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Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

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Original poster

Baby 4 weeks old, expressing and introducing bottle - any tips / advice?

32 replies

Rowlers · 04/12/2007 20:54

Just that really.
DS = just over 4 weeks and breastfeeding going as well as can be expected.
For one reason or another, I'm thinking of expressing once a day and DP giving DS a bottle of EBM.
Anyone got any tips on how best to do this - when best to express, when best to start (is there a "window" in which I can do this successfully and if I miss it will DS fail to take a bottle at all?) etc
Or anyone got any comments on whenther it's worth doing this or not.
Main reasons for considering it - to give me a bit of a break from being attached to DS all the time / DP would love to be more involved / thinking of longer term hoing this will afford me a few nights out now and then.

OP posts:

Pannacotta · 04/12/2007 21:00

Personally I wouldn't bother!
I did this with DS1 and it was such an effort and a real faff.
I think it is more worthwhile further down the line, perhaps in a few weeks/months time
when you might feel more ready to go out anyway.
DP can help by eg bathing/changing/winding/ settling the baby.
I think small babies love the evening breast-feeds and they are a good time to chill out and cuddle up.
When you have a small baby its very normal to be very attached to it 24/7! It doesnt last for long...

Original poster

Rowlers · 04/12/2007 21:14

Thanks! I was wondering whether this may be the case.
A friend mentioned that she thought one needed to initiate introduction of a bottle when baby is between 4 and 6 weeks old, otherwise he / she won't take it. Is there any truth in this or is it just cobblers I wonder?
Anyone know? Can one know?!?

OP posts:

DRAGON30 · 04/12/2007 21:42

Definitely do it! I used to express any milk that was left over from the 6-7am feed. I froze it for the first few weeks,and at 6 weeks started to give DD1 about 4floz at the 11pm feed AFTER she had fed from me - just as an extra topup, really. She would sleep from 11pm to 7amish from 7 weeks old!
Also, having a supply of EBM was a GODSEND when I was ill with food poisoning and too dehydrated to feed her for 48hrs. It was also great being able to go out for a short time without her, leaving a friend or DH to do the honours. I can honestly say I never felt 'trapped', isolated or even very tired (as so many new mums do), and I am sure that being able to hand her to someone else and have a little 'me' time had a lot to do with it.
I think there probably is an age 'window'. I wasn't able to do the same for DS1, and I'm really noticing the difference! I was just too busy in the morning, (plus he always emptys me out completly!)We tried to give a bottle at 4mths, with no success, and are still struggling now(7mths). His sleeping is reasonable, but nowhere near as good as his sister.
So in short, do it, and do it early!

Original poster

Rowlers · 04/12/2007 21:52

Ooh conflicting advice!
Interesting.
Thanks - will have to make a decision soon then I think!

OP posts:

Notyummy · 04/12/2007 22:00

another vote for the 'do it'. I started at 3 weeks. DD never had any nipple confusion. I expressed from one boob and dd fed from the other at the morning feed, and then sometimes topped this up with a bit of extra expressing during the day. I second all the points DRAGON30 made....I amsure that expressing helped me bf exclusively up to six months when I weaned, and I acrried on for a few moths after that.

Pannacotta · 04/12/2007 22:03

Why the desperate need for bottles though, when your breasts are perfectly adequate?
No need to top up after a breast feed either.
I do think its worth doing after maybe 6-7 weeks so you have the option of going out in the evening, but at 4 weeks I personally think theres enough to do and that its easier just to feed your baby and chill.

Original poster

Rowlers · 04/12/2007 22:22

I know exactly what you are saying Pannacotta and in many ways I agree.
DD, now aged 3.8, would not breastfeed at all - total nightmare! So because I was so determined to give her breastmilk, I expressed for 6 months and gave her EBM in a bottle. It almost killed me.
So I agree with the "just feed and chill" argument.
I keep hearing stories though from friends who have tried to introduce a bottle, baby refused and they put it down to trying to introduce it too late.
Maybe I am being swayed by the fact that there are a fair number of "dos" coming up which I would love to go to but am having to decline as I'm breastfeeding DS. Selfish of me I know!

