Bottle Feeding Breast Milk

[CheshireDing]

DD is 4 weeks old and has been demand bf from the offset. HV said we need to start expressing milk in to bottles for DH to feed her between 4-6 weeks, plus we do want him to be able to feed her so I can actually go and do things without coming home to a baby kicking off.

We have the bottles, steriliser, pump etc now and I tried to use it last night but as the bf had been no problem from the offset it feels like the expressing is a PITA. I spent 10-15 minutes with the pump on max and only got 1-2 drops from one breast and 1 drop from the other breast! There is no information as to whether I am supposed to use the breast DD has just left or the opposite one.

I don't understand, I feel really stressed by it but how the hell am I ever going to make enough for her to feed from, I hate it already :(

You don't need to express or for anyone else to feed your baby within a strict time table

If you do, the best time to express is either during a feed which can take some practice or after the first feed if the day

What pump do you have? I never got on with electric pumps and found the manual ones much easier

Also, being nice and relaxed helps with let down - sitting in your baby's room can help. Personally I could express gallons at night!

FWIW my DD would never take a bottle so after a few months when she went longer between feeds I could go out and about easily

I would leave expressing for a little while and maybe try again in a few days?

Sorry you feel stressed about it

how odd for HV to want you to bottle feed between 4 - 6 weeks

Is there a reason? otherwise, take no notice

You do realise that you don't need to see the HV, weighing and measuring not compulsory

Firstly you don't need to start expressing if you don't want to, your DH doesn't have to do feeds. However it sounds like you want to, so now is a good time to start.

As someone who went back to work while my babies were still small, I did a lot of expressing. It sounds daft, but your ability to express in my experience is all in the mind. You have to be able to get a let down without your baby, which it sounds like you didn't manage- many people struggle.

A lot of people have most success in the morning. When I first started expressing I had most success expressing whilst feeding from the other side as you have the baby there to trigger the let down. It does require lots of cushions etc especially if you have a manual pump, and isn't very dignified!

If you are expressing as well as feeding (rather than expressing to replace a feed as you're away from your baby, which is a different kettle of fish) it is normal to only express little bits here and there and build up to a few ounces over the day. Just put the pump in the fridge in between sessions.

Ruby I have the Spectra as I read on Mumsnet it was a good one. I might try on Monday morning in that case when she is feeding and DH is at work so we are both still not dressed and not on a timeframe

5318 I personally was not bothered about seeing the HV, she has just been to our house after mw discharged us and that's when she said about the bottle so I could go and do stuff. To be fair RWC it would be helpful as there are a couple of things I would just like to be able to do - walk the dog on my own some mornings/clean my chickens out etc.

The HV seemed to say it was something to do with their sucking-ness which was best to try and use a bottle now and again at 4-6 weeks.

I think the only other time I see HV is in another 2 weeks when she says they do a PND questionnaire, other than that I was hoping I would not need to see her again after that because I couldn't really see any reason to. I had already said to DH that we can see DD is happy and feeding and heavier. I have read that some people do and get their baby weighed every week but I really couldn't be bothered with that, it sounded unnecessary (or maybe I am just being too casual a Mummy!).

Would the let-down be when DD is feeding and my other boob is leaking? This does happen sometimes. I thought I could not take the bit I have filled back out of the fridge though throughout the day to add to it as the temperature would change?

Thanks for your responses :)

my baby is 7 weeks

when i first used my medala swing to express i got just a bit from each breast too (< half an oz), however it wasnt long before i was getting 1-3oz per breast.

my baby has had a bottle of breast milk as her 6pm ish feed every night for 2 weeks now and she takes it fine, and it gives daddy a chance to feed her when he gets on from work.

I express 1st thing in the morning, either at the same time that she feeds from the other breast or immediatly after from the other breast. (i only feed and express at the same time if OH is right there to have spare hands and crucial moments)

I then express from the breast she is due to be fed on at 6 / 7pm ish, when ir soon after she has her bottle

and again at about 10pm from both breasts

thsi gives me about 8oz per day

I agree with RunWorkCook - You don't have to express if you don't want to. Some HVs tell you to do that, mine said to do what I feel is best for both of us.

I have been expressing since day 4, mainly due to excess milk (boobs were like boulders and DS simply couldn't get through 1 side). DS doesn't seem to mind the bottle (and you also get to see how much they are taking in, if only boobs had a gague on them)

I also use the expressed milk when my boobs get too sore to nurse properly or when the grandparents babysit (and DH gets to wake up and do a night feed every now and again!).

It does take a bit of practice, and yes you do need to be relaxed to express. Have you tried massaging the breast whilst pumping? I have found this helpful to give the milk ducts a hand a draining. I also tend to express the one which feels the fullest.

