Breastfeeding/Expressing Changing

[TTCSept 12]

Hi all, many thanks in advance for taking the time to read and reply, and I also apologise in advance for the lengthy post,

Im currently 35 weeks pregnant, I am looking to breastfeed once the baby is here, however, I still have concerns.

I was originally going to bottle feed and that was it, I have the tommee tippee bottles with the special teats designed to mimic the mothers breast so their wider at the base so similar to the baby latching onto the nipple etc.

What my question is, is that I want to also express so that others can help with feeds like my partner and mother etc as well as feeding when out and about or during busy periods of guests, i'm not comfortable to sit there infront of people and feed from the breast like others are but its not a permanent change. I hope to be interchanging between bottle and breast and as when required. So just making life in general easier. However I have been told by a midwife at my antenatal that the chances of the baby going back to breast if bottle fed expressed milk are slim to none. That is obviously something I wish to avoid.

Has anyone else got these bottles and interchanged between breast and bottle and what were your experiences?? Did your baby have any problems??

Its not something I wish to do constantly only on odd occasions, We all need our sleep and hard when baby needs food every few hours. I know I will start to struggle over time and don't want that affecting my relationship/bond with my baby.

Thank you again for your comments and help.

 

[LDC]

Congrats on your pregnancy!

I would recommend not feeding via bottle until around 6 weeks, which I think is the recommended age anyway. The issue is, is that baby might forget or not latch to your breast properly if offered bottles plus oh need to get your supply right. The shape of the bottle doesn't really mean anything in my opinion, but like you say the teats are the big thing. I brought the Medela bottle and lo hated it and became a bottle refuser.

I would recommend pumping and letting others help you. We used to give lo a bottle as her last feed of the night from 6 weeks but we were not consistent with this and she became a bottle refuser. So my advice would be to be consistent with the bottle feeding, so last feed at night via bottle with daddy for example.

Good luck xx

 

[TTCSept 12]

Thank you for such a speedy response.

I wasn't looking to do it for a while yet I do want to get the baby into her routine and hopefully manage alone, I know the first few weeks is pretty essential when it comes to breastfeeding. It is only as she starts getting bigger and stronger and more demanding that I was looking to bottle feed expressed milk, meaning she gets food while I get rest again allowing OH to help too.

I'm hoping the teats help as they are specifically designed to mimic the breast so hope that the baby shouldn't be bad at latching on but time will only tell.

Thank you for the advice, I don't think I will get a definite answer until the time comes, IF the time comes, But always nice to know peoples experiences and advice in the meantime helping with decisions.

 

[Care76]

That is a hard one as every baby is different. I have the Avent Natural glass bottles and the nipples are similar to yours. I bottle fed at first because I didn't get milk for a week and we had a heck of a time BF with tongue tie. My baby would still latch on and didn't seem to get nipple confusion. I also wanted to bottle feed for the same reasons as you. But then my baby screamed constantly and I didn't have much supply so I was putting him to breast every 20mins and I stopped using bottles because it did start to make him want it and not the breast. Eventually I didn't care if he ever got a bottle because all I wanted was a good breastfeeding relationship and bottles started to get in the way. Now we use the occasional sippy cup because he won't nurse in public, but otherwise I don't care because I love BF and I enjoy the time we have together during it.

Sorry this doesn't help too much, but I just wanted to explain that sometimes bottles might not cause an issue right away but still can. And then some babies have issues right away and some never do. Personally if I ever do it again I won't be using a bottle.

I would suggest making sure BF is well established before introducing a bottle. That can be hard because the early weeks can be the most difficult, but once you get there it is amazing. Good luck!

 

[optimistic1]

My daughter took a bottle the first time at 3 weeks and a pacifier since birth and still interchanges between breast and bottle perfectly. I would give your lo time to adjust to your breast before introducing a bottle though.

 

[CupcakeBaby]

Definitely give it at least 6 weeks.

We've tried bottles (your TT ones, medela ones and the new Avent natural) and she doesn't like any.

I'm glad in a way as the sterilising is a pain! It's no drama leaving a room for a few minutes to feed if you're uncomfortable.

And of you want to express and BF then even if someone else feeds baby at night you'll need to wake up and pump anyway as you cant skip a feed time - which is way more hassle than just feeding the baby.

 

[MrsClark24]

Ok, I have spoken to a lot of people about this, I was the same as you in my pregnancy!

I was told to wait until week 4 before you introduce a bottle, so that you don't get the confusion between the nipple and the teat.

