Starter pack formula

They won’t finish a full bottle for the first couple of days, but once opened they have to be binned after use

I'd half it, when I was in hospital they suggested using pre sterile bottles and teats so half can be stored in the fridge. Once baby touches the milk it can't be kept but if halved beforehand it can be kept in the fridge for 24hrs... these are what I'm buying for storing in the fridge if they let me store milk again. Xx https://amzn.eu/d/fctLl2E

@Natalya I think if they’re not used within 2 hours then you have to bin them. Not binning straight away.

Yeah they last 2 hours but my little boy would only feed every 3 hours so they just got binned

@Natalya Okay I see. How about if they drank from it but you put the rest in the fridge straight away, would it last longer than 2hrs then?

No it has something to do with bacteria it’s classed as contaminated so you’d have to bin it. If you separate beforehand then you’ll be fine but honestly it’s too much work when you’re in hospital

@Natalya Tbh I don’t get how their bacteria affects it, they’re fresh from the womb how can their mouth be dirty… is it not pure cos they’re only a newborn? also how many ounces did your boy drink on the first day? I suppose you could either half the 70ml bottle in another sterile bottle and put it in the fridge, or they drink from it but the rest you leave room temp for max 2hrs and you could maybe wake them up before that to finish their bottle.

I just went with what the midwives said when I had my little boy😂 which was feed him every 3 hours and he actually never cried because he was hungry! And I’m not 100% sure because I tried breastfeeding but he wasn’t getting enough so I tried him with formula and he was having both but he never finished a ready made there was always like half left.

@Natalya I was told the same, I wish I didn’t listen because sometimes my son would cry before that and I would refuse to feed him and tell my husband “but it’s not been 2-3hours since his last feed” then I would proceed to rock him back to sleep. We’re supposed to feed on demand, not by the clock. The best advice I got from another mum was to feed every time baby cries. Were you giving him the starter pack formula or the bigger bottles of formula?

3 hours seem to work for us i use to have to wake him to feed him😂 i soon stopped waking him to feed him I just fed him when he cried. And I was using the starter pack ones with the teats although he hated the teats they came with the hospital had to give me different shaped ones for him

@Natalya Oh, interesting. How can you tell when they don’t like the teat?

I just bought 3 boxes of the starter packs for the sake of the hospital and it’s just easier than worrying about taking bottles as they have to be cleaned every 24 hours so if you don’t use them in that 24 hour period they’d have to be cleaned again. I just thought for ease I’ll take plenty and not worry about it. I’m going to pack bottles incase but I’m hoping by he will like the tests

He wouldn’t take to it properly, he’d like mess with it and cry rather than drink and he was barely taking anything. As soon as they gave us different teats he drank so much more and didn’t cry

@Kathryn I suppose it depends how long you stay in hospital for. If everything goes well and you’re sent home then I’m assuming 1 starter pack box would be more than enough for your hospital stay.

Ah yes of course I should have said I’m going in for a c section so I’ll definitely be in for at least one night x I’m preparing for the worst incase it’s more

No they will only take about 2oz for the first days. The midwives gave us disposable bottles with teats so we just used what we needed each time and put the rest in the fridge. Think open premade formula lasts for 24 hours, but you will need to warm the milk up each time which is a bit of pain.

@Deb yes, my hospital provided these bottles for us x

We used the 200ml premade formula as it lasts for 24hrs in the fridge so less waste and then had actual bottles. The hospital provided microwave sterilising bags whilst he was in NICU and once we moved to the ward a Milton cold water steriliser. Every time I needed milk I just pressed the button and a midwife would bring it, no issue 😊 Also gave baby chance to get used to his actual bottles as we were in for five days x

@Kirsty It varies doesn’t it. If you’re staying long and your hospital allows you to use their fridge, then you get the bigger ready made formula. In some hospitals they recommend you that you only take a starter pack, because they don’t allow you to use their fridge.

I'd never really even thought about it with our first as I naively thought I'd have no issue with breastfeeding so wasn't prepared at all and then the hospital guided us whilst we were there. Grateful they made it so easy though. Think it's definitely worth people checking their hospitals policy 😊