Hope you are feeling a little better, it really does get easier!

I wouldn't bother TBH. Most breastfeeding experts will tell you that, unless you need to, it's best not to introduce bottles and/or expressing before 6-8 weeks because your supply is just getting established and anything which interferes with the supply and demand process has the potential to upset that.

How long would it take to clean the chickens or walk the dog? If it's less than 2 hours you should be able to leave baby with DH soon enough. Feeds will stretch out longer than this in time - all babies vary on the rate they manage it though. You could also take the baby on the dog walk if you get a decent sling (but understand if you wanted to do it totally alone!)

No you don't have to see the HV if you don't want to :) (Also, probably shouldn't say this but I advise telling her what she wants to hear about the expressing)

That's what I thought too Bertie but HV seemed to have this thing of 4-6 weeks otherwise you miss the opportunity, of some dog poo reason anyway.

For the chickens and dog it's probably about 1 hour each, it's just because I am demand feeding "usual" DD has a morning nap but yesterday and today she didn't and then it doesn't give me long enough to go out and cannot be guaranteed. The other thing I was thinking was that then I could go out one evening with female friends and wine (a small glass anyway), otherwise how do people manage to bf until 6 months, and beyond, if they do not express?

I do feel stupid that this is stressing me out and bf didn't at all, feel a bit pathetic about it :(

< off to practice boob massage >

I think introducing a bottle now reduces the chance of bottle refusal.

Do bear in mind that if you don't want to faff about with this your DD will naturally start to fall into a bit of a routine soon giving you some predictability around feeds.

On the fridge thing I never had a problem with adding to stuff from earlier in the day, I would suggest checking the Kellymom website for all the information you could ever want around milk storage.

I think the key is to relax, there's no rush so if it takes a couple of weeks to get the hang of it so be it. It really isn't worth getting worked up about.

HV is talking rubbish. There's no magical window.

I think she ought to be fine to be left for an hour. If you feed her and then go out straight away, then just leave DH to cope, TBH. He'll have to get creative! She's unlikely to be hungry when you've just fed her, and it would be great if he came across a way to settle her himself.

I think I went out when DS was about 8 or 9 weeks old and I just started expressing a week or so before we were due to go out. I can't remember how long we went out for - maybe 4 hours or so? And again fed just before I went out. I just did the expressing at a time when DS had been sleeping longer than usual so I felt "fuller" and I don't know why but I just didn't really stress about it. It can take a few days to build up a few ounces at first. Remember also she's so tiny at the moment and it's a long time to 6 months - so much will change in that time. You WILL get a night out even if you can't get into expressing just yet. Probably if you are stressing about being able to do it that won't help either, because stress can inhibit letdown, and letdown is harder to induce yourself anyway.

So - pick a time when you are relaxed, and not on a timetable of getting milk for X event which is in a short time (also please stop worrying about this "window" because it's bollocks), pick a time when it's been a while since DD's last feed, perhaps when she's due a feed (especially if she's asleep). Look at her or think about her sleeping, her tiny little curled up fingers, the way she breathes, her downy fuzzy hair, the little smiles she does in her sleep (leaking yet? ) perhaps look at pictures of her, especially when she was first born. Then see what happens. It doesn't matter if you get milk or not this time, you're just experimenting. After a few times of this you will get something. If you get some of the breastmilk bags, then you can freeze what you produce (so it will last for months) and then when defrosted combine it into one bottle so you have enough to go out.

Another option in the short term could be to have a night in with the girls?

You can drink while breastfeeding BTW. Only a very small amount goes into the milk. Just be careful if you're co-sleeping, and don't get so drunk that you're in danger of falling asleep during night feeds. Basically if you're sober enough to hold the baby you're sober enough to feed!

Nothing seems to reduce the chances of bottle refusal IME. It's just a phase some babies go through at 3-4 months (lasting indefinitely!) whether they've had a regular bottle, an occasional bottle, or never had a bottle.

Not a good idea to keep adding to the same bottle - use the bags and combine when you feed. Probably would be okay to add to one bottle over the course of a day though. (Then transfer to milk bag to store)

You have had good advise here and re adding to a bottle it's ok to mix milk from different times expressing but it must be at the same temperature when mixed eg don't add fresh warm milk to a bottle from the fridge instead cool the fresh milk in the fridge then mix it.

I tried expressing at 1 month but it messed with my supply so I stopped and started again recently at 4 months and is a lot better.

Thanks everyone I did as suggested and got comfy and relaxed yesterday morning and I did actually get something this time. Granted I did it for about 10 minutes *(not sure how long you should do it for) and it was only ml in the bottle but it's a step in the right direction :)

Well done- now you've had some luck I expect you will keep getting a bit more each time.