Breast Feeding

[The Tiggster]

I am in the throws of reading up on what to do when baby comes as far as feeding is concerned. I am all for breast feeding, but was considering buying a breast pump & bottles to be used in conjunction with breast once breast feeding is established. My husband is keen to help out with feeds which is one of the reasons I am considering the dual method.

I am reading conflicting reports that it is ok to do both & others that the bottle/breast combo puts baby off breast feeding which I would want to avoid.

Can anyone advise me of their own experiences??

Thanks.

[spangle111]

I breast fed and used expressed milk too - mr spangle used to sit one side with the breast pump while my daughter fed on the other side!!  There are loads of benefits of doing both - Daddy and Baby now have a really strong bond because he used to take a turn in feeding her, its more convenient if you are going out for the day because you don't have to find anywhere with a bit of privacy. You can also freeze breast milk in ice cube trays and take out just the amount you need.

Baby is now a tall skinny 6 year old and she still has that bond with her dad!

Whatever you decide Tiggster enjoy the experience and good luck for a swift and easy birth lol xx

[spangle111]

Sorry to keep waffling on Tiggster but just thought of something esle - I never gave her a warm bottle then I never had to worry about finding somewhere to warm the milk when we were out. This was on the advice of the midwife - the baby doesn't know whether it should be hot or cold so don't bother warming it up x

[curiosity]

It didn't put my child off the breast, but then because I found expressing so time consuming, bottles were not a regular thing, did come in handy for babysitting though, I would recommend personally, introducing a bottle earlier rather than later, as with my 3rd I only tried a bottle when I was ready to go back to work, and she refused it for ages. Took it just in the nick of time, and with lots of perseverence. I would definately buy a pump, and give it a go. If you do buy a pump I recommend the Avent Icis it was absolutely fantastic compared to my earlier Boots time consuming and frustrating one. Good Luck

[dmsjps]

The 'it will put baby off your boobs' is a scare tactic by the 'natural feeding' mongers, so don't ever believe it. This is becoming so pathetic; how could your baby prefer a plastic teat to your boobs? The problems may occur when they're used to feeding from you and then get put onto the bottle, if they're not used to it. Therefore, a bit of expresso now and then, so that it's not alien to them, can only be a good thing. Yes, breast feeding is best, but when I had my first, my boobs were so swollen and engorged that I was in constant pain. As soon as I got out of the hospital I started using my breast pump and it helped me - and my baby - so much. I also agree with spangle regarding the dad/baby bond thing: it's just as important for them to bond as well as you.

 

Tiggster, just do whatever you feel is right for you at the time. When you've just had your first baby, you feel like a novice because of everyone chucking advice and 'should-do's' at you, but if you follow your instincts you'll find that it's all natural and nobody knows your baby - or your husband - better than you do.

 

All the very best to you. How close is it now?

[boobesque]

my mum did breast and bottle with all 3 of us, and we all caried on with breast until full solid food was established.

my little boy also had both but he was a prem and could only feed once a day by breast, but i would do both with my next baby to get the close bond with the dad, he wants to be hands on, let him do the night feeds!!!

[The Tiggster]

Thank you all for your advice & honesty. I am now greatly encouraged to try to feed both ways so my husband can help, bond with baby and not feel too left out. I am very conscious that he is not feeling the baby in the way I do. He is happy chatting to my bump, but he is desperate to help out more when baby arrives in November. Helping to feed baby would benefit us all and now my worries about baby not feeding from me if bottles are introduced have been lessened thanks to you all.  

I had looked at the new Whittlestone pump here - any feedback?

[boobesque]

that looks a bit like the avent isis pump that i used, i found it very comfortable and easy to use and clean.

your husband sounds sweet! my bf is going to talk to my belly when we conceive!!

[OBonio]

My wife is breast feeding at the moment. We were hoping to start expressing so I can help after 2 weeks but have now been told 5-6 weeks is the ideal. The problem with bottle feeding is that it's a different sort of sucking technique the baby uses than on the breast .. if she develops the bottle technique too well, she may have problems on the breast.

