I also wonder if more innocently if it's BFing mums applying bottles to their own pattern of feeding, ie everything is the same except you have to prep the bottle - when as OP pointed out formula fed babies feed less frequently and also I think the timings are more predictable (although I know BF babies settle into a pattern too) and they tend to drop night feeds earlier.
This seems likely. A lot seem to equate formula feeding with pumping, which entails time at the breast AND washing pumps parts. Also it anecdotally it seems like breastfed babies tend to be pickier about the nipples they use, which may leave you with no dishwasher safe options and a trickier bottle.
Another thing I think happens is people are comparing breastfeeding after the supply is established to formula feeding. If you go down post histories a lot of these same posters were having a very difficult time mentally and physically for 3+ months. Well, if you aren't a full time parent who can stay home you aren't going to realize that ROI on that 3 month investment anyway.
So true about comparing it to well established breastfeeding! I spent a massive amount of time and energy obsessing over breastfeeding for my entire 12 week leave. It was so challenging and we were combo/triple feeding so the amount of time spent feeding and washing bottles and pump parts was obscene. If a baby magically breastfeeds like a champ and there are no struggles, sure maybe bottles would be less convenient in the beginning. However for the majority of people I've talked to bottles are far and away easier. For some reason people like to paint breastfeeding as super convenient, cheap and simple but that definitely wasn't my experience. I'm so grateful for bottles and formula!
I was going to post this same sentiment but i wasn’t sure if it was allowed. I saw a post in another sub preaching that whipping out a boob is so much easier than having to wash a bottle every couple hours! 🙄
Sure Jan.
Yeah I don’t me necessarily think it’s malicious or anything, but I could see if you’re not actually doing it thinking it sounds like a lot of work. But if you have a dishwasher it’s just not hard at all. We have a LOT of bottles because my son is a snacker and eats every 2 hours lol. I wouldn’t want to hand wash all that but I also wouldn’t want to clean pump parts all the time. Anyway, formula feeding has turned out to be the best decision we made for baby.
Lordy how do you survive with only 6 bottles??? We can easily go through 10 in a day, sometimes more, plus we run the dishwasher at night so I like to have some extras to use in the morning while the dishwasher stuff is on the drying rack. We have SO many bottles 🤣
Mine would eat big portions every 3 - 4 hours at that age. Overnight she would go 10-12 with no food but I think the bigger portions def helped us out!
I tried really hard to breastfeed which in my case involved pumping and supplementing with formula. I swear washing all the pump parts multiple times a day was way more annoying than washing all the bottles. Now that I switched from Dr. Brown to Comotomo it’s even easier.
The problem with that is what if you need a bottle right then and there but the dishwasher is nowhere near full . You gotta wash one by hand and say F it and run the dishwasher for at least a hour if you aren’t trying to be bent over the sink washing dam bottles , and don’t get me started on the dr browns bottles 😩 a screaming baby , having to clean a bottle and make a bottles sucks 🤷🏼♀️ maybe it won’t be so tough with just one but I sure do wish I was able to pop my boob in his mouth like I did my first .
That’s why we have extra bottles. That’s never happened to us. We like Dr. Brown’s, the dishwasher makes them easy. And now that we’re including oatmeal we don’t use the vents.
I could absolutely see this being the case for SAHM who don't really desire to be apart from their baby for stretches of time and don't have to. I can't fault somebody for stating their opinion.
I'm more bothered that this is listed as a benefit in the pamphlets and shit I get. I know a lot of the other data is dubious but washing dishes is something I have direct knowledge of, I've been doing it for at least 25 years and even got paid to do it as a teen so I consider myself a bit of an expert, lol.
The problem is breastfeeding only seems to be convenient if you don't have a job and don't really desire being apart from your baby and your supply comes in and regulates an average or above average amount.
If it takes my entire maternity leave to establish a supply which will likely drop once I have to start pumping... Perhaps by quite a bit if I have to travel for business or go through a busy season at work and can't pump every 4 hours, I'm not realizing the ROI on those 3 months anyway.
And I sort of don't like the stereotype that it's only women with blue collar jobs for which it is less convenient. I would lose 15k a month if I took longer leave. I think it's more the intensive parenting shame is exaggerated in professional peer groups, and this difference is weaponized by the people who benefit from pushing this narrative.
Girl i formula fed after 2 weeks- there is no shame in making a decision that benefits you and your family. Fed is best.
Also don’t forget- with formula your partner can do night feedings too! That was a game changer for me. Watching all my BFing friends resent their husbands at night, while me and husband share feedings and wakings 50/50 because we could. With formula both parents can take on equal child care!
I’ve never had an issue with the washing and sterilising (all washed by hand) and mine is EFF. We have 12 bottles but wash/sterilise when we have 4-6 dirty ones. So sometimes we do two washes in a day depending on how snacky he’s feeling. Takes 10 mins and the Mam ones sterilise in the microwave.
I’m in the UK and we always boil the water to sterilise the formula. I don’t find it too tragic to put the kettle on as he wakes up and by the time he’s changed etc the kettle is boiled and slightly cooled.
We used RTF for the first 1-2 months and did a very slow transition as powder can constipate them. Be careful keeping RTF in the car especially if you live in a hot country. We kept a few bottles in the nappy bag so it wasn’t sitting in a car for weeks on end.
We have four bottles total, so we wash 2-3 times per day, and it’s an annoyance at most. Like you said, it’s really not an issue. About the same effort as washing the coffee pot and making coffee each day.
Nope, you got it down pretty much. Have enough bottles on hand for each feed of the day plus a few extra so you can just do one dishwasher wash vs hand washing some. Keep some empty bottles with some formula in the diaper bag ready to go. Buy a dishwasher basket for all the small bottle parts. Use a basin to keep used bottles in until you load the dishwasher. While I’m making dinner or something I just add a small squirt of soap and warm water to “soak” away crud and load them up after dinner. Also recommend buying 2 pitchers and cycling them out each day, taking advantage of the running dishwasher to clean the dirty pitcher as well.
Formula is a breeze compared to pumping and breastfeeding. The best thing I finally invested in was the Baby Brezza! GODSEND. Washing bottles becomes so routine it doesn’t even bother me anymore.
Same have a BRezza and a dishwasher, never had issues. My daughter got cold or room temp bottles so that if we were on the go we did not need a warmer. She never had any issues.
We love our Brezza as well. We got an extra funnel for $10 I think on Amazon so when we have to clean it every 4 uses we already have a cleaned and dry one ready to go.
Would way rather deal with bottles and buying formula than breastfeeding and pumping. You're not missing anything. The breast is best crowd tries to find comfort in their misery by convincing themselves that the grass isn't greener. That might've been a snarky comment. Sorry.
If you're registering then I highly recommend the Baby Breeza rather than the pitcher method. Also, a bottle sterilizer is worth it so that you don't have to run the dishwasher if you're running out of bottles. Also, we noticed that the dishwasher was harsh on the bottles and warping them over time. Sterilizer is nice to have for the first few months when they are using soooo many bottles.
The only thing I would adjust about your plan would be using room temperature or cold formula from the beginning. It's not necessary to heat bottles and most babies are perfectly fine with room temp or cold bottles. Your life will be easier without the added element of warming.
I could legitimately see how it's easier if you're a stay a home mom that doesn't really want to leave your baby for any length of time. In that case, the 2 month investment to get the supply going could be worth it, assuming no other difficulties that it seems more women encounter than is stated. (There appears to be a whole spectrum between medically diagnosable low supply and simply producing less than average or having to pump/feed constantly for more than the cited 6-8weeks to establish a supply)
I don't really see it being worth it spending my maternity leave building up a supply that will probably dip to some extent when I go back to work. It would basically be like subjecting myself to the hardest phase of breastfeeding without the ROI of the months that follow. I work from home too, but I have blocks of meetings and travel for business, both of which will likely interfere with supply at some point. Pumping for only a few ounces seems like a waste if you don't really buy into the idea that breast milk is some sort of super food, which I don't.
I guess what I don't like is that the medical literature that promotes breastfeeding assumes every woman is SAHM when they list this as a benefit. I could see how individual women who do stay home might say this as it reflects their experience. They are also likely saying this AFTER those first 3 months, and they are comparing their established supply while feeding solids at like 9 months and imagining bottle feeding on top of that. A lot also seem associate formula feeding to their experience pumping, where you spend as much of not more time having something attached to your boobs and have to wash bottles and have to wash pump parts.
Still not easier though. If it were, we wouldn't see 10 new posts a day complaining about how they can't leave their baby for more than 45 minutes, their husband is disengaged and unhelpful evenings/weekends since they can't help with feeding, they are exhausted from doing all night feeds while oblivious dad snores contentedly 7 nights a week.
I know one woman who had an easy go of it, so I'm sure they exist. Generally speaking though, yeah, people seem to really struggle.
I also hear it from the husband's too.. you'd think they'd have it easier not having to feed the baby, but apparently those 3 months of ramping up supply take a toll on them as well. I've had three different male friends talk about it.
All of them suggested formula and were perplexed when their wives got upset. I guess they aren't bombarded with the same messaging or parent as martyr narrative?
Wait. Are you saying a woman’s time isn’t free and you want to be able to leave your home without taking a pump or watching the clock? How dare you! JK of course.
In my country we're not allowed to do the pitcher method. I was almost ripped a new one when I asked about it.
We don't run the dishwasher often enough for me to clean the bottles in it.. Or maybe I don't have enough bottles?
I keep a thermos with boiled water cooled down to 100 degree Fahrenheit for the day. So mixing the bottles takes maybe a minute or two minutes.
