Weddingbee boards

@Lozza:  TSA should never ask you to taste the formula or breastmilk.  They may ask you to open a premade bottle, so they can do some testing on it, but you should be fine taking it through security without any trouble.  If you can, use the family security lane, and be sure to announce to the agents as you go through screening that you have some bottles with you.

• We also used a few different kinds, and eventually ended up with Enfamil Soybee for Sensitive Tummies.  Neither Similac Advanced nor the Kirkland brand formulas worked for us.  I think it's important to consult your doctor on formula changes, though, because every baby is different and every baby tolerates changes in formula differently.
• Let's see, we used the Born Free bottles, which come with an additional little disk to put in the top of the bottle to prevent formula from getting into the nipple.  We used to put a pre-measured amount of powder into the bottle, and then put it into the cabinet.  When Addie was hungry, we'd simply add the correct amount of warm tap water, and her bottle was ready in less than a minute.  If we were traveling, I put the little disk into the bottle, and that would keep the powder out of the nipple, even if the bottle got shaken up.
• Another tip, sign up for free formula coupons on enfamil.com, similac.com, and/or gerber.com.  You can often print out coupons on these websites, too, which make the formula quite a bit cheaper. 
• Lastly, formula feeding can be just as much of a bonding experience as breastfeeding.  You can still hold your baby close, cuddle him/her, look into his/her eyes, and even have skin to skin contact, if you want.  Feedings, wheteher from the breast or the bottle, are a special bonding time with your baby, and it's nice to have that time to sit down and relax together.  Take advantage of those little moments!

@chicagowife:  @MsMamaBear:  My favorite part of feeding Addie was the moment she felt full and warm enough to look "milk drunk."  Ah, so cute! 

@Lozza:  Hmmm, constipation is a pretty common problem with formula feeding, but if his body isn't reacting well to that formula, it may cause lots of stinky diapers...  Of course, it could just be a coincidence, and something else could be going on.  Addie always had way more (and way stinkier!) poop while she was teething, and sometimes she wouldn't want to eat if her teeth hurt, too.  I would give the new formula at least a couple weeks, and if he's still having these issues, ask your doctor what he/she recommends.  Most doctors will tell you to switch to a soy formula, if it seems like your baby is having issues tolerating regular milk formula.

@Goldilocks1107:  What exactly are looking for comments on?  Boobs?  Weight loss?  Something else?

@Goldilocks1107:  Lol, well, as far as I can tell, it's a similar process to what you'd expect with breastfeeding, except sooner after birth.  I breastfed and nursed for about 2.5 weeks with my first, but with this one, I'll start formula feeding in the hospital.

Basically, within in the first few days after birth, your milk will come in.  Before that, you may leak a little bit, but you probably won't see much of a difference in your breasts.  When your milk comes in, your breasts will get very large and hard; think of it like porn star boobs, lol.  It can be uncomfortable and even painful for a few days to a week before the milk starts drying up.  After the initial week or so, your breasts will start to shrink and the pain should subside.  You may still leak milk for a few months afterward, and your breasts may not go back completely to their prepregnancy size.

Some of the tips I used to help my milk dry up more quickly and to manage the discomfort:

• Wear a tight-fitting sports bra or wrap your breasts tightly with an Ace bandage.  This will help support your breasts and it will keep the engorgement to a minimum.  Keep the bra/bandage on at all times; it'll hurt to take it off and your breasts will become more engorged.
• Warm water and warm showers feel really good, but be sure to limit the amount of time you allow the warm water to run over your breasts.  5-10 minutes is about the limit, as the warm water will stimulate your breasts to start leaking/producing more milk.
• When the engorgement/discomfort is really bad, you can manually express a little bit of the milk (Google "manual expression", and you'll get a ton of hits).  Try not to do this unless you really need to, and only express enough milk to relieve the pain.  Expressing too much will encourage your body to produce more milk and will extend the process.
• After birth, you may be on some pain killers for a few days to a few weeks, depending on what kind of damage your body went through.  This will help with the breast pain, but you can also use cold cabbage leaves on your breasts to relieve some of the pain.  Just tuck a cold cabbage leaf in between your sports bra and breasts, and change it whenever it starts to get warm.
• Finally, there are some herbs and some prescription medications that help dry up breast milk.  If you talk to your doctor about it ahead of time, you may have those available to you in the hospital, which would make the whole process a lot shorter and much more comfortable.