BFing and expressing, is it do-able?!

[NiceToesNaughtyToes]

Not sure if this is the right place, but I'm due DC2 in July and am very keen to BF again. However, due to having a 5 year old, we're out and about much more compared to when DD was born and I have a real aversion to feeding in public and would always nip back to the car to feed when DD was a baby (I completely admire anyone who is able to do it, I just felt so uncomfortable feeding in front of anyone other than DP)

Therefore, with DC2, I have been thinking of expressing for the times we're going out for the day. Just wondering if anyone has been able to do this successfully? I've been trying to research it online, but keep finding stories of how baby will lose the ability to BF. Will using bottles for the odd times be possible?

TIA xx

It is possible but I'm not convinced it's worth the hassle.

With DD1 I did a mixture of BF, and bottle feeding with breast milk and formula but only because she had problems latching on for the first 3 months and was very small so also needed formula top ups.

Expressing is a PITA. You need a good pump (I hired one from the hospital) and even then it often takes regular pumping to get a small amount of milk. Not very easy if you have 2 kids. Plus you need to take time to sterilise.

Breast milk is also not so easy to have at the right temperature when you need it and some babies won't take cold or lukewarm milk.

There's also no way of knowing if a baby that is mainly BF will take a bottle. Many won't, certainly not when mum's boob is nearby!

I understand that BFing in public is an issue for many but I would really try to give it a go. If you wear 2 tops there really is nothing on show when feeding and you can use a muslin as extra coverage when latching on and off.

I have 2 under 2 and BFing makes everything so much easier as there's one less thing to think about which is a godsend when trying to get us all out the house!