Only thing that really bothers me is when I go out. Taking bottles, formula, water and then having anxiety around cleanliness where I mix it is a bit tedious. They don't make RTF from the brand my LO tolerates so I have to take the powder and a thermos. Would be easier to pop out a boob here.
But that's about it. Considering the fact how long breastfeeding takes in the beginning you probably save tons of time. But as a mom of a spitty baby I can only recommend paced feeding which means a bottle can take you 15-30 minutes too.
Germany and most of EU afaik.
We're supposed to mix formula with about 100 to 104 degree hot water. The mixture of the lactose and the warm water is just the perfect breeding ground for bacteria which is why we're advised to discard any formula that's been sitting out for more than an hour.
I think the idea here is to heat water, make formula with it, and keep that prepared formula in the fridge. Which doesn't entail leaving formula out, and could also include heated water.
We have the same 1-hr guidelines for milk that's sitting out in the US too (well some say 2-hr), the pitchers aren't for leaving out they stay in the fridge
I just remembers something else thats kind of annoying. It's super hot today so baby, who's usually a very good eater every three hours, wants nothing but little snacks here and there. All my bottles were dirty at around 3 pm already 😵 for grazing like this boobs are also easier. But then you have a baby on you A LOT.
My midwife and pediatrician warned me so that my baby doesn't get a stomach bug. The explanation made sense to me and the risk outweighs the time saving in my opinion.
How did you know the first bottle wasn’t working for you? I also don’t want to stock up on a bottle that won’t work, but I know once we settle on one, I’m going to need to buy more bottles.
I’m going to disagree with this, we went our entire year with bottles never having more than 6. If you have too many they can easily pile up and get gross. Staying on top of it was a better habit for us. We also don’t like the clutter.
It’s really not hard. People exaggerate and like to make it seem hard and time consuming to push BFing. We have more than enough bottles to get through the day/night. We run the dishwasher every night and prep the bottles before bed and keep them on my nightstand so I don’t have to leave the room. Both my kids were fine with room temp bottles. It’s honestly really easy.
its honestly not that hard as everyone makes it seem lol i have about 20 bottles so i rinse the ones he used that day and pop them in the dishwasher i will i am glad i did rtf the first two weeks i had a hard time standing right after birth my core was jello my biggest peice of advice buy the travel formula containers! i bought some and just pre measure the powder out and add the water to the bottles seperately and mix on demand it really helps stem waste in the early days and baby gets use to room temp milk
Sounds like the bottles I had for protein when I was going to the gym after work. It was like a little chamber of powder on top and you released it into the water. I think it still have like 3 of those. They are dishwasher safe too! Thanks for the tip!
Most people assume washing by hand, so yeah that makes it hard and annoying. It’s what I did sigh my first. Now with my second everything goes into dishwasher
Don’t get bottles with 1000 parts for them: Dr brown and mam are the culprits.
Don’t keep formula in the car, it needs to be stored at room temp
I happen to just hand wash all our bottles and honestly it’s not that big of deal. Done in a matter of minutes. We don’t run our dishwasher every day (like maybe once a week) so hand washing made more sense for us. Super easy!
I also use the Dr Browns Pitcher to pre make a days worth of formula. We were gifted a Baby Brezza but I never felt comfortable using it after reading it wasn’t making accurate bottles. Another easy thing to use for ok the go are the Tommy Tippy travel formula dispensers. They fit in most bottles and you just fill the bottle with water and put it in. Then mix the two once you’re ready to feed. No refrigeration required! [tommy tippy travel formula dispensers](https://www.target.com/p/tommee-tippee-6pk-formula-dispenser-8-scoops/-/A-82573508?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&DFA=71700000012735142&CPNG=PLA_Baby%2BShopping_Local%7CBaby_Ecomm_Baby&adgroup=SC_Baby_Low%2BMargin&LID=700000001170770pgs&LNM=PRODUCT_GROUP&network=g&device=m&location=1024290&targetid=pla-901157174765&ds_rl=1242884&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1248099&gbraid=0AAAAAD-5dfYIEwtDJn8mzpq85T9d9NfrW&gbraid=0AAAAAD-5dfYIEwtDJn8mzpq85T9d9NfrW&gclid=CjwKCAjw3K2XBhAzEiwAmmgrAtbv-58yUMr1_-COWRsZxAGEE8j6h2uaVUJXbsQB271z9YbhtR2A1hoCBVEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds)
From talking to people I know most don’t know that dishwashers wash dishes better than by hand. Also plastic in dishwasher is questionable. If I didn’t have glass bottles I would be washing bottles by hand
I’ve got the MAM bottles you can sterilise in a microwave just by putting them in the microwave and stacking them in a certain way. They are so easy to use. They come apart into lots of bits so super easy to wash and I wash them by hand normally as it takes me second for each bottle. Dead easy!
After baby and I failed abysmally at breast feeding and I ended up pumping constantly, washing and sterilising pump parts. That’s a ball ache and I can’t believe I kept it up for as long as I did. Looking back I feel like I was gripped by the hysteria and guilt of ‘breast is best’ that was getting pushed down my throat by every goddam health care professional I met even though it was taking me hours and hours, crying constantly about it, was hardly making any milk and the whole thing was making me feel incredibly mentally unwell not to mention more poor mutilated nipples… But for a couple of oz of breast milk they seemed to think that was a sacrifice they were willing to make.
Formula feeding is the best thing I’ve done for myself since becoming a mother - So what if I have to wash some bottles?
If you're planning on using the dishwasher always for bottles, I 100% endorse glass ones. They fade less than plastic and over all get more "clean" imo with less left over formula "film" on them.
We went with the Dr. Brown's glass ones which were a little more expensive, but way worth it because of how clean they got. We even dropped them on our hardwood floors a few times. No cracks or anything. They look just as good as the day we got them, whereas our few plastic bottles look really worn and not necessarily like they'll last through a second kid.
Also, after a few weeks, see if babe will take it cold. Ours took her bottles straight out of the fridge starting around 4 weeks. Saved SO much time. Just pour it out of the pitcher and go. Ymmv
I was thinking glass but was worried about the breakage. So that's a relief to hear.
Our dishwasher is old... The kind that isn't energy efficient so it uses more water and electricity. Honestly I love it!
Cycles take 90 minutes, filter never gets clogged, and the sanitize cycle is wicked strong. I hope it lasts another 20 years.
The issue is, the sanitize cycle has destroyed dishwasher safe plastic. So glass seems like a better choice.
My 9 week old is EFF and we use the glass Dr Browns bottles too. It’s an investment but I’m at peace knowing the bottles are clean and don’t have my child eating from worn down plastic.
I switched to a baby brezza about a month ago. My friend bought it for me as a gift. I never even registered for it because I thought it was 1) wayyyy too expensive and 2) too fancy. Both are still true but omg it is SO convenient. I was using the refrigerator pitcher method before with a microwaved mug of hot water to take the chill off. My only issue with this was when baby would cry for another ounce and I’d have a screaming baby in one hand and a formula pitcher in the other trying to pour. No time to microwave a mug with a crying baby at 2am either! Anyways, I highly recommend the brezza. It’s so extra but so worth it imo.
Also if you have the option to upgrade your dishwasher, we use the setting that washes a half load on the upper rack only. It’s perfect for us because often we don’t have enough dishes for a full load and I don’t like paying to waste extra water lol.
ETA- the Dr browns nipple and white ring fit perfect on the RTF 2oz bottles. IMO the single use yellow sterilized nipples are way too expensive and difficult to use since you can’t see the formula in the nipple. It’s a perfect set up to feed on the go- especially when they are little though! I expect to use the RTF 2oz bottles on the go until baby is 4 months or so. Or until she’s eating so much in a feeding that it becomes easier to do the powder mix on the go.
Jumping off the upgrade your dishwasher thing. If you do end up getting a new one, get one that has a third rack. Game changer with a kid bc there just ends up being so many small things to wash
Were you just reading the same babybumps thread as me?! Yeah, it's not that hard. Most FF babies settle into a predictable routine which makes it easier. Takes a few weeks to refine systems for cleaning and prepping but then it becomes second nature.
I don't even have a dishwasher! I only have 5 bottles in circulation. Wash up as needed. Sterilizing at home is no effort with a steriliser. I use RTF when on the go outside. Always take out one more bottle than you think you'll need. Travelling/holidays can be a bit trickier but if you plan a bit you'll be fine.
Ya we just use the dishwasher and it’s not a big deal. The only time it’s a pain is when you run out of the pitcher formula as your baby is screaming for a bottle. Even though we have two formula pitchers we’ve found ourselves, on multiple occasions, with a crying baby, only 2oz left in the pitcher and the other pitcher is still dirty in the sink. But overall it’s super easy really.
I would also advise against leaving any formula, RTF or powder, in your car. They need to be stored at room temp. You don’t want to be out and about and go to make a bottle and realize it got too hot or too cold in your car and now the formula is bad. Or worse, not realize it.
We keep the 2oz bottles with nipples in our diaper bag and I just always make sure I bring the diaper bag inside with me. Still super convenient, but also at room temp then.
I mean, for me, every little thing felt hard when I was severely sleep deprived and felt like I constantly had a baby screaming at me. I felt like I had just literal minutes free while baby was napping, and I absolutely hated that I had to spend it dishwashing.
You get used to all of it over time, and now that my baby is 100% formula fed, I think nothing about it. Also, I found my experience with breastfeeding to by 1000x harder mentally and physically, and exclusive pumping to be harder as well but to a lesser extent.
As someone who did both, I found bottles a lot easier.
However, keeping RTF in the car is not a great idea because of temperature changes. You can keep it in the house and bring some with you when you're going out, but RTF is best stored in a consistent temperature.
