can I bottle feed?

[lotuspetals]

Hi ladies. My little bub is only 6 days old and I wanted to wait a good while before I could bottle feed him expressed milk, but my breasts are so engorged that he hasn't been able to properly latch, causing my nipples to crack. Now it is too painful to bear and I feel waves of pain in my breasts even when I'm not nursing him. I have been pumping to relieve some of the engorgement, but my boobies really need a break. should I risk nipple confusion by allowing him to drink my expressed milk from a bottle just for tonight so my breasts can heal, or could this be a grave mistake?

Signed,
First Time Mom With No Clue

 

[Dream.dream]

I wouldn't bottle feed a syringe works better to avoid nipple confusion 6 days is very very early , or try some lanolin cream . Do you have access to a lactation consultant?

 

[Dream.dream]

Also expressing to much will just make it worse because your body will be signaled to make more milk

 

[lotuspetals]

Well it's too late. My husband nursed him with a bottle and he gobbled it up fast. Could tell he wasn't getting enough milk from me today because of engorgement. Not sure what to do. I've been using lanolin cream and saw a lactation consultant the other day who helped me with latch...just that he can't now since the swelling really came over that evening. I have only been pumping enough for a single feeding every two hours in hopes it won't work against me.

Just at wits end. I really want to let my nipples heal at least for tonight. Maybe I will try the syringe instead of the bottle then.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[ttc bubby no2]

If your breast are really full sometimes it makes it hard for them to attach. I found in the early days when they are still adjusting I would sometimes have to express a little by hand first to relieve the pressure and fullness and then get them to latch on.

Using a syringe is better as they can take a preference on the bottle as it is easier for them to get the milk quickly (as you saw). I don't think that doing it once would be a problem though, I imagine it would take more than that.

Also remember, babies are greedy and will drink up everything you give them. I remember that being one piece of advice my midwife gave me with my first saying that often mums will give a bottle of fomula and the baby will gobble it up making them think they don't have enough milk when it is just they are greedy little things

 

[angelandbump]

I had a similar issue at the beginning...
First of all I used Lansinoh nipple cream before and after every feed and luckily I have never had cracked nipples (it may or may not be due to this).
Also, my nipples ended up flat due to engorgement so I bought the Lansinoh latch assist which was great but it only worked if I'm only mildly engorged. If baby wasn't fed for 4-6 hours and my boobs were painfully engorged, it was impossible for my son to latch so I would pump out 2/3 oz and then he would latch and feed a dream.

Week two was my worst week and I was ready to give up due to the pain. I ended up expressing for all my feeds for 24hours and fed LO with a bottle twice and the rest of the time I gave him the milk through a small syringe. When the midwife came out she said my nipples were so sore because my LO was badly jaundice and was a lazy feeder which was causing trauma to my nipples so I bought nipple shields and wore them for only two days but that was the break my nipples needed to heal enough to be able to feed my LO again.

Now we are in a routine and during the day and to try and prevent these issues, I wake my son every 2 hours to feed. On a night is when I still need to hand express or pump as my son does on average 4-6 hours

It does get easier but I know how awful it is when you see others just getting on with it so easily x

 

[Girly922]

I know there a big debate over nipple confusion but I just wanted to say that its not something that affects every baby. DD is nearly 3 weeks old and has had a combination of breast and bottle from the start. I had to hand express to start with and then started pumping on day 4. She takes to both perfectly. I do have a fast flow so that may make a difference. She doesn't have to work too hard to get milk out of me. Lol.

 

[shanny]

I did this due to soreness and also used nipple shields - stopped me from stopping

also single side feeding helps too

 

[lotuspetals]

Thank you ladies, for your advice. Put him back on the nipple today. Taking a night off helped, and I've been pumping a little before each feeding to reduce swelling. Hopefully I will succeed at this.