So worried about feeds, breastfeeding/bottles :(

[Nov11_Mummy2b]

All the way through my pregnancy I have been determined to breastfeed. And still plan on doing when baby arrives, but I just feel so confused and worried about exactly how I am going to do it.
I have been told that if I do breastfeed I am not to give her a bottle due to nipple confusion? Is this true?
I do have a breastpump and did want to express some feeds so that OH can also share the duties of feeds and also get the bond that I will have with the baby.
My plan was: to express during the day, and breastfeed during the night. Will I be able to do this?
Also do I use newborn teats for the bottles? Am going to be a 1st time mum and am absolutely clueless about it all.
It really worries me that I'll be a rubbish mum
My mum will be staying with me for a fortnight after baby is born to help me out when needed but I just dont want to seem stupid, if you get me?

Also when is best time to steralise the bottles and steraliser? I am due in 12 days.

Thank you for any input/advice.

 

[Leets]

They suggest you establish a good breast feeding routine before you start expressing to not confuse your baby! I started expressing after about 6-8 weeks and this was fine! Expressing takes a lot of hard work and I doubt (from my experience) that you will be able to express all your milk for the day anyhow! Your milk comes in when your baby is due a feed! Sounds easy but after a week or so your baby could be sleeping and you will get a tingling sensation in your breasts and just know your baby is due a feed soon! Lol, start off slowly by expressing after a few weeks to allow an established routine! Then when your more confident give the expressing a shot! Because your breast produce the amount of milk your baby drinks it's difficult to express and then have enough left for baby if you know what I mean!

You won't be a rubbish mum, don't worry and go with the flow! You can't really plan these kind of things until its happening. You'll be fine xx

So don't worry about sterilising the bottles until you are going to use them!

Xx

 

[joeyjo]

I would try and get breast feeding established before introducing bottles- usually at least 3-4weeks. If you express rather than BF directly on demand then the stimulus to produce more milk etc isn't strong. Once breast feeding is more established then intro a bottle. A lot of places say at 6-8 weeks but I did it at about 4 weeks, although he rarely had bottles.

Daddy bonded by bathing him and also snuggling us both in bed stroking my sons head/cheek to keep him awake and encourage a good feed :cloud nine:

 

[Nov11_Mummy2b]

They suggest you establish a good breast feeding routine before you start expressing to not confuse your baby! I started expressing after about 6-8 weeks and this was fine! Expressing takes a lot of hard work and I doubt (from my experience) that you will be able to express all your milk for the day anyhow! Your milk comes in when your baby is due a feed! Sounds easy but after a week or so your baby could be sleeping and you will get a tingling sensation in your breasts and just know your baby is due a feed soon! Lol, start off slowly by expressing after a few weeks to allow an established routine! Then when your more confident give the expressing a shot! Because your breast produce the amount of milk your baby drinks it's difficult to express and then have enough left for baby if you know what I mean!

You won't be a rubbish mum, don't worry and go with the flow! You can't really plan these kind of things until its happening. You'll be fine xx

So don't worry about sterilising the bottles until you are going to use them!

Xx

Thank you, that makes alot of sense. So basically I won't be able to express untill a few weeks after breastfeeding anyways? Although this might sound selfish, I am abit bothered that all the feeds will be on me and I'll be so tired I won't be able to keep up, and also OH gets the easy part lol.
xx

 

[Lettuce]

Hello, don't worry, it'll come. You could wash the bottles out now if you like, but they don't need sterilising til you are going to use them.
The problem with combined feeding, apart from nipple confusion (tho not all babies get that!) is that your supply could dwindle, and you will have to pump every time baby is due a feed during the day. If you read the thread on expressing, it can be time consuming and hard going. Babies are much more effective at getting milk out than a pump, so you maybe wouldn't empty the breast effectively.
It would be best, if possible, to breast feed exclusively for as long as you can to regulate your supply (about 6 weeks), as the more baby suckles, be more milk you produce!
Try not to worry. Your mum and oh can support in other ways, by making sure they do everything else so your only job is to feed lo! you're going to be a great mum, it's ok, we all worried like this.
As for teats, start of with the small ones. My DD like the TT variflow ones now. It's a little bit trial and error.
Good luck Hun, hope to see you in here soon! Xx
Oh, please read this, it REALLY helped me!
https://theleakyboob.com/tag/newborn/ and www.kellymom.com has good advice. the girls on here are fab, wouldn't have managed without them. Xx

 

[joeyjo]

You get to sit on the sofa waited on hand & foot whilst OH runs round fixing you snacks & drinks - you wouldn't want to interrupt the feed or the nap once LO has drifted off on you

 

[Leets]

Yeah unfortunately I can't lie and say it isn't tiring! It's seriously hard keeping awake but as mums we are made to do it and have managed for centuries, I remember sitting on the bed one night rocking back and forth and crying with exhaustion but tbh I can totally laugh at it now! At the time you feel dreadful but it gets better and every baby is different! My diet wasnt great whilst breast feeding and I think that didn't help tbh! Just take the advice of resting when baby does (as difficult as it is!) and your oh can have the duty of winding the baby and probable nappy changes that are needed when you have fed the baby lo, feels like a fair trade

 

[toddlerandpip]

Breastfeeding is exhausting at first but its also best for baby! The way we did it was I breastFed (obviously lol) and husband winded her after each feed and by god that can take a LONG time. As soon as you've fed baby pass over to husband to wind and you go to sleep. That's his bonding experience.