[OBonio]

Just spoken to my wife and there's another good reason to purely breast feed from the off for a while. Your body needs to get used to the feeding habits of the baby so it produces enough 'milk' and produces it in time for next feed. That's to say, your body gets used to the demands of your baby. If expressed too early, the body may not produce enough for the little one.

[nfn]

Hi Tiggs, His Little Lordship ABSOLUTELY wouldn't go onto my breast, no matter how hungry he was. Whilst still in hospital a midwife suggested expressing to bottle feed which I did and everything was fine. I expressed until my milk stopped (about 4 months) and then he went onto formula. I was upset at first as I thought it was his way of rejecting me but soon realised as long as he got my milk I really didn't care how he got it.

My friend's 10 week old has taken both breast and bottle since about 3 weeks, so she could sleep at night, and he is doing really well. He was a bit unsure for the first feed but after that didn't care as long as he was getting his grub!

[Hellion]

There are lots of things books and magazines tell you about breastfeeding here is one they don't tell you and it's the one that I think actually puts people off breastfeeding. I used to 'teach' a breastfeeding workshop and many of the Mums later expressed gratitude for this piece of advice! 'Breastfeeding is not painless, for the first few days it is absolutely toecurling agony every time the baby latchs on, BUT stick with it for 10 days and I promise you it will be fine and painless and wonderful!' I used the avent isis pump which was the best (I tried a few different ones including expensive electric that where no where near as good) I had to go back to work when my baby was 4 months old as my husband was made redundant but I expressed and my husband fed him from the bottle. My son would never take the bottle from me but always would for anyone else. A couple of tips you may find useful; if you find it takes time to express a bottle, only feed from one breast  during the night allowing the other breast to 'fill' you will then be able to express a bottle very quickly in the morning. I bought the smallest size avent feed bottles and put them straight in the freezer, it made it easier to 'grab a bottle and go'.Finally, everyone I know who has breast fed found that around about the 8 month mark the weight started falling off them so if you've gained a few pounds it's a good incentive to keep feeding for at least 8 months!

[Solarjunkie]

Got to agree with Hellion - but sadly dmsjps is wrong, bottles do not take as much work from the baby so are often preferrred.

My personal experience is that I tried my son with a bottle at six weeks,and from that moment on he rejected the breast, despite trying to feed him while asleep and all the other tricks in the book. I was later told that most babies have a growing spurt at six weeks, and it is the time to feed more often for a few days to get more milk in.

My second son never had a bottle in his life, not even for water (he had it from a teaspoon).I breastfed him for over a year and loved every minute of it (well,apart from the first few days to be honest!) and lost all the weight I put on in pregnancy and more.

My husband had a lot to do with the babies, cuddling, burping, etc and giving the first solid food, which is only a matter of weeks away anyway. We often laid on the bed in a sandwich, the feeding baby between us, so actually giving a bottle is not the only way dad can be involved.

Apart from all the health benefts, the less smelly nappies, weight loss, cheaper, etc etc, the bottom line is it is much easier on mum to feed than have all that palaver with bottles - lunch is just under your jumper!

 

[Lolliemma]

Hiya Tiggster,

I feed my 12 week old daughter with breast and bottle she is ok with both, But i meet up with other mums that were in my parentcraft lessons and some of them have had problems with there babies not latching on to the breast after having a bottle for a few different reasons,

1 a nipple is a different shape and firmness to a teat and no matter what ANY company says they cant copy a nipple!!

