When is best to start expressing and trying out a bottle?

[McKayz]

DD is due in 9 weeks and I am hoping to EBF.

DH works away and we always tend to go out for a meal the night before he goes back to work. Usually my brother or best friend babysit the boys.

DH is due back at work when DD will be roughly 9 weeks old if born on due date. We'd like to go out like we usually do but it will involve expressing a feed for her.

When is the best time to start expressing and when to start trying to get dd to take a bottle or cup?

Thanks

The short answer is there is no best time. I started expressing/giving a bottle very early on (day 2/3) because I had some major issues with getting breastfeeding established.

You may be lucky and have a baby that takes a bottle easily, and find expressing milk easy. I found it a bit of a dark art but okay once I got the hang of it. We went down the confusion route - DD was offered dummies and several different teats so she never got used to one thing, and she's a very easy-going child.

Is this your first child? You may not feel up to going out when your LO is only 9 weeks. I went out for Valentine's Night when DD was 6 weeks, even though we booked an early table, we both still wolfed down our meal and got home as fast as we could as we were missing her. Maybe you could have a posh takeaway or do something special instead? Or go out for lunch and take your baby with you whilst she's still portable. Michel Roux used to put his daughter under the table when she was a baby, whilst he dined and she slept.

There's no 'magic window' as such, it is best to wait until things are well established though. There is some information here and here about pumping and bottlefeeding a BF baby.

9 weeks is very titchy, how would you feel about putting your baby in a sling and taking him/her with you to dinner? At 9 weeks they are still so portable and he/she will probably just sleep the whole time.

Not my first, I already have 2 boys.

I don't mind taking the baby in the sling but I would like just an hour or 2 just us before DH goes away again for 8 weeks.

I would so it around 3 or 4 weeks. Not so early it might interfere with breastfeeding and hopefully not so late your baby might refuse. I have a friend who was advised to wait till 6 weeks but then it was too late and her dd has never accepted a bottle. Good luck.

There's no evidence that there is an age that you need to introduce bottles by, otherwise it will be too late- all babies are different; some of them don't like bottles no matter when you introduce them, others are more flexible. Introducing bottles too early can cause problems with BF- not every time but it can happen.

I think I might just see how it goes. I've got to get breastfeeding started first I guess.

I read somewhere that it is worth waiting until you feel breastfeeding is well established before offering a bottle - I guess this can vary according the baby. My DS is 7 weeks today. He was ill at around 3 weeks and wasn't feeding well. I expressed at that time to keep up my supply and froze it. Decided to try out giving him a bottle this week - my mum gave him the bottle, and though he seemed initially suspicious of it, once he figured out what was in it he glugged it down!! So perhaps you could get someone to try giving her a bottle around 8 weeks, to see if she will take it, and then you'll feel more confident when going out for your meal, knowing she is happy to take a bottle.