am i being silly?

[ceebs05]

I'm breastfeeding my 10 week old dd, which has been tough at times but I feel we've just about got the hang of it now. She is fed on demand and sometimes wants fed very frequently, particularly in the evenings (on and off the breast every half hour or so from bathtime at 6/7pm, fussing in between, till she eventually settles at 10/11pm)

This can be quite draining and dh keeps suggesting i express so he can take some of the pressure off me by feeding her and letting me get some rest. Sometimes i think this is a great idea but I feel reluctant to do this, partly because I think i quite like that I am the only one that can feed her. Is this really selfish? I know expressing and getting her to take a bottle would mean we could go out for dinner and leave dd with her grandparents, but there is something holding me back from taking this step, which seems daft.

Have others felt like this - should i just take the plunge and give it a go?

[rubyslippers]

Well, it sounds like she is cluster feeding which is usual breatsfeeding behaviour and will pass

If YOU want to express them go for it

There are plenty of other ways people can give you a break

Your DD is only 10 weeks old - you may feel differently in time but don't push it if you don't

My DD never took a bottle but from around 16 weeks I could feed her and know I had a 3 hour window to go out before she needed another feed

[rubyslippers]

TBH, with the cluster feeding it is IMO easier for you to feed her

My DD used to cluster feed - DH was a trouper. he would cook etc, we would put DD in a bouncy chair and rock her with his feet so I could eat

Not the easiest time but it did pass

[SJisontheway]

I'd give it a go, purely because the longer you leave it, the more likely it is the baby will reject the bottle - then you'll have no time off till they're on a cup. happened to my first, has happened to loads of my friends. To be honest I think it's the norm for breastfed babies. For DC2 + 3 I expressed a couple of times a week at least from about that age on. I know some people are happy to not be apart from the baby for months on end - and if that's the case, ignore my advice. Expressing and sterilising is a PITA if you don't need to

[SJisontheway]

Oh - and agree with rubyslippers about the cluster feeding - bottles are normally given during the day here. DS prefers to graze off me in the evening...

[Guacamohohohole]

While she is cluster feeding just breastfeed her but definitely give expressing a go. It is a good idea IMO to get her familiar with a bottle also. My DS is 8 months and refuses bottles which means I can't really leave him and go out for very long and I'm quite keen to give up breastfeeding soon and he won't let me.

[EauRudolph]

It is not daft to want to do it yourself, it's perfectly reasonable :) and you sound like you're doing really well.

I agree that there are other ways your DH can help, like cooking dinner (especially things that can be eaten one-handed!) and bringing you drinks. If you're not sure about expressing at the moment then there's nothing wrong with leaving it a week or two to see how you feel then. It's likely that your DD will settle a bit and stop feeding so frequently so you may not need to bother.

[mousesma]

If you don't want to express then you certainly don't have to and it would not be "silly" for you to carry on as you are.

However that being said I did find it really useful to be able to express and let DH give the odd bottle to break up the cluster feeding evenings and give me a break.