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Bottle-feeding: what do you wish you’d known?
DanielleMFM
admin
Hi everyone,
We know there are so many new mums out there looking for advice about bottle-feeding, we thought we’d ask all of you who are either bottle-feeding now, or have done so in the past.
Please do come and tell us here, what do you wish you’d known about bottle-feeding? It can be anything you like, we would love to hear it.
Tell us what you’d wish you’d known about bottle-feeding, by posting a reply to this thread. We can’t wait to hear your replies. 
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Replies
I wish someone had suggested I buy those tiny 2oz ready made (disposable) formula bottles with teats. They have them in the hospital and they're perfect for night feeds. They can be given at room temperature so you just grab it from the bedside cabinet and give it straight to your baby. No kettle boiling or faff required. They're perfect for the first 2/3 weeks of night feeds when they take so little!! They are sold in Boots and pricey but worth it Just for night feeds. Also means no sterilising required as they get thrown away after !!
Coxy1985, I actually wished I'd known about them too!
I agree regarding the ready made bottles of formula, and the bigger cartons later on for night feeds, who wants to faff about boiling kettles at 3am? They also make day trips out so much easier compared to when my eldest (now 9) was young and we'd have to take a flask everywhere!
If there's one piece of advice I'd give to any mum who's considering bottle feeding it is... don't feel a failure, it's not a cop out, and whilst we all know breast is best, ideally formulated for your baby, etc etc, don't feel guilty if you decide to use formula, it may be the best thing at the time for you and your baby. I wanted to breastfeed both my children, the first one I managed 2 weeks before switching to formula, the second it was 3 days before I started mixed feeding. For both children, it was upon the advice of midwives that I introduced formula as they both lost a lot of weight (more than 10% of birthweight), I simply wasn't producing enough myself, and they both became much more settled as soon as they started to have formula. With my youngest, I was advised to try expressing to increase my supply, and bought a double electric pump. This did help quite a bit with my supply, and meant my baby got at least one bottle of my milk per day until she was six months old, which I felt was quite an achievement after a shaky start!