Hello All,
I am currently 13w pregnant with triplets and I am trying to research as many things (car seats, bottles,formula, breast pumps, ect) as I can before they arrive. I have no other children so this is all new to me and I am hoping I can get some advice. I am planning to bottle feed the babies with both breast milk and formula so I would like to know what bottles, formula and breast pumps worked best for any of you. I know I will need to purchase quite a few bottles so I would like to know what bottles are the best. Since I will be pumping all the time I would like to get a good dual breast pump to use as well. Thanks for any and all info you can provide.
~Angie

Congratulations on your pregnancy!

I thought my Medela Pump in Style was awesome. I didn't pump as long as I thought I would so in hind sight I would have rented the Medela Freestyle from the hospital or Babies R Us until I knew what was going to work for me and my family the best.

Formual-wise, my babies came home on high cal Enfamil then we switched to Enfamil Lipil. Recently I switched to the Members Mark (Sam's Club) equivalent of Enfamil Lipil and haven't had any issues.

For bottles, a lot of people purchased enough bottles to make it through one whole day without cleaning ~24 bottles. I only purchased enough for 3 meals each so ~9 bottles. This will be a personal preference. We used the Avent bottles, but have tried the Evenflo Comfi and Playtex Ventaire - I didn't notice a lot of difference in how my babies used them or in the amount of gas/spit up.

Definitely get 3 Boppy pillows. And, I would highly suggest, a swing that works in the cradle (side-to-side) motion and front to back. When my kids were small they loved the cradle motion the best.

HTH

Kylie
BGB born 1/28/09 @ 33w3d
4.6, 4.3, 4.9

Kylie,
Thanks for the information. I will look into it. I am starting to think that renting a breast pump will be my best option but I guess I still have some time to decide.
~Angie

Renting a hospital-grade breast pump is a great idea. They are the most effecient, and you can see how you do before deciding if you want to purchase a pump.

Find out what bottles your NICU uses. We thought we would use the Playtex bottles, but because our babies got used to the Dr Brown bottles in the NICU, we had to change our plan.

I agree with the PP that the swings that go side to side or front to back are great. We had the Fisher Price swings and loved them.

I would advise the Lily Padz breast pads. They were great at staying in place and preventing leaks. Also, I only needed 2 pairs so I had one set washed and set out to dry while wearing the other set. Well worth the $$.

Sheila
GGB 10/29/06 (33 weeks)

I have the Medela Double Pump as well, though I got it from somebody else. I know they say you're not supposed to get a used pump, but she hadn't used it for long and well, it's expensive. My girls were in the NICU for 2 months, so when I was there I would use the hospital grade pump, and my Medela at home. I honestly never saw a difference in the amount of milk I got using one as opposed to the other.

I agree with the swing, we also have Fisher Price and it was awesome for our colicky baby. Also the Boppies are great, and get a few Boppy cover replacements, so when they spit up on one, you can just pop on a new one and not have to do laundry right away. My only recommendation with chairs, swings, et. al, is to either borrow one from somebody for a few days before buying, to see if the kids like it, or just buy one. We initially bought a vibrating/bouncy seat, and one daughter hates it. So we just have one of each (swing and bouncy), because that works and saves space.

Our NICU used generic bottles and nipples that we can't buy at the store (though they sent us home with a lot). In the beginning I could switch the girls out with whatever and they didn't mind. We used Medela bottles, and Evenflo. I tried the Playtex Ventaire and one girl doesn't like them; the nipple is shaped more like the breast, and I think it confuses her since the others weren't. So it may be more important to stick to the same nipple type.

As for formula, we also came home on Enfacare Enfamil for Preemies, and then transitioned to GentleEase for one, and regular for the other. We've then switched to the Babies R Us generic version of each of those.

Amy
Julia, ^Caitlin^ (stillborn due to encephalocele complications) & Gabrielle
30.2 weeks

I also rented a hospital grade pump and would definately recommend it. For bottles I used teh cheap evenflo bottles. I found they were similar to what they had been using in NICU and another great thing was that I could just screw them onto the pump attachment. That was really nice b/c after a while I pumped mroe milk than what the bottles that came with teh pump would hold and I would have to take them off part way through and poor milk into a container....a real pain in the butt!
My girl was on Neosure (high cal formula) b/c of her low birth weight. My boys I started on Nestle Good Start but then switched to parent's choice (walmart brand).

Jill

www.rauckmantrio.blogspot.com/

Sept 5/08 @ 32w6d

Thanks all for all your advice. It is extremely helpful for me as all this is very new to me. If any body else has more advice, tips, etc please keep them coming as the more info the better.

~Angie

Congratulations Angie!

I used the Dr. Browns bottles. I had enough to last me all day and into the next morning. I loved these bottles...you can get the BPA free and the glass ( I loved the glass when they were younger because you can heat breast milk right in the bottle. They are also great if there are any gas issues.

I had the Medela Pump in Style but I rented the Medela hospital grade pump ( I think it was called the Symphony) It just worked so much more efficiently. I also got a mini fridge and kept it in my bedroom. That way, I would get up in the night to pump and never have to go downstairs to store the milk. Just those little things help so much.

The hospital usually starts them on a formula if they are preemie, for us it was neosure, and be sure to ask the hospital about the free programs they have...they gave us three cases a month for three months free!

I used the Triple Decker stroller with the graco snug ride car seats for the first year, then moved into the Baby Jogger summit 360 jogger stroller.

We also used the Milk Maid bottle props...could not have done it without them! We would lay the girls in boppys and give them their bottles as early as 4 weeks old! It made it easier to do the feedings on my own.

We had a changing table in their room and a changing station downstairs on a desk complete with diapers, wipes and anything else we might need. Saved us additional trips to their room.

