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Babies: 3 - 6 Months
If you FF...questions
Long story and I don't really want to get into it all, but I was diagnosed with something last week and have to take these drugs that have just tanked my supply. Like, nothing left, even after trying all my "boost my supply tricks". I'm an emotional hot mess right now, but basically DH is at Whole Foods picking out a can of formula and I'm not dealing well. DS is hungry in his crib. My heart is broken.
Anyway, I know NOTHING about FFing. What do you do at night? Doesn't it take a long time to realize baby is up (DS gets up often at night to nurse) and make a bottle, get it to them. I can usually get in there and nurse before he's wide awake, but what about the time to make the bottle?
How do you even make a bottle? I told him to get special water so do we warm up the water and then add powder? Or add powder and then warm up? How long can I keep a bottle that's been made/drunk? What if he doesn't finish it all in the middle of the night? DO I need to make a new one each time he wakes? (can be every 2 hrs sometimes).
I just need some basics if you wouldn't mind. I feel so dumb and I'm already a mess I just need to get through this.
This discussion has been closed.
Re: If you FF...questions
I'm sorry, I know how hard this must be for you, I know the history.
Anyway. We use Born Free bottles and use Brita water. I'll fill the bottle with the amount of water needed, microwave it (30 seconds for 5oz works for us.), I add the amount of powder needed and give it a good shake. I always test to make sure it's not too hot.
It only takes me a few minutes to get everything together. Maybe try having supplied out on the counter for night time feedings.
Good luck.
My Family Bliggity Blog
We use liquid concentrate and it's easier than powder IMO. For nighttime, we premake bottles and store them in the fridge, then sit them in a cup of hot water to warm up. We boil spring water for our formula.
We make a whole pitcher of formula at once and then just pour out each bottle as needed.
Once baby has drunk from the bottle, you must discard anything left one hour after it's touched baby's lips because it is full of bacteria. Formula can sit at room temp for 4 hours before it spoils.
also, get something like this for travel, you can get pre measured formula in it so you dont have to fiddle and measure. Its even good for night time feedings.
I take heated water in a thermos in my diaper bag for mixing on the go.
I'm sorry, Hon. I don't know you, but I do know you well enough to know that this is really hard for you. It was hard for me too.
First off, Formula is food. Your baby will be fine.
1. Don't worry about how long it takes to make a bottle at night. It'll take a minute or too. It's ok for your LO to fuss a little while you make it. This is going to be hard to get used to. It'll be ok.
2. The instructions will be on the formula container, but the general rule is 1 scoop of formula for every 2 oz of water. This'll add a little volume to the water, so 6oz of formula will really be like 6.6oz.
3. As long as the water in your town is safe for you to drink, it should be safe for your baby. Make the bottle w/ cold tap water though, because warm water contains more lead.
4. Use up the bottle within an hour. You can't save it for the next feeding.
5. Get a munchkin formula powder dispenser. It'll make your nighttime life much easier.
6. I fill bottles with water in advance so they get to room temp. This way there's no need to warm them before feeding DS.
Good luck, Sweetie. What else do you need to know? It'll be ok.
You may not even need to nuke it. ?G will take a bottle with room temp water. ?I would test this theory during the day, though. Do not want to upset him in the middle of the night if he does not like it at room temp. ??
DH: 31, no issues
4-6/2012 100mg of Clomid + trigger + IUI/TI = BFN
7/2012 150mg of Gonal-f + trigger + IUI = BFN
8/2012 Surprise unmedicated BFP!! Due May 8, 2013
1. You do not need special water - I sterilized tap water by boiling for 2 minutes for the first 4 months and then after that - straight out of the tap. Some people don't sterilize....
2. You can premake the bottles and keep them in the fridge. When baby is hungry, you can warm the bottle up via bottle warmer or hot water (I use the microwave, my dr. used the microwave as well - hot spots are the concern, but we shake it up very well with no problems). Or you can fill the bottles with water and leave them on the counter and just add powder at night - if your baby will take room temp. you've got it made!
