Struggling to give 12wo bottle

[The3Bears]

I have arranged a night out with my friends on Saturday, it will be the first time I leave ds2 who is 12 weeks i've been trying to introduce a bottle but im really struggling any tips?

Also I am planning to stop drinking alcohol at about 12 am how soon after that will I be able to bf again?

Have a search through some old threads on here - there have been lots of them!! My quick tips:

Try milk warmer than normal (obv not hot, but my dd liked it a lot warmer than the 'norm')

Different position to feeding/nursing

Mirror the position/bottle to feeding/nursing (wrap bottle up in a piece of clothing you have worn)

Different person and you disappear (at least 20 foot away!)

Try a cup (lid of a bottle) or a doidy cup (funny shaped cup)

Spoon feed the milk to DS.

Feed ds before you go out at 9pm and hope for the best? If he is hungry, he may take a bottle / spoon fed / cup of milk, even just to quench his thirst until you return (my dd would do this, be v stubborn about the bottle, take a minute amount, settle and stay away until I returned!)

As for drinking, if you can look after yourself, you can feed a baby was my motto. Obviously if you are pissed as a fart, don't feed. The alcohol levels in your blood are different to that in your milk and it wears off, so you don't necessarily need to "pump and dump" either. Some people are really strict with this aspect, others (like me) are less so. Put it this way, I had a bottle of wine on saturday night to myself and still fed dd at 11pm. I'm more mindful of not co-sleeping with her/or being in a position where I might fall asleep whilst feeding her, so have someone around if you do decide to feed.

Have a good night out!

Well done btw for even going out at 12 weeks. My first "proper" drunken night out was when dd was 12 months old!!

I know but it's a much needed night out tbh my partner decided to leave me last week after 8 years together and 2 babies :( so my friends are trying to cheer me up x
After ds1 my first drunk night out was when he was nearly 3!! lol so feeling v nervous about leaving my baby :(

I do usually co-sleep so Im going to sleep on the floor next to the bed and keep ds2 in the middle of mine, going to miss the snuggles.
Im really struggling to bf anyway as had no appetite since the evil bastard left so have been trying formula, which I did not want to do really but worried my milks rubbish now :( will try the tips thank you v much x

3Bears how awful for you. I hope you are getting some RL support - that is lovely of your friends to cheer you up, you have good friends .

If you are feeling nervous about leaving DS2, why don't you change the "night out" to a nice meal out over some wine, rather than a big piss up? That way, you can still have a drink and be fairly normal on your return home, plus you'll only be out for a couple of hours returning around midnight, rather than at 3 in the morning. Just a thought - I'm sure your friends would change plans for you.

Secondly, regardless of what you are eating, your milk will not be rubbish. Without getting all technical or making you feel bad, but think of those in 3rd world countries who have a very poor diet and little water; they are still able to produce milk which is nutritious. They continue to feed their babies despite eating very little and their milk has the right amount of vitamins and goodness that the baby needs.

A few weeks of eating a bit crap or not eating well, will definitely not make your milk rubbish BUT you should be looking after yourself. Sometimes it is the notion of having to make food - go and get yourself some nice ready meals, fresh pasta which is quick to cook and some jar sauces. You must try and eat something (and porridge is good for supply and a good easy food to make. Add a nice dollop of syrup and it will make you feel much better I'm sure)

As you probably know, giving the odd bottle of formula (if he eventually takes a bottle) will, in the end, affect your supply, should you do this on a regular basis. This is something to consider if you did want to continue BF'ing. However, the odd bottle for a night out, shouldn't have too much affect - just remember to pump when you get home!

Does he use a dummy? If so maybe ease the dummy out and replace with the bottle. It took my lo a few goes to get the hang of using a bottle. Of bf until he's nice and sleepy then take away your boob and slip the bottle in. Maybe try with the lights down low, hope that helpful.