OP posts:

Pannacotta · 04/12/2007 22:28

Rowlers you have to do what feels right for you of course.
I do think its worth doing, just think its easier after about 6 weeks, when your supply is more established and things are slightly less manic.
Are you keen to go out in the evenings? All I wanted to do 4 weeks after giving birth both times was lounge about in front of the TV!
I dont think leaving it till then will make it harder to introduce a bottle, but all babies are different so you never know!

Original poster

Rowlers · 04/12/2007 22:32

Oh I don't know anything for certain at the moment - brain is fried following pregnancy, childbirth and sleep deprivation.
Am certainly not starting tonight so will mull it all over.
The down side for me is the thought of washing bottles, sterilizing equipment etc. What a major faff all that is.

OP posts:

Pannacotta · 04/12/2007 22:39

Thats what I meant about the faff, I am too lazy for it!
Though I think you dont need to sterilise so much if giving EMB in a bottle, you can just use the dishwasher for bottles/teats and pump. I think its with formula you need to be much more careful as its not sterile.

foxythesnowman · 04/12/2007 22:41

Why don't you give it a go and see how you get on? Doesn't have to be everyday.

I think after the first bf of the day is a good time to express.

Do it once, and see how it goes.

Maggieb52 · 04/12/2007 22:42

Don't bother yourself - too much hassle - your milk is on tap - there when you need it etc - what about nipple confusion??

chipmonkey · 04/12/2007 23:21

Rowlers, I think bottle refusal is far more to do with the personality of the baby than when you introduce a bottle. Ds1 and ds2 hardly ever had a bottle and they switched easily between breast and bottle without any hassle when I went back to work. Ds3 was prem and given EBM first by tube and then by bottle in SCBU before he was ever put to the breast, was given bottles more regularly than ds1 and ds2, not intentionally, just due to circumstances at the time, and he point-blank refused bottles from 5 months ( 3 months corrected)
One thing I do wonder about though, is whether the fact that ds1 and ds2 had dummies whereas ds3 didn't might have made the oldest two more receptive to the idea of a fake nipple. My aunt says the same, that her dd never had a dummy and she was a bottle refusenik, whereas all her other children had dummies and all took bottles easily. Mind you her eldest, my cousin, is quite a determined person, even now!

dal21 · 05/12/2007 08:56

Oh god, do it!
I have expressed and DH given every dreamfeed ( at 10pm) since DS was 6 weeks old. Means in the early days - I went to bed soon after settling DS at 7.30 and would get to sleep until 1am undisturbed - which was a godsend.
DS now 12 weeks and not feeding until 7am after the dreamfeed. Majority of the time that DH gives the feed, DS is zonked and there is no way that DS would take the amount he takes from the bottle (5-6 fl.oz) from my breast when he is half asleep.

I am convinced it has helped DS to not need feeding again til 7am....

It also means that I can leave DS with my mum after settling him at 7pm and know I am not needed til the early hours of the morning. Now I a starting to feel more human - welcome back to dinners out and cinema.

Re. the expressing...I would express around the same time that bottle was given - til ds was 7 weeks old (kept reading that supply could be messed up otherwise), now I express after giving DS first feed of morning (so around 7am - get about 5-6 fl. oz) and if needed express again after settling at night - so again around 7.30.
Takes 15 mins tops each time and so not a hassle at all!

dal21 · 05/12/2007 09:00

oh and imo nipple confusuion doesnt exist - never had any probs with ds with either teat or nipple.

i hit a wall at around 9 weeks - where combo of bfeeding and tiredness nearly had me reaching for formula. it was the fact that one feed was not reliant on me that kept me going. a lot depends on your personality - but mentally and emotionally it was such a relief for me once the 7pm feed was done with.

