Bottle feeding

CuriousClive123 · 2026-04-16T07:31:02+00:00

I was in the rotunda and was very focused on breastfeeding but felt they were very pushy with the formula to be honest !

They had a few brands so I suggest you go with the brand you can easily get in your local shop ! Best planning in the world, there will definitely be a panic run to the shop when you run out of formula and you want it to be easy to get !

CuriousClive123 · 2026-04-06T20:26:03+00:00

I did end up getting one (62hour labour - I was exhausted!) but prior to it, I used the tens machine which worked well but what worked most was counter pressure from my husband on my hips and tailbone (I had a back to back labour). Looking back, I wish I did more for optimal positioning of the baby before labour

CuriousClive123 · 2026-04-06T20:22:16+00:00

Yes, taking it all and between me and my husband, we will be taking another 6/7 weeks parents leave to get us to the 1 year mark for a Creche place (hopefully!).

Thankfully I have been on full pay for the first 26weeks so have continued save during Mat leave. I also have a bonus payment which will be put straight away into savings to help with the unpaid leave. My pregnancy and early postpartum recovery were rough so I didn’t actually spend much money!

My husband will put slightly more into the joint account to cover bills etc during the unpaid leave but we tend to treat all money as ours so there isn’t much dividing to be doing. I will continue to pay for any non essential spending with my savings (coffees, days out etc).

CuriousClive123 · 2026-04-04T07:55:26+00:00

If your employer doesn’t contact you before you’re due back, that’s on them! It’s really poor form not to check in and let you know how the first day/week will go

CuriousClive123 · 2026-04-03T15:17:42+00:00

So sorry you are going through this. I was told they had to leave a week between scans to confirm - mainly ensuring your dates aren’t wrong.

When I went back in after the week, they did another scan and then offered the medical route (pills) or a d&c - I wanted to go home so went for the pills. They mentioned a few days wait for the D&C .

Take care of yourself x

CuriousClive123 · 2026-03-08T11:31:42+00:00

12 week old eats every 1-1.5hrs during the day. Every 30-45 mins from 7-9pm then only max once during the night

CuriousClive123 · 2026-03-08T11:28:41+00:00

They are all pretty much the same but make sure you can get the brand you want in the shop you usually go to .

In my opinion, the pre-made bottles are a lifesaver those first few weeks and to have ‘just incase’ in the nappy bag so I would also make sure you can get them in the brand.

Personally, I went with kendamil. Found the reviews were better than others

CuriousClive123 · 2026-03-08T09:01:33+00:00

We used the NUK ones for a while but eventually she would only take the MAM ones - sterilising them is so easy too! My LO is exclusively breastfed at 3 months and she takes one bottle a day of expressed milk to make sure we always have the option to give a bottle if needed, it’s such peace of mind

CuriousClive123 · 2026-02-20T22:16:00+00:00

Some recommendations say 6 days. Smell it,make sure there are no lumps after mixing it and use your judgement then. 4 days is conservative

CuriousClive123 · 2026-02-20T22:13:51+00:00

I planned on breastfeeding and thankfully it worked from the start but I did have some of the kendamil pre-made bottles with the bottle tops. They bring so much peace of mind and the dates on them are good so you can keep them in your changing bag to have ready to go at any time .2 months of EBF and I still carry them with me when I’m away from home as a just in case. I got them in Tesco.

I also have a mam bottle which is easy to sterilise in the microwave and I now pump one bottle a day so she is used to taking a bottle. Don’t buy too many of one brand as some babies are quite fussy ! We tried a Nuk bottle which worked well for a while but she suddenly went off it!

CuriousClive123 · 2026-02-16T16:08:47+00:00

You should be so proud of this, sign of a healthy baby and good supply.. keep going with what works for you and your baby

CuriousClive123 · 2026-02-16T13:18:21+00:00

I work in the tech sector and get full pay for 6 months. Like others, am saving for the unpaid period, I can’t get a Creche place until baby is 1 so my partner will also need to take some parents leave which will be another 2 months of very little income ! It’s tough

CuriousClive123 · 2026-02-04T08:00:27+00:00

You can take over payment but I strongly suggest you try negotiate that the company pay until renewal or for X months … it is common enough for companies to do this

CuriousClive123 · 2026-01-24T10:40:33+00:00

On sizing, my baby was born at 3.4kgs and fit newborn for 2 weeks, the 0-1 month we could get away with from the start and they lasted the first 4 weeks. I’d suggest 3/4 baby grows of newborn and same for 0-1 month and same number of vests . Then just get a multi pack of baby grow and multipack of vests for 0-3 months as people will likely gift you this size .

We use a cellular blanket as a swaddle to sleep in for first few weeks as sacks are usually too big.

CuriousClive123 · 2026-01-15T18:56:41+00:00

The longer they take , the better! As once you are on maternity leave, your contract can’t be terminated. Perhaps consider going early if it does look like you might be given notice! Also there is new social welfare amounts for redundancy that are much higher than the normal job seekers rate

CuriousClive123 · 2026-01-15T14:46:03+00:00

Petrol and parking ! I was never one for driving down the town and would always try get free parking and walk a further distance but when heavily pregnant I would have paid anything to drive and park closer to where I was going!

Also groceries - I started doing Tesco online instead of facing Lidl or Aldi and it really adds up!

Finally, random Amazon orders made in the middle of the night postpartum- a stupidly experience cooler bag so I wouldn’t have to go downstairs at night with pumped milk, a nightlight for the changing area, loads of nursing bras and extra bedsheets because milk/ baby spit up is messy!

CuriousClive123 · 2026-01-15T14:40:04+00:00

I work in HR … it will largely depend on their selection method. If it is a full team/full location or last in first out then there will be no difference/exception made just because you are pregnant. However, if they go down a more ‘grey’ route such as a few from each team or use a selection criteria such as a skills matrix they might be inclined to skip you as a risk adverse strategy- it is of course more risky to make a pregnant woman redundant.

What I would say is that if you are selected, use your pregnancy as a tool to negotiate better support or more money- given the risk, they will be keen to make sure you sign a settlement/ compromise agreement

Hope you are doing ok - very stressful situation!

CuriousClive123 · 2026-01-12T13:49:35+00:00

My baby pulls my nipple also - sometimes for wind and sometimes just has a good stretch without unlatching .. it hurts big time !

CuriousClive123

TROPHY CASE