Can I get away with not using ANY bottle?

[LaughOutLoud]

Im shortly due my second baby and have a 4.5yr old DD. With DD I breastfed for 18 months. I did go with the flow and it wasnt easy. I am married but was caring for her as a single parent. She was a high needs baby who had colic and reflux. I was feeding her round the clock. At night, she would eat, id hold her up upright for half hour (because of reflux), put her down and do it all again in an hour. I know she also started relying on boobie for sleep as would wake as soon as id try let her unlatch. She started sleeping longer stretches when she was around 9/10 months old.

I would express but DH wasnt interested in feeding the baby to help me so I just gave her the boobie when ever she cried.

With my first I gave her my all because I could and she had all my time. With second baby im not sure how to go about doing things with a 4.5yr old who is due to start full time school shortly after second baby arrives.

My question is should I give a bottle to the baby to make things easier for us or will it just be more time consuming for me instead? I only express around 1/4 of a bottle at a time (from what I can recall). Im just not sure how to go about doing things this time and really want to plan ahead.

 

[Rachel_C]

I think it'll just make things harder for you if you give bottles. It'll probably take you longer to express a full feed of milk than it would to just BF LO for a full feed, as expressing isn't as efficient, then you'll need to do all the washing/sterilising and, if your OH is anything like mine, you'll probably end up feeding LO the bottle anyway . If you want to express sometimes and give LO the odd bottle there's no harm in it, but I wouldn't ever see it as a time saving thing to do!

You could look at buying a baby carrier (a stretchy wrap like a Moby or one from Victoria Sling Lady is a good place to start with a newborn) to help you feed hands free or at least have hands free hugs while you play with your older child.

 

[luna_19]

My baby refuses to take a bottle at all! At this point we've given up and are trying with sippy cups instead

 

[coopfairy]

I thought that second time round too... But honestly I couldn't find the time to pump so I just bf and still am.

 

[everdreaming]

I second rachie, get a sling and breastfeed only. I always thought it was good to express and use bottles etc, but really if there's no one to take over feeds for you and you wont be leaving the baby long periods of time when they'll need milk there's no point. I've so far not even gor my bottles out of the plastic wrapper I bought them in!

 

[Fortune Cooki]

While breastfeeding exclusively from the tap seemed appealing to me, I also wanted LO to learn how to use a bottle and feel comfortable with it. We gave her a bottle of expressed milk at 4 weeks. Sometimes when I really just needed time to rest, I would let DH feed her expressed milk. Then I started building up a freezer stash. I love the idea of this security blanket. What if something happens to me? If I have to take an antibiotic that is not safe for breastfeeding? If I have to get anesthetized? Having a freezer stash in case I can't breastfeed for a few days or weeks is important IMO. Thus it would behoove a baby to know how to also use a bottle. Alas, to each their own.