3. Once a bottle has been drunk from by baby, it is good for 1 hour. The can of powder will have explicit instructions relating to this.
4. If baby doesn't finish bottle - dump it.
edit: concentrate formula is awesome and not more expensive than powder - due the math. For me and purchasing the Good Start powder and concentrate at walmart - it's exactly the same cost. Concentrate is much easier to prepare, but powder is more convenient for travel, as pp mentioned about the powder dispenser. Read the instructions on the can thoroughly - it should help!
links for help:
https://www.healthlinkbc.ca/healthfiles/hfile69a.stm
https://www.health.alberta.ca/health-info/baby-formula.html
The contain tips on feeding the baby and do's and don'ts.
Deep breaths, Momma! You're going to be a-okay. And so is your LO! Promise.
So, here we go.
At night, you go to your tap, run it till it's kinda warm but not HOT, add desired about of water, and mix the formula. It sounds complex, but it isn't. Our DD is 4 months and she takes 6 oz every 3 hours, but all babies are different. Get bottles with slow flowing nipples if your LO is under 3mo so that he doesn't eat too fast and spit up. Try a gentle formula first. If I were you I'd start with only a few ounces and if he seems hungry, make more. You don't want to waste formula.
Things you need to know: Once your son's mouth has touched the bottle, he needs to finish it within the hour or you need to throw it out. You cannot refrigerate formula and use it again later once his mouth has been on the bottle. This is because his saliva can mix with the formula and cause a bacteria to grow that can be harmful if eaten.
The formula we use is Similac Sensitive and it says on the can that you can prepare a bottle and leave it sitting at room temp for 2 hours before you have to throw it out.
DH and I used to make all DD's bottles ahead of time and refrigerate them, but that was a hassle. You have to warm them up, but not in the microwave because it can cause uneven heat spots in the formula and burn your LO. So, we would heat up a bowl of water and set the cold bottle inside it, which took forever. Now we just make bottles as we go.
FFing is really quite easy, and I prefer it to BFing because DH can help in the night. Don't worry if your son has a bit of constipation at first. Formula is harder to digest than BM. Also, my DD only poops once a day now that she's on formula, so be ready for that kind of thing.
If you have other questions, contact your pedi about it. You can message me any time you want! GL!
I FF my son. We put the powder in the bottles, and then add room temperature water from a bottle that we leave out on the counter. We don't warm it for him. This makes it easier for when you are on the road, and don't have a way to warm the milk for the baby.
A bottle of formula is only good for 1 hour if the baby started to drink out of it. If you make a bottle and leave it out at room temp its good for 2 hours. You can make the bottles ahead of time and refridgerate them. If you do this they are good for 24 hours as long as they are kept cold. You can then heat the bottle up by using a bottle warmer, or by boiling a pot of water on the stove and putting the bottle in it (too time consuming IMO), or fill up a bowl of hot water from the tap and let the bottle sit in it for a few mins.
For us, we found it too time consuming to warm the bottles especially in the middle of the night so thats when we decided to do the room temperature route with the water, and just have the powder measured out already in the bottles. It makes things much faster, especially in the middle of the night.
You don't need special water. If you have city water there is usually flouride added to the supply so we purchase regular bottled water (poland spring, etc) to avoid the baby getting the extra flouride in his system for now.
Thanks, that really means a lot. It took a lot to post this.
Thanks everyone else for the support and tips, thus far. This is all so foreign to me and I HATE my body right now.
It does take a while at night to get the bottle but my daughter almost always falls back asleep once she is done eating.
Here is what we do: Fill the bottle with water to the amount she typically eats. We usually make about 3 bottles at night, 4 ounces each. Then when she wakes up I just go into the kitchen, dump in the powder and shake. It easy peasy, quick and I don't have to worry about warming up water. I also don't worry about the formula going bad or something. If Natalie doesn't finish all of a bottle during the middle of the night then I just dump it out.
