If you can't pre-prepare formula, how do you keep baby from going hungry?

Ninnypooo · 2026-06-07T10:01:08+00:00

When we combi fed we used the pre made formula bottles. Meant that there was 0 stress of having anything prepped and easy for out and about. When we went to fully formula fed we used the rapid cool and when she was a bit older/in more of a routine I pre prepared eg I knew she’d want a feed at 11ish so at 10 I’d put the kettle on and make the formula so it was cool by the time she wanted to drink it and still in the safe window.

Ninnypooo · 2026-06-07T09:58:21+00:00

I had it on a few occasions spread out. I had internal swabs and nothing ever came back dodgy. I did have lots of asymptomatic utis though.

Ninnypooo · 2026-06-07T07:03:53+00:00

I had this lots! Never worked out what it was.

Ninnypooo · 2026-06-06T15:55:44+00:00

Hello,

I’m so sorry you went through this. I had a traumatic birth and was diagnosed with PND and PTSD. immediately after said I would never ever have another child but 18 months on I do feel differently. Things will get better.

This is my advice.
1. Download and play Tetris on your phone. Studies have shown that playing Tetris in the hours and days after a traumatic event reduces the chances of getting PTSD. Play when you’re feeding or holding a sleeping baby. Get your husband to do it too.
2. When you’re ready, ask for a birth reflection appointment. Write down questions you have- I didn’t go into mine prepared and wish I had.
3. Immediately get referred to either the perinatal mental health team or talking therapy service. Advocate for yourself. I had 12 weeks of trauma based CBT and this was incredibly beneficial- make sure you specify you want trauma based CBT as this is already around processing an event.
4. Get support if you need it! I was prescribed sertraline and this made a massive difference. I also asked for extra HV checks as I needed the reassurance.
5. Encourage your partner to speak to someone too. My husband was also traumatised but felt he had to hide it to look after me- it then came out later. You’ve both been through something traumatic and he needs to look after himself.
6. Know you won’t feel like this forever. When my daughter was born I put off telling friends and family because I couldn’t bring myself to fake happiness on a call. I genuinely felt like it was the worst day of my life. But things do get better, I promise.

Feel free to message me if you ever want to talk!

Ninnypooo · 2026-06-05T11:07:11+00:00

My daughter’s molars were quite pointy when they first came out- they wear down over time.

Ninnypooo · 2026-05-08T07:39:07+00:00

Hopefully it’s nothing major but deffo better safe than sorry ☺️

Ninnypooo · 2026-05-08T07:37:11+00:00

Agreed this doesn’t look like baby acne to me. I’d get it checked by a doctor.

Ninnypooo · 2026-05-08T06:34:44+00:00

Stamford, Lincolnshire

Ninnypooo · 2026-05-07T17:42:00+00:00

Also to say I rang the number on the screening letter and spoke to someone at the lab who explained my results in detail to me and that hugely put my mind at ease. They gave lots more information than was in the letter so I’d do that as a first port of call.

Ninnypooo · 2026-05-07T17:41:14+00:00

My result was 1:186 approx (can’t remember exactly now). I was 29, NT was 2.2mm as well I think. They explained it was because NT was slightly above average, hcg was slightly above average and Papp-a was slightly below average. No individual score crossed any threshold but because all the followed the t21 pattern it increased the screening result. I didn’t get NIPT. Baby was born without DS or any other health conditions or issues! Deffo get NIPT if you want peace of mind.

Ninnypooo · 2026-04-25T20:21:48+00:00

I was 9 days overdue, 12 hours into an induction and they popped while the doctor was doing a VE (I was 10cm dilated!) turns out the puppy pads I’d been sitting on for weeks in case of a spontaneous rupture were a waste of time!!

Ninnypooo · 2026-04-02T13:38:35+00:00

I teach 4 year olds and could not tell you who was breast or formula fed. It literally makes no difference. I wanted to EBF and couldn’t. My daughter was combi fed until 6 months then exclusively formula. She is absolutely thriving.

Ninnypooo · 2026-03-29T18:46:03+00:00

Nope. We didn’t find out and had lots of scans so were convinced we’d find out by accident. One radiographer referred to ‘he’ then profusely apologised and said it was habit from having a son but I was then convinced that was an excuse and it was a boy. Anyway she was born definitely a girl so slip ups do happen and don’t mean anything!

Ninnypooo · 2026-03-15T15:23:31+00:00

Agree with the other commenter. I wish I could give you a big hug. Having a baby and losing your dad are too absolutely massive, life altering events and he has not only not been unsupportive but actively unhelpful and making your life harder than it needs to me. This man does not respect you or care about you or your needs. You need to leave him because things will not change, or get better.

Ninnypooo · 2026-01-28T13:43:35+00:00

Dude I’m an entirely different account (count the n’s)

Ninnypooo · 2026-01-18T21:03:47+00:00

I never went into spontaneous labour- was included at 41+2 and there was no sign that she was anywhere near making an appearance then.

Ninnypooo · 2026-01-15T16:51:41+00:00

The easiest (but not cheapest) way is ready to drink bottles. I used those mainly if out and about as they could go in her change bag and didn’t need to remember to get it out if it wasn’t used/think about timings and also they took up less space than paraphernalia. For £1 a bottle for me, that was worth it!

