also be helpful while you have the bf element as a prop, then carry on with the rest of the stuff when you drop the bf...

But you know, from about 7/8m, I have found all my children largely lose interest in the breast during the day, and end up wanting it bedtime/nightime/if they're upset or ill. I know with a gannet like 5m old it's hard to believe, but they develop and move on as they get older, regardless of what you do!

[nicolemodesti]

Bellenden Bear do try not to let your end of MAT leave be overshadowed by guilt and anxiety.....sounds to me that you have an idea of what you want for your baby and have successfully set up the first step of switching to formula. Plus the added bonus that she will drink from bottle.

[TP]

RE the bottle: my experience is same as above so keep trying - we tried all the different teat shapes/ bottle types (Nuk, Tommy Tippee, Avent), expressed milk, formula and eventually he took a Tommy Tippee, then didn't care what it was as long as had a silicon teat. Refused any kind of sippy cup went straight to normal cup. We started at about the age your baby is - 5 months. Had to get my partner to do it at first though. Once he took his first 5 oz he was absolutely fine!

I used Hipp organic, Aptamil when I needed a ready made carton, switched to cow's milk at a year old. He's hail & hearty. His older brother was also switched to Aptamil 1st at 5 months and is in excellent health & it's brilliant that you have been breastfeeding for the first months anyway. Don't feel guilty, try to enjoy your last few days, I know it's hard though been there myself..

[Belle]

We've used SMA gold almost exclusively - baby had wind like most of them and also has reflux but other formulas made no difference and infant gaviscon did seem to help a bit. The very lazy plus to SMA gold is you can buy it ready made in 1 litre cartons, i know it's ridiculously uneconomical but it worked for us at the start when things were very tough!

[ratty]

Aptamil for ours when my wife could not BF after he was 4 weeks. Has not done him any harm at all and, again, was recommended by our GP and Kings.

[millsa]

Ive read about 7 posts and had to stop so dont know if anyone recommended but we use SMA gold and never had problems witb it. mind you we've never tried anything else because SMA worked well. good luck.

Does anyone alse hates expressing as much as I did? I found it the most boring thing in the world, sitting in a room on my own and pressing for loooong minutes when I could have had a well-deserved nap instead!

[Fuschia]

millsa Wrote:>

> Does anyone alse hates expressing as much as I

> did? I found it the most boring thing in the

> world, sitting in a room on my own and pressing

> for loooong minutes when I could have had a

> well-deserved nap instead!

Yup! Though my special pumping bra which caused so much hilarity on another thread means I could do it hands free while surfing the EDF!

[RoosterMcLooster]

Don't fall for the advertising BB. We used soya milk mixed with hemp seed oil from 6 months. baby McL doing fine

[helena handbasket]

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/in-support-of-bottle-feeding/

If anyone is interested: I was sent the piece yesterday (not sure why but.....) it is this exact topic. Read the comments, they are the best part and likely the cause of my "impatience" (sorry!) :)

(I may not have linked this properly, fingers crossed)

[helena handbasket]

Okay so I messed it up!

The address is www.parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/07/22/in-support-of-bottle-feeding

It's worth a read if you feel unsupported (but great insight for those trying to understand......)

I think the best line is "a good mother makes sure her child is fed........it's not a religion". I may have wept to finally hear it put that way.

[plimsoul]

interesting, a friend sent me an article that was in the times on the 20th (section 2) saying that actually there is pretty much no real evidence that breast feeding is any better for either mum or child. this would imply that it is a personal choice which is great and no pressure (i'm not saying that anyone on this thread is applying pressure, i'm talking in general health practice terms) should be applied to mums who are already shattered enough.

we used sma. i decided very quickly that breast feeding was not for me and the kids took to bottles as easily as boob. i never changed brands as they seemed perfectly happy and progressed, shockingly, at exactly the same rate as all the other kids around.

what made me laugh the most in the times article was this idea that if men were the ones breast feeding then maybe the message would be different!

[NHMummy]

i used Hipp from early age for my little one, she's thrived on it.

[Fuschia]

plimsoul Wrote:

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> interesting, a friend sent me an article that was

> in the times on the 20th (section 2) saying that

> actually there is pretty much no real evidence

> that breast feeding is any better for either mum

> or child. this would imply that it is a personal

> choice which is great and no pressure

While of course everyone should feel free to do what they feel is right, and there's no need to feel guilty...

the press reports have been rather lopsided as the truth regarding the research is rather more complex than they report.. http://www.babyfriendly.org.uk/newsletter/email_updates/news/news_update_210709b.htm "It is important to be aware that the protective effect of breastfeeding is stronger in relation to some illness, notably gastroenteritis, than it is for other illnesses such as allergies. This does not mean that there is no protective effect against those other illnesses...Importantly, where the evidence shows a slight protective effect of breastfeeding, this can still be the result of well performed research. Therefore, to describe the evidence as weak because of a lower degree of protection is inaccurate and misleading. It is important to note that a small protective effect of breastfeeding against a significant illness will have a dramatic effect across a population."