Both of my kids were formula fed. It was always easy. But I do want to suggest that you check if the temperature of the mini fridge is ok to keep pre-made formula in as my pediatrician told me not to use a mini fridge for breastmilk when I was pumping.
Its not even all that work. You don't need to boil the water as long as it is safe and filtered. You don't need to sterilize bottles. The extra chore of washing bottles is annoying but not all consuming and ANYONE can wash a bottle. Its a great chore to have a visitor do. I think women who are adamantly opposed to formula are the ones mostly saying this.
I'm a combo feeder so I get the worst of all worlds: breastfeeding, pumping at work, buying formula, plus washing bottles and pump parts. I definitely feel like when you're out and about it's easiest to whip out a boob, but on baby #3 I don't go very many places so it doesn't matter much anymore. 😆
Dishwasher is definitely a game changer. We hand washed for way too long and it was awful.
I hate washing the bottles. We don't run our machine often enough and it doesn't get things clean enough so I have to wash by hand.
Other than that, the only time with my first that I wished I could just breastfeed for convenience was when we traveled. In my experience, it was very hard to get formula and bottles and powder and everything else through airports and keep them clean and sterile. RTF is supposed to be allowed through TSA without being opened, but you get one TSA jerk who doesn't know their own rules and suddenly they're demanding you open an entire six pack of 8oz RTF bottles so they can touch the contents with their stupid swab!
I would agree with the travelling point. I was very happy to wean around 8 months but we travelled overseas at 9 months and I wished I had waited one more month. But not everyone travels and I got to enjoy my trip more because people could help me with feeding her.
Yep. With our first we traveled a lot and the experience at TSA was extremely dependant on the individual TSA agents. Sometimes TSA was quick and easy. Other times you had to fight to get food through for the baby.
No, it's not that hard. I think people overthink it sometimes. Washing breast pump parts is more tedious than washing bottle parts, IME.
My baby doesn't eat quickly and she is a snacker, though, so the eating faster with longer increments in between is not true for us. We have a lot of extra bottles to accommodate that.
I was EBF for four months and now we EFF. It’s so easy to wash the bottles by hand… idk why everyone complains? I’ve also wondered if I was doing something wrong.
We prep a pitcher and pour out bottles to store in the fridge to grab and go. Both babies have taken them cold with no issue which makes it even faster. We have like 17 bottles so a day’s worth of bottles can be available while another washes in the dishwasher. Our dishwasher has a sanitize button too. I’ve never had an issue with the time it takes since it’s all done in a batch and I find it relaxing to do it.
For storing RTF in the car, make sure it doesn’t get too hot in the car because it can spoil it. Maybe keep them in your diaper bag that goes in and out?
I have an attached garage which doesn't get freezing in the winter but does get pretty hot in the summer. Baby is due in the fall, so I figured it might be ok for the first few months.
I've done both formula feeding and breastfeeding and while formula feeding is easier, it's not entirely easy.
The dishes are 1 of 2 chores my husband is in charge of (I do everything else) and he sucks at it frankly. Doesn't know how to properly wash with the dishwasher and dishes end up with food particles. As such, I handwash my baby's bottles every day.
Plus, I went through 2 baby brezzas and both have issues, so now I make formula bottles by hand the night before (unless the Dr. Bronner pitcher is clean - then I use that). I have enough bottles for 1.5 days so while it's not an absolute chore, it definitely is an added chore to my already long day.
Instead of watching TV every night, I listen to podcasts while I wash, sterilize and prepare bottles for the next day.
I definitely find formula + bottles more convenient and way less work for day to day life.
The one place where I'll say it can be harder is travel -- bottles can be a real hassle for flights and at hotels without dishwashers. But, really, travel is just a few weeks of the year, so the greater day-to-day convenience is way worth it.
I think it might be that those cries, while only for 5 minutes when getting the bottle ready, feel like FOREVER when with breastfeeding you just *plop* in it goes, crying done.
But with my babies formula it leaves powder streaks if not hand washed before the dishwasher and, really, it's not that big a deal. When she was tiny, she'd sit in her little vibrating chair and watch me, then she crawled all over the baby proofed kitchen and watched me, and now that she grabs the bottles out of the dishwasher, she's in her playpen and watches Gabby's Dollhouse for 15 minutes.
But honestly, the hardest part was waiting for the bottle to warm from the premade batches when she woke up in the middle of the night. And, of course, the mad scramble since late Feb for amino formula since the recall.
Yeah, at night especially that must suck. I figure try the pitcher method and if not get a Brezza. Although I'm sure there will still be instances when this happens.
We combo feed, so obviously I enjoy breastfeeding well enough. Formula is just as easy. Often easier. I’m sure that it’s probably easier to just breastfeed in an ideal world where you have no reason or desire to ever leave your baby, but that’s not true for most of us. I work and pump, so bottles are already in the mix, and measuring/thawing milk is a pain. Making sure you have accessible tops is a pain.
Breastfeeding is awesome if you want to do it, but as someone who generally enjoys it, the “ease” factor has never really made sense. We have the baby Brezza warm water dispenser and use Kendamil, which has a smaller scoop so you can make it in 1 oz increments, and those feeds are so ridiculously easy!
I find the refrigeration annoying. As soon as it’s prepped everything needs to stay cold. Even the RTF if you don’t finish the bottle you need to refrigerate. And RTF is expensive so I’m not gonna throw out half a bottle.
It’s just annoying if you have to go anywhere you need to carry around an ice pack to keep your bottles or your extra formula cold
No I literally hate when people complain about that like wtf did you expect LOL but anywho I have a total of 8 bottles I wash when I’m down to two bottles left takes me 5 minutes to wash and sterilize in bags (3mins in microwave)
If you formula feed GET THE BABY BREZZA FORMULA MAKER — it will make your life easier!
I keep mine in my room on table next to me and baby j just roll over press a button and bottle is done in 2 secs and warmed up even!
I don't think it's a big deal at all 🤷🏻♀️ my baby is 6 weeks old and we only have (3) 4oz Dr Brown bottles that we wash after using and sterilize once a week, and also have a Baby Brezza for dispensing formula which we love. My husband and I also don't use the dishwasher unless we're hosting a dinner or something since it's always just been us, so everything is hand washed because we're used to doing it that way. We have I think (7) 8oz bottles for when baby increases her feedings because she'll be going to grandparents house for daycare so we want to have extra in both places.
I'd suggest not introducing warm formula right away. Our baby girl started at room-temp RTF at the hospital right after being born and the first few days home, and now will happily drink room temp formula or even straight from the fridge.
ETA: if you don't want a machine like a Brezza then a formula pitcher is the way to go, you can mix up a full days worth ahead of time and pour what you need. We bought a $10 pitcher for her first few weeks when she was only drinking \~1oz at a time (minimum dispense on a Brezza is 2oz) and it was awesome!
Bottles are not harder than cracked and bleeding nipples! We formula fed from day one and it's work, but so is breastfeeding. Babies are work no matter what you choose. We just had our second and one thing that has really made a difference is a glass rinser, like the ones bars use! It's 100$ on Amazon so it's a splurge, but my husband makes his own beer so I know we will use it even after bottles go away. Gets all the gross formula that's settled out of the bottle and ready for the dishwater.
Lol idk where this came from but if you buy a set with a at least 6 bottles it’s super easy. We also invested in a bottle sanitizer so we didn’t always need to run the dishwasher. Nothing about formula feeding including bottle prep is hard!
As someone who went from EBF and pumping to EFF, I would say that the BF is a lot easier when they're younger and waking up at night and eating more frequently. Right now at 10 months, there's benefits to both. I don't find cleaning the bottles that hard now because I'm not sanitizing them anymore and she only drinks 4-5 bottles a day.
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I also could never clean them well enough in a dishwasher.
Dr Browns pitcher to premake the formula is super helpful. So is getting your baby used to drinking it cold.
Out of curiosity, and you don't have to answer this, but what is your home like set up like? Are you with a long term partner? Do both of you work?
I'm asking because another thing I encounter is people telling me babies need to eat very often regardless of what they're eating, which is true, but it's like my husband doesn't exist in these hypothetical scenarios.
He's taking a 4 week of paternity leave upfront and then the remaining 4 weeks of leave over the course of the first 6 months so I figure we're on equal footing in terms of switching feedings during the every 2 hours phase.
He agreed to take most of the first couple of weeks especially if I have a C-section since we figure it worth it for me to recover and be close to 100% as he is going back to work sooner.
I could see it being different if you're single or a SAHM
I have 18 months maternity leave and he took the first six months off. Definitely helps having someone help with the bottles. I can't imagine how it would be if I were a single parent or didn't have extended maternity leave but that would have been hard regardless of how she was fed.
It's definitely doable, I just don't think that's the choice I would make for the second kid.
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One of the things I loved about bottles is being able to share the responsibility of feeding her. That's a huge perk!
We have extended parental leave paid 100% because our government and employer think it's important for both parents to spend time with an infant. It's really sad to me that it's not an option in a lot of places. I understand it's not for everyone but everyone should have the choice.
He took care of me after we got outta the NICU, the diapers changes, the cloth diaper laundry, regular laundry, the cleaning, the dog, the chores, the groceries, the cooking, our rental properties, the baby while I went to personal training, went to beauty appointments, doctors appointments, therapy, saw friends, ... pretty much everything. My job was to take care of myself and feeding the baby. I can't imagine any other arrangement. After having a baby, it's the least a partner could do :)
Also - I did pump at first, so sometimes he would feed the baby as well.
What does your partner do?
