Emergency baby milk

notanewuser

rpc wrote: »

For all three of our children (one singleton, then twins), their appetites kicked in about a day before my wife's milk came in. If we hadn't been able to fill their tummies when the tap ran dry, I don't think we'd have persevered.

If baby screams after a few minutes on the breast and the breast is empty, do you just leave them screaming until there is something more available? That's the choice we had. None of ours were patient enough to quietly suckle until they were satisfied.

The books all say you can go without, but none of our babies had read them. Our son was almost exclusively breastfed until 4 months and combination fed until 9. The girls were primarily breast fed until 3 months and then formula fed - there simply wasn't enough milk available at each feed so we called quits.

If having a few cartons stashed in a cupboard makes OP more relaxed, get some. You don't have to use them. Just keep in mind that you want to bf and they are only there for emergencies or for that one night when you just need some sleep or you are going to kill someone.

We used dummies too. What **** parents we must be!

It's an advance ordering system, not an instant supply. Baby being hungry, crying, trying to feed repeatedly tells the body that baby needs more tomorrow. Mum's hormone levels adjust to fulfil the supply tomorrow. It's basic stuff.

Humans wouldn't be alive now if biology meant we needed external feeding from day one!!!

PS - it's not "exclusive breast feeding" if you gave them formula in the early days!!!

DigForVictory

OP wants peace of mind.
If that's best done with a few cartons, no harm.
If that's best done with the comfort of a 24 hour supermarket, no harm.
Everyone's breastfeeding story is different, like deliveries, but lasting longer. There can be chapters. Unused peace of mind can be passed on.
Let's try not to judge or frighten, eh?

jillie1974

I was admitted back to hospital 24 hrs after leaving with my youngest. as he was 4 days old, he came back in with me and unless you are admitted and are unable to care for the baby you have nothing to worry about

Gigglepig

Unless you don't have a 24 hr supermarket nearby i don't see why you would need to buy any just in case. (And don't worry, if you were admitted back into hospital they have formula there and can help you express, so in an emergency they would help you feed the baby. )

Nb if you do decide to "top up" with formula you may want to discuss with a midwife. the maternity ward i was at strongly recommended not using a bottle, but instead a syringe/finger (newborn) and later a milton cup.

goonarmy

sneezyboots wrote: »

Thanks, i've just googled cartons. Didn't even realise they existed- powder was all I was aware of. Will do some more googling to get a little more informed but do you just pour the cartons into a bottle? And does the carton milk need warming like powder milk?

You can get ready made bottles(as in big 1litre bottles), ready made bottles with teats(as in one feeding session bottles approx three ounce off th top of my head)cartons(200mls i think) and of course the powder. Im using a combination of all the above, the starter set of aptimil was great for the materity ward and the HDU gave them out. We feed at room temp without bother but the powdered bottles are usally still warm by the time we are feeding. The cartons are about seventy pence so even having a half dozen is no hard ship. And they last a good while. Sold in supermarkets and boots etc so not hard to get hold of.

rpc

notanewuser wrote: »

It's an advance ordering system, not an instant supply. Baby being hungry, crying, trying to feed repeatedly tells the body that baby needs more tomorrow. Mum's hormone levels adjust to fulfil the supply tomorrow. It's basic stuff.

Except it doesn't always work like that. With the twins, we ended up in a place where my wife's breasts just couldn't hold a feed full. 30 minutes later they would be leaking, but there was never enough to satisfy a feed. It's easy to stand back and say "you did it wrong" but we tried everything we could (putting them off with dummies, letting them cry, fenugreek, etc - we could never get a whole feed). It wasn't like we just had one bout of crying and then threw in the towel.

The book says increased demand leads to increased supply. Normally it does. Our girls starts on the 8th and 25th centiles. By 6 months, they were way up in the 90s. That is an appetite well above average!

Humans wouldn't be alive now if biology meant we needed external feeding from day one!!!

And many don't. In most cases, breastfeeding by the book works fine.

But some do and either life would be far far harder for the parents or the baby would die because they couldn't feed. In the past, if you couldn't breastfeed, you died. If mum couldn't feed, you had a wet nurse or died.