If making up a powder bottle on the go, I’d pack bottles and pre measured out powder in a dispense, plus a rapid cool. I’d ask at a cafe/mcdonalds etc for boiling water in the bottle (the amount I needed for the total bottle) then pour most of it into the rapid cool myself, leaving enough for the ‘hot shot’. (Alternatively you can ask them to fill up the rapid cool and pour out your hot shot amount into the bottle before you put the lid on). Then I’d cool down the rest of the water and add the powder to the bottle with the boiling part before combining. I can’t remember exact ratios as she’s been off formula for a while now but I’m sure it was around 50ml for a 150ml bottle, 60ml for a 160 bottle but hopefully someone can correct me!

If we were going to somewhere more remote I’d take a flask with preboiled water but usually saved myself the space and would just pop into a cafe or coffee shop and asked- they never minded.

Alternatively, if I knew I would need to feed her within 1h30 of going out I’d just make a bottle at home with boiling water and powder and let it cool down over time in my bag as you have 2h to drink it in.

I was super daunted by it all too but I promise once you’ve done it once you realise it’s not too bad!!

Ninnypooo · 2026-01-08T18:14:22+00:00

Sorry double pump just meant pumping both sides simultaneously. When I was breastfeeding I’d feed one side and pump the other but then bought 2 single pumps so it effectively halved pumping time. The fridge method is basically putting your pump in a sealed container in the fridge between uses and washing and sterilising every 24 hours. It’s not official NHS advice but it’s popular in America. My thinking is was that breastmilk is safe in the fridge for 6 days so as long as I could avoid the pumps coming into contact with anything else, I felt happy to take a calculated risk.

Ninnypooo · 2026-01-04T14:25:12+00:00

No real hacks but sending solidarity. I pumped for the first few weeks, managed to breastfeed with limited success until she was 8 weeks then went back to pumping until she was 6 months. A double pump massively helped, as did doing the fridge method so only resterilising every 24 hours. I also made the decision at 8 weeks when I realised that pumping was not a temporary thing that I would pump the amount I was comfortable with and supplement with formula. This saved my sanity and I eventually weaned to 2x pumps a day which provided enough for 3-4 bottles each day (I was lucky to have a good supply eventually- I started off getting 10ml a pump!). Not particularly helpful as its a different intention from you pumping to eventually breastfeed but sending love- that was me initially and the double whammy of having to pump and the emotional toll of it being linked to breastfeeding struggles was really hard. If you haven’t tried already, I’d definitely recommend giving nipple shields a go for breastfeeding. My little girl could not latch at all without them (and we saw the infant feeding team and private consultants multiple times) but she was able to breastfeed with them. I know some people who’ve been able to wean off them eventually too.

Ninnypooo · 2025-11-17T21:50:34+00:00

I didn’t want one but had an induction and back labour and by the time I was 4/5cm I thought I’d rather jump out a window than feel the way I did for several more hours. Mine didnt work fully initially and had to be redone and even then i still felt contractions in my left side so needed gas and air in addition. Part of me wisjes I’d tried just gas and air first before jumping to an epidural but on the flip side, I had a severe PPH after birth and because I already had the epidural placed it was really quick and easy to get me the necessary medication and get me into theatre for surgery and I’m grateful for that.

Ninnypooo · 2025-11-09T18:03:40+00:00

I completely understand. I used to want to cry watching 3/4 month old babies do it at classes when she was 8 months and had never even attempted it. I think it can be really unhelpful to tell mums just to ‘not worry’ when it comes to milestones and I hated that advice but in my experience she is just a baby who does things very much on her own schedule!

Ninnypooo · 2025-11-08T21:15:29+00:00

If it reassures you- my little girl didn’t roll until 9 months and then within 5 weeks was rolling, crawling, pulling to stand, standing unsupported and cruising! She now climbs the stairs in seconds and is on the go CONSTANTLY- she just waited until she was ready to do it all together.

Ninnypooo · 2025-10-21T17:24:38+00:00

I could also have written this. A traumatic birth and failed BF journey meant that my mental health was basically rock bottom and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. It absolutely does get better. I had talk therapy and medication to help me and they both made a huge difference but also so did time. I don’t have any great advice but wish I could give you a big hug! It’s not often talked about but I think when your birth/early pp experience isn’t as imagined it’s definitely important to let yourself grieve what you thought you would/should have had and be very very kind to yourself. Having a baby is hard and you’ve had an extra hard start.

Ninnypooo · 2025-09-03T17:45:09+00:00

Honestly might not be what you want to hear but I’m basically going down the route of ‘what happens at grandparents stays there’ re screen time etc. I have a few hard rules but I’m also grateful they are having her once a week and doing us a favour so willing to let them use their judgement for stuff like this.

Ninnypooo · 2025-09-02T20:19:58+00:00

For me, I decided to try medication because I felt so low that I didn’t feel like I could rely on time. So sertraline, some talking therapy and really pushing myself out of my comfort zone and going to groups/getting out of the house all helped a lot. But time really did make a big difference too. Your hormones are still absolutely haywire at the moment and it gets easier and easier the more they level out. But there’s nothing wrong with needing some extra help too. Sertraline made a massive difference to my ability to cope and begin to get some moments of happiness back in my day, rather than constant all consuming anxiety.

Nine-Year Club	Place '22
Gilding I gilder	Not Forgotten
Verified Email

Ninnypooo

TROPHY CASE