Expressing

[Melzy8608]

Hi All...

I looking for a wee bit of advice on mixing breastfeeding and bottles.

Me & my other half are hoping to get out on New Years Eve and leaving our 7 week old boy Frankie with my mother.

I have been exclusively breastfeeding and i'm wondering how to go about introducing him to bottles and if I have enough time to get him used to it?

I want to continue breastfeeding, however i also want to be able to do bottles for when times come when I am not with Frankie. Also to allow others to be able to feed him.

Any help or advice on mixing them would be much appreciated.

Also, does anyone find it extra hard combining the two as well as continuing the breastfeeding there's expressing, sterillising etc?

Thanks

 

[DolceBella]

My LO gets exclusive breastmilk. I feed her when I'm home, and my OH gives her a bottle of EBM while I'm at work. So I usually pump twice at work. It's actually been working out great.

She struggled with the bottle at first, but it didn't take her long to figure it out, since she was hungry! I would recommend you get a low-flow bottle though. When we first gave her one, the milk came out too fast and practically choked her before she had a chance to figure it out! Now we use Dr. Brown's wide-neck bottles, meant for breastfeeding babies, and it works very well.

I would also suggest that someone else be the one to give the bottle. Your LO could be unhappy taking the bottle from you at first, when you're the one that has the real thing.

Overall, I don't find it hard at all to do both breastfeeding and bottlefeeding EBM. The pumping at work can get a bit tedious, but I'm kinda proud for sticking to it. I didn't get much milk from the pump at first, but once my breasts got used to it the juices were flowing!

Feel free to message me if you have more questions! Good luck!

 

[bloodbinds]

I combine and i find it easy enough! Sterilising doesn't take long luckily

First couple of times LO refused the bottle which is normal, if they do this then you must not give breast straight away as then they will learn that if they refuse bottle they will then get what they want - breast! Be calm and happy and introduce it to him like its no big deal, he might not take it right away, be keep trying. You are introducing it early enough that it shouldn't take long for him to take it, it just might take a couple of tries.

Good luck with it!

 

[Maffie]

I BF abd feed EBM by bottle, first bottles he tried he hated so tried another brand and we were fine.

 

[TigerLady]

Definitely start trying bottles now, just in case you run into problems. If you do, then ask here and get some advice on what to do. Hopefully that won't be a problem, though. Get a good bottle for BFed babies, too.

Pump when LO gets fed EBM (or as close to it as possible) to keep your supply even with him. Pump at least as much as he eats. If you drink (alcohol) when you are away from him (like on new years) then pump for at least 12 hours after and dump that... don't feed it. Which means you will need enough of EBM stored up to last him during that time.

So, start pumping now to build up some extra.

As for messing with all the extras... yeah, it is a bit of a pain. But worth it to be able to have someone else watch LO.

I would advise against offering formula feeds instead of EBM/pumping. Unless you don't mind if you might go to all FF. If you give any formula instead of pumping, there is a chance your supply will dwindle and eventually dry up.