Making up formula - you cannot be serious!

KittyeeTrix

Rather than counting out the scoops individually we filled up a cup which would hold 24 scoops and then add to a jug full of hot water of 24 fl oz.
Did this twice and had bottles to last the 24 hr period.

Made bottle making very quick and easy:)

foxinsocks

antiskeptic wrote: »

The boobs haven't managed to catch up yet. It's a difficult balance to find - since the boobs don't come with a meter on them telling you precisely how much is issuing forward.



Truly. And when you have to make it up from powder rather than tip it in from a carton.

With my first, she had real trouble latching on... She was frantically trying to feed, but she got so hungry that she kept pushing me out of her mouth. I didn't realise she wasn't latching on, and she ended up in hospital for a few days on a drip because she got so dehydrated. Then a week after that, I got an infection in a retained clot in my uterus, and spent 5 days in hospital on an antibiotic drip, expressing when I could. These 2 complications lead to my supply being behind. Once I got home, I basically spent 5 weeks where either she was attached to my breast, or a breast pump was attached, or I was asleep, no other state of being existed. For EVERY feed, she went on the breast first, then on the other one, until I was sure both were totally empty, and then I put her back on the first, and then the second again. Then I gave her any previously expressed milk, and only then was I giving her formula. It was tough, having to do every feed, as WELL has having to wash/sterilise/prepare bottles. My supply did catch up though. I was able to breastfeed exclusively after that (until i started her on solids).

The advice from your doctor is good advice though, I'm sure now that if I'd spent a few days letting her be (slightly) hungry that my supply would have caught on faster. That said, I'm not convinced I was confident enough as a mother, or in my ability to breastfeed to actually manage to do that. I can't let even this one cry for more than 30 seconds before she gets cuddled

taz70

LashingLady wrote: »

There are in fact a number of safe ways to make formula but the formula companies have to put the absolute safest way on the side of their packs.

I think you'll find that formula manufacturers have a vested interest in making bottle preparation as quick and easy as possible. They don't want people giving up cause it's all too hard and complicated. So even with this in mind, they still recommend a complicated process to ensure their product can be safely consumed.


And this article reminds us that poor handling can have tragic outcomes. Honestly, for the extra few minutes of effort, it really is worth preparing formula according to the manufacturer's instructions. It may only be a few cases a year that are so extreme, but look on any parenting forum and you will see loads of questions about gastric-intestinal issues that may be linked to poor food handling.

LashingLady wrote: »

- Formula powder isn't sterile so hot water should be used when making it, particularly for very young babies. As far as I can gather the risk of this reduces after baby reaches about 5 weeks.

Perhaps the risk of tragic outcomes reduces, but the risk of illness does not. Salmonella etc are some serious bugs. I'd not be risking it.

Hobbitfeet

foxinsocks wrote: »

With my first, she had real trouble latching on... She was frantically trying to feed, but she got so hungry that she kept pushing me out of her mouth. I didn't realise she wasn't latching on, and she ended up in hospital for a few days on a drip because she got so dehydrated. Then a week after that, I got an infection in a retained clot in my uterus, and spent 5 days in hospital on an antibiotic drip, expressing when I could. These 2 complications lead to my supply being behind. Once I got home, I basically spent 5 weeks where either she was attached to my breast, or a breast pump was attached, or I was asleep, no other state of being existed. For EVERY feed, she went on the breast first, then on the other one, until I was sure both were totally empty, and then I put her back on the first, and then the second again. Then I gave her any previously expressed milk, and only then was I giving her formula. It was tough, having to do every feed, as WELL has having to wash/sterilise/prepare bottles. My supply did catch up though. I was able to breastfeed exclusively after that (until i started her on solids).

The advice from your doctor is good advice though, I'm sure now that if I'd spent a few days letting her be (slightly) hungry that my supply would have caught on faster. That said, I'm not convinced I was confident enough as a mother, or in my ability to breastfeed to actually manage to do that. I can't let even this one cry for more than 30 seconds before she gets cuddled

Just wanted to say WOW it must have been so hard for you to keep going with everything that happened. I'm so glad you were able to breastfeed exclusively in the end. You should be very proud of yourself you are a real inspiration to people having problems not to give up

foxinsocks

Hobbitfeet wrote: »

Just wanted to say WOW it must have been so hard for you to keep going with everything that happened. I'm so glad you were able to breastfeed exclusively in the end. You should be very proud of yourself you are a real inspiration to people having problems not to give up

I have an incredibly supportive husband who made it so as feeding the baby and sleeping was all I actually had to do, I couldn't have done it without him, no way.

And just as I was nearing my wits end, Hannah smiled, and the troubles melted away