Mum to precious son, married 7 years, renovating a period property and taming a grumpy but loveable ...
Mum to precious son, married 7 years, renovating a period property and taming a grumpy but loveable 4 year old puss we adopted Christmas 2007. Volunteer for the Ectopic Pregnancy Trust (www.ectopic.org.uk), and work in healthcare (but not as a nurse!).
Breast won outright to start with but then I went back to work when my son was just 3 months old, so I tried combining breast and bottle, and found the stress of working was impacting on my milk production. I gave up at 16 weeks, having sat breastfeeding at midnight for an hour, only to then offer my son a bottle that he promptly devoured.
Everyone says "My child's milk is the closest to breastmilk", but that's what all first formula milks say on the packet. So how do you choose?
I asked family and friends for their opinions and found out that I had been given MilupaAptimil at birth some 30 years ago, and so had my cousins some 15 years ago. That's what I was going to give my son.
Milupa Aptimil comes in a blue box. There are two silver foil "sachets" contained within, currently with a money-off voucher for their follow-on milk, Milupa Milumil, and a scoop. The instructions for use are printed clearly on the outside of the box, with diagrams that illustrate the pouring of a boiled kettle, how to use the scoop, how to shake the bottle, etc. A useful table at the top of the instructions sets out a guideline for baby's consumption at different stages during their first year. This is useful if you really aren't sure how much milk your baby should be drinking.
I assume that making up the bottles is standard for all first formula milks. You sterilise your bottles, boil the kettle and let it stand for 45 minutes or so, then pour the required ounces of liquid into each bottle (make sure your hands are scrupulously clean before handling sterilised bottles), adding the same number of scoops of formula milk, ie: 4oz water = 4 scoops milk. Shake the bottle really well to ensure the powder dissolves. If the water in the bottles is still hot, the best way to cool them is to put them in the sink, put in the plug and fill with cold water - it takes about 15 minutes for the bottles to cool enough to go in the fridge. IMPORTANT: from the time the formula is made up, it has a shelf life of 24 hours.
To use the bottle, heat in a jug/pan of boiled water (never in the microwave - causes uneven heating that scalds delicate mouths). Reheated bottles must be used WITHIN 1 HOUR.
The reason why there are such shelf lives is that microbugs thrive in milk and start reproducing at a horrifying rate once milk is made up/warmed. This can cause babies to suffer from serious upset tummies, ie: gastro-enteritis.
For those of you that have breastfed, your babies poos were originally sweet-smelling, yellowish and runny (you'd think diarrhoea if it shot out onto your leg at 100mph at 3am!). My son's changed with the formula milk to an army green colour and smelled pretty ripe. He also parped like a trooper (and still does, so it must be genetic). If, like us, conversion to formula milk takes place close to the introduction of weaning, rest assured poos will improve and become much much more predictable once baby rice/veg are introduced.
Please don't ask us about follow-on milk because it was a disaster! Suffice to say, we have stuck with Milupa Aptimil and are now moving onto cow's milk, and we will use Milupa Aptimil when JJane2 is made.
Two final points. Milupa sells its milks in ready-made boxes (small drink-like cartons), which is a great way of testing your baby with a particular formula milk, and is also handy for travelling. Also, if you are travelling around and are worried about storing made up bottles without them becoming warm, make the bottles up with water only and then add the milk when needed.... saves the worry!
Burp!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
I use 'formula'-such an american word hey??? I just make up the 6 bottles required for the day, shove them in the fridge and reheat in the microwave as needed.....now my son is 4 months and I stuck my sterilizer back in the cellar (boyfriend raised an eyebrow at me when I said I wanted to keep it!!!-lol). I dont put much emphasis on sterilising now he is on solids...just wash the bottles well in boiling water and refill accordingly-But then again I am not such a fussy mum and do tend to go my own way rather than do what I am told by doctors, books and friends.....good op
andymcf 16.11.2002 00:07
I was going to make a smutty comment about having been on the bottle and liking to return to the breast. But then this isn't about me. Baby Josh never took to the breast - something of which he'll be reminded in later years. He's now on cow's milk. So much more economical and convenient. The advantage with breast feeding is that you don't have all the palaver of sterilising bottles ad infinitum. Cheers. Andrew
very helpful by (94%):
helpful by (6%):