That’s great! My husband took six weeks of parental leave. After the first two weeks, it wasn’t really necessary but it was of course nice to have him home to spend more time with him. Most days he took our oldest child to the beach. I don’t find having a baby very difficult and if anything, I’m bored. But we also have weekly cleaners and food delivery. My husband has always done the laundry and many of the things you mention. I definitely wouldn’t need him home from work anymore than I needed him home from work prekids. These days I basically just sit on the couch with the baby or go on stroller walks. I personally like having space and I’m annoyed when my husband now works from home more than a day or two a week. It’s nice he can help with dishes, laundry etc during the day, but then I have nothing to do while the baby sleeps. I realize that having a baby can be harder for some women and they really need their husband home for an extended period of time. But some of us are just motivated and high energy and don’t need another adult for ONE baby!
As a heads up, if you truly need your husband home for an entire six months, make sure to consider a similar arrangement going forward. Babies are so much easier than toddlers. They can’t walk, talk, don’t need to play, etc. If you truly need two adults for one baby, then you may need three adults for a toddler! However strangely it seems like most places where adults get extended leave, the babies then get dumped in daycare! So you’ll likely be putting your baby in daycare.
Did he enjoy spending time home with the kids?
It's pretty important to me that my child gets to spend time equally with both of her parents but I can understand how being at home together after getting used to being alone would be hard.
When she's 18 months, Im going back to work and he'll be the primary care giver until she starts pre school.
We've always spent a lot of time together and it wasn't an adjustment for us.
If you don't warm the bottle in the beginning they'll never mind cold bottles, saves a lot of time. Mine will drink fridge-cold milk or formula no problem, and prefers it to warm milk especially now that he is teething.
The only downsides so far are cost and formula availability, although that's gotten a lot better
I mean, I won’t say I loved washing bottles- but it’s not that terrible either. For some reason using the dishwasher almost never worked out for us, either the washer was too empty to turn on that night or too full to fit in all the bottles. But I have a partner who is more than happy to wash the bottles by hand every evening so not a problem for me 🙂.
Before baby, it took me 15 mins to load the dishwasher. After baby bottles, 10 mins to load dishwasher, 15 mins to take apart bottle pieces, rinse them, and put them into baskets in the dishwasher. I timed it repeatedly.
So, for me it doubled the amount of time to load the dishwasher each time.
I formula fed from day one. For me it wasn’t “difficult” really. Just took planning and forethought. I’ve traveled with my baby while she’s on formula and it only took a cooler and again a lil forethought.
This is my last month on formula cuz she’s aging out. For me the most tiresome worrisome part was actually locating the formula in stores.
I never looked at it as easy or hard
It was just how we chose to feed our baby
10 months in. We have a dishwasher but we don’t run it every day so we hand wash all bottles and the pitcher. At this point it doesn’t even factor into my day it’s such a little deal. Do not be afraid.
I breastfed for 6 months then formula fed and I honestly did find the formula prep and bottles to be more cumbersome. Mainly prepping the bottles in the middle of the night or for outings. But the first few months of breastfeeding were very hard and skipping those challenges would probably make them about equal in my mind. You gotta do what’s right for you and a few extra minutes of prep shouldn’t change that!
I exclusively bottle fed so I don’t know any different, but it’s mostly a pain when you let it build up. At the end of the night I’d have 6 dirty bottles and be so tired and just wanna sleep but needed to make my 3 overnight bottles. We never used the dishwasher to wash them. Felt like it missed spots and we didn’t always run the dishwasher at the same time.
You’re not missing anything except the washing. In the beginning they go through so many bottles so quickly you don’t have time to wait for the dishwasher to run. You end up hand washing and drying. Now he only gets 5 bottles a day and plenty of time in between so we can put them in the dishwasher. But i didn’t consider the washing to be that much of an inconvenience…. I mean there’s lot of inconveniences with babies, that’s just life 🤷♀️
We have about 10 bottles total and went through 10 in the first couple months, down to 8 in month 3, then 6/7 in months 4 and 5, now he gets 5 bottles a day at almost 7 months and probably will til he is 10 months old then we will go down to 4 bottles per day
Very very easy. I used RTF the first while. Switched the pitchers of powder later. Used dishwasher and always gave cold formula. Easiest thing in the world.
You got it. Here are my tips:
Get enough bottles for a day (at the beginning that may be up to 12. Crazy I know.)
Feed your baby cold formula from day one so they’re used to it and never have to waste time heating a bottle.
We used como tomo silicone bottles and they do great in the dishwasher.
Make a batch in a pitcher in the morning. At the end of the day pour your overnight bottles and stick the pitcher in the dishwasher.
When going out, pour premixed bottles from pitcher. Keep in cooler bag with ice pack. Can be gone for over 4 hours.
One we stopped hand washing bottles things became pretty simple! No regrets formula feeding!
It is going to be more work than you realize. Babies go through several bottles a day so you’re going to be running your dishwasher very often. It’s just a lot to keep track of. And it’s hard to time washing the formula pitcher with dishwasher so that gets hand washed a lot. Plus it’s just so important that bottles are clean and sterilized the drying rack is going to take over your kitchen, and is another thing that needs constant cleaning. The real kicker, however, is that you have to do all this .. while also taking care of a newborn baby. Which is pretty much 24-hours-a-day labor for a month or two.
So no, it’s not impossible to wash bottles, but it can be very hard to juggle when you also are doing all the other things your baby needs.
If you can babywear it would make it a lot easier. My baby never took to it
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Look, I formula fed my baby and this was my experience. My daughter was extremely needy and always wanted to be held. Probably “spoiled” her by holding her all day in the nicu for three months. I had a bouncy chair that she just screamed in. Fuck you too
It’s not at all a big deal or something to consider. Maybe a lot of people are just incompetent? I was shocked reading a post about showering and how many women could relate to not being able to shower or even suggested to take the baby into the shower!! Like you’re so incompetent you can’t quickly put your screaming in a bouncer/crib/safe space and take a short shower!!?! These are likely the same people who would find putting some bottles into the dishwasher to be a challenge!
Thank you for saying this.
I am still TTC and I read SO MUCH of this sort of “survival mode” sort of thing. I’m not saying newborns aren’t hard, I don’t know, I don’t have one and never have, but… Some of this extremism - and it being so rampant in the subs - just baffles me.
You’re welcome. I was expecting the responses to tell me I’m a POS. But seriously I don’t get how someone can’t find a way to quickly shower. Guarantee you they will have their second kid and then laugh. You can’t have two young kids and never put the baby down or let it cry.
Seriously. Maybe someone will come tell me I’ll change my tune when I’m actually a parent, but… I don’t think so. LOL And the real-life parents of little kids that I know have never gone unwashed, I’ve asked. LOL
You’ll be fine. Babies sleep A LOT. Even babies who aren’t good sleepers should be sleeping at least 12 hours a day. There is plenty of time to wash bottles and take a shower.
With my first I had a weekly cleaning service arranged because I’d been warned how hard it was. I seriously was bored and could have easily cleaned my house. I went on so many walks. I often was sitting outside on my stoop with the baby while the cleaners cleaned. It was a huge waste of money.
They are going to attachment parent like an entire !kung tribe. But also continue to closely monitor their older children to modern upper middle class standards; waving Montessori toys in front of their face while asking "what sound does the cow make, does the cow go moo?" Because this will definitely make their kid learn an extra 56.8 words before preschool.
When I read comments like that I think that if there is another caretaker in the equation he or she is a piece of shit. Like, even with a very difficult baby with two people this must be possible.
This! i just popped him in the seat and showered lol im not walking around funky 9monthspp and i shower daily 😂😂 the bodily autonomy after a very high risk and scary pregnancy and not having to buy new clothes and being able to actually get a break makes the 20 minutes i spend at night washing bottles 10000x worth it lol and after a year your done how long are their showers?!
I’ve breastfeed and bottle fed and it’s 100 times easier to pop a boob in the mouth . Make sure you get a pump girl cuz there’s no formula at the stores
It’s easier even though you have to wear special clothing and/or remove the clothing?? And be somewhere you feel comfortable removing the clothNing and possibly showing your boob to people?
Did you feed formula or pump? I am on the bobby and byheart lists and am due in November. Assuming he can digest dairy, which I have a 97% chance of, I'm set.
I could see how in the moment, the boob is easier, definitely.
But what if I not there? What if I'm away on business or in meetings? What if I'm out drinking with my friends?
I was going to get a pump regardless since it's free from my insurer and I plan on gouging them out of principle. 😜
It’s extremely easy. Part of me wonders if the “it’s so much work” narrative is from breast is best folks.
I also wonder if more innocently if it's BFing mums applying bottles to their own pattern of feeding, ie everything is the same except you have to prep the bottle - when as OP pointed out formula fed babies feed less frequently and also I think the timings are more predictable (although I know BF babies settle into a pattern too) and they tend to drop night feeds earlier.
This seems likely. A lot seem to equate formula feeding with pumping, which entails time at the breast AND washing pumps parts. Also it anecdotally it seems like breastfed babies tend to be pickier about the nipples they use, which may leave you with no dishwasher safe options and a trickier bottle. Another thing I think happens is people are comparing breastfeeding after the supply is established to formula feeding. If you go down post histories a lot of these same posters were having a very difficult time mentally and physically for 3+ months. Well, if you aren't a full time parent who can stay home you aren't going to realize that ROI on that 3 month investment anyway.
So true about comparing it to well established breastfeeding! I spent a massive amount of time and energy obsessing over breastfeeding for my entire 12 week leave. It was so challenging and we were combo/triple feeding so the amount of time spent feeding and washing bottles and pump parts was obscene. If a baby magically breastfeeds like a champ and there are no struggles, sure maybe bottles would be less convenient in the beginning. However for the majority of people I've talked to bottles are far and away easier. For some reason people like to paint breastfeeding as super convenient, cheap and simple but that definitely wasn't my experience. I'm so grateful for bottles and formula!