[sb]

.

[helena handbasket]

Especially since formula feeding mothers rarely have a forum for discussion.

The obvious issue in this thread is the lack of information parents get regarding formula. The medical community can bang on all they want about the merits of breastfeeding, but it won't change the reality that many babies are at least partially formula fed. Is it not in everybody's best interest to have access to good information? When asked which formula is best, do health care advisers always need to mumble on about breast is best? Forget the debate, people just want answers to simple questions..... what are the better formulas, and what is the best way to mix and store it? How about sterilizing procedures? Seems simple, but I remember my husband and I (both university educated) struggling to decipher directions (sleep deprived/middle of the night/ screeming baby). This is a public health issue as well and it's sad that the closest thing we have to information is a neighborhood forum. Rather than make demands, mothers are left to feel ashamed and figure it out themselves, online. That's not right.

Still couldn't tell you which formula is better. I'm certain they're not all the same though.

[Fuschia]

I think all formulas are much the same, despite claims of the companies..

with regard to preparing bottles etc, food standards agency is the best source imo.

Note the need to use hot water to scald the powder then allow feed to cool, for safety to kill possible bacteria in the powder.

http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2007/jul/nonsterile

http://www.food.gov.uk/news/newsarchive/2006/dec/infantform

Parent leaflet: http://www.dh.gov.uk/en/Publicationsandstatistics/Publications/PublicationsPolicyAndGuidance/DH_4123619

[Belle]

I totally empathise with the experience of trying to figure out the logistics of bottle feeding - I too did it while being completely knackered and unable to process the information I found on the web! I do think the article is right that it'd be useful to get some advice on all this before the birth as part of ante natal classes etc.

Back to the original topic...I don't think it's necessarily t hat one formula is better overall but that there might be one which suits your baby best. My GP was very reassuring about the nutritional value of all of them - maybe BB you could start your little one off one one, once a day or something a bit before you go back just to check they're ok with it? Then if you have any problems it's just a case of trying another one.

[Pickle]

My first baby was mixed fed and I used Aptimal - no real logic for it other than it was the first one I saw when I went to buy some (he was tiny, losing weight and tongue tied, so we were advised to supplement with formula). He was absolutely fine on it, I did once try him on SMA but he wouldn't take it. However I don't think there's really much difference between them to be honest.

Re: the refusing a bottle post (sorry, can't remember who it was) - my daughter is now 13 months and has only been accepting a bottle for the past few weeks. I tried different types etc, but in the end she suddenly just took a bog standard Avent bottle (cow's milk) and hasn't looked back. She's still breastfed too, but seems just as happy with a bottle.

She has a "muzzy" in her cot for sleep times (just a good old white muslin, I have 12, so no risk of losing a beloved comfort object!) and I let her have it when I give her a bottle, it seems to have the same soothing effect, so might be worth a try for you if your baby has a comfort object.

P x

[emc]

Totally agree with EmmaCC....

[sb]

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[chantelle]

aptamil has done very well to present itself as somehow superior to other formulas, and to get midwives, NCT trainers, etc. to recommend it as such. However, there is absolutely nothing to indicate it is the closest thing to breastmilk - that is pure marketing. i have three ready-made cartons of formula in front of me - aptamil, cow&gate and SMA - and the ingredients are virtually identical.

you can taste it yourself too - formula doesn't really taste like breastmilk, it has more of a vegetable fat type flavour.

re: going back to work. I replaced day feeds with two bottles around 10 months, went back to work at 11 months and continued to do the morning and evening feeds myself. This has worked out very well, but my son had often had one bottle of formula a day from when he was quite small, so I didn't have to worry about him getting used to bottles or the taste. he'll take milk in any form or format!

[sillywoman]

Belle Wrote:

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> I totally empathise with the experience of trying

> to figure out the logistics of bottle feeding - I

> too did it while being completely knackered and

> unable to process the information I found on the

> web! I do think the article is right that it'd be

> useful to get some advice on all this before the

> birth as part of ante natal classes etc.

>

>On behalf of antenatal teachers - We're not allowed to teach the mixing of formula as all the research shows that if you teach it in a group environment the information isn't retained sufficiently accurately and the risk of one or more member of the group mixing formula incorrectly, thereby causing some health issue for the baby is increased.

On a personal level, with child 1 I started mixed feeding at about 6 weeks (pressure from Mum, rod & back and all that. What a dumbo!), We bought a pack of SMA, I read the instructions on the side, all very straightforward and done in steps, and mixed up the bottles. I don't recall any difficulty at all. Have the formula manufacturers stopped printing step-by-step instructions? Mind, I was careful not to be doing the formula mixing in the middle of the night for the first few days. I can see that wouldn't be a good scenario - but would it be any better struggling to recall what your antenatal teacher told you about how to mix a bottle several months ago?