Thursday 22 December 2016

TOP FORMULA FEEDING MUST HAVES!!!

When I decided I wanted to formula feed my first child I found barely any information for formula feeding moms out there. There is book after book written about breastfeeding but I struggled to find formula feeding "experts". This list, including all my picks, was born after a lot of trial and error on my part and has come in very handy while formula feeding my second baby.

What does a formula feeding mom really need?

1. Formula powder - Duh! I use organic when possible.
Ki recommends: Hipp combiotic infant milk
LVDK tip: You can use stage 1 formula till your baby turns one, no need for stage 2 or 3. Those have a lot more sugar but are otherwise similar.

2. Bottles - if you are formula feeding you need bottles. Lots and lots of them. This ensures that even if you don't manage to wash and sterilise them, you'll always have a spare or two handy.
Ki recommends: Avent natural bottles
LVDK tip: Change the nipples every 3 months!

3. Muslin cloths - These stop milk from dripping down onto baby's clothes while feeding and double as a burp cloth.
Ki recommends: Mother care muslins

4. Bottle brush - This removes all the formula residue and thoroughly cleans the bottles before sterilising. I like the ones which have a brush for the bottles on one end and nipple on the other end.
Ki recommends: Dr. Brown bottle brush.
LVDK tip:  Soak your bottles in warm soapy water about an hour before you wash them. You don't need a special bottle washing soap though, dish washing liquid will do.

5. Steriliser - When I started formula feeding my mom used to boil the bottles. What a pain it was. We couldn't find a vessel big enough for more than 4 bottles at one go, we had to wait ages for the water to boil and keep monitoring the process and worst of all was digging all the parts out of the scalding hot water. Sterilisers are awesome. They fit 6-8 bottles at one go and they all get sterilised just by the touch of a button. It's nothing short of a miracle!
Ki recommends: Avent bottle steriliser

5. Microwave steriliser bags - These are lifesavers. They usually fit 2-3 bottles and take just a few minutes in the microwave to deliver clean bottles. I love to travel with these rather than take my bulky steriliser along.
Ki recommends: Dr Brown's microwave steriliser bags

6. Formula maker machine - This basically measures out the water and brings it to the perfect temperature so that all you need to do is mix in the formula powder. It is perfect for those bleary eyed nights when you can't be bothered to read those tiny measurements on bottles.
Ki recommends: Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep
LVDK tip: Don't forget to clean the inside of the machine every once in a while! And always fill it with cold water.

7. Formula dispenser - This is basically a set of containers stacked one on top of the other to hold the exact number of scoops of formula that you need. Mine has repeatedly proven itself amazingly useful for travel, especially on airplanes.
Ki recommends: Pigeon formula dispenser
LVDK tip: It also works great for nights. I fill 2-3 containers with the amount of formula I need before going to bed. So all I have to do when the baby wakes is switch on the perfect prep and then just add my pre measured formula to the bottle. This is a big big time and sanity saving hack!

I hope this list helps other formula feeding mothers out there. If you have any recommendations, tips or hacks please leave them in the comments below. And feel free to ask me anything about formula feeding. I know how hard it is to find sound advice for formula feeders and I'm always happy to help!

1 comment :

  1. Hi Kirti,
    thank you so much for writing about this topic. It is still very hard to find good and valid information on formula feeding. Some mothers just are not able to breast feed or have their reasons and this is totally okay! My baby boy for example has a very sensitive stomach so it took us some time until we did find the hypoallergenic formula from https://organicbaby.la/collections/hipp-formula that he could drink without having any problems. I was so happy once we did find it.
    Thank you for the hint with the steriliser - we are also boiling the bottles but one day we forgot about. This was not funny and healthy neither. We had to leave the windows open for hours and huge parts of our house smelt really bad.
    Thank you for your posts and have a great weekend!
    <3 Samantha

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