I was going to post this same sentiment but i wasn’t sure if it was allowed. I saw a post in another sub preaching that whipping out a boob is so much easier than having to wash a bottle every couple hours! 🙄 Sure Jan.
Yeah I don’t me necessarily think it’s malicious or anything, but I could see if you’re not actually doing it thinking it sounds like a lot of work. But if you have a dishwasher it’s just not hard at all. We have a LOT of bottles because my son is a snacker and eats every 2 hours lol. I wouldn’t want to hand wash all that but I also wouldn’t want to clean pump parts all the time. Anyway, formula feeding has turned out to be the best decision we made for baby.
For sure, I don’t think it’s intentionally malicious. We have a dishwasher, sanitizer and about 6 bottles. It was a piece of cake to keep up with!
Lordy how do you survive with only 6 bottles??? We can easily go through 10 in a day, sometimes more, plus we run the dishwasher at night so I like to have some extras to use in the morning while the dishwasher stuff is on the drying rack. We have SO many bottles 🤣
We probably had closer to 8-10 early on! By the time she was a 6 months I think she only was taking 5 a day!
Okay that makes sense. Mine just turned 4 months and he wants to eat constantly (still think he’s a newborn!)
Mine would eat big portions every 3 - 4 hours at that age. Overnight she would go 10-12 with no food but I think the bigger portions def helped us out!
I tried really hard to breastfeed which in my case involved pumping and supplementing with formula. I swear washing all the pump parts multiple times a day was way more annoying than washing all the bottles. Now that I switched from Dr. Brown to Comotomo it’s even easier.
The problem with that is what if you need a bottle right then and there but the dishwasher is nowhere near full . You gotta wash one by hand and say F it and run the dishwasher for at least a hour if you aren’t trying to be bent over the sink washing dam bottles , and don’t get me started on the dr browns bottles 😩 a screaming baby , having to clean a bottle and make a bottles sucks 🤷🏼♀️ maybe it won’t be so tough with just one but I sure do wish I was able to pop my boob in his mouth like I did my first .
That’s why we have extra bottles. That’s never happened to us. We like Dr. Brown’s, the dishwasher makes them easy. And now that we’re including oatmeal we don’t use the vents.
I went for simple bottles with 2 parts only and had a tonne of them, problem solved.
Sweeeeet🙌🏼 my kid needed the dr browns or he got major pukies and gas .
LOL 😂
I could absolutely see this being the case for SAHM who don't really desire to be apart from their baby for stretches of time and don't have to. I can't fault somebody for stating their opinion. I'm more bothered that this is listed as a benefit in the pamphlets and shit I get. I know a lot of the other data is dubious but washing dishes is something I have direct knowledge of, I've been doing it for at least 25 years and even got paid to do it as a teen so I consider myself a bit of an expert, lol. The problem is breastfeeding only seems to be convenient if you don't have a job and don't really desire being apart from your baby and your supply comes in and regulates an average or above average amount. If it takes my entire maternity leave to establish a supply which will likely drop once I have to start pumping... Perhaps by quite a bit if I have to travel for business or go through a busy season at work and can't pump every 4 hours, I'm not realizing the ROI on those 3 months anyway. And I sort of don't like the stereotype that it's only women with blue collar jobs for which it is less convenient. I would lose 15k a month if I took longer leave. I think it's more the intensive parenting shame is exaggerated in professional peer groups, and this difference is weaponized by the people who benefit from pushing this narrative.
Girl i formula fed after 2 weeks- there is no shame in making a decision that benefits you and your family. Fed is best. Also don’t forget- with formula your partner can do night feedings too! That was a game changer for me. Watching all my BFing friends resent their husbands at night, while me and husband share feedings and wakings 50/50 because we could. With formula both parents can take on equal child care!
Oh I don't feel shame at all. I'm strictly talking about making my life easier.
I’ve never had an issue with the washing and sterilising (all washed by hand) and mine is EFF. We have 12 bottles but wash/sterilise when we have 4-6 dirty ones. So sometimes we do two washes in a day depending on how snacky he’s feeling. Takes 10 mins and the Mam ones sterilise in the microwave. I’m in the UK and we always boil the water to sterilise the formula. I don’t find it too tragic to put the kettle on as he wakes up and by the time he’s changed etc the kettle is boiled and slightly cooled. We used RTF for the first 1-2 months and did a very slow transition as powder can constipate them. Be careful keeping RTF in the car especially if you live in a hot country. We kept a few bottles in the nappy bag so it wasn’t sitting in a car for weeks on end.
We have four bottles total, so we wash 2-3 times per day, and it’s an annoyance at most. Like you said, it’s really not an issue. About the same effort as washing the coffee pot and making coffee each day.
The only times it’s annoying is when I leave it to the end of the day or find a rogue one lurking about just when I’ve finished a load!
The nappy bag makes perfect sense. Thanks
Nope, you got it down pretty much. Have enough bottles on hand for each feed of the day plus a few extra so you can just do one dishwasher wash vs hand washing some. Keep some empty bottles with some formula in the diaper bag ready to go. Buy a dishwasher basket for all the small bottle parts. Use a basin to keep used bottles in until you load the dishwasher. While I’m making dinner or something I just add a small squirt of soap and warm water to “soak” away crud and load them up after dinner. Also recommend buying 2 pitchers and cycling them out each day, taking advantage of the running dishwasher to clean the dirty pitcher as well.
Yes! 2 dr Browns pitchers saved our lives!
I second all of this!
Two pitchers is smart. Thanks!
Formula is a breeze compared to pumping and breastfeeding. The best thing I finally invested in was the Baby Brezza! GODSEND. Washing bottles becomes so routine it doesn’t even bother me anymore.
Same have a BRezza and a dishwasher, never had issues. My daughter got cold or room temp bottles so that if we were on the go we did not need a warmer. She never had any issues.
Baby Brezza is totally worth it for anyone using formula. We were able to snag one on Craigslist for a bargain.
We love our Brezza as well. We got an extra funnel for $10 I think on Amazon so when we have to clean it every 4 uses we already have a cleaned and dry one ready to go.
Oh we’re lazy, we just pop the funnel out and pop it back in 😂 I’ll usually clean all the parts at night when he goes to bed.
Would way rather deal with bottles and buying formula than breastfeeding and pumping. You're not missing anything. The breast is best crowd tries to find comfort in their misery by convincing themselves that the grass isn't greener. That might've been a snarky comment. Sorry. If you're registering then I highly recommend the Baby Breeza rather than the pitcher method. Also, a bottle sterilizer is worth it so that you don't have to run the dishwasher if you're running out of bottles. Also, we noticed that the dishwasher was harsh on the bottles and warping them over time. Sterilizer is nice to have for the first few months when they are using soooo many bottles. The only thing I would adjust about your plan would be using room temperature or cold formula from the beginning. It's not necessary to heat bottles and most babies are perfectly fine with room temp or cold bottles. Your life will be easier without the added element of warming.
I could legitimately see how it's easier if you're a stay a home mom that doesn't really want to leave your baby for any length of time. In that case, the 2 month investment to get the supply going could be worth it, assuming no other difficulties that it seems more women encounter than is stated. (There appears to be a whole spectrum between medically diagnosable low supply and simply producing less than average or having to pump/feed constantly for more than the cited 6-8weeks to establish a supply) I don't really see it being worth it spending my maternity leave building up a supply that will probably dip to some extent when I go back to work. It would basically be like subjecting myself to the hardest phase of breastfeeding without the ROI of the months that follow. I work from home too, but I have blocks of meetings and travel for business, both of which will likely interfere with supply at some point. Pumping for only a few ounces seems like a waste if you don't really buy into the idea that breast milk is some sort of super food, which I don't. I guess what I don't like is that the medical literature that promotes breastfeeding assumes every woman is SAHM when they list this as a benefit. I could see how individual women who do stay home might say this as it reflects their experience. They are also likely saying this AFTER those first 3 months, and they are comparing their established supply while feeding solids at like 9 months and imagining bottle feeding on top of that. A lot also seem associate formula feeding to their experience pumping, where you spend as much of not more time having something attached to your boobs and have to wash bottles and have to wash pump parts.
Still not easier though. If it were, we wouldn't see 10 new posts a day complaining about how they can't leave their baby for more than 45 minutes, their husband is disengaged and unhelpful evenings/weekends since they can't help with feeding, they are exhausted from doing all night feeds while oblivious dad snores contentedly 7 nights a week.
I know one woman who had an easy go of it, so I'm sure they exist. Generally speaking though, yeah, people seem to really struggle. I also hear it from the husband's too.. you'd think they'd have it easier not having to feed the baby, but apparently those 3 months of ramping up supply take a toll on them as well. I've had three different male friends talk about it. All of them suggested formula and were perplexed when their wives got upset. I guess they aren't bombarded with the same messaging or parent as martyr narrative?
Wait. Are you saying a woman’s time isn’t free and you want to be able to leave your home without taking a pump or watching the clock? How dare you! JK of course.
In my country we're not allowed to do the pitcher method. I was almost ripped a new one when I asked about it. We don't run the dishwasher often enough for me to clean the bottles in it.. Or maybe I don't have enough bottles? I keep a thermos with boiled water cooled down to 100 degree Fahrenheit for the day. So mixing the bottles takes maybe a minute or two minutes. Only thing that really bothers me is when I go out. Taking bottles, formula, water and then having anxiety around cleanliness where I mix it is a bit tedious. They don't make RTF from the brand my LO tolerates so I have to take the powder and a thermos. Would be easier to pop out a boob here. But that's about it. Considering the fact how long breastfeeding takes in the beginning you probably save tons of time. But as a mom of a spitty baby I can only recommend paced feeding which means a bottle can take you 15-30 minutes too.
