baby bottle help

[Seana]

Okay my first DD never took a bottle except from the NICU nurse the first week of life. After that it was my boob only until a cup...after that it was nursing and drinking other liquids from a cup.

So anyway, I am totally confused about bottles, and bottle sterilization, and I don't know what the heck to do with my second who's due in Feb.

I just bought 20 Born-free 9 oz bottles, and 10 Born-free 5 oz bottles, some glass some plastic. I think I bought way too many, and I don't even know what the baby will like! How many do I need, what else do I need...do I need a sterilizer? I don't know anything...and I feel uncomfortable with the whole bottle thing (just because I'm not used to it, not because I have anything against it). Will I even know how to make a flipping bottle?!

I am planning on nursing again, at least to start, but this time I really want to use bottles too, whether for pumped milk and/or formula. I am going to try not to beat myself up if I don't stick with breastfeeding this time, because last time I truly struggled and was very depressed the first few months on no sleep/baby screaming 5-6 hrs every evening/up every hour eating/bfeeding pain/husband traveling. But I'm hoping for a better experience this time around

 

[Miller]

20 is a lot of bottles, especially if you'll be washing once all are dirty. I'd say 6-7 at most would be needed. I remember going out once and needing a total of 5 the whole day.

I bought a sterilizer from babies r us. It's just a little plastic bowl that you fill with water and stick in the microwave. I sterilized all bottles, nipples, rings, and pacifiers the first use and once a week for about a month. After each use I washed everything in hot soapy water with a bottle brush and a smaller nipple brush and let them air dry.

You can sterlizie in boiling water for 5 minutes but it makes my clear silicone nipples cloudy so I use the micro sterilizer. But what was sooo much easier was Medela Steam bags. They're for breast pumping parts but I use them for nipples and noonies (pacis).

I never used a bottle warmer. I just kept a brita pitcher of water on the counter and DS got room temp water for his formula bottles.

When I pumped, I used the Medela pump and save bags to store and freeze. Word to the wise, write how many oz in each bag because once it freezes you can't tell. I learned that the hard way. And, freeze in increments of 3oz and 2oz so you can make even and odd oz bottles. If you fill too much milk the bag will burst.

 

[PrivateEyes]

Some thoughts...

Breastfeeding was totally easier the second time around, so many of the things you struggled with the first time (I did too!) might not come to pass.

My personal opinion is that if you want a baby who will easily switch from breast to bottle, you have to give that baby a bottle every once in awhile during the first month or two, so that the little tyke can get used to both. I generally saved that bottle for nights when I was really tired and wanted to sleep a little longer.

Either I let Dad give baby the last bottle of the night, or I did, and it seemed that I might get an extra hour or two of sleep before I needed to wake up. I didn't do it every night, maybe once or twice a week. I also brought bottles to church, as our church is rather long, and I didn't want to go the nursing mother's room or rearrange my clothes.

I didn't worry about pumping, but just used formula, since I wasn't using it that often. Besides, I wasn't really good at it, and it seemed like a lot of work for little gain.

Even though I mostly breastfed, I never had a problem with baby taking a bottle, and I had five girls, so it worked with all of them.

 

[Seana]

Thanks for the replies. I already feel a little calmer

What brand of bottle (or nipple I guess) did your breastfeeding babies like?

Should I just get 9 oz bottles? A friend of mine who formula fed both her kids boils water daily, then pours 10 bottles (or however many are needed for that day) and puts them in a cupboard. She then pours in the right amount of formula, shakes it sideways (so it doesn't go in the nipple) and then up and down. I watched this like a science class. So maybe I could do that with less bottles and follow what you said Miller about washing, and just breastfeed the rest of the time. Aack I still feel confused, but I guess I'll figure it out.

PrivateEyes--I am so impressed that you had 5 girls, nevermind that you breastfed them all! Wow! I can't even figure out how I will breastfeed a newborn with just one other toddler climbing the wall. Your post gave me some hope

 

[butterflygirl]

My 5 wk. old has been really gassy and I've heard good things about Dr. Brown's bottles. Supposedly they don't allow the baby to take in as much air when they are feeding. If you google it, they have a website and there is a section for customer feedback. They seem to have really good reviews. I bought a few last week in the hopes that they will help my little guy.

I can totally relate to your frustration with breast feeding. I would love to bf exclusively, but it seems that my baby is just never satisfied and wants to eat non-stop. Or he will feed for a few minutes and then fall asleep. I don't know how much longer I can hang in there.

Also, I just asked my pediatrician last week if it's necessary to boil the water we use for his formula. She said that as long as you have city water, and not well water it's really not necessary. Of course, things may be different in you area, I don't know.

 

[momof4gr8kdz]

I used the Evenflo bottles with the disposable liner bags. I loved those. I washed everything in a basket in the top rack of the dishwasher. I was told (not sure if it is true or not) that breastfed babies did better with those ortho nipples. Two of mine used those, one would take anything and one would only take those clear silicone ones. I would recommend not opening and washing a bunch of nipples until you know what will work with this baby. I also breastfed and pumped. It was totally easier with the 2nd, 3rd and 4th babies. I knew what to expect and was more comfortable with the baby and breastfeeding.

Congrats!

 

[Kelli]

Playtex

I used the Playtex bottles with drop in liners. SOOO easy to wash! I also used the dishwasher to wash the nipples and rings. I'm having baby # 3 in May and I'm going to try breastfeeding for the first time! We'll see how it goes.

 

[PrivateEyes]

Breastfeeding was good for me...

With a toddler, it made me slow down and allowed me to bond with the new little one. Sometimes, I would have my toddler sit on the arm of the lazyboy and we'd all three cuddle together during that time.

I used the playtex bottles with the drop in liner as well. I think I never had more than two or three of each size, because I wasn't using them full time. I used tap water, and heated in the microwave. (You have to be sure to shake the bottle afterward to mix it up, and test carefully. You don't want to burn the baby's mouth.) Of course, use powered formula, because the liquid will go bad before you can use it all up. I washed the rings and the nipples in the top basket also. We couldn't afford a sterilizer, and really, a dishwasher sterilizes anyhow!

Also, with each child, you realize that the many things you agonize over with the first child really weren't necessary. We had friends who had their first baby, and brought sanitizer to church. Anyone who wanted to hold the baby had to first sanitize their hands. It was cute. Well, after their third child, someone commented that they didn't have any sanitizer, and they were passing the baby to anyone who wanted to hold it. They laughed, and said they stopped doing that with the second baby.

 

[Seana]

Thanks for all of your help. I wound up with 11 bottles, 8 9oz and 3 5 oz, and I won't open any but a couple to see what baby likes. Thanks for the advice on bfeeding and bottle feeding! We'll see how it goes!