I'm sorry you couldn't get your supply up.
I too am so very sorry.
I had to EP/FF Luke until we got the who BF thing down for 7 weeks. It sucks I know.
We would boil water and keep it in a glass jug on the counter. We would then use that with the formula. Doesn't Lucas have reflux? You may need a sensitive formula or a Soy based one.
Mix the two together and then you warm it up. Bottles go back in the fridge and you can use it again within a few hours but after that I wouldn't.
Whoa! Info overload!
Thank you ladies for the outpouring support. I have been so hard on myself all afternoon/evening and this really does help. I feel like I'm in a bad dream.
A few questions after glancing over all the info so far...
- it seems like it would be easier/faster to use warm tap water (but someone said you need to start w/ cold and warm it up to be safe?) that either cold or store bought cold/room temp in a jug, do you think just starting him on it he can handle straight out of the tap, as he's never had water before? I'm thinking maybe go with the store bought DH is bring home and leave it room temp and then just heat it up a little bit....
-oh I hadn't even thought of how to make/serve a bottle out in public! yikes - will check those links out.
Sorry, I am sooo emotional and overwhelmed.
So I can mix a bottle of room temp water up + formula (so long as he hasn't touched it) and leave it for up to 2 hours? What baout if I put it in the fridge? could I make them up tonight and keep them in there and then just pull it out and warm it?
1. Seeing as he's older and probably stuffing his face with tons of fun toys by now - straight out of the tap is probably fine.
2. For travel convenience: powder is easiest with prefilled bottles of water and powder dispensers...
3. Premade formula in the fridge is good for up to 24 hours and an open can of concentrate formula in the fridge (unmade) is good to 48hours.
HTH! Good luck - I know it seems overwhelming, but you'll get the hang of it - check out the links I put in my previous post - they'll most likely answer all of you questions!!
I am so so sorry to hear this. First of all, I am sorry to hear that you are having health issues. That's just awful! Second of all, I know you are devastated to have to change to bottle feeding so suddenly, but you will make it through this. Seems like you got some great advice so far! Hang in there mama!
No problem, my heart broke a little reading this. I hope you have a lot of support and people to talk to. Don't beat yourself up about what your body is going through, it's not your fault. Lucas is going to be ok, it might be an adjustment, but he will be great. Good luck.
First of all...just breathe! I had a horrible time BF in the beginning and my DD lost a bunch of weight. Starting to FF was such a hard thing, I really missed the closeness, but, FF was almost just as good.
Here is the way I handle formula. I premix all of DD formula in a large container. I use either room temp bottled water or cold filtered water from the fridge. I then pour all her bottles for the day and save any excess in the large container. Rarely does DD get up at night. (One of the benefits of FF...sleeping through the night) If she wakes, she cries...hard. There is no mistaking it. If I feed her at night, I go downstairs and grab a pre made bottle from the fridge. I take the nipple off and heat it in the microwave...I know, not really supposed to do that but the bottle warmers take to long for me. Then I just make sure I shake it really good to get out any of the hot spots.
If I remember correctly, formula is good outside of the fridge for 1 hour and I never save any leftover formula in her bottles. I just toss anything that is left...bacteria and stuff.
Try not to stress over losing your supply. Maybe after your meds you can build it back up. You can also think of this as a great opportunity for your DH to bond with the baby too. Just try to be positive and be thankful that you were about to BF as long as you have been able to. I hope this helps!
Thank you. You really don't even know how much that means to me to read. It made me cry more (but in a happy way I guess) just now.
Thank you, everyone, for the help.
I'm sorry to hear this and sorry for both you and your LO! I know how emotional it is for your body to fail both yourself and your baby - my milk never even came in.