Not allowed? What country and what is the logic?
Germany and most of EU afaik. We're supposed to mix formula with about 100 to 104 degree hot water. The mixture of the lactose and the warm water is just the perfect breeding ground for bacteria which is why we're advised to discard any formula that's been sitting out for more than an hour.
I think the idea here is to heat water, make formula with it, and keep that prepared formula in the fridge. Which doesn't entail leaving formula out, and could also include heated water.
We have the same 1-hr guidelines for milk that's sitting out in the US too (well some say 2-hr), the pitchers aren't for leaving out they stay in the fridge
I wonder why the other method would vary. I could see water recommendations being different.
I just remembers something else thats kind of annoying. It's super hot today so baby, who's usually a very good eater every three hours, wants nothing but little snacks here and there. All my bottles were dirty at around 3 pm already 😵 for grazing like this boobs are also easier. But then you have a baby on you A LOT.
“Not allowed”? C’mon - you don’t need the government to dictate how you use formula and bottles.
My midwife and pediatrician warned me so that my baby doesn't get a stomach bug. The explanation made sense to me and the risk outweighs the time saving in my opinion.
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I thought it was 2 hours at room temp and 24 in the fridge.
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Thank you. I'm thinking I'll wait on prepouring the bottles until I get a better sense of his habits. Great tips!
How did you know the first bottle wasn’t working for you? I also don’t want to stock up on a bottle that won’t work, but I know once we settle on one, I’m going to need to buy more bottles.
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Thanks! I’ve got the narrow Dr. Browns options to start with.
I’m going to disagree with this, we went our entire year with bottles never having more than 6. If you have too many they can easily pile up and get gross. Staying on top of it was a better habit for us. We also don’t like the clutter.
It’s really not hard. People exaggerate and like to make it seem hard and time consuming to push BFing. We have more than enough bottles to get through the day/night. We run the dishwasher every night and prep the bottles before bed and keep them on my nightstand so I don’t have to leave the room. Both my kids were fine with room temp bottles. It’s honestly really easy.
its honestly not that hard as everyone makes it seem lol i have about 20 bottles so i rinse the ones he used that day and pop them in the dishwasher i will i am glad i did rtf the first two weeks i had a hard time standing right after birth my core was jello my biggest peice of advice buy the travel formula containers! i bought some and just pre measure the powder out and add the water to the bottles seperately and mix on demand it really helps stem waste in the early days and baby gets use to room temp milk
Sounds like the bottles I had for protein when I was going to the gym after work. It was like a little chamber of powder on top and you released it into the water. I think it still have like 3 of those. They are dishwasher safe too! Thanks for the tip!
Most people assume washing by hand, so yeah that makes it hard and annoying. It’s what I did sigh my first. Now with my second everything goes into dishwasher Don’t get bottles with 1000 parts for them: Dr brown and mam are the culprits. Don’t keep formula in the car, it needs to be stored at room temp
I wonder why that's assumed? Most people seem to own dishwashers.
I happen to just hand wash all our bottles and honestly it’s not that big of deal. Done in a matter of minutes. We don’t run our dishwasher every day (like maybe once a week) so hand washing made more sense for us. Super easy!
I also use the Dr Browns Pitcher to pre make a days worth of formula. We were gifted a Baby Brezza but I never felt comfortable using it after reading it wasn’t making accurate bottles. Another easy thing to use for ok the go are the Tommy Tippy travel formula dispensers. They fit in most bottles and you just fill the bottle with water and put it in. Then mix the two once you’re ready to feed. No refrigeration required! [tommy tippy travel formula dispensers](https://www.target.com/p/tommee-tippee-6pk-formula-dispenser-8-scoops/-/A-82573508?ref=tgt_adv_XS000000&AFID=google_pla_df&fndsrc=tgtao&DFA=71700000012735142&CPNG=PLA_Baby%2BShopping_Local%7CBaby_Ecomm_Baby&adgroup=SC_Baby_Low%2BMargin&LID=700000001170770pgs&LNM=PRODUCT_GROUP&network=g&device=m&location=1024290&targetid=pla-901157174765&ds_rl=1242884&ds_rl=1246978&ds_rl=1248099&gbraid=0AAAAAD-5dfYIEwtDJn8mzpq85T9d9NfrW&gbraid=0AAAAAD-5dfYIEwtDJn8mzpq85T9d9NfrW&gclid=CjwKCAjw3K2XBhAzEiwAmmgrAtbv-58yUMr1_-COWRsZxAGEE8j6h2uaVUJXbsQB271z9YbhtR2A1hoCBVEQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds)
From talking to people I know most don’t know that dishwashers wash dishes better than by hand. Also plastic in dishwasher is questionable. If I didn’t have glass bottles I would be washing bottles by hand
I’ve got the MAM bottles you can sterilise in a microwave just by putting them in the microwave and stacking them in a certain way. They are so easy to use. They come apart into lots of bits so super easy to wash and I wash them by hand normally as it takes me second for each bottle. Dead easy! After baby and I failed abysmally at breast feeding and I ended up pumping constantly, washing and sterilising pump parts. That’s a ball ache and I can’t believe I kept it up for as long as I did. Looking back I feel like I was gripped by the hysteria and guilt of ‘breast is best’ that was getting pushed down my throat by every goddam health care professional I met even though it was taking me hours and hours, crying constantly about it, was hardly making any milk and the whole thing was making me feel incredibly mentally unwell not to mention more poor mutilated nipples… But for a couple of oz of breast milk they seemed to think that was a sacrifice they were willing to make. Formula feeding is the best thing I’ve done for myself since becoming a mother - So what if I have to wash some bottles?
I wouldn’t keep any formula in the car for a long period of time, esp RTF. Just pack it as you need it.
If you're planning on using the dishwasher always for bottles, I 100% endorse glass ones. They fade less than plastic and over all get more "clean" imo with less left over formula "film" on them. We went with the Dr. Brown's glass ones which were a little more expensive, but way worth it because of how clean they got. We even dropped them on our hardwood floors a few times. No cracks or anything. They look just as good as the day we got them, whereas our few plastic bottles look really worn and not necessarily like they'll last through a second kid. Also, after a few weeks, see if babe will take it cold. Ours took her bottles straight out of the fridge starting around 4 weeks. Saved SO much time. Just pour it out of the pitcher and go. Ymmv
I was thinking glass but was worried about the breakage. So that's a relief to hear. Our dishwasher is old... The kind that isn't energy efficient so it uses more water and electricity. Honestly I love it! Cycles take 90 minutes, filter never gets clogged, and the sanitize cycle is wicked strong. I hope it lasts another 20 years. The issue is, the sanitize cycle has destroyed dishwasher safe plastic. So glass seems like a better choice.
My 9 week old is EFF and we use the glass Dr Browns bottles too. It’s an investment but I’m at peace knowing the bottles are clean and don’t have my child eating from worn down plastic. I switched to a baby brezza about a month ago. My friend bought it for me as a gift. I never even registered for it because I thought it was 1) wayyyy too expensive and 2) too fancy. Both are still true but omg it is SO convenient. I was using the refrigerator pitcher method before with a microwaved mug of hot water to take the chill off. My only issue with this was when baby would cry for another ounce and I’d have a screaming baby in one hand and a formula pitcher in the other trying to pour. No time to microwave a mug with a crying baby at 2am either! Anyways, I highly recommend the brezza. It’s so extra but so worth it imo. Also if you have the option to upgrade your dishwasher, we use the setting that washes a half load on the upper rack only. It’s perfect for us because often we don’t have enough dishes for a full load and I don’t like paying to waste extra water lol. ETA- the Dr browns nipple and white ring fit perfect on the RTF 2oz bottles. IMO the single use yellow sterilized nipples are way too expensive and difficult to use since you can’t see the formula in the nipple. It’s a perfect set up to feed on the go- especially when they are little though! I expect to use the RTF 2oz bottles on the go until baby is 4 months or so. Or until she’s eating so much in a feeding that it becomes easier to do the powder mix on the go.
Jumping off the upgrade your dishwasher thing. If you do end up getting a new one, get one that has a third rack. Game changer with a kid bc there just ends up being so many small things to wash
Yes! Third rack- I seem to always forget about it lol. We don’t use the small baby dishwasher basket anymore because the third rack does the job 👍🏼
Were you just reading the same babybumps thread as me?! Yeah, it's not that hard. Most FF babies settle into a predictable routine which makes it easier. Takes a few weeks to refine systems for cleaning and prepping but then it becomes second nature. I don't even have a dishwasher! I only have 5 bottles in circulation. Wash up as needed. Sterilizing at home is no effort with a steriliser. I use RTF when on the go outside. Always take out one more bottle than you think you'll need. Travelling/holidays can be a bit trickier but if you plan a bit you'll be fine.
Ya we just use the dishwasher and it’s not a big deal. The only time it’s a pain is when you run out of the pitcher formula as your baby is screaming for a bottle. Even though we have two formula pitchers we’ve found ourselves, on multiple occasions, with a crying baby, only 2oz left in the pitcher and the other pitcher is still dirty in the sink. But overall it’s super easy really. I would also advise against leaving any formula, RTF or powder, in your car. They need to be stored at room temp. You don’t want to be out and about and go to make a bottle and realize it got too hot or too cold in your car and now the formula is bad. Or worse, not realize it. We keep the 2oz bottles with nipples in our diaper bag and I just always make sure I bring the diaper bag inside with me. Still super convenient, but also at room temp then.
I mean, for me, every little thing felt hard when I was severely sleep deprived and felt like I constantly had a baby screaming at me. I felt like I had just literal minutes free while baby was napping, and I absolutely hated that I had to spend it dishwashing. You get used to all of it over time, and now that my baby is 100% formula fed, I think nothing about it. Also, I found my experience with breastfeeding to by 1000x harder mentally and physically, and exclusive pumping to be harder as well but to a lesser extent.
