Bottle Feeding Questions!

Good morning!

I am hoping to finish putting my list together of the things we still need (even after two baby showers!).

I am going to bottle feed our twins (on medication that forces me not to be able to b/f). I am wondering how many 4 oz and 8 oz bottles I will need? How many slow flow nipples to start?

We have the nursery painted, decorated, changing table stocked and ready to go! My hospital bag is packed, bassinets ready in our room, car seats ready and all Christmas presents done......can you think of anything else????

I am 33 weeks today and have had increased b/h contractions since yesterday. They did not fall into a pattern and did not build in pain. I had 8 in one hour, but I hydrated, got horizontal and they slowed down to 4 an hour, then 2......then I fell asleep for the night. I would have a couple in a row that were painful/crampy then just regular old tightening.

I have my first NST today, so I am sure we will see what is going on. As I am approaching the end here I am getting nervous about if we have everything we need on hand and ready to go!

Any input is appreciated! here I think I will go earlier and watch.....I will probably hang in there until 38 weeks or longer UG. xojillian

 

I would buy more 8 oz than 4 oz. I would buy more 8 oz bottles, as you can always use 1/2 of an 8 oz. When I was bottle feeding my older children, I liked using the 4 oz bottles, because when they began to hold them it was easier for them to lift. In fact when they began holding their bottles, it was about the time I could give them a little cereal to help supplement. As for nipples, you can buy a couple of extras. I wouldn't worry too much about buying them though. The clear nipples they have out now, last a lot longer than the yellowish ones they use to sell. Unless it they are colapsing or sticky, they are still good to use. One more piece of advice- when a bottle gets cloudy or scratched up throw it away. That means the plastic is weak and damaged and can cause chemicals from the plastic to leak into the milk. Also, don't micr or dishwasher any bottles, it causes the plastic to weaken too. I read this in Parenting Magazine- Sept. 2007 issue. They say that Born Free, Gerber, Sassy and Medela are the best.

I couldn't tell you how many bottles you really need as this is my first set of twins. If I were to double what I had for my singletons, I would say 6, 4 oz and 10-12, 8 oz. But, like I said, I am use to 1 baby at a time! I work at a daycare, but we usually don't get babies until they are about 2-4 months, by that time we would feed about every 4 hours... give and take 30 min- an hour. I will be interested in reading what some experienced moms say about feeding twins too! Personally I am thinking about using playtex nursers so that I don't have as much to wash. Just drop in a plastic liner and go. Then all you have to have is the extra nipples!!!

 

We bought 24 of each size. I think we way overbought, but with the 4oz. ones I wanted enough that I could wash them 1x a day and have a few spares in case I was too tired one night.

Maybe time all of the 4oz. ones were dirty.

As for 8oz. ones my kids are now using those, but only take 4 feedings a day so we have 3 days worth of bottles. I packed away 8 of them to use if any of these wear out of get lost.


I think it all depends on how often you want to wash them.

Newborns on a 3 hour schedule have 8 feedings a day. Some newborns eat every 2 hours though so that is 12 feedings each per day.

Of course you could always just buy the big ones and feed them from those from the start and save the money on the small ones.

 

Thanks Ladies I think I like the idea of having enough if the dishwasher is fully loaded with them to have a couple extra.

We have about 10 of each size right now so I will go pick up more 8oz.....we are using the Playtex Drop In Bottles.

Should I have as many nipples as bottles??? So if I have 20 8oz bottles do I need 20 slow flow nipples? Not sure how that should work.........

thanks!

 

i always had extra; the drop ins are the best so at least u dont have to worry too much about washing them-i would get more 8oz ones because the 4 ozs are good for the first few weeks-grab many many extra nipples-u might not care for washing at nitetime for those 12am feedings-3am,6am=:giggle: dont get the ones that cant be dishwasher safe either-the brown ones with get gummy--i beiieve the white silicone ones are the only dishwasher safe ones--

 

I had the same number of nipples as bottles.

I too had enough bottles for each baby for 24 hours, plus a couple extra for the diaper bag and to use when the dishwasher was running (actually, doing the math now I remember that I had 18). I made my fomula in pitchers each night, and then poured bottles for the next day. WHen the bottles were done, I threw them in the dishwasher. It made life so much easier!

I did have to turn around and buy 8 oz bottles rather quickly. We did not use the 4 oz. ones for a super long time. In retrospect, it would have made way more sense to just use 8 oz. bottles, but when they are only eating an ounce and a half per feeding in the beginning, it would have seemed silly to have such a huge bottle!!!

 

QUOTE(twoin2005 @ Dec 3 2007, 02:42 PM) [snapback]519299[/snapback]
I had the same number of nipples as bottles.

I too had enough bottles for each baby for 24 hours, plus a couple extra for the diaper bag and to use when the dishwasher was running (actually, doing the math now I remember that I had 18). I made my fomula in pitchers each night, and then poured bottles for the next day. WHen the bottles were done, I threw them in the dishwasher. It made life so much easier!

I did have to turn around and buy 8 oz bottles rather quickly. We did not use the 4 oz. ones for a super long time. In retrospect, it would have made way more sense to just use 8 oz. bottles, but when they are only eating an ounce and a half per feeding in the beginning, it would have seemed silly to have such a huge bottle!!!



u said u made a pitcher day?? would u just refrigerate it? formula or breastmilk? im planning on doing both and making a pitcher seems so much more economical then making each bottle for each feeding. would a pitcher last u the whole day and night??

also glad this question was asked because im not ready to have these babies yet but i am starting my list of things that we havent gotten yet.