We kept the schedule that the nurses set in the NICU and have simply modified that as they have gotten older.

Take care and wishing you a long and healthy pregnancy!

T

mom to GGG born 3-13-08 at 33 weeks
Elle, Thea and Shay
and
Xander 6 years old

Hi T,
Thanks for all the information. One of my friends used Dr.Browns bottles as well with her son and highly recommended them so I am defintely going to look into them as well. Thanks for mentioning that breast milk can be heated up in the glass bottles that is good information to have.

I have defintely decided to rent a pump from the hospital as I am not sure how long I will breast feed so I don't want to go out and buy one if it is only for a few months as the good ones are pretty expensive.

I have been looking at the Triple Decker stroller and I thought I was settled on getting one but then I thought it was alot of money for a stroller I would only use for a few months. But seeing that you used yours for the first year makes me think maybe it is worth the money.

We live in a townhouse so it will be important for us to have what we need on both levels to save us multiple trips up and down the stairs.

~Angie

I would get a vented bottle like Dr. Browns or BornFree. They are pretty pricey, but if the babies have reflux (which is common in preemies and its almost a sure thing they will be preemeis) or alot of gas they help... it helps prevent colic too (3 babies with colic would not be fun!)

Breast pumps... you will probably need a hospital grade pump to be able to pump enough for triplets. I have no advice on what brand because I didnt pump with the triplets, I know hospital grade pumps are expensive. BUT if they are born at the average gestation (32-33 weeks) your insurance may cover rental fees for a hospital grade pump for the time they are in the NICU and after that you may want to look into just renting instead of buying one. If you just want a normal double pump, which may or may not be able to pump enough milk, medela is one of the best pumps that you can buy.

Formula- I would wait on that. Our babies were born a day before 36 weeks and the neonatologist still put them on NeoSure which is a high calorie formula and most preemies go on high calorie formula. BUT its hard to say what kind of formula they will be able to take because they could have a milk allergy or lactose intolerance... formula with any baby is a trial and error type of thing because not all babies can tolerate just any formula. If you bought a normal formula like Good Start, they may not even be able to take it because they need the extra calories like in NeoSure or Enfacare or something. Also, I would check and see if you qualify for WIC where you live too. Once the babies are born you may be able to get formula through them... they may also give you a breast pump if you are breast feeding too. Just a thought.

Shely~ Mom to 1+bbg

Gosh I wish I'd read this thread months ago! I currently have all boys, triplets, born at 35 weeks, 5 lbs. each and very healthy. Only one needed a few days in the incubator.

I have never found any difference with all the various colic-proof bottles, they all seemed to get air back in the bottle as promised. So rather than the expensive and COMPLICATED Dr. Brown's, just get a bunch of Evenflo glass bottles. I totally agree that the taller bottles are great for hooking up to my Medela breast pump, even if I don't fill the whole 8 oz, I just keep the bottles and pump cups right in the fridge and so don't need to wash out the breat pump parts every time I pump (I pump 8 times per day and produce about half as much as my babies need. I don't breastfeed much because I can never find the tranquillity of mind to do so... I like breastfeeding when I can dedicate myself to that little boy without running around getting others fed and one dangling from the boob).

Having said that, there is one bottle that I'd really recommend for babies who are doing both breastfeeding and bottle-feeding... they are called Tommee Tippees but NOT the one under that name sold in the US. They are sold in the UK and you can see them on the UK website. My boys were using Dr. Browns when they came home from the hospital and they get the milk out so easily, they just weren't developing the right muscles or patience for breastfeeding. The Tommees changed that!

As for quantities I had a huge number of bottles in the beginning but I found that I did better with just THREE Tommee Tippees (body, nipple ring, and nipple) and a few Evenflo bottles for breastmilk. Having only three main bottles made me take the 30 seconds to rinse them out after each feed, and avoided the enormous mountain of bottle stuff next to the sink. And I like the simplicity of Evenflo or TT, with the Dr. Brown's you've got 5 parts to assemble for each bottle.

Costco has very good priced formula, like 1/3 the other name brands. It's pretty good but I eventually went with an organic formula.

Other tips? My favorite: keep your breast pump next to the toilet, you will never find time to go poo otherwise and will end up irritable and constipated within 2 days home from the hospital!

Definitely get the Boppys.

Get a variety of pacifiers, they will change preferences daily.

Get lots of swaddling blankets, or try to steal the much better ones the hospitals have.

While you're bored and resting before you give birth, compile an address list on a spreadsheet and then after the birth upload the list to something like cardstore.com to get those announcements out. It will also make thank-you notes easy to get out.

As for resting... I rested early and lots and avoiding going on bed rest.. I was driving myself to appointments one week before birth!

That's it for now, I've been meaning to write this stuff down for awhile now.

Eliza

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Hi Eliza,
Thanks so much for all the information and tips thay will be very helpful. Congrats on having such healthy triplets!! I can only hope my situation needs up like yours. I rest alot already as I am not working. I am trying to prevent bed rest as much as possible. If it happens it happens but I am just trying to do all I can to keep my little ones in as long as possible. I had a cerclage done at 14w and everything looks great so I am just hoping it stays that way.
~Angie

PUMP: I highly recommend renting the hospital grade Medela. It's like a Mercedes compared to the Pump In Style (more like a Kia).

BOTTLES: I love Dr. Browns, they really help with colic and burping. Test a few, everyone likes different ones. I found Avent to leak.

FORMULA: The Dr. tried to put my triplets on all kinds of crazy stuff to supplement the breastmilk. Neosure helps them gain weight but makes them gassy, now we use Neosure for our tiniest and either Enfamil Premium Lipil or Similac Advance for the other 2.