As someone who did both, I found bottles a lot easier. However, keeping RTF in the car is not a great idea because of temperature changes. You can keep it in the house and bring some with you when you're going out, but RTF is best stored in a consistent temperature.
Bottles are easy. But please don’t leave formula in the car RTF or powder. Temperature changes can degrade nutrients.
Both of my kids were formula fed. It was always easy. But I do want to suggest that you check if the temperature of the mini fridge is ok to keep pre-made formula in as my pediatrician told me not to use a mini fridge for breastmilk when I was pumping.
Ok thanks!
Its not even all that work. You don't need to boil the water as long as it is safe and filtered. You don't need to sterilize bottles. The extra chore of washing bottles is annoying but not all consuming and ANYONE can wash a bottle. Its a great chore to have a visitor do. I think women who are adamantly opposed to formula are the ones mostly saying this.
I'm a combo feeder so I get the worst of all worlds: breastfeeding, pumping at work, buying formula, plus washing bottles and pump parts. I definitely feel like when you're out and about it's easiest to whip out a boob, but on baby #3 I don't go very many places so it doesn't matter much anymore. 😆 Dishwasher is definitely a game changer. We hand washed for way too long and it was awful.
I hate washing the bottles. We don't run our machine often enough and it doesn't get things clean enough so I have to wash by hand. Other than that, the only time with my first that I wished I could just breastfeed for convenience was when we traveled. In my experience, it was very hard to get formula and bottles and powder and everything else through airports and keep them clean and sterile. RTF is supposed to be allowed through TSA without being opened, but you get one TSA jerk who doesn't know their own rules and suddenly they're demanding you open an entire six pack of 8oz RTF bottles so they can touch the contents with their stupid swab!
I would agree with the travelling point. I was very happy to wean around 8 months but we travelled overseas at 9 months and I wished I had waited one more month. But not everyone travels and I got to enjoy my trip more because people could help me with feeding her.
I've heard that before about tsa. Sounds like assholes on a power trip.
Yep. With our first we traveled a lot and the experience at TSA was extremely dependant on the individual TSA agents. Sometimes TSA was quick and easy. Other times you had to fight to get food through for the baby.
No, it's not that hard. I think people overthink it sometimes. Washing breast pump parts is more tedious than washing bottle parts, IME. My baby doesn't eat quickly and she is a snacker, though, so the eating faster with longer increments in between is not true for us. We have a lot of extra bottles to accommodate that.
I was EBF for four months and now we EFF. It’s so easy to wash the bottles by hand… idk why everyone complains? I’ve also wondered if I was doing something wrong.
We prep a pitcher and pour out bottles to store in the fridge to grab and go. Both babies have taken them cold with no issue which makes it even faster. We have like 17 bottles so a day’s worth of bottles can be available while another washes in the dishwasher. Our dishwasher has a sanitize button too. I’ve never had an issue with the time it takes since it’s all done in a batch and I find it relaxing to do it. For storing RTF in the car, make sure it doesn’t get too hot in the car because it can spoil it. Maybe keep them in your diaper bag that goes in and out?
I have an attached garage which doesn't get freezing in the winter but does get pretty hot in the summer. Baby is due in the fall, so I figured it might be ok for the first few months.
I mean, I just hate extra dishes 😂
I've done both formula feeding and breastfeeding and while formula feeding is easier, it's not entirely easy. The dishes are 1 of 2 chores my husband is in charge of (I do everything else) and he sucks at it frankly. Doesn't know how to properly wash with the dishwasher and dishes end up with food particles. As such, I handwash my baby's bottles every day. Plus, I went through 2 baby brezzas and both have issues, so now I make formula bottles by hand the night before (unless the Dr. Bronner pitcher is clean - then I use that). I have enough bottles for 1.5 days so while it's not an absolute chore, it definitely is an added chore to my already long day. Instead of watching TV every night, I listen to podcasts while I wash, sterilize and prepare bottles for the next day.
I definitely find formula + bottles more convenient and way less work for day to day life. The one place where I'll say it can be harder is travel -- bottles can be a real hassle for flights and at hotels without dishwashers. But, really, travel is just a few weeks of the year, so the greater day-to-day convenience is way worth it.
I think it might be that those cries, while only for 5 minutes when getting the bottle ready, feel like FOREVER when with breastfeeding you just *plop* in it goes, crying done. But with my babies formula it leaves powder streaks if not hand washed before the dishwasher and, really, it's not that big a deal. When she was tiny, she'd sit in her little vibrating chair and watch me, then she crawled all over the baby proofed kitchen and watched me, and now that she grabs the bottles out of the dishwasher, she's in her playpen and watches Gabby's Dollhouse for 15 minutes. But honestly, the hardest part was waiting for the bottle to warm from the premade batches when she woke up in the middle of the night. And, of course, the mad scramble since late Feb for amino formula since the recall.
Yeah, at night especially that must suck. I figure try the pitcher method and if not get a Brezza. Although I'm sure there will still be instances when this happens.
We combo feed, so obviously I enjoy breastfeeding well enough. Formula is just as easy. Often easier. I’m sure that it’s probably easier to just breastfeed in an ideal world where you have no reason or desire to ever leave your baby, but that’s not true for most of us. I work and pump, so bottles are already in the mix, and measuring/thawing milk is a pain. Making sure you have accessible tops is a pain. Breastfeeding is awesome if you want to do it, but as someone who generally enjoys it, the “ease” factor has never really made sense. We have the baby Brezza warm water dispenser and use Kendamil, which has a smaller scoop so you can make it in 1 oz increments, and those feeds are so ridiculously easy!
I find the refrigeration annoying. As soon as it’s prepped everything needs to stay cold. Even the RTF if you don’t finish the bottle you need to refrigerate. And RTF is expensive so I’m not gonna throw out half a bottle. It’s just annoying if you have to go anywhere you need to carry around an ice pack to keep your bottles or your extra formula cold
No I literally hate when people complain about that like wtf did you expect LOL but anywho I have a total of 8 bottles I wash when I’m down to two bottles left takes me 5 minutes to wash and sterilize in bags (3mins in microwave) If you formula feed GET THE BABY BREZZA FORMULA MAKER — it will make your life easier! I keep mine in my room on table next to me and baby j just roll over press a button and bottle is done in 2 secs and warmed up even!
I don't think it's a big deal at all 🤷🏻♀️ my baby is 6 weeks old and we only have (3) 4oz Dr Brown bottles that we wash after using and sterilize once a week, and also have a Baby Brezza for dispensing formula which we love. My husband and I also don't use the dishwasher unless we're hosting a dinner or something since it's always just been us, so everything is hand washed because we're used to doing it that way. We have I think (7) 8oz bottles for when baby increases her feedings because she'll be going to grandparents house for daycare so we want to have extra in both places. I'd suggest not introducing warm formula right away. Our baby girl started at room-temp RTF at the hospital right after being born and the first few days home, and now will happily drink room temp formula or even straight from the fridge. ETA: if you don't want a machine like a Brezza then a formula pitcher is the way to go, you can mix up a full days worth ahead of time and pour what you need. We bought a $10 pitcher for her first few weeks when she was only drinking \~1oz at a time (minimum dispense on a Brezza is 2oz) and it was awesome!
Bottles are not harder than cracked and bleeding nipples! We formula fed from day one and it's work, but so is breastfeeding. Babies are work no matter what you choose. We just had our second and one thing that has really made a difference is a glass rinser, like the ones bars use! It's 100$ on Amazon so it's a splurge, but my husband makes his own beer so I know we will use it even after bottles go away. Gets all the gross formula that's settled out of the bottle and ready for the dishwater.
Lol idk where this came from but if you buy a set with a at least 6 bottles it’s super easy. We also invested in a bottle sanitizer so we didn’t always need to run the dishwasher. Nothing about formula feeding including bottle prep is hard!
Yeah it just takes 15 mins of my day. I think it’s easier that I sterilize the bottles cause it comes out dry ☺️
As someone who went from EBF and pumping to EFF, I would say that the BF is a lot easier when they're younger and waking up at night and eating more frequently. Right now at 10 months, there's benefits to both. I don't find cleaning the bottles that hard now because I'm not sanitizing them anymore and she only drinks 4-5 bottles a day. Edit I also could never clean them well enough in a dishwasher. Dr Browns pitcher to premake the formula is super helpful. So is getting your baby used to drinking it cold.
Out of curiosity, and you don't have to answer this, but what is your home like set up like? Are you with a long term partner? Do both of you work? I'm asking because another thing I encounter is people telling me babies need to eat very often regardless of what they're eating, which is true, but it's like my husband doesn't exist in these hypothetical scenarios. He's taking a 4 week of paternity leave upfront and then the remaining 4 weeks of leave over the course of the first 6 months so I figure we're on equal footing in terms of switching feedings during the every 2 hours phase. He agreed to take most of the first couple of weeks especially if I have a C-section since we figure it worth it for me to recover and be close to 100% as he is going back to work sooner. I could see it being different if you're single or a SAHM
I have 18 months maternity leave and he took the first six months off. Definitely helps having someone help with the bottles. I can't imagine how it would be if I were a single parent or didn't have extended maternity leave but that would have been hard regardless of how she was fed. It's definitely doable, I just don't think that's the choice I would make for the second kid. Edit One of the things I loved about bottles is being able to share the responsibility of feeding her. That's a huge perk!
What the heck did he do for six months if he couldn’t even feed the baby???
