The moment you start breastfeeding there is an instant connection with you baby, and if you are lucky enough you can continue on your breastfeeding journey but some (like myself) aren’t that lucky and often have to turn to the bottle.
Both my girls fed for less then a month, and I held it out tears and all to make sure they at least got all the colostrum from my breast but mastitis had me from the get go. I also have super sensitive skin, especially on my breast which had both my nipples bleeding and looking like I had been in war with sandpaper. It wasn't a nice experience and even though when I couldn't take the pain anymore I knew it wasn't my fault, but depression still got the best of me as I felt I had failed as a Mummy- as well.. that is what we are meant to be able to do and comes naturally.
So for me I had to go bottles, I couldn't even express.
Bottles are great, they are convenient and can be whipped out anywhere anytime of the day or night. But then there is the down side to bottles. Making sure EVERYTHING has to be sanitised when your little one is teenie weenie to ensure their little immune systems aren’t being threatened. Then there is remember how many mLs, how many times a day, how many scoops of formula and unlike your body who knows exactly what temperature your babe likes their milk you also have to get this right.
The worst experience I had was a 3am feed when Madison had been up every 45mins, something wasn’t right with her and she just wanted to be held and know she was safe. Then she got hungry and my world was turned upside down, so much so that Matt who had to wake up for work 2 hours later got up and helped me and held her while I prepped her bottles. In my sleep deprived state I lost count of how many scoops needed to go into her bottle, so I had to start again. Once I had got it right I had to wait for it to heat in microwave (yup I did it in the microwave with BHP bottles, go ahead and judge) and when I did the wrist test it was way to hot. So I thought all the nutrients would be gone and started again, by now Madison was a screaming, sweaty mess and Daddy was in panic mode not knowing what to do with our bundle of joy who was bring quite a lot of grief.
Anyway this whole process took me a good 20minutes or so and by then I was feeding Madison and in tears myself (maybe due to the lack of sleep) but stress levels were certainly being tested.
So when I learnt of a newish device from Closer To Nature I knew straight away it was something I HAD to share with my readers, to help them prevent anything like my experience. This device is:
Closer To Nature Perfect Prep Machine
Some of the benefits of this machine include:
· Makes a fresh bottle at correct temperature in less than 2 minutes.
· Filter system removes impurities present in water.
· Initial ‘hot shot’ of water kills bacteria that may be present in formula.
· Dispenses correct amount of water for a more accurate and consistent dilution.
· This Perfect Prep™ machine measures in millilitres.
The thing I love most about this machine is it is quick and it is accurate meaning it takes the stress out of bottle-feeding, and allows you to cuddle and settle bub. Yes this does mean there is no more juggling baby all while trying to prepare their feed, the Perfect Prep does all that for you. All you need to do is dispense the right amount of formula into the bottle before putting it under the spout where water comes out.
The spout base is also adjustable making it easy to fit almost any sort of bottle under there from bigger to the newborn sized bottles.
There is also a little window on the side that shows you how much water is left in the machine, so your never left empty.
All the little lights that will light up if something needs fixing, filling or changing.
Another one of the other things that got quite annoying while bottle-feeding was I couldn’t use the water straight out of the tap. I had to first boil the water and let it cool before putting it into the bottle to further cool to room temperature.
The Dial to select how much water you would like in the bottle.
This system removes impurities from the cold water straight from your sink tap, so you know only pure h2o is going into that bottle, although you do have to change the filters every three months- there is a filter light to let you know when it needs changing though.
Hot Shot Time
There is also a feature in the Perfect Prep machine that I am a little weary on. I know when I was bottle feeding I heard from a few different people that if the formula gets too hot this can cause a lot of the good stuff to deteriorate, I am not sure how much of that is true or not. The Perfect Prep has a hot shot, which is meant to kill bacteria that could be present in formula, which also freaks me out as why is there bacteria in baby formula? But hey if it is feature this must be all ok for the formula and must do good instead of bad.
Filling the bottle with 120mL of warm water
Pure Water ready for hub
I cannot stress enough how much easier this machine makes bottle prep with bubs. All you have to do is put the formula in and press a button on the Closer To Nature Perfect Prep and it literally is that easy.
closer to nature® is the number one baby feeding accessories brand in the UK and one of the top brands of infant products and accessories in the global market. Loved by parents and little ones, closer to nature® receives numerous awards and accolades year after year globally. The closer to nature® range is available at stockists nationwide, for more information please visit closertonaturebaby.com.au I facebook.com.au/closertonaturebaby