2 milk comes out of a teat much faster then a nipple a baby has to work harder for the milk from u ( using more muscles in her mouth to suck from u then a teat) and so if your baby becomes impatient she might not want to work for it and so refuses to breast feed

3 she might just like the taste of the formula milk better (if your gonna use formula that is)

I am lucky in that my baby doesnt have these problems but believe me they do occur

[nicki mellor]

I have a 16 month old boy whom I breast fed for 7 months,I started to express off after 3 weeks althought the most i could express was 4 oz I had no problem with him taking a bottle and the breast.Once the breast feeding is established and they get the hang of latching on the only difference is that the sucking action.Breastfed babies use the tongue to extract the milk which is different from a bottle fed baby but once breastfeeding is established they will feed quite happily from a bottle in my experience

[emilie05]

i am currently breastfeeding my 10 week old daughter and have done since birth, i personally found the pump a pain so gave up after a few attempts ...i do give my daughter a bottle in the evenings just to fill her up and get her to sleep through the night...it does not appear to have any adverse affect although some babies find it hard to adjust to the differing reflexes required for breast/ bottle feeding...i was also told not to give dummies as this confuses them!

its so conveniant in the evenings, its always there and at the right temperature and its best for baby.....give it a go at least then you can say you have tried

i am glad i tried breastfeeding and 10 weeks later im still doing it, the first 3 weeks are the hardest(soreness) if you can get past that and establish a good breastfeeding routine you will be fine. invest in some breast shell and silicone shields..they are a god send

good luck!

oh and incase nobody else tells you breastfed babies dirty nappies are.....hmmmm....very loose so be warned! yuk lol

[Otrere]

Hiya Tiggster

When in November are you due? Just asking cause my little girl is 3 in November.

Anyway my own personal experience - I breastfed my daughter right up till she was about 5 months old and would have liked to have carried on for longer but it was she that started refusing the breast. So I'm not sure it is a "scare tactic" used by natural feeders as I really would have liked to have continued b/f but it just wasn't to be, as she did actually start refusing the breast.

I was expressing milk (with the Avent Isis) but I found it really hard work and didn't get on with it at all - it took me weeks to get the hang of it! (probably cause I kept giving up trying to use it for days at a time!). I think she started to get used to the bottle also (we had to mix feed as I went back to work part time evenings/weekends) so hubby had to give her bottles.

Having said that, we're currently planning for No.2 and I will still go back to breastfeeding and try to go on for as long as I can and will still try to get on better with the breast pump with my second. All babies are different and its not to say that my second one won't b/feed till they're 12 months or more or that yours won't either!!

It's certainly the best thing for your baby - even if you only manage to do it for a day or two - the colostrum that you produce at the start of breastfeeding really is the bees knees for your baby. It also helps your womb to return to normal size after the birth much quicker - its the strangest feeling as you can actually feel it contracting whilst you're breastfeeding!

Cont/d...

[Otrere]

(2)

What you must bear in mind is that sometimes breastfeeding just doesn't work for some mums/babies and so if it doesn't (tho I really hope for you that it does) please don't beat yourself up about it. Try to remember that all mums and babies are different and so long as your baby is healthy and happy and is loved, that is what matters more than anything.

All the best and very good luck with the birth (btw, its not as bad as you think (some peope paint some right horror stories don't they?!) and you'll forget all about the pain once you're holding that beautiful little person in your arms).

Am really excited for you now (am so broody myself its unbelievable!). Being a mum really is the best thing in the world.

xxx

[Otrere]

PS - and breastfeeding for me, WAS painless - sorry Hellion!

[The Tiggster]

I am very greatful for everyone who has taken the time to give me some very comprehensive advice & experiences. It has given me some good background & thought as to what I will do. 

I am 100% going to attempt to breastfeed for as long as I can. I will not beat myself up if it doesn't work, but if it does I think I am going to try expressing my milk after feeding is well established and work with the 2 methods.

For those who asked - I am due the last week in November - 15 weeks to go. Very excited as I have ordered my pram, nursery furniture etc!  

Thanks Tiggs x

[jh004j7891]

I am currently breastfeeding my third child and have only one peice of advice TRY IT!! Bottles of breast milk are fantastic for those days you just need to have a break. The only thing not to do is give them formula milk sometimes this can upset their tummy's(especially when their used to the good stuff) good luck ang give it a try.