4 week old DS and BF - some questions...

[virgo1979]

hi all, i am BFing my DS who is 4 weeks old, and all is going well and have some questions which i hope you can help with...

• i have given a couple of EBM feeds via bottle then DS has not latched when BFing the next time. what bottles do you use and when is a good time to start the bottle? i have a couple of family functions coming up where i wont be able to bf so would like to give EBM via bottle, and also to give me some respite and allow DH to feed DS too

• DS has lots of wet nappies but tends to do only one dirty nappy a day, is this normal?

• i am feeding on demand - when is a suitable age to get into a routine, for both feeding and bedtime?

apologies for grammar, am typing one handed! any replies appreciated.

i am happy bf-ing but would like to have a break once in a while and allow DH to feed without interrrupting the BF...

congratulations and well done! It can be tricky going at first so you deserve to feel proud!

I don't know about bottles but i'm sure someone will be along to help shortly. I was told to wait till at least four weeks before introducing bottles to avoid nipple confusion, but we haven't bothered with them at all.

Re poo, don't worry. Ebf babies can go ages without pooing at all, my hv said a week, but i have heard of longer on here. It's because bm is so super clever and efficient that it is virtually all used up, leaving hardly any left to be poo!

And i'm afraid i'm not very helpful re routine either. My ds, five months, is a bit of a freestyler. From what i've heard some babies just find their own routine early on. There's no harm introducing a bed time routine but i'd say maybe don't expect them to fall asleep at the prefered time straight away.

I believe bf is always on demand, though they do get much more efficient at feeding, so need to feed for shorter times, and are able to go longer between feeds. So don't worry, it will get easier. On demand feeding means your baby can self regulate it's intake, and your body can respond by making the correct amount of milk.

Hi Virgo, re bottles, we used Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature bottles.

Congrats on your little baby

I'll answer your questions in turn:

1. I'm bfing 19 week old DS, sometimes I give him bottles of EBM or formula. I use either Tommy Tippee Closer to Nature bottles, or Advent ones.

2. I've read on here that bf babies have fewer dirty nappies than formula fed ones as the breast milk is so individually tailored to their needs there is less 'waste' than with ff. I've also read on here that bf babies can go up to 14 days without pooing! My DS usually poos once a week.

3. In terms of a routine, it does depend. DS has only really got into a bedtime routine in the past month or so! He used to go to bed at about 10pm, but from about 4 months old has been going to be earlier. He's in bed now, has been since 8pm. Also, it took until about 4 months to get him into a routine for daytime naps; before that I just let him sleep whenever he needed it.

I don't think that bf babies have the same sort of feeding routine as ff babies do. I think feeding on demand is the best way to do it, as this will keep your supply good and strong. Just feed your baby when he's hungry. Soon you'll start to understand when he's hungry/tired/bored etc.

Good luck!

if you feel that the bottle is interfering with breastfeeding then have you considered using a syringe or a cup?
it's less likely to be the shape/feel/style of bottle than the fact that feeding from a bottle is a very different experience than feeding from the breast.
so using a different teat may make no difference to that whatsoever

is there no way you can take your baby to the functions? in a sling or something? that way you'd be able to breastfeed and not have to worry about it

one dirty nappy a day is fine!

you may well find baby falls into his own routine over time. breastfeeding on demand is important as it helps you regulate your supply. that means that if he has a growth spurt he will feed more to increase your supply. routines can interfere with this

When my 2nd child was approx 3 months I started to give two feeds close together at night, say 6pm and 8pm and he then slept until 5am ish instead of 3am ish. Other than that I just fed on demand. I wouldn't be keen on expressing before 6-8weeks as its still very early days in getting their feeding established. I had a terrible experience with expressing with my first child (long long story involving a tongue-tie and my lost sanity!) so expressing complicates feeding for me - you never know if they have enough as you can't express everything out of your breast and therefore the expressed milk can be short of some of the calorie rich hind milk; in the first couple of months when they are feeding often you have to try to express long enough after a feed to have produced milk but not too close to another feed. You can tell I've been traumatised by it!!! Whatever you decide, good luck, you're doing great so far.

personally don't get the need for dh to give the baby a bottle. in the scheme of things it is not that important really, and not worth interrupting the ease of breastfeeding for. All you're really doing is adding complication!

Just out of interest why can't you take DS to the family functions if you are bf - that seems a bit mean!

One poo a day is fine.

Routines; I just carried on demand feeding till they find their own routine. DD and DS1 got into their own routine by 5/6 months but DS2 was on three meals a day before he got into one.

p.s. break schmeak, I know it seems like forever now but you may well be finished bfing in a year or so, then you will REALLY MISS IT. enjoy it while you can, it's just a small bit of your life and that's what boobs are for (to the tune of 'that's what friends are for)

For me, I think its not worth expressing for dh to give bottle. I hated expressing as it is so time consuming and had a bad experience with ebf with my eldest. As a result I never expressed with my second. My kids daddy spent time with them from the start without feeding them and they are both v close to their daddy. Granted they primarily wanted me for the first 6 months but when they were starting to take solids they wanted daddy a bit more, possibly as he could feed them it. I bf them both for 16/17 months. Its easy to look back now and have opinions on what I should/could have done differently. All I would say is keep things simple and keep smiling.

Thanks very much for your responses ladies - i want to express and bottle feed just in cases where i need a break or want a night out etc. Am not fussed about the day routine but would like to have a regular ish sort of bedtime so i can have a rest in the evening. having said that last night gor DS asleep at 9pm, and i myself couldnt sleep AT ALL as i knew he would be up for his 1-2 am feed, so i need to sort out my sleep patterns too!

I have the Tommy Tippee bottles - i got them at the baby show so that is sorted.thanks again

Good for you. You're doing well so far and it is still such early days for most babies to have a routine. I used to beat myself up when something I tried didn't work first time as I was used to being very organised and being very independent and when I fed on demand it my DD was a very unpredictable feeder for months. My DS was quite a regular feeder and both were fed on demand. Do whatever suits you both and keeps a happy family