expressing for dummies...help?

[timewastingaway]

DS is 2 weeks old and EBF.I would like to introduce a bottle at some point purely because i need to know he will take one if i ever need to leave him in an emergency, especially as i have 2 other DC's.This is my first BF baby so i am clueless..

When is best to introduce one? (the last thing i want to do is jepordise our BF'ing relationship as it is going so well and i love it but i don't want to miss "the window" as it were)

How often do you need to give one to know they will continue to take it?

When do you express? Is there a particular brand of bottle that is more "natural" than another or does it not matter really?

What do you do when that feed is given by a bottle? surely you become engorged?

Any info would be greatly appreciated

I could sit hear and try to answer all your qestions or a better option just read this website www.kellymom.com/bf/pumping/index.html give far more information then I could type hear.

I would say that wait untill aroung 4weeks before intorducing a bottle. Giving a bottle early doens't alwya mean baby woun't at some point refusse to take one anyway. But usealy by the time they do that they are old enough to have cups instead to don't panic.

Oh and well done and congratulations on your new baby.

My DD only likes the NUK latex teats. A friends bf baby only likes breastflow. But yours might be less tricky and will use common supermarket brands.

i block feed off one breast from 3am to leave to 'good' boob to get full, express with an electrical avent pump, while feeding off the other boob and i can get 4-5 ounces (a feed and a bit over) in 5-10 minutes

i'd leave it a bit longer than four weeks but not too long (not as late as my first at four months and she'd never take one as a result)

i use avnt bottles but if i was rebuying, i've heard the tommee tipee closer to nature ones are good.

there are also american ones that are all silicone ( the whole bottle is basically a boob

good luck and congrats

oh, i can feed a few feeds of ebm and not get engorged but my supply is settled

otch mine took one till 4mo, and then refused till 8mo (peer influence at nursery). I think at 3-4mo they started become aware. And that's when you find the stubborn ones starting to refuse. Mines very very stubborn and doesnt like anything not done her way.

If you are only going to give a bottle in an emergency then I really wouldn't bother with the faff of expressing, trying out lots of different bottles and giving a bottle every day/week/whatever on the off chance you will need it.

If you want to give a bottle so you can go out without baby (and will be going out fairly regularly) then it would be worth acquiring the skill of pumping & for baby to take a bottle.

Why make work for yourself (and potentially spend a lot of money on different pumps/bottles) if you don't need to?

DD3 was ebf until she was over 6m (I went out once without her to a friend of DD1's birthday party and left her with DH and a bottle - she preferred to wait until I got back) and yet took a bottle fine when I had pancreatitis and was in A&E when she was 6m. I wasn't able to feed her as I was in too much pain to stay still long enough to latch her on so the very nice A&E nurse raided Paeds. A&E for a bottle and DD3 had it with me right there no problems.

She took bottles for the week I was in hospital (came in twice a day to bfeed) but preferred DH over my mum or MIL to give her a bottle. She went back to bfing fine even after a 2nd week on bottles when she was 9m when I had my gall bladder out.