Bottle feeding

Remember that these posts are created for advice for people, like me, who weren't planning for a baby all their lives, and suddenly they're thrown in at the deep end. It may sound patronizing to people who know what to do already.

~*Note: I use Tommee Tippee bottles, so not all of this will be relevant if you're using different bottles.*~

Bottle feeding is a completely different skill to breast feeding, though nowhere near as hard. So up until now your little one has had exclusively breast-fed breast-milk. You've decided to move one to bottle fed breast milk or formula. So your baby is used to a big mouthful of breast from you. It's warm, and it's natural, they don't have to learn anything. Bottle teats are going to be thinner than your nipples (and areola. The mouthful she takes in, is what I mean), and stick out further, so your baby has to close her mouth more and tighter around a teat. This can lead to a lot of dribbling and spills, not just at first. Your baby will find it hard to adjust to this new skill, so be patient with her, and love her, and soothe her. Your baby is used to being tickled on the nose/top lip to tell her it's time for a feed, you can do this with the bottle too, to ease into it. Your baby may not like the taste or feel of the teat, which can lead to them spitting it out a lot, but don't worry, they will get used to it. Use a muslin as a bib, it can go all the way around her neck without scratching or chafing. I think bibs are for food and weaning. The muslin can also protect your clothes from spills.

Your baby won't understand that a bottle means food straightaway, it could take some time. A good way to start off the feed is wait until (s)he is screaming for food and plonking it in her mouth. It won't take long for her to learn that a bottle means food and opening her mouth for it. Make sure you have the valve at the top, above her lip. This lets air in one way and stops the bottle from warping the same way as a bottle of water would warp for us if we had it all in one go. Even if you haven't done it before, you'll have seen someone on television or out and about, testing the temperature of the milk. You should be able to not feel it at all when you drop it on your wrist, body temperature. But this is not essential. It can be slightly cool, or warm to your wrist. You may find that your baby prefers it one way of another.

If you're bottle feeding early, like me, your newborn may still fall asleep at the bottle. Just twist it around in her mouth and (s)he will remember what (s)he was doing. If (s)he doesn't understand how the bottles work, you can gently squeeze the sides to squirt some in her mouth and help her along.

But I'm moving straight onto formula and my baby doesn't like it. What do I do?
It is going to be different for her, and taste different to your breast milk. It is entirely possible that (s)he is pushing it away because (s)he doesn't like it. They are all formulated differently and have different tastes, just try it yourself and you'll see.
Aptamil - we topped up our baby with this when I was breastfeeding. We had some of the pre-made cartons handed down from my partners brother. I never tried it, but we only gave her a few, because she really turned her nose up at them and didn't like them. We never tried the powder. The powders and the pre-made cartons can taste different, so you may want to try another version.
SMA - we then switched onto this. ~**Everywhere on the internet says to talk to your doctor before switching formulas but you really don't have to. It's so your doctor can monitor your baby for any digestive changes and reactions, and you can do that yourself. It might be good to keep a cry diary, if (s)he is screaming more, or less, on a different formula, you'll have an answer. **~ SMA is greasy, hard to clean off bottles, and it blocked our baby up. She was only pooping once a week on it and it was very painful for her. This is just my baby's reaction to this formula, not every baby's. Don't avoid because I said it was no good for us, just be aware that it can happen. Strangely she seems to be okay with the pre-made SMA bottles, which are really good, they're not cartons, they're ready to use bottles that you can buy teats for and have a feed ready in seconds. I carry one around at all times in the Change bag.
Cow and Gate - We switched to this and found our answer. It's frothy, light and tastes pretty nice to me, and our baby loves it. She will gulp it down. It's also cheaper than SMA, £7.99 per tub as opposed to £9.29 for SMA. She digests it much better, and quicker. She has a healthy bowel movement every day now, which is much better. Once a week on formula isn't the healthiest, but talk to your doctor if it's been 10 or more days since her last bowel movement.

Crying - clearly wanting something and letting you know. Fairly quiet at first but if you don't catch it quick it can turn into screaming.
Screaming - inconsolable, you've tried everything and it's not working. You're getting stressed and upset and (s)he won't calm down. Much louder and demanding. Screaming is very hard to cope with and occurs at teething, with digestive pain, when they're ill...