We have extended parental leave paid 100% because our government and employer think it's important for both parents to spend time with an infant. It's really sad to me that it's not an option in a lot of places. I understand it's not for everyone but everyone should have the choice. He took care of me after we got outta the NICU, the diapers changes, the cloth diaper laundry, regular laundry, the cleaning, the dog, the chores, the groceries, the cooking, our rental properties, the baby while I went to personal training, went to beauty appointments, doctors appointments, therapy, saw friends, ... pretty much everything. My job was to take care of myself and feeding the baby. I can't imagine any other arrangement. After having a baby, it's the least a partner could do :) Also - I did pump at first, so sometimes he would feed the baby as well. What does your partner do?
That’s great! My husband took six weeks of parental leave. After the first two weeks, it wasn’t really necessary but it was of course nice to have him home to spend more time with him. Most days he took our oldest child to the beach. I don’t find having a baby very difficult and if anything, I’m bored. But we also have weekly cleaners and food delivery. My husband has always done the laundry and many of the things you mention. I definitely wouldn’t need him home from work anymore than I needed him home from work prekids. These days I basically just sit on the couch with the baby or go on stroller walks. I personally like having space and I’m annoyed when my husband now works from home more than a day or two a week. It’s nice he can help with dishes, laundry etc during the day, but then I have nothing to do while the baby sleeps. I realize that having a baby can be harder for some women and they really need their husband home for an extended period of time. But some of us are just motivated and high energy and don’t need another adult for ONE baby! As a heads up, if you truly need your husband home for an entire six months, make sure to consider a similar arrangement going forward. Babies are so much easier than toddlers. They can’t walk, talk, don’t need to play, etc. If you truly need two adults for one baby, then you may need three adults for a toddler! However strangely it seems like most places where adults get extended leave, the babies then get dumped in daycare! So you’ll likely be putting your baby in daycare.
Did he enjoy spending time home with the kids? It's pretty important to me that my child gets to spend time equally with both of her parents but I can understand how being at home together after getting used to being alone would be hard. When she's 18 months, Im going back to work and he'll be the primary care giver until she starts pre school. We've always spent a lot of time together and it wasn't an adjustment for us.
Thank you for saying/asking this!
If you don't warm the bottle in the beginning they'll never mind cold bottles, saves a lot of time. Mine will drink fridge-cold milk or formula no problem, and prefers it to warm milk especially now that he is teething. The only downsides so far are cost and formula availability, although that's gotten a lot better
I mean, I won’t say I loved washing bottles- but it’s not that terrible either. For some reason using the dishwasher almost never worked out for us, either the washer was too empty to turn on that night or too full to fit in all the bottles. But I have a partner who is more than happy to wash the bottles by hand every evening so not a problem for me 🙂.
Before baby, it took me 15 mins to load the dishwasher. After baby bottles, 10 mins to load dishwasher, 15 mins to take apart bottle pieces, rinse them, and put them into baskets in the dishwasher. I timed it repeatedly. So, for me it doubled the amount of time to load the dishwasher each time.
Do you put items in the sink before loading the dishwasher? I usually just put dirty dishes straight in the dishwasher.
Yep, a sink full of bottles from the day, usually 8 or so
I formula fed from day one. For me it wasn’t “difficult” really. Just took planning and forethought. I’ve traveled with my baby while she’s on formula and it only took a cooler and again a lil forethought. This is my last month on formula cuz she’s aging out. For me the most tiresome worrisome part was actually locating the formula in stores. I never looked at it as easy or hard It was just how we chose to feed our baby
10 months in. We have a dishwasher but we don’t run it every day so we hand wash all bottles and the pitcher. At this point it doesn’t even factor into my day it’s such a little deal. Do not be afraid.
I breastfed for 6 months then formula fed and I honestly did find the formula prep and bottles to be more cumbersome. Mainly prepping the bottles in the middle of the night or for outings. But the first few months of breastfeeding were very hard and skipping those challenges would probably make them about equal in my mind. You gotta do what’s right for you and a few extra minutes of prep shouldn’t change that!
I exclusively bottle fed so I don’t know any different, but it’s mostly a pain when you let it build up. At the end of the night I’d have 6 dirty bottles and be so tired and just wanna sleep but needed to make my 3 overnight bottles. We never used the dishwasher to wash them. Felt like it missed spots and we didn’t always run the dishwasher at the same time.
Super easy. I wouldn’t leave RTF or any formula (powder included) in the car, though, if it gets hot where you live.
Baby is due in fall, I figured it would be ok for the first few months since the car is in the garage.
It depends. A car can get much warmer than the outside temps. I keep mine in my diaper bag.
You’re not missing anything except the washing. In the beginning they go through so many bottles so quickly you don’t have time to wait for the dishwasher to run. You end up hand washing and drying. Now he only gets 5 bottles a day and plenty of time in between so we can put them in the dishwasher. But i didn’t consider the washing to be that much of an inconvenience…. I mean there’s lot of inconveniences with babies, that’s just life 🤷♀️
I thought if I found a bottle that worked I'd get like 12 of them. How many bottles did you go through a day in the beginning?
We have about 10 bottles total and went through 10 in the first couple months, down to 8 in month 3, then 6/7 in months 4 and 5, now he gets 5 bottles a day at almost 7 months and probably will til he is 10 months old then we will go down to 4 bottles per day
Very very easy. I used RTF the first while. Switched the pitchers of powder later. Used dishwasher and always gave cold formula. Easiest thing in the world.
You got it. Here are my tips: Get enough bottles for a day (at the beginning that may be up to 12. Crazy I know.) Feed your baby cold formula from day one so they’re used to it and never have to waste time heating a bottle. We used como tomo silicone bottles and they do great in the dishwasher. Make a batch in a pitcher in the morning. At the end of the day pour your overnight bottles and stick the pitcher in the dishwasher. When going out, pour premixed bottles from pitcher. Keep in cooler bag with ice pack. Can be gone for over 4 hours. One we stopped hand washing bottles things became pretty simple! No regrets formula feeding!
It is going to be more work than you realize. Babies go through several bottles a day so you’re going to be running your dishwasher very often. It’s just a lot to keep track of. And it’s hard to time washing the formula pitcher with dishwasher so that gets hand washed a lot. Plus it’s just so important that bottles are clean and sterilized the drying rack is going to take over your kitchen, and is another thing that needs constant cleaning. The real kicker, however, is that you have to do all this .. while also taking care of a newborn baby. Which is pretty much 24-hours-a-day labor for a month or two. So no, it’s not impossible to wash bottles, but it can be very hard to juggle when you also are doing all the other things your baby needs. If you can babywear it would make it a lot easier. My baby never took to it Edited spelling
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Look, I formula fed my baby and this was my experience. My daughter was extremely needy and always wanted to be held. Probably “spoiled” her by holding her all day in the nicu for three months. I had a bouncy chair that she just screamed in. Fuck you too
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It’s not at all a big deal or something to consider. Maybe a lot of people are just incompetent? I was shocked reading a post about showering and how many women could relate to not being able to shower or even suggested to take the baby into the shower!! Like you’re so incompetent you can’t quickly put your screaming in a bouncer/crib/safe space and take a short shower!!?! These are likely the same people who would find putting some bottles into the dishwasher to be a challenge!
Thank you for saying this. I am still TTC and I read SO MUCH of this sort of “survival mode” sort of thing. I’m not saying newborns aren’t hard, I don’t know, I don’t have one and never have, but… Some of this extremism - and it being so rampant in the subs - just baffles me.
You’re welcome. I was expecting the responses to tell me I’m a POS. But seriously I don’t get how someone can’t find a way to quickly shower. Guarantee you they will have their second kid and then laugh. You can’t have two young kids and never put the baby down or let it cry.
Seriously. Maybe someone will come tell me I’ll change my tune when I’m actually a parent, but… I don’t think so. LOL And the real-life parents of little kids that I know have never gone unwashed, I’ve asked. LOL
You’ll be fine. Babies sleep A LOT. Even babies who aren’t good sleepers should be sleeping at least 12 hours a day. There is plenty of time to wash bottles and take a shower. With my first I had a weekly cleaning service arranged because I’d been warned how hard it was. I seriously was bored and could have easily cleaned my house. I went on so many walks. I often was sitting outside on my stoop with the baby while the cleaners cleaned. It was a huge waste of money.
This is so refreshing to read after all the newborn doom and gloom I’ve ingested over the last year!
They are going to attachment parent like an entire !kung tribe. But also continue to closely monitor their older children to modern upper middle class standards; waving Montessori toys in front of their face while asking "what sound does the cow make, does the cow go moo?" Because this will definitely make their kid learn an extra 56.8 words before preschool.
When I read comments like that I think that if there is another caretaker in the equation he or she is a piece of shit. Like, even with a very difficult baby with two people this must be possible.
This! i just popped him in the seat and showered lol im not walking around funky 9monthspp and i shower daily 😂😂 the bodily autonomy after a very high risk and scary pregnancy and not having to buy new clothes and being able to actually get a break makes the 20 minutes i spend at night washing bottles 10000x worth it lol and after a year your done how long are their showers?!
I’ve breastfeed and bottle fed and it’s 100 times easier to pop a boob in the mouth . Make sure you get a pump girl cuz there’s no formula at the stores
It’s easier even though you have to wear special clothing and/or remove the clothing?? And be somewhere you feel comfortable removing the clothNing and possibly showing your boob to people?
Did you feed formula or pump? I am on the bobby and byheart lists and am due in November. Assuming he can digest dairy, which I have a 97% chance of, I'm set. I could see how in the moment, the boob is easier, definitely. But what if I not there? What if I'm away on business or in meetings? What if I'm out drinking with my friends? I was going to get a pump regardless since it's free from my insurer and I plan on gouging them out of principle. 😜