The PP's covered pretty much everything - for my $.02, we use Brita water in a room-temp jug, Nuk bottles (they have an air-flow vent in the nipple), the up&up brand of formula for Similac Advance (ditto on what Red said, though, if Lucas has reflux, then look into soy or sensitive - and I think Similac has an organic?), and we use the munchkin bottle brushes with the nipple brush in the handle and the munchkin bottle drainer.
Trust me, it'll all become second-nature in no time. Good luck!
You're kidding, right?
This.
Eh, sometimes it happens! She needs to catch a break, so maybe that'll be it?
I second the NUK bottles. ?They are the only bottles that G will take. (She is mostly a BF baby.)?
DH: 31, no issues
4-6/2012 100mg of Clomid + trigger + IUI/TI = BFN
7/2012 150mg of Gonal-f + trigger + IUI = BFN
8/2012 Surprise unmedicated BFP!! Due May 8, 2013
Re: reflux, yup he does have that, so I guess I need to watch out for that issue. One of the main reasons I really didn't want to have to FF is b/c I don't want him to have dairy or soy, but soy esp. so that is out. Do you know if they make the similac sensitive in organic? (or did i just jumble all that together, sorry, info overload right now) I would be willing ot try that if what we get tonight isn't working out well. We are trying this since it's important for me to have it be organic and all that crunchy shiit you know.;)
https://www.naturesone.com/dairy/
haha thanks. Not only have you all made me feel more at ease and less emotional and guilty, but have manage to make me laugh. Has hell frozen over in here?
Brrr it's cold in here~!
:: looks around ::
Yes, I believe Hell has frozen over tonight.
And just an FYI, it may take a few tries to find a formula that suits him. Check online for better deals on the more expensive formulas (seeing as you want to go organic, it may be your best option.)
I just have to say that I feel bad for the situation you have been placed in. Even I know how important BFing was to you. Just take this into account that you have to do something that you once looked down upon. Us FFers will have perfectly healthy and normal babies... so join us. It's like a cult.
Where's my big coat and gloves? I need my scarves!!
The only Organic Similac I'm seeing is milk-based regular. Sorry. I'm sure Whole Foods has something that is non-dairy sensitive, I hope!
Sorry, little late here.... I've always heard of the Rule of Threes for milk:
3 hours at room temperature
3 days in the fridge
3 months in the freezer (obviously only for BM)
I'm sorry you're going through this and I hope everything turns out ok! FWIW, we use Dr Brown's bottles and though they are a pain to clean, we've never had a problem with them. We mix our formula in a Dr Brown's pitcher and pour into bottles, refrigerate, and nuke as needed. HTH!
I didn't read all of the relies because I'm going to bed but I wanted to say that both at night and when I go out, I fill the bottles with powder. We keep Nursery water at room temp in our upstairs bathroom, plug our sink and leave the bottle in hot water for a min or two.
When i go out, I just bring a bottle of water with the bottles that have formula powder in there already.
Lastly, I'm not sure what it is about soy that you don't want, but I love Earth's Best soy infant formula. You obviously have your mind made up already but dd does REALLY well on it (she did have reflux?not as bad as Lucas?and she does not spit up with this stuff).
I'm really sorry you are going through this. I know how much EBFing ment to you. You've gotten a lot of good advice but my two cents from when we started supplementing, the powder travel cup is a must for us. We use room temp water for bottles so at night we can just pour the water and then bring up the powder in the travel cup and add it in his room, makes it easier for us. Just take it one feeding at a time and you'll find a groove that works for you.
ETA: I know that for DS and several of the other BF babies, they did better with the ready to feed than the powdered formula at first. For DS it didn't make him nearly as gassy when we started and he didn't spit up as much. Now he's fine with both.
TTC#2 October 2011. June 2012 diagnosed with mild PCOS and both tubes blocked.
10/1/12 miracle BFP 11/12/12 missed m/c (9w2d), baby stopped growing at 7 weeks
1/16/13 BFP, EDD 9/27/13, m/c 1/19/13
2/12/13 BFP, EDD 10/25/13 Please stick little one
A stowaway on board!