 

glad someone posted this! anybody have suggestions for brands/types of nipples/bottles they prefer?

 

QUOTE(twoin2005 @ Dec 3 2007, 05:42 PM) [snapback]519299[/snapback]
I had the same number of nipples as bottles.

I too had enough bottles for each baby for 24 hours, plus a couple extra for the diaper bag and to use when the dishwasher was running (actually, doing the math now I remember that I had 18). I made my fomula in pitchers each night, and then poured bottles for the next day. WHen the bottles were done, I threw them in the dishwasher. It made life so much easier!

I did have to turn around and buy 8 oz bottles rather quickly. We did not use the 4 oz. ones for a super long time. In retrospect, it would have made way more sense to just use 8 oz. bottles, but when they are only eating an ounce and a half per feeding in the beginning, it would have seemed silly to have such a huge bottle!!!



i haven't had my twins yet, but i have bought the larger size bottles, i have about 17...someone told me i would be making 16 bottles a day.
For my first born who i was unable to breatfed, i made a pitcher each morning of fresh milk, kept my bottles and nipples in the frigde and i sterilised evrything, did not use dishwasher. I will either make up a pitcher or make up all the bottles and have them in the frige enough 4 24 hrs, and then remake milk next morning....atleast that is the plan...i am most active energetic in the morning but that will probably change!!

I have bought an electric sterilizer, i used milton with my boys, but i thought i will be going thru so many bottles, the luxury of a steam electric ster. would be worth it. I plan to use milton for my nipples and pacifiers medicine applicators etc....of which i have only maybe 6-8 slow and then i ended up with 4 or so med flow...maybe i need more slow flows...1 for each feed. sounds like a plan.

other things i can think of off the top of my head would be...
bottle brush or two (i am sure we will be wearing these out!)
sterilising liquid/tablets (if you are going that way)
drying rack (or just a clean cloth on a bench, or straight into fridge)
some form of feeding chart

i have bought all tommee tippee closer to nature bottles.

Good luck and well done on being so prepared.

 

In the beginning I used breast milk, but then I had to start mixing formula with it since I did not produce enough. Once the kids were on formula exclusively, I just made big batches. According to my pedi, I could make 48 hours worth, but in the beginning I just made a day's worth.

I bought the formula pitcher at BRU. I would make 16 bottles worth of formula, which would last 24 hours (8 bottles per baby). I would pour the bottles all ahead of time and have everything ready to go. I microwaved the formula (not breast milk) to heat it and it was a fast, efficient process. I washed the bottles in the dishwasher in the evening, and then made the formula and poured bottles before I went to bed. DH and I did it together, each night! We made a good team!!!

As the babies got older, they became a little more unpredictable with their bottles. As infants, I could pretty much gaurantee that they would finish a bottle. But as they got older, some feedings they would eat a little and other feedings they would eat a lot. So after about 6 mos or so, I just started to make the fomula ahead of time, and then poured bottles throughout the day.

 

I'd skip the 4 ounce and just buy 8/9 ounce bottles. If you want to have enough for a full day, I'd go with 16 bottles total.

 

I decided not to make pitchers of formula as then you have to refrigerate and heat. In the hospital my kids got used to room temperature formula and I decided this was easiest on the go and such.

Each night I fill my bottles for the next day with the right amount of water and then I fill these little sectioned containers with premeasured formula to add to the bottles. When the kids need a bottle I dump the powder that is already measured in the bottle of premeasured water. It takes a few seconds and they have a bottle in their mouths.

I definately say get silicone nipples and I would make sure to have a couple extra ones. I know early on when my kids were diagnosed with reflux and we had to start putting cereal in their bottles, I ruined a couple nipples trying to make the holes big enough for the cereal to pass through. I was happy I had spares.

As for brand, I use the plain simple gerber bottles with nuby nipples. We tried Ventaire and Dr. Browns and the kids didnt like them much. The much prefer the nuby nipples on the gerber bottles. Of course, it is great that they are cheap as well.


Also, I did pump for them for 2 months and I would put that in small bottles and leave them on the counter for the next feeding. I usually pumped after I fed them. The breastmilk stays fine on the counter and I always gave that to them first followed by formula.

I hope some of this is helpful!

 

Oh and I wanted to add that I asked the nurse at the hospital for a copy of the eat, sleep, poop chart we had to use at the hospital. I used this for about 2 months and then designed my own that met our needs better.

For example, I did not need a spit column. My kids are spitters so it is assumed they spit. I also wanted to add a type of formula column as we changed formulas a lot in the beginning. Now I have added some solids columns and some medications columns as my kiddos take 3 things a day!

A feeding chart is essential with 2 babies. The PED will ask how much they eat and how often they poop and you can get confused very easily if it is not written down!

 

QUOTE
glad someone posted this! anybody have suggestions for brands/types of nipples/bottles they prefer?



Personally I like Playtex Nursers drop in bottles. I like the fact that it is easy clean up and a lot less work. Otherwise, I read an article in Parenting Magazine September 2007 issue, that talked about the safest bottles you can buy. The brands were, Gerber, Sassy, Born Free, and Medela. They do not have some kind of chemical in the plastic that can leak into the formula or milk. The article also said to not use a microwave... which we have all heard before, or a dishwasher on the bottles. This weakens the plastic and causes the chemicals to be released. If your bottles get cloudy or look scratched, do not use them. This is a sign of weakness and should be thrown away, because of the chemicals. :winking0009: