Pumping for one bottle a day? (Ish)

[NerdyViking]

Pregnant (20 weeks) with first baby and planning things for when baby comes.

I want to breastfeed but was pondering whether I could pump and bottlefeed (~1 a day). I'm thinking this in terms of hubby being able to feed, not only for convenience for me but also for bonding (he's quite keen to be able to do some feeding himself, if possible)

My only worry is I've heard that, if breastfeeding, you should try to maintain just that for the first 6 weeks? I guess nipple confusion?

Can anybody advise?

it is advised not to pump/ feed a bottle while establishing bf. DH and I will be doing similar in a few weeks- DS is 10days now. But he does some of everything else, cuddles, changes, putting down to sleep etc. It's hard at night just now as he's up twice but DH will need sleep to go back to work soon enough

There are a few reasons it's best to avoid bottle feeding while you're establishing breastfeeding. One reason is that it's much easier to get milk out a bottle than out a boob, so many babies will get frustrated when they're put back on the breast.

Pumping is a pain in the arse, so I'd avoid if you possibly can. There are SO many ways that Dad can bond with baby, it's really not a necessity for him to get involved in feeding. Could you encourage him to think of other things he could do instead, that don't create extra work for you and require you to pump, sterilise stuff etc.

I started expressing and giving a bottle earlier than 6 weeks (was going to give up breastfeeding altogether due to the pain, but we've still stuck with it so far). She has one bottle a day usually. Doesn't seem to have caused any issues and she still prefers boob.

If it's only for one bottle a day, maybe have a look at the Haaka or Nature Bond pumps - much easier, quicker and cheaper than a proper pump.

It's very difficult to say op. In the early days expressing is quite hard work and you can only get very small amounts. As pp said it might be best to leave it a few weeks. Even when bf is established you might find expressing difficult you might not. A friend of mine ebf both of her babies but could barely pump an oz of milk, another could get 7 oz in 5minutes. Pumping made me feel queasy, literally waves of nausea, I was fine with other people doing it and fine when my baby fed directly but pumping wasn't good! I tolerated it a few times with ds but not at all with dd, neither of my babies were ebf- both mix fed.

Watching with interest... I have a 4 week old and wasn't planning to pump but decided in the last week to try as I'd like Daddy to be able to feed once a day so I can get a stretch of sleep longer than 2 hours...

However, as PP pointed out. It's a royal pain. Once you've found time to sterilize etc you have to find time to pump! This is difficult with a newborn and I've not been able to pump on one side and feed on the other which I thought could work. If you fork out for a pricey electric double pump, you can probably get enough milk for one bottle in about 15 mins. However, I'm not sure one bottle a day is worth spending a couple hundred pounds. I've tried an Avent manual pump and the Medela Swing single. Can get about an oz from each breast in 10 mins. Didn't find electric easier or more efficient (luckily I've borrowed it).

I intended to pump for one bottle a day from five weeks, I only got about 1/2 as much from pumping though so had to do both sides to make one bottle iyswim. I also found I needed to pump for comfort if I 'missed' a feed, so I ended up pumping while DH fed her - a bit pointless.

I ended up pumping one side once a day and then storing it, so I could have the occasional long bath or nap without worrying about her deciding she was hungry.

DH bonded with cuddles, nappies, (belly raspberries), and baths, I actually felt they had a better bond and I was just 'dinner' at some points!

I say give it a go (cheapish hand pump first if you don't want to waste money) and see how you go. Everyone is different so what's best and what works for you and baby will be an individual thing.

I intended to pump for one bottle a day from five weeks, I only got about 1/2 as much from pumping though so had to do both sides to make one bottle iyswim. I also found I needed to pump for comfort if I 'missed' a feed, so I ended up pumping while DH fed her - a bit pointless.

I ended up pumping one side once a day and then storing it, so I could have the occasional long bath or nap without worrying about her deciding she was hungry.

DH bonded with cuddles, nappies, (belly raspberries), and baths, I actually felt they had a better bond and I was just 'dinner' at some points!

I say give it a go (cheapish hand pump first if you don't want to waste money) and see how you go. Everyone is different so what's best and what works for you and baby will be an individual thing.

Argh! It said it failed, sorry!

I think it's all extremely variable, depending on your nipples, your baby, how well you respond to various pumps, etc.

In my case, expressing allowed me to establish a decent milk supply while DS was struggling quite badly with bf and had had formula from birth at the hospital. He took a bottle, and eventually got the hang of breastfeeding (after many weeks) and now at 3 months will drink from just about anything. No sign of nipple confusion, he doesn't get frustrated at the breast, and my milk supply's more or less adequate (he still has some formula on extra hungry days).

Hand pumps work really well for some but I found it really hard work for my hands and never got more than about an ounce after what seemed like an eternity. I forked out for a hospital grade electric double pump and reliably get about 4oz within 6 minutes.

Expressing is a pain in the arse, but if you just want the one bottle, and your baby's feeding OK, it might be easier to do this when your milk's just come in rather than trying to introduce it once your supply has regulated itself. You'll have milk to spare in the early days, in a way I certainly didn't by 6 weeks when he was growing like a weed. Good luck.

Well, I pumped from day 1 in between feeds, as that's the practise round these parts. It was bloody annoying (felt like a perpetual milk machine) but meant I built up a stash from early on. We used Philips Avent natural flow bottles and teats, which are designed so baby has to work to get the milk out in the same way as a boob, and there was no nipple confusion.

At our parenting classes before DC1 the midwife said if you are breast feeding then daddy should do the bathing his way. Mummy gets 20 odd minutes peace and he is totally responsible for one aspect of the babycare. Obviously if he wasn't home from work I did it but 11.5 years and 4 kids later he currently has the youngest 2 in the bath.

I breastfed them all for 11 months. At the start I would just try to get breastfeeding established. Each baby takes to different bottles at different ages. Mine never followed a pattern and each one was different.