a how to : bottle feeding.

I've had to eat my words dear friends.  I exclusively breastfed my first two boys.  I was a bit anti-bottle, a bit snobbish about it.  Now, I never outwardly said bottle feeding was bad but I couldn't understand why one wouldn't breastfeed.

Breast is best, no?

And yes,  I had bumps at the beginning.  It was tricky and took some getting use to, both mom and baby.  But by golly, I was not a quitter.  I was a doer.  And do I did.

No, but not this time.  Humbled and feeling a bit defeated, I made the decision to bottle feed baby N.  It was hard.  I am surrounded by women who are very pro breast.  And I didn't want to feel guilty for choosing not to this time.

I made it a point to say I CHOSE to bottle feed, instead of, I quit breastfeeding.  I suffered terribly with post-partum with my second [in silence].  And when those feelings started to stir after Nic was born, I was scared.  He wouldn't latch, refused to eat.  I cried many tears.  But I am here to tell you that although breast is best, so is a happy sane mom.  And if I had a number four little guy, I would breast feed as my first choice.  But such is life and now that I bottle feed, I can share a little insight with you.

I am a bit OCD when it comes to being organized.  It pretty much makes my heart sing.  So I quizzed all of my bottle feeding friends and discovered some things on my own.  Here is how to bottle feed, in style and stress free.

I did pump for a few weeks and highly recommend any of the medela pumps.  They are spot on the BEST out there.  But if you choose to go straight to formula, I learned that it takes a little trial and error.  Nicholas does well on the soy based Isomil.

Bottles are important if you have gassy babies.  And let the record show, breast or formula, I just have gassy babies period.  Nic currently favors the born free bottles.  Glass or plastic, we have them both.  The nice thing about quite a few of the bottles on the market, is the wide neck.  Makes it super easy for cleaning.  I have the born free bottle brushes, which I believe would work great on any wide neck bottle.  I like that it is a sponge, not bristles.  Works better in my opinion.  I also have the babyganics foaming soap, regular and travel size.  Unscented.  Just a dab will do.  After I soap them up and rinse them clean, I throw the bottles into a microwave steam sterilizer.  I have this one.  And boom, after two minutes they are sterilized and into the drying rack they go.  The boon grass drying rack is super cute and holds all the bottle parts nicely.

For traveling, this diaper bag [my fave] accommodates bottles nicely and I divide out the formula using this nifty container.  If I will be gone, say a whole day, I've got my trusty Skip Hop bottle bag to save the day.

Now Nicholas doesn't seem to be picky and will take his water at room temperature.  I just use the bottle water I normally drink.  But I do keep bottled water in the car incase I need it.  And right now with the chilly temps, that means cooler water.  This bottle warmer wrap is the perfect solution.  I also keep extra formula and travel soap w/ sponge in my mini [mini van that is, ha].  You know, for emergencies.

Bottle feeding is definitely not as quick as whipping out the girls but I've found a nice rhythm.  Before I go to bed at night, I fill three bottles with water and my trusty formula container.  All I have to do when I hear N waking up is dump the formula in the bottle and shake.  Takes no time at all.

There you have it ladies.  If you choose to breastfeed, rock on!  That is definitely my first choice but if circumstances don't allow, I hope some of my tips were helpful.

Happy feeding!