Combi feeding? But with pumped milk?

[ChampagneMama]

Hello all, please forgive any stupidity that may come across (never been a mama before and never fed a baby)

I’m just about half way now, hit 21 weeks this Saturday and on my mind more and more is how will I feed DC!

Personally I don’t really want to breastfeed, this may be controversial? But both me and DH are from male dominated families so the majority of visitors will most likely be male which isn’t an issue but I wouldn’t want to have my boobs out and I understand feeds can be long etc so I just wouldn’t feel comfortable doing it in front of family

However I would like DC to get breast milk? I’d like them to have some if I can pump it but can you pump from birth? Or do you have to breastfeed before you can pump?

I probably need to research more into this but thought I’d ask her. My overall opinion is fed is best but if I could pump some and give them bottles of it I’d be happy to do so! And would like to

There are people who only pump. It's a lot of hard work- much harder than just breastfeeding (for most women).

If you don't want to breastfeed it's totally your choice, your body etc, but it might be worth thinking a bit about why you feel uncomfortable. We are mammals and the main reason women have boobs is to feed their babies - I think it's our society that has warped ideas about them...
You might find that when your baby is actually here you don't care so much what other people think.

From experience as a mum, midwife and HV people have varied success with pumping exclusively. I would say in the majority of instances that it's not sustainable in the longer term as a pump doesn't stimulate the breast like a baby. Combination feeding with formula may be more realistic if actually putting baby to the breast isn't for you.

Forgot -it really is a faff because you would probably have to pump at least 8 times a day to maintain/trigger your supply and then feed baby as well. Much easier to breast feed - half the work. Just saying...

I BF for the first few days so the baby got the colostrum but then switched to FF without any issue. There were all sorts of reasons for my decision but one of them was that I just hated BFing. DS thrived on formula and it was the best thing for both of us. Pumping didn't appeal at all.

I breastfeed dc1 and attempted to pump but struggled to get enough off so gave in and just bf.
With dt I bf but pumped for use when in company (can't tandem feed discretely). I found the best way to do it was pump at the same times everyday so i was eventually pumping off more than I was using and had a store. The problem was it was so time consuming and definitely harder than just bf.

Pumping is a similar if not more substantial time commitment than breastfeeding and no more discreet with your boobs if you do it around visitors unless perhaps you use an Elvie...

If you don't want to breastfeed then that's fine but realistically if you want baby to have breast milk it's the most logical and efficient way.

Also - breastfeeding/pumping is very hard work and can be painful at first (nipple soreness, anything more than than seek dedicated support! so unless you are totally committed I would suspect that you'll end up FF very quickly anyway (which is fine, but just don't go investing in expensive pumping equipment first!).

I would have a long think about why you are letting the thought of visitors influence your decision about how you feed your baby. Just make sure your choice is your choice for the right reasons. Good luck x

I am breastfeeding, DD is 8 months. When she was younger I would try and pump as well so I had a supply so DH could feed her if I needed to go out. It was such a pain, I only used to get about 50-60ml after half an hour of pumping and only if DD hadn’t fed from that breast for 3-4 hours.
In the end I just got a supply of formula for when DH needed to feed her.
Didn’t really have too many visitors because of the lockdowns but if my brothers came over or another relative I didn’t want to feed in front of, I would just go in another room.

I breastfed in public and so do lots of women. You just wear appropriate clothes including large scarves - you don't need to be specialist breast feeding clothes. Men aren't interested.

I should add I combi fed with formula and pumped until my daughter decided she didn't want to be breastfed. Pumping is a faff and really only done to keep your supply up/prevent engorgement.