The day after we got home from the hospital we were told to fed DD every 2-4hrs. So when she wouldn't wake up to fed on the first night we went back to hospital the next day who advised us to "cup" feed or express and bottle feed. Which we did! This was day 2 of DD little life, and she took the bottle and the nipple no problem, although she wouldn't wake up for a fed from either!

We have used bottle and boob from the word go and I have never had a problem. I've only ever been advised to use one brand: Breast Flow. I got mine off Amazon and they worked wonders for us. The Tommy Tippee ones are useless, and we have Dr Browns but the Breast Flow ones are the best, hands down.

This is it:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/The-First-...F8&qid=1372795337&sr=8-1&keywords=breast+flow

It's great using both, you only need a couple of bottles seen as you predominantly breast feed, it makes feeding in public easier, the feeling of expressing full boobs is amazing (they get so full and uncomfortable) and DH and other family members love being able to feed as well, it's such a special thing for people to do! As for missing feeds and needing to express anyway... I found that I would sleep for 5hrs while my hubby got up and it never affected my milk supply, it just meant that my boobs were fuller! If you were expressing and bottle feeding all the time then it might but once a day or every now and again won't kill your supply I don't think!

 

[amjon]

We've used bottles with our twins. We started at around 5 days old as BF at night was killing me (and I ended up in the hospital for several hours one night an had to leave the babies with my mom, so bottles were the only option). One of the twins has no issues with still latching on the breast (I've had to use nipple shields from the beginning though, so it's still plastic). He will eagerly take either. The other twin will reluctantly BF, though he much prefers the bottle as he doesn't like having to take the time to get the milk out. It just depends on your baby and how they respond, which you won't know until they get here.

 

[TTCSept 12]

Thank you to everyone for such speedy responses! I had an antenatal class today so decided to bring up the question while there too. I have also been informed that yes, even if I was to express for my OH to feed at night or during the day for me to kip or for whatever reason, I would still need to express on or around her usual feed time so looks like thats that idea out the window lol, yet another of the many sacrifices us mothers make for the benefit of our children lol! The shape of the teat I was informed helps with baby interchanging from bottle to breast, however its all really down to the babies personal preference rather than what product is best on the market etc.

Only time will tell, but its going to be a hard few months with the baby at first, a lot of sleepless nights ahead, Any advice on the best approach to try keep up morale and keep sleepiness at bay when times get hard? (makes me sound bad but cant quite explain it how I mean it lol)

Again, Many thanks for all the helpful advice and links you have provided so far.

 

[Care76]

I found I had to keep going one feed at a time in the beginning. Instead of thinking of all the sleepless nights and feedngs a head of me I just said to myself, just one more feeding... It gets better, you just have to hang in there!

 

[optimistic1]

You kind of have to fight through it one day at a time. Its not something you can plan trust me your baby is going to surprise you every day with changing routines. As for sleepiness it helped me to forget all about my usual routine and let the baby consume me. I slept when she slept and feed her while she was awake. First couple weeks it felt like I never had a moment to myself, but that gets better as long as you stay positive about it instead of looking at your glass half empty if you constantly have a negative attitude it will become a negative experience. Yes I have stressful times I'm only 4 weeks in and a new mom everyday I learn more about what my daughter likes and dislikes and I'm still reading her cues, what means what, and sometimes I get things wrong and she gets frustrated which makes everything harder. But tomorrows always another day and no day is ever the same. There's always sunshine behind every cloud!

 

[feedindy]

I personally didn't buy into the nipple confusion thing, and we did bottles and BF since birth. I didn't use those bottles though, I just used plain Gerber bottles for both of mine.

 

[TTCSept 12]

Thank you to everyone who has responded, im just guessing time will tell and I will know when she is here... I will try breastfeed for as long as possible but at least I know if she doesnt go back to breast I can express or formula so its not like she will ever go hungry, but but obviously the longer I can breastfeed the better, for those who do it for and even those who do it for months well done to you all! X

 

[arra]

I tried using the Tommee Tippee bottles but they let too much milk out, my daughter was choking. I prefer the Avent bottles with the newborn nipple, it is much better. My husband gave our daughter the bottle at 4 weeks old, so i could get some sleep. I left the room so she didn't get confused smelling me and getting a bottle. Just so you know, the more you give a bottle the less milk you make. So make sure you pump if you are giving the bottle, to keep up your supply. I hope this helps you!