Breast Feeding/Bottle Feeding and Dummies - mum to be questions...

[helsybells]

Baby is due in 6 weeks time and have been thinking about feeding and how best to manage it etc. Husband is very keen to help out as much as possible and I think it's a great idea for him to be able to do a night feed of expressed milk if we can work it in.

I know that you can't tell how your baby will be and what problems you might have with breast feeding etc, but I like to have a plan in place even though I know it often never works out like that - it helps me to sleep at night!! ;)

So I'm wondering, how soon can you feasibly expect to introduce a bottle feed or two of expressed milk to baby and is it useful or feasible to use a dummy early on to get them used to not being soley on the breast? I do seem to think that the sooner you can get a little one used to something the easier it will be to carry on like that but wondering if it's an absolute no-no to be mixing breast and bottle for first week/few weeks etc etc.

Thanks for reading!

hi.
congratulations- hope all goes well.
okay, really difficult to answer, as you say you never know how things will pan out. however (i am massively pro bf so this is only going to go one way lol ;-)) personally i would aim to bf on demand from the start and then take it from there. i think planning to introduce bottles at an early stage (even of expressed milk) to replace breastfeeds CAN (not always) be the beginning of the end re bf. just see how you go, if you want to breastfeed then aim to do it 100% from the start. i think general advice is you can introduce a bottle from 6-8 weeks and avoid nipple confusion, its so important to build up your supply in the beginning and take baby's lead. also, baby can use you as a dummy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

xx

We do an expressed bottle & have done from about 13 weeks. Planned on doing it earlier but had lots of problems BFing so didn't work out that way. I think 6-8 weeks is about right supply wise as it takes a while to settle down. I had to express for mastitis around 2-4 weeks & my supply went bonkers...was a nightmare.

DS has never needed a dummy & isn't keen on sucking for the sake if it. Think it just depends in what kind if baby you get. Good luck with it all!

Just to add...getting them used to the breast can take much more effort than you think, so may be concentrate on mailing that first, then see how you get on

I am both bottle and breast feeding and have been since my daughter was around 1/2 weeks, can't remember exactly, and she's 5 weeks now. I have had some issues with supply. I normally have about 1-2oz of milk and my daughter tends to drink 3-4oz so I end up topping up with formula. To be fair though I haven't done everything I can, like pumping every 2/3 hours, taking supplements, etc. I've also had problems with her being grumpy at the breast, but I honestly think it's a supply issue, she'll happily suck for 5/10 minutes and then get frustrated when the flow slows down. Some babies have problems with nipple/teat confusion, I haven't seen any signs of this in my baby, she easily moves from breast and bottle. She does use a dummy, we found out very early she loves to suck, but we try to use it only when she is having a hard time falling asleep or is upset because it's taking too long to make her food. It isn't always practical to just pop your breast out for a bit of comfort sucking and she doesn't like sucking on my finger, but she loves to suck on her dad's knuckle (lol). I wasn't planning on bottle feeding or using a dummy, but when your baby is born you'll do anything to make him/her happy. Good luck!

Also, if your husband can't do night feeds due to working, you will want to breastfeed at night. Being able to just pick baby up and latch on is vastly preferable to night-time bottle faff.

Not sure what the ideal situation would be though: I'm desperate for an evening out but can't leave DS as he won't take a bottle. Lots of Hotel Chocolat to compensate!

What my DH does is be completely responsible for changing/cleaning when in the house. I didn't change a single nappy til DH went back to work, and at 3 months have only bathed DS 3 times (all when DH wasn't about).

And in the evenings, if LO needs settling and I need a break, DH will hold/take him for a walk whilst I have a bath. And in the first 3 weeks (whilst sitting up was still tricky) DH was the one who got up to get DS whilst I adjusted my pillows.

So your husband can be involved without a nighttime bottle.

I went to a breast feeding class last week. As my baby has not been born yet, I can't really comment on reality, but the breast feeding teacher said not to express milk for other people to give until 6 weeks.

Does this sounds about right?

Yes that sound about right. I second what mrshoarder_said. There are plenty of other ways your partner can be involved, actually once BFing is established, it's one of the nicer jobs

Thanks so much for the advice all - sorry not to reply sooner, a busy few days. That's given me some more idea of what to expect so thanks v much!! :)

I'd say keep things simple. Just bf for a few months, expressing is a huge faff and can cause supply problems. It's fine to do it later and people often say wait 6 weeks, but I'd wait much longer- a few months, until bf is really well established and easy for both of you. It does take patience and practice and you must ask your dp to do everything else in the first few months as much as he is able. Also go to bf groups for support and company especially if you don't know any other bf mums. There are still taboos around bf in our culture sadly and it's nice to have other mums around with their boobs out from time to time to make you feel normal