~***You should always say "be quiet" to your baby; or "shhh-hh" The minute you say "SHUT UP", you're getting too stressed to deal with her properly, especially if you're her mum, she picks up on your moods. Take her, and put her in her cot. As soon as you say shut up. (s)he's safe there. Don't worry. Give her her dummy if (s)he has one, shut the door, go away. Make yourself a coffee, or have a cigarette, anything. Sit down for five minutes and relax. There is no shame in that. It's awful to hear her cry and if you can't help her you can feel worse and worse. You may find that when you go back up, she's asleep, and that's fine too. Even if she's not due a nap yet, screaming can tire a baby out. It is also possible that (s)he was overstimulated, and wanted 5 minutes to herself too. Even if she's still screaming, or wakes up screaming, you're better equipped to deal with it now.***~

Soy - if your baby is screaming after every feed, keep in mind that they could have a lactose intolerance. Varying levels exist, my partner's brother's kid has special formula on prescription. All formula brands have a soya alternative, and that could be the problem. It's best to talk to your doctor before switching onto lactofree formula. Cow and Gate's infasoy is for all ages, including adults, with lactose intolerance. I don't know about other soya formulas. It made her scream more so that wasn't the problem, but it could be, and you need to be aware of that.

How to make bottles - they're far too militant about this okay? You're fine.
"Don't make up all your bottles for the day" - No. What are you going to do if you're out? Making up your bottles for the day is fine.
"Use water at at least 70 degrees C" - No. This is because the powder is not sterile and it *could* make your baby ill. But they have to be extra careful so they don't get sued. You can use cooled boiled water to make your bottles, just understand that there is a small chance it might make your baby ill.
"Don't refrigerate bottles" - No. You can refrigerate bottles if you like, I wouldn't for more than a couple of days, but you can. Breastmilk can stay in the fridge for ages, I think a week, or two? Or in the freezer for a month.
"Use bottles within 2 hours of making" - No. Clearly not. If you're going out you want to take a few bottles with you.
"Use formula powder within a month of opening" - Yes. They're probably being overly cautious, but the bacteria in the powder will multiply in this timescale. And don't worry. If you're exclusively formula feeding your baby, you will get through it within a month. Easily. Every two weeks really. No waste.
"You should give your baby X amount of formula" - No. There are tables on the back of the formula tubs, and an equation they give you, but don't give your baby more because they say so. We were overfeeding our baby for the longest time because of this. Give her how much you think (s)he needs. If you think she's having too much, cut her down.
            the equation they give you is 150ml multiplied by weight in kg, divided by the number of feeds (s)he has in 24 hours. The result, in ml, is actually the amount of formula (s)he should be having once it's made up. 7 scoops of powder and 7oz of water actually make up 8oz of formula, not 7.

Teats - Don't go by the packaging. We switched to number 2 teats (med flow) at 2 months, not 3. If you think (s)he is ready for it, try her on it. If (s)he spills too much, or drinks too quickly and throws up, switch back. We felt that feeding was getting very slow, with how much she was having and how slow it was coming out. She seemed to want it quicker than she was getting. You'll know.

Winding - You need to stop and burp her halfway through. Even if (s)he doesn't want to. Ours doesn't. You'll get to know whereabouts "halfway through" is, and then prepare yourself for the crying, the angry sounding crying, as (s)he tells you (s)he wants it back. Ignore her and wind her as normal. It will be better for her I promise. And at the end of the feed, the longer you spend winding her, the better you'll sleep! If you don't wind her properly, it can build up during the day, and when it gets to the evening time, cause her great pain and stress. After a feed, I always find it best to sit back, relax, and enjoy a nice cuddle, whilst rubbing her back for windies.

This is how I do bottles. I'm not saying it's the only way, I'm not even saying it's correct, but it's simple, and satisfies fussy health visitors that insist on a certain temperature for the water.

First, the sterilized bottle. Add any Dentinox, Gripe water,
or other medicines to bottle first.

Next, Add your scoops of powder. This can be done in many
bottles and left overnight. The longer you leave it with the
medicine in, the harder it will be to shake, and may become
clumpy, if you do it scoops and no medicine though,
it can be left for longer

Now, boil your water and measure it out
IN A DIFFERENT BOTTLE

This is your made up bottle

Add lid and shake as normal

Thoroughly check for lumps and bits stuck to the side. It
happens often with this method of making bottles.

Add bottle to jug of cold water to cool, or run under cold tap
like they tell you to. I prefer the jug of cold water because I
can comfort my hungry baby whilst it's cooling. You can add
ice cubes, or an ice pack, to make this faster.

Doing your bottle this way satisfies the health professionals strict instructions of how to make the bottles, and it stops the powder scoop getting clumpy and needing washing. Screwing the lid on can be difficult, because the bottle is very hot. You can do it with a towel. Do not shake the bottle by only holding on to the lid of the bottle. It can fly off and the bottle can bounce on the floor, spraying boiling milk everywhere, including in you eye. believe me, I know. Hold it upside down by the lid, and shake, it can't fly off that way, or use a towel to hold on to the hot bottle, then you can grip it wherever you like, and shake.