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

[Rowlers]

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.

Just give dh a bit of a kick up the arse so he does do it at useful times!! I got one feed off every day; I chose the early evening feed so I could go the gym some days, but once a week dh would do the night feed so I could sleep for longer....although only a couple of hours longer than usual cos I would wake up with HUGE boobs.... He didn't actually need to do this for too long, because she slept through about 1/12 weeks if I remeber rightly, and we started it around 3, so he only did around 8 nght feeds...but every little helps!

ds was tiny and prem so had to have EBM with fortifying powder at 4 feeds a day because he wouldn't take very much each time. he'd bf as well and once he was taking more the EBM went down to one feed a day all in one go. I was lucky that he took both and never had any problems, with nipple confusion,but I know some mothers who did have problems, so i guess i'm just agreeing with everyone else - do what you think is best for you!

plus it is easier when someone else can give you a break for that bottle feed and you can just stay asleep

Thanks everyone for your comments.
Spoke to HV about it today and she suggested waiting till DS is 5-6 weeks as my supply will be more settled then.
Makes sense I suppose.
Will dig out my pump and steriliser and look at them for a few days.
I'm hoping the sight of them will not be too much to take.
Think I'll give it a go next week ish and see what happens.

Good for you - another 'definitely do it' vote here.

I expressed right from the word go - DS was very sleepy to begin with and wouldn't breast feed very well, so I topped up with a bottle until he was about 2 weeks when he started feeding properly.

Having got the hang of expressing so early on, I thought I'd continue and let DH give the last feed.

It was an absolute god send to know that I was 'off duty' for a few hours in the evening. It was great to have the odd night out, and in my view, absolutely essential the time I had violent food poisoning and was throwing up for hours - it was such a relief to have a stash of EMB in the freezer to know that DS would be absolutely fine with it.

I'm all for a bit of flexibility with these things, and knowing your baby will take a bottle too is fab.

I used to express after the first morning feed, and again at about 9pm (last breast feed at 7pm ish) and this gave enough for DH to feed at 10.30pm.

Good luck!

I too want to introduce a bottle early this time. I have a 2 and a bit year old, whowas exclusively breast fed and would not take to a bottle at all, and when weaning onto solids was very fussy. He is still very fussy still, and still wants to breastfeed, which is getting me down, he is very demanding, pulling at clothes, saying booby over and over, and crying if hedoesn't get it. I really don't want him to breastfeed now, but don't want him to start resenting his little brother. I want to make sure my new little one doesn't follow suit, only problem is I can't express so it would have to be formula, wouldthat work?

i use tommy tippee closer to nature bottles and ds goes between them and bf fine, introduced just before 4 weeks.

Thanks Darly, for the tip, is it okay to give a small formula feed? I did want to exclusively breast feed but know what the outcome maybe like if his big brother is anything to go by!