formula now?

[chocolatecake42]

Cam any formula be given to the baby?  Should I stock up now before she's born?

[Kendraerika]

You feed directly from your breast unless You have to pump at work. Then yes you need to freeze, but that frozen milk would be used while you were away from baby, bc while you are with baby, it will eat directly from your breast.

[NicoleW09]

As for your formula question, I was unable to breastfeed my daughter, and we switched formula four times before she was weaned from her bottle. we switched because she had a milk protein intollerance and we tried soy. The soy constipated her and turned her stool black. We than switched to Nutramigen and then Alimentum for babies with milk protein intollerance. We had stocked up on the first formula and ended up having to give it to my cousin for her little boy. It's best to not stock up just in case your baby can't take the formula.

[Factorymomma]

If you breastfeed around the clock (meaning you have the ability to stay at home) you don't have to pump or store anything technically.  Most people pump for convenience in public, allowing other people to feed the baby, ect.  You can refrigerate breast milk for around 5 days btw, you don't have to freeze it.

[NicoleW09]

You don't need a pump to breastfeed unless you are expressing your milk to give the baby in a bottle. If you are expressing, a pump still isn't required. You can manually express, but if you're exclusively bottle feeding your baby breastmilk, it's better to have a pump.

If you're not pumping, the baby just latches to your breast and nurses that way. Then bottles, formula, and pumps aren't required.

Formula requires the use of a kitchen to wash bottles and prepare the formula.

[chocolatecake42]

Would it be possible for me to do both?  Do I need a pump in order to do it? I thought freezing and unfreezeing was required.

[Kendraerika]

Breastfeeding doesn't require a kitchen,  formula does.  You can easily bf without showing anything, and do nit have to get up to make a bottle, wash bottle, anything. I would at least try it, any breast milk baby gets is best. It has antibodies developed special for your baby where as formula is made universal. it also has hundreds of vitamins and nutrients not found in formula.

[chocolatecake42]

Well it is difficult because I live with my grandparents. I have to watch my grandfather basically all day and I feel confined to this room. I don't have access to a freezer and am not allowed to use the kitchen after ten o'clock.

[buggie216]

Def dont stock up...your baby may have an allergy...esp if your trying to breastfeed i would wait!

[louieforlaughs]

how so?

[chocolatecake42]

I have considered breastfeeding but my housing situation makes that difficult.

[louieforlaughs]

i would wait to stock up on formula. depending on circumstances you may need the extra iron or fancy stuff. so i would say wait and see what baby needs before getting too much of one kind that you'll never need. we like enfamil a+, it was the most expensive but that was what the hospital used so we kept with that. i wasn't able to breast feed because i have had a breast reduction. but had i not i would have breast fed. so i'm gonna say, if you can breast feed i totally recommend it.
congratulations on your pregnancy!

[steph_ut]

It depends on the baby - they can be quite sensitive, or take anything under the sun. I would recommend having a little get going to see how s/he is doing with it before buying in bulk. The big formula companies will send samples, etc if you sign up at their website.

[Heatherm4]

You might not want to stock up because not just any formula works for babies. Some are sensitive to certain ones...you just have to try what you might have right now first to see. Usually moms get free samples or the hospital will give some. Have you thought about breastfeeding?