how do I bottle feed at 5 weeks without interuppting bf?

[boobandbottle]

am currently overdue but hope that when mini finally makes an appearance that I'll be able to BF
However, in only 5 weeks I will be at a friends wedding all day, and for various reasons really need to be able to bottle feed for the day - how do I express enough milk for the day without either exploding or drying up and ruining supply for the next few days? when i mentioned it to the nct woman she said expressing & bottling before 6 weeks was a bad idea which given many babies are ff i thought was a little odd...
I will then need to do the same again 1 month later as I have 1 days paid work when the baby wont be with me
I know it seems silly to worry about this before i even have the baby but its stressing me out
thanks

The real worry with bottle feeding for a whole day if BF, is that they develop a bottle preference and you have a full on nursing strike when you get back (or fussy behaviour)

Saying that, DD had expressed BM all through the night at 3 weeks and we were fine (although also had the above)

I found it really depended on who was doing the feeding, DH or a experienced FF feeder like my mum. There are some links here and here with techniques and tips for bottle feeding BF babies.

I'd say if it had to be done, then it can be, just be aware of potential consequences. At that age, there more likely to prefer the bottle if they used to the immediacy of it rather than nipple confusion.

Also be aware that you may completely change your mind about leaving baby for a whole day once it's here and in the first 6 weeks you're still coming to grips with BF and may not feel you've cracked it just yet. It takes a few weeks for baby to remember how to latch on for a feed.

If you go and leave baby, you will def. need to express. However you won't need to worry about supply if you are otherwise fine. Express enough to get comfortable (at least 3 times in the day prob) and trust that LO will sort out supply when you get back. They survive growth spurts they'll survive a one day dip in supply.

When you go to work, can someone not bring the baby into you, at least for one or two feeds?

It is hard and I had to work 1/2days a week after the first month so understand that there are times it has to be done.

If it is important that they take a bottle many of find that introducing one feed of around 3oz once/every other day around 3-4 weeks good. Since I returned to work full time at 4 months this is what we did.

Also finally, don't compare volume of feeds to FF babies as they are completely different. BF babies work up to ~25oz a day at around 6 weeks and then stay there (as milk changes over time). I remember getting very alarmed looking at how much FF babies took. Look on the pumping moms sections of kellymom for more advice on that and milk storage.

That was a bit of an essay but hope it helps (and ignore typos of missing words as I never preview)

Sorry - this is so not a great idea. It's not impossible but it is not easy or comfortable and if you can think of ways round it, you should :)

To express sufficient milk for a whole day for a five week old will mean a good deal of expressing in the week or so leading up to the day - and you will have plenty of other stuff to do with a four to five week old.

During the day itself you will need to express several times a day in order to remain remotely comfortable and to avoid pain and possibly mastitis.

You will need to have a means of keeping the milk cool and fresh, and the bottles and teats clean ( I am assuming the baby is with you away from home). Some people would suggest you warm the bottles up, but this is probably unnecessary and would in any case add a lot to the hassle.

The days after this, you are likely to have something of an over-supply as you have ordered in extra milk :) This is probably copable with, though, as the supply will damp down in time.

During the day, your baby may be fine with a bottle, but there is no guarentee of this.

So it's not an easy option, all this.

is there no way you can just have the baby with you, and breastfeed? It's gonna be a whole lot easier!

The NCT woman probably meant that bottlefeeding isn't a good idea before 6 weeks if you want to breastfeed, rather than bottlefeeding before 6 weeks being a bad idea full stop :) Your supply may not be established at 6 weeks, you might still be getting the hang of breastfeeding and working on the latch etc, and a day of bottles may disrupt that.

I'll be honest, it sounds like a bit of a nightmare to me, though I'm sure it is possible. I'm not sure I'd have found time to express enough milk beforehand (I find expressing really difficult anyway), my ds was feeding at least every couple of hours and if he napped for three hours I was uncomfortably full, and I leaked everywhere at the best of times

If you're taking the baby to the wedding, far far easier to just bf. And if not, I would be concerned that 5 weeks is pretty early for a baby and Mum to be seperated for the whole day, no matter how you feed.

If you're going to be without your baby anytime in the first few months, I would plan on needing to express every 3 hours at least.

Thanks for all your quick replies & suggestions / problem highlighting, its really helpful to get a honest picture so I can prepare myself for a few eventualities!
The wedding is a tricky one as I'm actually doing photos, rather than just being a straight guest, however I will be able to take the baby with me, and will get ask another friend to assist with pictures so I can continue to BF (hopefully!)
The work a few days later concerns me less as I think my DH will be able to being baby for at least 1 feed, I should be able to pop home for 1 and hopefully bottle for 2... but that will be at 10 weeks so I will have a better idea by then of whats going to be practical or not!

Honestly, you would be mad not to just breastfeed at the wedding in those circumstances!

tiktok can you tell I'm a first timer with time on my hands waiting for a bay??!!

baby
good grief my hand eye coordination is shocking!!

Pop your baby in to a sling so you're hands free to take the photos.

You can even feed the baby in the sling if you can get the hang of it.

Have a great time at the wedding.

thats a great idea thanks crikeybadger! I picked one up at nct sale last week as I heard they were useful when out and about to be hands free!

Def just have the baby there.

If needs me someone else can have her in the sling.

The time involved in preparing, the discomfort to you and potential risks are just not worth it here.

Just remember to have a outfit you can BF easily from :)

I very much doubt you would be able to express enough for a whole day - I can express 5oz a day (which is enough for one feed and that's it) - so for a whole day out I'd be expressing days in advance to have enough in the freezer. And with a tiny baby (5 weeks is still very tiny) you will have too many other things to think about...definitely just feed the baby from the boob on the day, it will be much easier!