NineBabiesDancing · 05/12/2007 10:38

I understand it is better to wait until your breastfeeding is established before introducing bottles/expressing...after 6 weeks at least.

I liked having a freezer stash for nights out and emergencies but I didn't start pumping until DD was 3 months old.

I would wait until one of the boards experts post more details.

witchandchips · 05/12/2007 10:46

Do you still leak from the other breast while you feed?. If so use breast shells to collect it and you can just store it in a bottle. By the end of the day you should have enough for a feed (or to store in case of emergencys)

chipmonkey · 05/12/2007 10:59

Dal21, nipple confusion does exist, even if you you haven't experienced it. There are a lot of Mums on here who have exclusively expressed/switched to formula because of it.

motherhurdicure · 05/12/2007 11:27

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Stefka · 05/12/2007 12:39

I had to introduce a bottle of EBM at three weeks because of badly cracked nipples. It was just too painful to feed him. He didn't like it much but eventually took it and now he will go between myself and the bottle. He grumps a bit with the bottle mind you. I only do it because I need a break from the pain but it is good to know that he will take it if I wasn't able to feed him for some reason. I express a little bit after each feed so that I have one feed to give him at the end of the day. I also use the breast shells - they are great, you can get a fair bit at some feeds.

pinkdelight · 05/12/2007 15:01

I've just posted a thread asking how to get my breastfed 2-month-old on the bottle (of EBM), but thought I'd pop in here to see if you had any advice.

I'm very interested in what motherhuricure says about an 'open cup'. Please tell me more - can you just pour the milk in then, without a teat?

I don't know if I'd call it nipple confusion, but my ds has completely forgotten how to suck. He took a bottle fine up until six weeks, but since he's been able to see the bottle properly, he's refused to take it, or rather, he's just lapping at it like he does in breastfeeding, which is obviously no good at all. Any tips or alternatives would be very welcome...

dal21 · 05/12/2007 15:35

Hi - All i know is that i was in floods of tears in the hospital when DS was too small to suck at the breast for any length of time and had to be topped up with bottle -because all i had read about was nipple confusion and babies refusing breast etc once they had been given bottle.

I had to be reassured time and again that nipple confusion didnt exist (by feeding experts also) and that i would still be able to bfeed with no problems. They were right. And I would have no hesitation in introducing a bottle at 6 weeks again once a day. I do think without that I would have cracked under the tiredness and not persevered with bfeeding (thank goodness I did, am so happy)

ChipMonkey - If there are mothers whose bubs have experienced nipple confusion - then apologies and I guess it comes down to our individual bubs. DS is greedy (and i am obv lucky) and will take it however it comes

Mumpbump · 05/12/2007 15:41

I had a friend whose baby refused the bottle because she didn't express for a while. She was lucky that she could take 9 months off work on maternity leave and then had to make sure there was a lot of dairy in his diet. We introduced a bottle of EBM with ds1 from 3 weeks onwards and around the same time with ds2. I have been told that if you don't get them taking a bottle by 3 months, they won't, but we only gave ds1 one bottle a week with perhaps as little as 2 oz in it. It was enough to keep him going although it did take a while to get him to take proper sized feeds from a bottle when we were getting ready for my return to work at 6 months.

EdieMcredie · 05/12/2007 15:44

Im another mother who has a baby who has suddenly refused the bottle. It's very very distressing and I have tried alsorts...

morocco · 05/12/2007 15:56

personal opinion is don't bother expressing cos it is a faff and my dh regarded it very much as novelty value rather than something he would do at useful times etc but that's just how it worked for me
if you want to express, agree about morning being a good time, i found electric pumps to work better, don't worry if you don't get much milk it doesnt mean you aren't making enough milk, just machines are not as efficient as babies at getting it out

none of mine were happy with bottles but we just moved straight onto sippy cups/straws/cups with no lids so much easier. they can start with those beaker type cups from around 4 months. and as they get older they can also go longer without feeds of course if you do need to go out for longer.

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