In our case, life with three under two was hard enough and I am convinced that my wife's PND (quite severe - self harm, etc) would have been far far worse if we hadn't made the decision to switch to bottles.

PS - it's not "exclusive breast feeding" if you gave them formula in the early days!!!

Hence the "almost". Learn to read much?

In any case, there's a lot of difference between topping up while milk comes in and once it is established. Your milk will come in at a certain point and you can't bring that forward. C-sections are known to delay this and oops we had two (one emergency, one elective because that's what NICE recommend). Once the milk comes in, the supply/demand starts to work a bit better.


Please don't misunderstand, I strongly believe in breastfeeding. But I also believe that not all mums and not all kids are textbook. If we want to improve breastfeeding numbers, a softer approach is needed and not the militant "nothing but boob, ever" line.

dizziblonde

If you live in the back of beyond, or you're due anywhere near Christmas when shops are closed more than normal, or you feel better just knowing you have a bit of a safety net there - then get some in (you can also get "starter packs" with little bottles and disposable teats if you're wanting to make it absolutely minimum thought - but they're pricey)... some babies want it warmed, some like it room temperature, some have no culinary standards whatsoever (my eldest!). Odds are if anything's looking wobbly you can send someone to do a run before you're discharged if needs be (unless you're up against something like the Christmas shops closing/being jammed and not wanting to go in there for anything in the month of December).

Or you can take the not wanting "temptation" (note the nice emotive language used implying failure btw - pet hate of mine) route - if that works for your kind of personality, or if you live like we do under 5 minutes from a big 24 hour supermarket. Only you know your personality and how you'll feel more comfortable playing it.

Both times it's been fairly clear before we went home how things were headed for us though and we've had advance warning about needing to get stuff sorted out. The babies didn't read the books or watch the DVD - one was premature, unable to latch with a missed tongue tie and the breast pump motor burnt out in a fortnight from overuse at which point I decided I was no longer going to drive myself bonkers pumping and not spending time with this child I'd fought to have because I was pumping till the cows came home, and the second went into quite nasty issues with her blood sugar and ended up on eyewateringly expensive prescription-only formula.

Like someone mentioned though - if it does work out for you and later down the line you're worried about being knocked over by a bus and hospitalised or something - you can work up a freezer supply over the course of time. Just don't buy the Mothercare freezer bags - I used to split about five trying to get one of the wretched things open! Also make sure when defrosting them that you keep the bag vertical in a jug or something or you'll find a whole new meaning to the phrase about crying over spilt milk.

neverdespairgirl

dizziblonde wrote: »

Also make sure when defrosting them that you keep the bag vertical in a jug or something or you'll find a whole new meaning to the phrase about crying over spilt milk.

:rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl::rotfl:

AnnieO1234

I've read through most of this thread as a bf'ing mother myself with interest.

24 hour supermarkets don't exist, at best they're 24 hours 5 days a week closing early on a Saturday and opening late on a Monday, no mother is going to want to wait on a store's opening hours.

Can I suggest a compromise OP? Get the ready made cartons in, maybe just a couple, but remember that the bottle will still need sterilising which will take time and faff if you're using a steriliser. That might be the happy compromise for you.

FWIW, I got some of the cartons to try when ODS was about 6 months old, he never took to EBM so I was just experimenting, he just didn't take to it at all.

OP it can be hard work, and every baby and every mom is different, it doesn't mean there's something wrong. Some moms are lucky, they work out how to sleep while baby feeds, this might include co-sleeping; others have to go back to work quickly and have to make choices to not bf. Either way they're all doing what's best for baby and them. The mom who goes to work to keep baby warm and clothed is just as valuable as the mom who stays home and bf's her baby on demand.

Follow your instincts, if you read all the books and listened to all the HVs etc your head would spin.

Axxxx

notanewuser

AnnieO1234 wrote: »

I've read through most of this thread as a bf'ing mother myself with interest.

24 hour supermarkets don't exist, at best they're 24 hours 5 days a week closing early on a Saturday and opening late on a Monday, no mother is going to want to wait on a store's opening hours.

Petrol stations, corner shops, "express" supermarkets - all open longer than supermarkets and often 24hr.